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
Buddhism and Christianity were each founded by one person, and then eventually grew into two of the largest religions in the world. Each religion had different reasons
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?
Religion has always had an impact on an individual’s perspectives and the government, and this can clearly be seen with Buddhism and the Tang Dynasty. Before Buddhism pervaded China, the traditional religion in China was Confucianism, and the majority of individuals strictly followed the rules and principles of Confucianism. When Buddhism was introduced, every person engendered their own views on Buddhism and the influences the religion would have on the government. The Tang Dynasty generated a prosperous time in China, until the dynasty spiraled down into its demise in c. 750 (Smarr “Tang China”). Many individuals believed that the reason why the collapse of the Tang Dynasty occurred was because of Buddhism and foreign ideas. A Chinese poet, named Han Yu, believed in the concept that Buddhism was the ultimate cause for the destruction of the Tang Dynasty, and his ideas were very influential. Han Yu’s ideas promoted the riddance of Buddhism values and monasteries in China (Smarr “An Lu-shan Rebellion”). Therefore, the question that arises from such observations is was this an accurate portrayal of perspectives during the Tang dynasty and how influential was this portrayal? Although, one portrayal of the Tang Dynasty’s collapse was Emperor Xuanzong’s carelessness, Han Yu persists that the accurate portrayal of the collapse was brought about by Buddhism through monasteries and monks, and selfish values.
legal action because of faith but as a whole it would not prosper. To understand the level
In China, the citizens' inclination of Buddhism varied from that of other states. There was a plethora of mental outlooks on how Buddhism was changing the Chinese society as it expanded from India, where it was founded in the sixth century BCE. The responses are organized depending on their acceptance, rejection, or encouragement of a combination of Buddhism with other religions. These categories are illustrated by the following documents; the acceptance by documents two and five, the rejection by documents four, six, and three, and last, the encouragement by documents two, five, and three. Additional documentations that would be helpful in classifying the reactions of the Chinese people would be a testimony or statement of a Chinese woman, or group of women, and of peasants. These would be helpful as we'd be able to examine exactly how the Chinese were affected by Buddhism's grasp. We would be able to see how Buddhism affected their daily lives and what they thought about the sudden religion.
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.
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.
Walker, Richard L. Ancient China and Its Influence In Modern Times. New York: Franklin Watts Inc., 1969.
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.
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.
The most fascinating aspect in Korean history prior to the 1500’s is the introduction and influence of Buddhism. Although Buddhism was introduced into the Korean society in early years, it was not accepted until many years later. After acceptance, Korean Buddhism began to grow, develop and spread throughout the country. With Buddhism, came many distinctive aspects. These very distinctive Buddhist characteristics have influenced Korean culture throughout the different time periods in many ways such as art, architecture, spiritual civilization, and Korean society as a whole.
Early on we see the emergence of civilization in China, where relatively isolated within geographical barriers, China’s early civilization developed with little contact with other cultures. During the Neolithic period, peoples living in environmentally distinctive zones—the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys—mastered agriculture, animals became domesticated, the production of ceramics became more elaborate, built fortified towns, and developed better practice relating to the treatment of the dead. Later on during the Shang Dynasty, (ca. 1500–ca. 1050 B.C.E.), China entered the Bronze Age. Shang civilization was urban, its cities encompassing an aristocratic and religious core around which grew industrial and residential districts. Beyond these were farming settlements. The Shang practiced human sacrifice, and human remains compose some of the contents of the rich underground tombs. The Shang period saw the emergence of writing, the distinct logographic system that enabled centuries of cultural continuity.
After the death of Buddha around the 5th century, divisions within the religion began to grow due to differences in the interpretation of Buddha’s teaching thus resulted in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism (Bowker 2007, 140-141). Till this day, Theravada Buddhism persists predominant in Southeast Asia. Theravada Buddhism focuses their beliefs on the personal liberation whilst Mahayana Buddhism regards itself on the teaching of compassion for every living being (Berzin 2010). The spread of Buddhism, mainly Theravada, first began around early 3rd century BCE when Buddhist emissaries were sent to Indonesia and Burma by Indian emperor Asoka (Gosling 2002, 84-85). During and after his reign, his constant advocacy had sustained the faith’s position throughout Southeast Asia, influencing his children to introduce Buddhism into Sri Lanka during the first and second century CE (Gosling 2002, 82) which spread across to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam (Swearer 1997, 90). This was further developed due to the mass influx of Indian merc...
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.