Today I will be discussing china’s classical age to 256 B.C.E, East Asia and the spread of Buddhism from 256 B.C.E. to 800 C.E., and continue East Asia ‘s history to 1400. China’s classical age consists of its emerging civilization, the early Zhou dynasty, the warring states period, Confucius and the several different schools of thought. From the period of 256 B.C.E and 800 C.E. China was expanded and Buddhism began to spread rapidly. It was also during this period that China shaped much of eastern Asian culture. During Eastern Asia’s period of 800 CA to 1400 CA was marked by the medieval Chinese economic revolution, Japans Heian period, Song dynasty and the Samurai and Kamakura Shogunate.
China emergence as a civilization is accomplished with little no contact with other empires due to its geographical isolation. This is evident by the lack of new people and languages. The term China during this period does not refer to the same geographical entity as commonly believed. China during this period is approximately one thousand miles north to South and East to West, occupying much of the temperate zone of East Asia. The land to the North is well suited for crops like Grain due to Loess: a fine wind-driven soil that is fertile and easy to toil with primitive tools. The region to the South is warmer, wetter and more suited to rice cultivation and double cropping. China is isolated from other civilizations by mountains, deserts and grasslands. The Bronze Age is marked by the Shang dynasty in their capitol of Anyang. Shang kings ruled for over two centuries. The royal tomb at Anyang was sixty feet deep and three hundred feet long. A tomb this size would have taken thousands of laborers and the advanced technology was evident as t...
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...ards and military governors who oversaw and enforce provincial law.
In this Treatise have discussed China's classical age and how they influenced all of east Asian culture for over two thousand years. And How Buddhism spread throughout east Asia and evolved into several different schools each embracing the host nations principle and beliefs. I have discussed Confucian teachings and texts have influenced Chinese and Eastern Asian culture and government for centuries. How China overcame invaders from all sides and managed to emerge as a world economic power. And finally how Japan developed its own culture and founded a new social class the Samurai. East Asian History is compelling, deep and complicated. A history that will sound differently each time as their history continues to grow and influence other non Asian cultures.
Works Cited
History of World Societies
legal action because of faith but as a whole it would not prosper. To understand the level
Buddhist popularity towards the Chinese grew following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E. It’s influence continued to expand for several centuries. Between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., China experienced a period of political instability and disunity. During this time, many of the Chinese, specifically scholars, sought for peace in Buddhism and approved of Buddhism. On the other hand, the strict confucianists and the government fought to end Buddhism and make people go against it.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
It is believed that Buddhism spread to China through the Silk Road. When the Silk Road opened in the 2nd century BC, missionaries and pilgrims spread Buddhism to China. Chang Ch’ien was recorded to first bring Buddhism to China when he heard about India and Buddhist beliefs on his way back to China. In about the 1st century BC, a Buddhist community is said to have been living in China. But the most well-known story of the spreading of Buddhism is when Han emperor, Mingdi, had a dream about Buddha in 68 CE and sent Cai Yin, his official to learn more about it. Meanwhile, Mingdi learned from his ministers that he had seen Buddha, “the God of the West” in his dream. After 3 years Cai Yin came back to china with Buddhist teachings and two Buddhist monks who taught Buddhism throughout China. Soon a Buddhist community was formed and it continued to grow with the introduction of Buddhist books, art and temples.
During the history of ancient China, around 500 B.S.Ec., the Chinese begin to go through a crisis. The original order established in the civilization was long gone, and a change was needed. Something had to be done, in order to get the order restored in china. Chinese thinkers looked for ways to change their empire in order to reestablish order to their empire. In the chaotic China civilization, several different answers arouse to solve the problem, which ultimately changed China for the better. The three primary solutions were the concepts Legalist, Confucianism, Daoism.
Walker, Richard L. Ancient China and Its Influence In Modern Times. New York: Franklin Watts Inc., 1969.
Thesis: During the Post Classical Era, from 600 - 1450 CE, many of the dynasties throughout Asia, went through changes such as artistic advances, technological advances, and social interaction. Specifically in China, they had golden ages, and also ages of hard times in despair. During this time, China was thriving due to the expansion of arts , literacy, and vivid culture. China had three prominent dynasties such as the Tang , Song, and Ming,. These dynasties continued to prosper throughout the ages. During the time of Japan, Prince Shotoku was a very important figure in the upbringing of Japan by bringing Chinese culture to Japan. Whether the changes were politically, religiously, or culturally, all of these changes were involved in the upbringing or down-breaking of the empires within Japan and China.
China is located in East Asia. Ancient China is surrounded by Gobi Desert in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Himalayan Mountains in the southwest, and the Taklimakan desert in the west. This land has a wide variation of animals because of the different habitats provided for them. Most farming was done in the very fertile lands of the Yangtze valley. Present China is much bigger than Ancient China, which means that over time, the kings and different dynasties went gaining more and more land and wealth.
In 1979 the third word-wide wave of democratization was due to the overthrow of Portuagese dictatorship in Europe which spread to Asia during the 1980s. The third word-wide wave of democratization did not however affect the undemocratic East Asian countries as they challenged the notion of demoratization and avocated “Asian Values”. Asian values refers to the strong traditional cultural values such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism which co-exists in East Asian societies. The purpose of this essay is to explore Confucian culture and how it may affect the operation of democracy in East Asia.
Stewart Gordon is an expert historian who specializes in Asian history. He is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan and has authored three different books on Asia. Gordon’s When Asia Was The World uses the narratives of several different men to explore The Golden Age of medieval Asia. The fact that this book is based on the travels and experiences of the everyday lives of real people gives the reader a feeling of actually experiencing the history. Gordon’s work reveals to the reader that while the Europeans were trapped in the dark ages, Asia was prosperous, bursting with culture, and widely connected by trade. This book serves to teach readers about the varieties of cultures, social practices, and religions that sprang from and spread out from ancient Asia itself and shows just how far Asia was ahead of the rest of the world
I think that the reading from Bilhartz prepared me for the article. The book on several occasions has mentioned that the main religions were Islam, Buddhist, and Christianity. The article also referenced this, “You could say that religions -- not all religions, but those religions that have come out of what is called the Axial Age: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity -- have been globalizers” (Casanova, 2013). The text also has given us a lot of information on each religion so it all comes together in this article when he talks about other religions and different parts of the globe.
Lee, J. (1999). Trade and Economy in Preindustrial East Asia, c. 1500-c. 1800: East Asia in the Age of Global Integration. The Journal of Asian Studies , 58 (1), 2-26.
The spread of religion first began through contact with neighbouring countries which gradually expand throughout the years. Buddhism and Islam are one of the most widespread religions across Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Trade merchants and imperial support of the religion played as major factors which facilitated and localised the spread of Buddhism and Islam within various countries. However, there were limitations present which hindered the development of each religion in Southeast Asia as introduction of newer religions and changes within imperial power which would have affected their progression to become fully localised pre-1800s.
As China was a very large and established nation during the millennium from 200 BCE to 800BCE, it is no surprise that it had a large span of influence upon it's surrounding neighbors. (Mckay. 196) The Tang dynasty being established from the years of 618 - 907. (Mckay 193.) As China had been not only a large military force but a force of cultural and artistic exchange. It's surrounding neighbors such as Japan, Vietnam and Korea were surely to have drawn on the ideas of Chinese culture. In this discussion will be the paper will be the discussion of Chinese culture and the effects that it had upon Vietnam and Korea.
From covering Japan’s perilous imperial rule to analyzing Korea’s ambivalent adoption of democratic governance, Modern East Asia explored a broad range of subjects important for one who aspires to understand Asia holistically. Much time was even spent examining China’s horrid history at the hands of foreign meddling, giving insight into a nation feared as the future #1 economic power of the world. Although we covered a broad range of topics, each was given particular attention, never skipping major events or characters which shaped Asia’s history over the last several hundred years. Essentially, this class provided an open atmosphere for students to learn the intricate history of major Asian countries in addition to sharing ideas on the effectiveness of their pre-modern governance.