Chapter 13
The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

I. Introduction A. Neighbors of China borrow from Chinese achievements 1. Influenced North/West nomadic neighbors 2. Also influenced agrarian Japan, Korea, Vietnam 3. Buddhism played key role in transmission a. Indian ideas filtered through Chinese society/culture

II. Japan: The Imperial Age A. Introduction 1. Overview a. 7th and 8th century attempt to borrow from China 1. army, bureaucracy, etiquette, art b. But…emperor’s sheltered
1. provincial leaders/warlords took over c. Plunged into civil wars from 12th to 17th century 2. Taika Reforms – copying Chinese administration a. Chinese characters/language adoption b. wrote history in dynastic terms c. court etiquette d. struggled to master Confucian ways e. worshipped Chinese style temples f. admired Buddhist art g. Buddhism blended with kami – Shinto B. Crisis at Nara and the Shift to Heian (Kytoto) 1. Army/bureaucratic ideas stopped by aristocratic families/Buddhist monks 2. Emperor can’t control Buddhist monks – influenced government a. Moves to Heian – monks just make monasteries in nearby hills b. Power given to aristocratic families c. Rank determined by birth, not merit d. Local leaders organized local militias C. Ultracivilized: Court Life in the Heian Era 1. Hyper structured rules of court a. Polite behavior always b. Every action known by everyone – put up a façade always c. Complex gardens/palaces 2. Literature a. Writing verse prioritized b. First novel – prose – Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji 1. criticizes those who pursue aesthetic enjoyment 2. Shows how poised/cultured nobility must act 3. Females played unusually creative roll – avoided full Chinese influence D. The Decline of Imperial Power 1. 9th century – Fujiwara clan influences emperor greatly a. Stacked courts b. Married into family c. Built up large estates 2. Monks equally build up power and domains E. The Rise of the Provincial Warrior Elites 1. Large landed estates come from a. aristocratic families b. Built up power – landowners, estate managers, local officials 2. Mini-kingdoms – like fiefdoms/manors in Europe a. small fortresses b. constant threat from neighboring lords c. self-sufficient – granaries, blacksmith, wells 3. Warrior leaders – bushi a. administered law, public works, collected revenue b. maintainied armies 4. Samurai armies – loyal to lords a. called in to protect emperor b. age of danger/bandits – samurai as bodyguards c. warrior class d. constantly trained in hunting, riding, archery e. used longbow and steel swords f. warrior code – bushido 1. courage 2. seppuku – hari-kari if you dishonor family 3. prearranged battle locations, proclaimed ancestry, few fatalities 5. Peasants become serfs – bound to land a. can’t carry swords, dress like samurai b. turned to Buddhism

III. Era of Warrior Dominance A. Introduction 1. 12th century on > civil wars 2. Chinese influence declines 3. Warrior elite produces impressive Japanese art – ceramics/landscape, poetry B. Declining influence of China 1. Emperor – heavenly mandate and centralized power a joke – regional power clear 2. Refuse to grovel, pay tribute to Chinese Son of Heaven 3. Gempei Wars – peasants vs. samurai 4. Minamoto established bakufu – military government a. Power with Minamoto family and samurai retainers C. The Breakdown of Bakufu Dominance and the Age of the Warlords 1. Warlords – shoguns – military leaders a. built up power – enlarged domains b. Hojo family – manipulated shoguns who ruled for emperors 2. Ashikaga Shogunate took power 1336-1573 a. Emperor flees to hills b. Warlord lands passed out to samurai – used to be just military, now leaders