The document provides an overview of East Asian civilizations from 200-1400 CE. It discusses the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties in China and how they brought periods of stability between chaos. The Mongols successfully invaded China in 1279 and established the Yuan dynasty. Chinese society advanced economically during this time period through developments like the Grand Canal and paper currency. Buddhism spread throughout East Asia and split into the Theravada and Mahayana schools. Life in early Japan centered around agriculture, trade, and religious practices like Shintoism. Geographic isolation influenced Japan's unique cultural development. Southeast Asian states varied between agricultural and trading societies, with women generally having greater rights than in China and India.

1. 东亚文明
200 - 1400
What qualities define power struggles and stable periods of rule?
How can invasion change the lives of people in conquered lands?
civilizations of east asia

2. TIMELINE
the Sui dynasty
came into existence
581 618
the Tang dynasty
came into existence
960
the Song dynasty
came into existence
1279
the Mongols
successfully invaded
the Song dynasty and
created the Yuan
1467-1477
the Onin War

3. Vocabulary
• scholar-gentry = in China, a group of people who controlled much of the land and produced most of the candidates for civil service
• dowry = a gift of money or property paid at the time of marriage, either by the bride’s parents to her husband or, in Islamic societies, by a husband
to his wife
• khanate = one of several separate territories into which Genghis Khan’s empire was split, each under the rule of one of his sons
• neo-Confucianism = a revised form of Confucianism that evolved as a response to Buddhism and held sway in China from the late Tang dynasty
to the end f the dynastic system in the twentieth century
• porcelain = a ceramic made of fine clay baked at very high temperatures
• archipelago = a chain of islands
• samurai = “those who serve;” Japanese warriors similar to the knights of medieval Europe
• Bushido = “the way of the warrior;” the strict code by which Japanese samurai were supposed to live.
• shogun = “general”, a powerful military leader in Japan
• daimyo = “great names;” head of noble families in Japan who controlled vast landed estates and relied on samurai for protection
• Shinto = “the Sacred way” or “the way of the Gods;” the Japanese state religion; among its doctrines are the vicinity of the emperor and the
sacredness of the Japanese nation
• Zen = a sect of Buddhism that became popular with Japanese aristocrats and became part of the samurai’s code of behavior; under Zen
Buddhism, there are different paths to enlightenment
• Theravada = “the teachings the elders,” a school of Buddhism that developed in India; its followers view Buddhism as a way of life
• Mahayana = a school of Buddhism that developed in northwest India, stressing the view that nirvana can be achieved through devotion to the
Buddha; its followers consider the Buddha a divine figure

4. Think About…
• What qualities define power struggles and stable periods
of rule?
• How can invasion change the lives of people in
conquered lands?
• How did the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties bring order
to China between periods of chaos and instability?
• How did the Chinese government and economy develop
and change over the time period of the three dynasties?

5. The Sui Dynasty
• The Sui Dyanasty came into existence
after the falling of the Han Dynasty. The
Sui Dynasty didn’t last long, but it greatly
impacted China by unifying it under the
authority of an emperor. The second
emperor of the dynasty was Sui Yangdi.
• Sui Yangdi completed the building of the
Grand Canal, which linked the great two
rivers of China (The Huang He and the
Chang Jiang). This canal made the
shipping of rice from the north to the south
much easier. Although he did great things
for China, he was a cruel ruler. For
example, he used forced labor to build the
Grand Canal. This cruelty, along with high
taxes, his luxurious lifestyle, and military
failures, led to rebellion. Sui Yangdi was
murdered and his dynasty came to an end.
Sui Yangdi

6. The Tang Dynasty
• The Tang Dynasty lasted from 618 until
907. The early Tang rulers created a more
stable economy by giving peasants land
and breaking up large estates to reduce the
owners’ power.
• In order to recruit officials for the civilian
bureaucracy, the civil service examination
was restored. Young men memorized all
the Confucian classics when preparing for
the civil service examination.
• The Tang rulers brought peace to
northwestern China and expanded China’s
control into Tibet, the area north of the
Himalaya. Tang rulers were not able to
prevent plotting and government corruption.
During the eighth century, the Tang
Dynasty weakened and became vulnerable
to rebellions. The Tang Dynasty collapsed
in 907.

7. The Song Dynasty
• The Song Dynasty rose to power in in
960. Song rulers were forced to move
the imperial court to Hangzhou due to
the threat of trouble northern
neighborhoods crossing into northern
China and occupying large parts of
Chinese territory. In the 1200s, the
Mongols carried out wars of conquest
and built a vast empire. The Mongols
overthrew the Song Dynasty and
created a new Mongol dynasty in China.
• The Song Dynasty impacted Eastern
Asia both socially and economically. For
example, the dynasty was the first to use
a paper currency. It also had a large
increase in farm production, which led to
a population increase.

8. Chinese Society
• Economic developments, such as
trade, had a great impact on
Chinese societies. The Tang and
Song dynasties were an age of
prosperity.
• Forms of entertainment included
cards, chess, the paddlewheel
boat, horseback riding, and
communicating through the use of
block printing.
• Few Chinese women had any
power and female children were
considered less desirable than
male children. Men held the
dominant role in society.
Livres des Merveilles
(by Marco Polo)

9. Map of Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties

10. Think About…
• What qualities define power struggles and stable periods of
rule?
• How can invasion change the lives of people in conquered
lands?
• How did the Mongols create the world’s largest land empire?
What effect did the Mongol invasion of the Arab Empire have
on Islamic civilization?
• How did the role of religion in Chinese government change
between the Han and Yuan dynasties?
• What spurred the golden age of literature and art in China?

11. The Mongols
• The Mongols rose to power in Asia extremely fast due to
their military prowess. A man by the name of Temüjun
gradually unified the Mongols. Temüjun was elected
Genghis Khan, strong leader. He devoted himself to
conquest.
• The army that Genghis Khan unleashed was not
unusually large, totaling around 130,000 in 1227. The
conquest of the Mongolians resulted in the largest land
empire in history. Genghis Khan died in 1227 and the
empire began to change. His heirs divided the large
territory, splitting the empire into khanates. In the 1260s,
the Mongols attacked the Song Dynasty. They were
introduced to the use of gunpowder. In 1279, Genghis
Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan, completed the conquest
of the Song Dynasty and created a new Chinese
dynasty, the Yuan. This invasion left China ruled by a
foreign power for the first time. The Mongols and
Chinese lived by completely different laws. For example,
the Mongols ended civil service exams.
• The Mongol dynasty was weakened when they spent too
much on foreign conquests, corruption at court, and
growing internal stability. Zhu Yuanzhang, the son of a
peasant, put together an army and ended the Mongol
dynasty. He set up the Ming dynasty.

12. Chinese Culture: Tang to
Mongol Dynasties
• The time in between the Tang and Ming
dynasties was the great age of Chinese
literature. Printing, invented during the Tang
dynasty, helped in making literature more
readily available. At least 48,000 poems were
written by some 2,200 authors. Chinese
poems commonly celebrated nature, the joys
of friendship, and the changing of the
seasons. Li Bo and Du Fu were two of the
most popular posts of the Tang era. Li Bo
wrote the best-known poem in China, “Quiet
Night Thoughts.”
• Landscape painting was a major cultural
development during the Song and Mongol
dynasties. Chinese artists represented ideals
and principles from their culture through their
art. Chinese artists painted people as tiny
figures to represent their living, but not their
dominating of nature. Tang artisans also
perfected the making of porcelain.
Spring Dawn Over Elixir Terrace

14. Think About…
• What qualities define power struggles and stable periods
of rule?
• How can invasion change the lives of people in
conquered lands?
• How did Japan’s geography affect its economy and
culture? What influenced the rise and fall of central rule
in medieval Japan?
• What was life like in early Japan?
• How was Korea influenced by China and Japan?

15. Geography of Early Japan
Japan in a mountainous archipelago, a chain of many islands. Only about 11% of the area can be farmed. Because of
the volcanic soil, the land is very fertile. Because of Japan’s geographic isolation, the Japanese developed many
unique qualities.

16. How Geography Shaped Japan

17. Life in Early Japan
• Early Japan was mostly a farming society, taking
advantage of their small amount of fertile land to
grow things such as rice. Markets appeared in
large towns and trade between regions grew.
Early Japan traded with Korea and China.
• In Japan, women had a somewhat equality with
men. The women were guaranteed inheritance
and abandoned wives could divorce their
husbands and remarry. Although they had some
rights, women were still subordinate to men.
Some women were prominent at court and others
gained more prominent roles through literature
and art.
• Early Japanese people worshipped spirits, called
kami, who they believed resided in nature. They
also believed that the spirits of their ancestors
resided in the air around them. These beliefs
evolved into a religion known as Shinto, which is
still practiced today. Some Japanese people,
however, turned to Buddhism.
The Tale of Genji

18. Life in Early Japan
role of women religion / culture
-subornate to men
-(able to divorce)
-(could go in public)
-aristocratic women
were prominent in
court
-starting being
noticed for their
artistic and literary
talents
-Buddhism
-Shinto
-women had a
prominent role in writing
fiction
nature
-artwork included
landscape and nature
as a form of expression

20. Think About…
• What qualities define power struggles and stable periods of rule?
• How can invasion change the lives of people in conquered lands?
• How did Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam influence the development of
India?
• How did Islam and Hinduism exist together in Indian society and
culture?
• What geographic factors led to the development of distinct cultures in
Southeast Asia? What fueled the growth of the states in Southeast
Asia?
• Which economic activities contributed to the development of societies
in Southeast Asia?

21. Buddhism in India
• The teachings of Buddha began to be
interpreted in different ways, resulting
in a split among Buddhists in India.
One group, the Theravada, believed
that they were following the original
teachings of the Buddha. Theravada
saw transforming oneself through
meditation and moral conduct as
extremely important. The other
group, Mahayana, had a broad and
embracing perspective. They taught
that the way to enlightenment was
open to everyone. Monks carried
these ideas to places such as China,
Korea, Southeast Asia, and Japan
and the ideas remain active in all four
areas to this day.
THE BUDDHIST CIRCUIT, LOCATED IN INDIA

22. Life in Southeast Asia
• The states of Southeast Asia can be
divided into two groups: agricultural
societies and trading societies. At the
top of the social ladder in Southeast
Asia were the hereditary aristocrats,
who usually lived in the major cities.
They had both political power and
economic wealth. Outside of the major
cities lived the rest of the population,
consisting of farmers, fishers, artisans,
and merchants. The majority of the
people were rice farmers.
• Most societies gave women greater
rights than China and India. Both
women and men worked. Women, along
with men, also had an active role in
trading activities.

24. Sources
• http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/10/onin-war-in-japan.html (slide 2)
• http://www.historyofjihad.org/mongolia.html (slide 2)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESQSmXRF_lM (slide 5)
• http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/09/sui-dynasty.html (slide 6)
• http://totallyhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Leshan_Buddha_Statue_233-ft-high-built-starting-in-713-ending-in-803.jpg (slide 7)
• http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=678 (slide 8)
• http://www.hexapolis.com/2014/10/09/14-intriguing-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-mongols/ (slide 11)
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1982.2.2/ (slide 12)
• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/447123069229223740/ (slide 13)
• http://www.3dgeography.co.uk/geography-of-japan (slide 15)
• http://www.taleofgenji.org/summary.html (slide 16)
• http://luciazelaya.weebly.com/sacred-sitespast-vs-pres.html (slide 18)
• http://www.livemint.com/Politics/n0N82zK3G7n1zfWl1VP31K/India-World-Bank-team-up-to-develop-Buddhist-tourism-circui.html (slide 20)
• VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdqq6arAJPc