Social And Cultural Changes In China Essay

Between 300 CE and 1453 CE, Chinese culture changed in the area of Buddhism and gender roles, but stayed the same in the area of Confucianism. During this time period there were many technological advances (gunpowder, spices, compass etc.) that had effects on how societies functioned culturally and politically.

One way that China changed culturally was in the introduction of Buddhism. Buddhism initially entered China via the Silk Road, after the fall of the Han it gave Buddhism a spot in the society. After the fall of the Han Confucianism was discredited in most of China which led to the expansion of Buddhist teachings. Buddhism had a fairly easy set of rules, and a warm message which led a lot of the public to it rather than the harsh ideas of confucianism. As Buddhism took

control of China it had a big effect on the art and literature of China. The bringing of Buddhist art and literature led to the Chinese golden age. Addition of monasteries led to them being the centers of great wealth. Monasteries were much more than religious building, they were used for running businesses such as oil presses, water mills, and pawn shops. This cemented the monasteries into the Chinese culture because the incoming people knew that if they got rid of the monasteries it would result in many political and cultural problems in the community. With the addition of Buddhism in China it led to the spread of Buddhism across the whole globe because of its move through the silk roads.
The Chinese culture in the area of gender roles changed as the Sui, and Tang Dynasty came into power.

After the discrediting of confucianism women were more free in the mostly Buddhist societies of the Sui, and Tang Dynasties. After the fall of the Tang there was a big decrease in women’s rights. This is because of the Song revived Confucian ideas which led to patriarchal restrictions on women’s rights. This led to a revival of Han Dynasty type ruling causing nasty notions of submission towards women making men dominant. Due to confucianism it also called up the separation between men and women. Women were seen as distractions to men’s life and if a widow would remarry, but they would have to walk pass two courtyards as a way of shame. The most compelling expression of patriarchy happening during the rule of the Song Dynasty was the act of foot binding. Foot binding involved tight wrapping of young girls feet which broke the bones of the foot and caused intense pain, and all it was for was to make their feet more visually appealing to men by making them look smaller. This shows how deeply patriarchy affected women as they were forced to be under men and were seen as toys to please

men.
There were also some cultural continuities in third wave China, such as confucianism. As I stated earlier Confucianism was revived during the rule of the Song dynasty, and it had many more effects than just unequal gender roles. The revival was to build a more rational and secular form of society rather than based on superstitious and mystical elements. By doing this the Chinese believed they would build a society of independent people. The Song Dynasty also reintroduced the process of self cultivation. This led to a strong, educated population that could efficiently complete tasks. Society became very family based. The rule that everyone should respect their family and ancestors was reinforced with this revival of confucian ideas. It was expected to have much care for your family name, but was not meant for spiritual worship. These ways of thinking aren’t very common across the globe, but there are still many people in China that believe in this.
Between 300 CE and 1453 CE, Chinese culture has created new cultural customs in the form of Buddhism and gender roles, but stayed the same in the area of Confucianism.