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The influence of Confucianism on China
The influence of Confucianism in China
The influence of Confucianism on China
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The Sui and Tang Empires
China fragmented after the Han dynasty collapsed and reunified with the Sui dynasty until the Turks took over. Soon after, the Tang dynasty arose.
Small kingdoms which formed after the fall of the Han were structured with many different political ideas and institutions. Some preferred tradition and a bureaucracy while using only the Chinese language and the ideas of Confucianism, whereas others took from other regional cultures and depended on Buddhism.
The deserts and steppes were significant links between cultures and was a channel for new ideas and practices.
Chang’an was the capital of the Sui dynasty and population was prominent along the Yangzi River. This led to Chinese expansion.
To aid trade a Grand Canal
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was built which linked the Yellow and Yangzi rivers. Irrigation systems and the Great Wall were architecturally improved. - Overextension by the Sui caused many problems and gave chance to new rulers establish new states. In 816 the Li family started the Tang Empire with Li Shimin as the ruler.
The rulers kept many of the Sui government actions but were able to stray away from overcentralization by different noble establishments displaying their power.
The Tang emperors were descendants of the Turkic nobles who created small states in N China after the collapse of the Han.
The Tang put together the ideas of Chinese weapons and began the use of iron stirrups. Even during their defeat from Arab Muslim armies, they were extremely powerful.
Buddhism and the Tang Empire
Inner Asian precedents were followed by Tang rulers during their use of Buddhism in politics.
Mahayana Buddhism was widely practiced and caused common people to be more tempted to convert. Due to this translating scripture and religious practices not based on written text was accepted.
Monasteries gained exemption to some laws due to princes enlisting leaders to pray and preach on their behalf.
Contact with other parts of Asia decreased as the Tang expanded west, and Chang’an was a center of large scale communication.
Regional cultures were not muted by Confucianism and Buddhism and other systems of writing were known of.
The Tang contained a large faction of
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diversity. To Chang’an by Land and Sea Although Chang’an was not directly connected to the Grand Canal, it was a very important part of the transit network and it became the center of a tributary system, where countries would agree the Chinese emperor is superior and pay tribute. Upheavals and repression, 750-879 Due to conflict with Tibetans and Turkic Uighurs, Tang aristocrats began to see foreigners in a bad light, and as a result Buddhism was seen as contradictory to the ideas of Confucianism. Another reason Buddhism was opposed was it’s encouraging women to become active in politics.Wu Zhao was a great Chinese empress who took the throne after marrying into an imperial family. Due to this, Confucian writers began to disapprove of powerful women and tried to shame them by spreading rumors. Buddhism was thought of as bad and barbaric because they kept many profitable actions from occuring. The End of the Tang Empire, 879-907 The empire relied heavily on military commanders and taxes. A rebellion took place which went on for eight years and ended with new powers for military governors. Many more uprisings occurred, and eventually the Tang fell apart. After the Huang-Chao rebellion power was lost. The Emergence of East Asia, to 1200 After the fall of the Tang, three states came to be. The Khitan people’s Liao Empire ruled the north. In the Inner Asian frontier the Tanggut was established, and in central the Song Empire. Liao collowed Mahayahna Buddhism, the Tanggut Tibetan Buddhism, and the Song Confucianism. The Song created maritime connections with their advanced technology. The Liao and Jin Challenge Liao Empire was from Siberia to Inner Asia, and because of this China had a variation of names. The Liao ruled until 1125 from 916. They continued pastoral tradition and military might as well as not attempting to make an elite culture. Chinese elites were much encouraged to put importance on their own language and history. Buddhism became more popular than Confucianism. The Khitans threatened the Song, and later in 1005 a truce was made to pay the Liao cash and silk annually. Eventually, the Song allied with Jurchens and took down the Liao capital. After the Jurchens betrayed the Song as well. The Jurchens took the Song emperor during a siege and the Song fled from the area. Song Industries Song came close to starting an industrial revolution The first to use fractions; noted a very accurate calender; star maps and compass(magnetic); making of the jink, a big sailing ship; took control of coal mines and the production of coal and iron shot up. skilled at high temp metallurgy; mass production techniques Played around with gunpowder and used it to blow away enemies. The weapon was limited to defensive use. Economy and Society in Song China Civil men were held higher than military men. Private schools influenced culture and politics. New ideas of Confucian teachings created ‘new-Confucianism’ Zhu Xi significant neo-Confucian who wrote about Buddhism and Daoism.Spread the idea of universal sagehood which would be attained with study of the new Confucian teachings. Chen(Zen) Buddhism was widely practiced. Meditation was an important sect of Chan, but Confucians and Buddhists also practiced this. Lineage was not as important, but instead talent. This did not exclude men of any backround. Although, test preparation took much time and many peasant boys could not compete The examination results could kick start ones life or tear it apart. The invention of the movable type made printing easier and cheaper. Song government had mass produced test preparation books and due tot his the number of students with non elite backrounds Printed books changed country life due to landowners having access to advice on agriculture. The population grew to above 100 million in Chinese territory. Crowding became a problem with health worries Paper could be redeemed for coinage. Military took eighty percent of the government budget. Stopped the use of paper money and created new taxes due to severe inflation. Tax farming began Economic growth gave room for more to make fortunes. Women had little rights and were subordinate to men. Footbinding(tying toes to heel) became a status symbol and a women with unbound feet was rejected. Working women in the south did not practice this, though. New Kingdoms in East Asia and Southeast Asia Confucianism influenced and determined many things. Chinese Influences Centralized power first occurred in the Tang period. Land and agriculture were the main source of income. Literate men held literacy high in their hearts. Korea Qin empire established the first colony in the Korean peninsula and Han writers wrote that in Korea horse breeding, hereditary elites and shamanism were prominent. Korea had dense forest and lots of mountains in the E and N Silla emerged and was supported by the Tang. They took control of most of Korea and imitated Tang governing. The Koryo arose and was in constant danger from the Liao and the Jin.
Koroyo kings supported Buddhism.
Oldest woodblock print is from Korea.
Korean artists made advances in printing and experimented with movable type. Experiments came to China and led to the improvement to metal or porcelain type.
Japan
Many mountains and dense forests. Mild winter and monsoon rain. First ruler’s abse was the Yamato River Basin on the Kinai Plain
Was very much divided, and it is unknown how it became unified
Riding warriors from Korea may have played a central role in uniting the countries.
Sukio was a Japanese aristocrat who took the throne after her husband’s death.
The Japanese took from the Chinese and eventually mastered their building techniques.
Japanese cities were built without walls, unlike China, as well as not experiencing the constant warfare or having a Mandate of Heaven.
Dynasty did not change.
The Fujiwara clan had gained control
The Tale of Genji and The Pillow book were written.
Kamkura Shogunate is established.
Vietnam
Relationship between Vietnam and China was significant and included much economic and cultural interchange.
They adopted the Confucian bureaucracy
Very dependent on Champa rice.
Societies did not accept footbinding,
however. Woman had better rights overall Srivijaya The kingdom dominated the Strait of Malacca Took control of international trade route Core area was the plain along the Masi river in Sumatra The rulers were believed to have magical powers They had encouraged the teachings of Sanskrit After their decline, Theravada Buddhism arose.
Ancient china was a dynasty, a dynasty is a family that rules a civilization for years. I am choosing to compare the shang and tang dynasties in the period of decline. First off the similarities, my first similarity is that both ignored the needs of the poor. you might be asking why is the poor so important? Well without the poor they would have a very bad economy and a bad economy causes chaos and eventually leads to a rebellion by the chinese citizens. Another similarity between the shang and the tang is that they both had a very bad economy is because of the poor not being taken care of because in china there were mostly poor and merchants so since the poor being most of the population they lost a lot of the people. Now the differences,
Overall the Chinese from 100 CE to 600 CE was fulfilled with many cultural and political changes and continuities. The fall of the Han Dynasty brought political changes whereas the invention of paper brought about cultural changes. While there were a lot of changes, there were significant continuities, as well. Culturally, China saw Buddhism grow in power. Politically, they saw the wall of China go up as a way for their leader to protect them. Wither it was something changing or something that remained and grew, all of these things had a huge impact on China during this time period.
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were two grand empires that rose out of preexisting territories and provided relative peace over wide areas. The collapse of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), which was the first great land-based empire in East Asia, came after a period of war, confusion, and tyrannical rule. Due to the political disorder that stemmed from the early dynastic activity, the emergence of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 228 CE) sprung to focus on restoring order. On the other hand, the rise of the Roman Empire (44 BCE- 476 CE) originated from consolidating authority over aristocratic landlords and overriding the democratic elements of the earlier Republic. Instead, the Roman Empire redefined the concept of “citizen” as subjects to the Roman emperor. Both empires shared similar agendas to exploit their vast territories and resources, which helped them expand their political dominance; however, despite having similar political goals and foundations, their government system, cultural ideologies and imperial expansionist natures diverged.
Since the introduction of Buddhism into China, it was not well received by the population as its foreign beliefs clashed with pre-existent principals of Confucianism and Taoism. On top of that, it was alienated by the Confucianism-based government in the late Han Dynasty. All in all, Buddhism was not a common nor a popular religion throughout China at first. Nevertheless, this all changed after the rise of the Tang Dynasty. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration under Wu’s reign formed a critical symbiotic relationship with one another. Buddhism played a pivotal role in justifying Empress Wu’s rule. She enthroned herself as the monarch of China, an extraordinarily difficult achievement for a woman in a male-dominant society, by associating herself with Buddhism: proclaiming herself as the Maitreya and that she will bring an utopian era for the Chinese. (Smarr, 17 Feb. 2012) At the same time, Buddhism benefitted handsomely from government support, as monasteries are exempted from tax and that they are financially supported by the state, as seen in A Pilgrim’s Visit to the Five Terraces Mountains, which ultimately resulted in the substantial growth in attraction of Buddhist converts and Buddhism itself. Wu’s extensive support of the religion with ostentatious gifts and donations contributed to the rapid proliferation of Buddhism. Evidently, the mutually benefitting relationship between Buddhism and the state are crucial to each other’s survival during Wu’s sovereignty, but to what extent did her financial support (donations to monasteries) of Buddhism bettered the government overall?
...ther religions since they never really comitted to one main religion. Han China spread Confucianism by leading Confucius lives, they used Confucius ideas for their law codes and taught Confucius ideas to their children. The Confucian ideas spread by the Han helped rulers like Wudi have long reigns of power by embracing rule by morals and ethics. It also helped spread written exams as ways to determine peoples places and jobs in society based off of merit as opposed to putting anyone anywhere just to give people jobs. China also had a growing population of Daoists who believed in the power of nature. As time progressed both of their societies changed their religions. Rome slowly progressed from a basic Hellenistic polytheism to the once persecuted Christianity. Meanwhile China, which was mainly a Confucian and Daoist led society began to accept and embrace Buddhism.
From 1700 to roughly 220 BCE (before the Common Era), the region currently known as China was divided into six states: Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan, each ruled by different kings. These inter-warring states were already familiar with wall building techniques, each having constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. When Shih Huangdi, the young king of the ancient Chinese state of Qin (also spelled Ch’in, from which the word China derives), conquered each of the remaining five states in 221 BCE, the continuous warring finally came to an end. By conquering these states, Shih Huangdi established the Qin Dynasty, thus creating the first unification of China, and the first Chinese central government. In his efforts to make this new concept of centralized rule “stick”, as well as prevent the reemergence of feudal lords, Shih Huangdi ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the forme...
The Tang dynasty was an era of major technological advancement. This can be very clearly seen in their revolutionary explosive powder or gun powder, as well as their very expensive porcelain. The gunpowder is perhaps China’s most groundbreaking invention. Although it was invented for mere fireworks purposes, the military saw great potential in a highly explosive substance. This set off a chain reaction of events that some may think as detrimental to our society. From this powder, the first set of gun powder based guns, or muskets were developed. This triggered an arms race up until the early 1900s. As with any sort of mass engineering of guns, only death was left in its wake. Although the powder was pr...
After starting the Chinese Empire, Shihuangdi based the empire on a harsh law system called legalism and was also influenced by Confucianism. Since Shihuangdi was the only ruler of the empire, the government was considered a strong central monarchy. When the Chinese empire had a good start, they expanded their territories to northern Vietnam, Korea, and the northwest steppes. Shihuangdi believed the harsher the empire the more respected, so he invested heavily into a strong military army a...
The Tang dynasty was founded in 618, and lasted until 907. The emperor was supreme and government officials were chosen by examination. A census was taken to simplify tax collection and to draft citizens to perform labor for the empire. This was a period of great land expansion. (Halsall, 1998) The emperor also had a great love of the arts, and the Tang became known as the golden age of literature and art. Block printing was invented and made writing more available. (Unknown, 2003) Shipbuilding and firearms development were also refined during the era. Art was heavily influenced by Buddhism, especially rock sculpture. One major problem that arose was the heavy burden of taxation. Many were unable to meet their heavy tax burden. To escape this, many placed themselves under the protection of great landlords who were exempt from taxes, or became bandits. (Halsall, 1998)
Imperial Roman and Chinese Han empires both “established effective centralized control over vast regions and huge populations”. Centralized control or centralized government is a government in which power and legal authority is “exerted or coordinated” by a “political executive”. On the other hand, the Chinese developed “elaborate bureaucracy to hold together empire far more than Romans”. The
Because the Tang dynasty was one of the most successful in arts such as glazed pottery, exquisite paintings, and advanced poetry, The Tang dynasty was truly the stepping stone for the rest of the empires to come. Therefore, The religion in the Tang dynasty changes as well. Buddhism was a change over most people who were living in China. Before Buddhism, people were mainly worshipping their ancestors. However, when Buddhism was brought forward, most people converted because of the freedom and religiously different aspect Buddhism brought to the plate. The Tang dynasty’s political system was very unalike because they allowed the first female empress to govern them through the Golden age of China. One way you can contradict this argument is by asking, if the Tang dynasty was so successful, how did the warlords take over the Tang dynasty, and cause it to collapse in 709? This contradicts how the changes were negative rather than
The Tang Dynasty was one of the many dynasties that ruled China many years ago. Each
The Tang Dynasty (618-906) succeeded the Sui Dynasty, who ruled from 581-618 A.D., respectively. The foundation for the development, growth, and expansion of China during the Tang Dynasty’s rule was laid during the Sui Dynasty’s reign. The political and governmental institutions of the Sui Dynasty directly influenced the Tang tremendously. Diplomatic relationships were successfully established during this period, and Tang China took its role as one of the greatest and prominent empires existing in the medieval world. Retail traders, clerics, ambassadors, and convoys from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries emerged into common members of everyday society in Tang China.
They had a superb military because established friendly relations with the Western Turks and vanquished Gaochang, Yanqi and Quic. Also the Tang Empire set up a Protectorate General to Pacify the West in 640, strengthening the dominion of the Western Regions.Now that we have talked about military next will be economy.
The Ming Dynasty had created an empire. They had the government, the military, and the economic system to prove it. At different points in time, The Chinese Empire was the greatest in the world, for trade, military, and other key factors in a society.