Global and Regional trade and cultural interactions of China and

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Golden
Ages and
Empires in
China

Objectives

• WHI.11 The student will apply social science skills to understand the civilizations and empires

of Asia, with emphasis on Japan and China, by

• WHI.11a locating and explaining major global and regional trade routes;

• WHI.11b explaining technological advances and transfers, networks of economic

interdependence, and cultural interactions; and

• WHI.11c explaining the impact of Shinto and Buddhist traditions and the influence of

Chinese culture on the region; and

• WHI.11d evaluating the impact of the Mongol Empire throughout Asia.

China

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The Tang Dynasty

• In 618, Li Yuan became the emperor of

the new Tang Dynasty, but within ten
years, Li Shimin replaced his father as
emperor.

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The Tang Dynasty

• The Tang Dynasty expanded China's

control over other nearby regions.

• It created "tributary states," self-

governed kingdoms that sent tribute
(payment) to China.

• Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam all continued

to be tributary states under control of
the Tang.

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The Tang Dynasty

• Government and land reforms were put in place

by the Tang, who worked to unify their lands.

• Land was re-distributed among peasants in many

cases.

• Empress Wu Zhao created a uniform government

based on the traditions of the Han Dynasty
which had ruled China hundreds of years earlier.

• It made tax collection and problem-solving more

streamlined.

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The Tang Dynasty

• In 907, the last Tang emperor, Emperor Ai, was

overthrown after a series of natural disasters and
revolts in the late 800s AD weakened the Tang's
authority.

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The Song Dynasty

• After 50 years of upheaval, Zhao Kuangyin

unified China under the Song Dynasty in 960 AD.

• Its first leader was Zhao Kuangyin, and it lasted

for over 300 years.

•Despite constant threats of invasion from
northern regions, the Song ruled a prosperous
kingdom.

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Chinese Society under the
Tang and the Song

• Social rankings were clearly arranged.

• The emperor was supreme, while just below him

were scholars who acted as officials in the
government.

• Chinese society emphasized the importance of

both noble birth and academic learning.

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Chinese Society under the
Tang and the Song

• Most government scholar-officials were from the

"gentry," or landowning, class of people.

• After the gentry came the Chinese peasant

farmers, although there was a big gap between
the power of the gentry and the power of the
peasants.

• The lowest rank in society went to merchants

and traders. They were viewed like parasites by
the Chinese because they lived off of the work
and products of others.

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Chinese Society under the
Tang and the Song

• Chinese women gained greater social status

during medieval times than in later times.

•Despite this change, a married woman still lost
her "dowry", or marriage payment (usually
inherited money or property).

• They were not permitted to remarry if her

husband died.

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Multiple Choice

The Tang and Song is known as the

• end of Chinese Civilization

• Dynastic Cycle

• Golden Age of China

• Warring States Period

Multiple Choice

Under the emperors of the Tang dynasty, China

• shrank in size but was politically stable.

• was divided into warring territories.

• closed its borders to foreign trade.

• united and expanded greatly in size.

Art, Architecture, and Literature Under the
Tang and the Song

• Culture flourished in medieval China.

• Daoism—a meditative religion that

originated in ancient China—influenced
artwork, especially in the form of
landscape paintings.

• Sculpture and architectural achievements

reflect the power of Buddhism in Chinese
beliefs.

• Chinese architects developed the

"pagoda," an ornate pavilion structure
that developed from the ancient Indian
stupa structure.

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Art, Architecture, and Literature
Under the Tang and the Song

• Chinese artisans developed the crafting of

porcelain, which would be transported across
Southeast Asia, as well as along the Silk Road to
places in Central Asia and Europe.

•The production of silk continued as well.

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following items did Classical China introduce to the west by way of the Silk Road?

• moveable type

• porcelain

• Hinduism

• an improved bronze

The Silk Road

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Multiple Choice

What is the name of the route labeled on the map?

• Roman Road

• Japanese Invasion Route

• Mongol Invasion Route

• Silk Road

Multiple Choice

Which regions were connected by the Silk Road?

• East Asia and the Mediterranean basin

• Western Europe and East Africa

• East Africa and Southeast Asia

• Northern Europe and Mediterranean basin

Art, Architecture, and Literature

Under the Tang and the Song

• Poetry became a powerful art form under the

Tang and Song, especially among the scholar-
gentry class.

• Li Bai, a member of the Chinese gentry who lived

from 701 to 762, composed over 2,000 poems.

• He was considered a genius by the Chinese.

• Li Bai showed how poetry was the most

respected form of writing in medieval China.

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Japan’s
Geography

• Japan's lands were made up of an

archipelago, or group of islands sometimes
made from volcanic activity.

•Natural forces such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis
(destructive tidal waves) influenced the
development of Japan.

•The fact that it is surrounded by the sea
allowed ancient Japan to become
isolationist, or inward looking and closed to
foreign control.

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Multiple Choice

Which map shows the Japanese archipelago?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Early Interactions
With Other East
Asians

• Japanese religion was influenced

by its growing interactions with
other Asian peoples such as
those in Korea and China.

• Japan was first exposed to

Buddhism and Chinese culture
by Korean missionaries in the
500's AD.

• Japanese rulers began to send

"emissaries," or diplomats, to
study Chinese art and
technology.

Early Interactions
With Other East
Asians

• The Japanese engaged in "selective

borrowing" of Chinese culture.

•This means that they adopted some
Chinese cultural ideas, but not all.

• For example, they created a new

Japanese written language based on
Chinese writing and their own "kana,"
or symbols that represent syllables.

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Multiple Select

What are THREE major Chinese influences on Japan?

• Writing

• Buddhism

• Architecture

• Monotheism

Early Interactions
With Other East
Asians

• Not all interactions with the Chinese

were peaceful.

• In the 1270's and early 1280's, the

Mongol emperor Kublai Khan tried,
but failed, to invade Japan on two
different occasions.

• The fleet of ships he sent were

wrecked by typhoons (tropical storms)
during the fighting.

•The Japanese took this as a sign that
nature protected them, claiming that
they were saved by the "kamikaze"
(divine wind).

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Early Interactions With
Other East Asians

• Heian (modern-day Kyoto) served as

Japan's capital city from the late 700's
until almost 1200 AD.

• The imperial court of the "Heian Period,"

as it is called in Japanese history, enjoyed
a golden age.

• Poetry, art and literature flourished.

• Murasaki Shikibu, a Heian Japanese

imperial lady-in-waiting, wrote The Diary
of Lady Murasaki (1010), and The Tale of
Genji (1012).

The Feudal Age in

Japan

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Feudalism in Japan

• Feudal society developed in

Japan.

• Although there was an emperor,

he was usually a "figurehead"
leader, meaning he had little
power.

• Power was in the hands of the

"shogun," or leading military
commander

• Kingdoms ruled by shoguns

were called "shogunates."

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Feudalism in Japan

• Shoguns kept the loyalty of

regional Japanese lords, called
"daimyo," by distributing land to
them in return for pledges of
military support.

• The daimyo created their own

small military forces by giving
lands to the "samurai," or
warriors, of their regions.

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Feudalism in Japan

• The Samurai followed a strict

code of behavior and values
called "Bushido," which called
for bravery, honor, honesty, and
loyalty to the daimyo.

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Multiple Choice

Who was the figurehead of power in Japanese society?

• Emperor

• Shogun

• Daimyo

• Samurai

• Peasants

Multiple Choice

Why was the emperor considered to be a "figurehead" of power?

• The emperor was in a position of power, but did not actually rule

• The emperor had complete power in Japanese society

• The emperor was the leader of the Japanese army

• The emperor was the at the top of feudal society in Japan

Multiple Select

What conditions were created by feudalism?

• Wealth

• Poverty

• inequality

• violence

Multiple Choice

Which group was bound by the rules of bushido?

• knights

• peasants

• samurai

• nobles

The Ashikaga Shogunate
and the Tokugawa
Shogunate

• In the 1300s, local Japanese "warlords,"

or military strongmen, fought each other
for influence and power.

• Their rulers sent diplomats to Korea and

to China.

Srivijaya

• Indonesia's defining empire of the

medieval era was Srivijaya.

• It was based on trade between India

and China, and its cities were rich
and beautifully decorated.

•Hinduism and Buddhism both
found believers in the kingdom.

• Eventually, Indonesia came to house

a major Muslim community.

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Khmer

• The leaders of Khmer, an empire made up of the modern

countries of Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia, reached their
peak of power between 800 and 1350 AD.

•Khmer rulers were mostly Hindu while most of its subjects
were Buddhists.

• Its most notable cultural achievement was the construction of

the massive and ornate temple at Angkor Wat, in Cambodia
today.

•It was dedicated to the Hindu deity Vishnu and was
transformed into a Buddhist temple in the 12th century.

•It is claimed to be the largest religious monument in the
world.

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Pagan

• One of the earliest Southeast Asian

empires was that of Pagan, which
occupied most of modern-day
Myanmar (Burma).

• Pagan was united by King Anawrahta

in 1044 AD, using military conquest
and Buddhist ideas.

• The influence of foreign culture can

be seen in the construction of
"stupas", or Indian pagodas, and
thousands of Buddhist temples to
decorate his capital city, also called
Pagan.

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Multiple Choice

Who was the founder of Buddhism? 

• Confucius

• Ashoka

• Siddhartha Guatama

• Attilla

Multiple Choice

Buddhists follow a path to enlightenment. How many "folds" in this path? 

• 24

• 4

• 16

• 8

Southeast

Asia: Influence

of Chinese
and Indian

Trade

• Religions also spread to the region as a result of the

connecting of trade routes.

• First, Hindu priests spread their ideas through the

mainland and the islands.

• They were followed by Therevada Buddhists, who also

came from India and were traveling to China.

• Muslims from India likewise brought Islam to the island

kingdoms in modern Indonesia and the Philippines.

Multiple Choice

The center of the religion of Islam is the nation of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has over 24 million followers of Islam, while Indonesia is the largest Islamic nation, with over 200 million followers. How was Islam brought from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia?

• Arabic invaders conquered the native Indonesian population almost 1000 years ago.

• Arabic traders who arrived by ship spread Islam to the native Indonesian population.

• Telecommunications technology like radio and television brought the message of Islam to the Indonesian population.

• Indonesian political leaders who were converted to Islam after traveling to Saudi Arabia required the population to become Islamic as well.

Southeast Asia: Influence of
Chinese and Indian Trade

• The location of the islands and the mainland placed

Southeast Asia don the sea trade routes that transported
spices and gemstones between India and China.

• The strait of Malacca, where the city of Singapore is, saw a

large volume of trade traffic during medieval times.

• As a result, many cities along the coasts of the mainland

and ports in the islands became culturally diverse and
prosperous.

• Indian traders brought products such as cotton cloth,

perfumes, jewels to such ports to trade for timber, spices,
and gold.

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Multiple Choice

Which religion is most common in the mainland countries of Southeast Asia?

• Roman Catholic

• Islam

• Buddhism