Download Shirley Huang 5.17.2013 Outline # 1 Period 3 ESSAY PROMPT 1

Shirley Huang
5.17.2013 Outline # 1
Period 3
ESSAY PROMPT 1:
Analyze the political and cultural changes and continuities in CHINESE civilization during the last
centuries of the classical era (100 CE- 600CE).
 The Silk Road played a major role during this time. Although it seems like nothing major, it
was very important because this was what the Chinese used to ‘export’ most of their goods as
well as get what they needed. This was the trade route that the Chinese used in order to sell
their pottery as well as their silk to the Europeans and more Western countries.
 The Mandate of Heaven was an important concept that was used throughout this time period.
This concept basically meant that rulers could only rule after having ‘the blessing of the heavens’. Without it, things would be disastrous. Some things that may happen include floods, a
bad crop season, or maybe even natural disasters. Once this happened, the people would know
that it was time for a new ruler because that ruler obviously did not have the approval of the
heavens anymore.
 This time period started with the Han dynasty and by the end of it, the Sui dynasty was in full
swing.
 The Civil Service exam had been introduced and was distributed. This exam was available to
everyone and tested those taking it on Confucian works. Those who scored the highest grades
or did the best were offered jobs in the government. This way, the government jobs were more
fairly distributed. Also, this ended up creating a much more stable government because the
government was now filled with people who were actually intelligent rather than corrupt. This
more stable government lasted for many years.
 Buddhism was spread throughout China during this time. This religion began growing after 100
C.E. and the more popular it became, the more people that started to accept as well as even follow it! During the start of this time period, not many were in favor of it and did not know much
about it either.
Radhika Kaicker
Summary Sheet of India before 1000 CE
Starting with the Indus River Civilization, the people of this civilization based themselves
around the Indus River. The two most famous cities in the civilization were Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.
One of their most noticeable aspects was the creation of their grid system, they were the first to create a
sewage system. They also had a good system of weights and measures, as each brick in their city was
the exact same size. Their mathematics was advanced and the decimal had been created and used by
them.
They traded with places as far as Mesopotamia. They had a writing system as well, though
it has not been deciphered yet. They had also domesticated animals like goat, sheep and the water
buffalo.
The decline of the Civilization is not known, however most historians think it was the
drying up of the Indus River.
Nomadic peoples called Aryans invaded with superior military techniques. These Aryans
imposed their culture and took power over the indigenous people. They introduced the Vedic Religion
and Caste System. The Caste System comprises of the Brahmins(Priests), Kshatriyas(warrior ans
rulers), Vaishyas(merchants), Shudras(peasants) and Pariah(Untouchables). This era was known as the
Early Vedic Period (1500 BC to 1000 BC). During the Vedic Era great scriptures such as the
Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita had been written. These warrior nomads were a cattle breeding
society. They did not have a written language and carried traditions through Oral ways.
The Mauryan Empire came to power. This was one of the world’s largest empires at the time. It
was founded by Chandragupta Maurya. The capital city was Pataliputra, and the Empire was the first to
unify the whole region of what was India. They used a unified currency. The army was powerful with
the use of chariots and elephants. The empire had a bureaucracy that collected 25 percent tax on all
agricultural production and they had a secret police that spied on the people to make sure they were
obedient. Women had a considerable number of rights, such as being able to own property. The
Mauryans traded with not only east and southeast Asia, but with Mesopotamia and the Roman Empire
as well. They traded mostly salt, iron and cotton. Trade with China, for silk, was encouraged. One of
the most famous emperors was Ashoka (269-232 BC), He was a Buddhist and spread peace and
tolerance via the Pillars of Ashoka, which were stone monuments places around the country. Attacking
outside forces brought the downfall of the Mauryan, leaving India in politic disunity for the next 500
years.
Another large empire rose, The Gupta Empire. This was called the “Golden Age” in India, with
scientific advancements such as the decimal system and the concepts of pi and zero. However, the
Gupta Empire wasn’t able to unite the whole of India as the Mauryans had, with a scattering of princes
in different states. Chandra Gupta named himself and modeled his empire after the Maurya, they were
mostly Hindu, but practiced religious tolerance. The classic Hindu Temple structure evolved during this
era. Their trading network included the Arabian Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. They traded by boat
with Malaysia and Indonesia. They also had the 25 percent tax on agricultural goods. The status of
women declined heavily during this period, they could no longer own property and had to perform sati,
which was burning oneself alive with one’s dead husband. Throughout the Gupta empire the age of
marriage for girls got continually lower, they got married sometimes even at the age of six or seven.
The decline of the empire was mainly because of attacks from the Nomadic White Huns.
Mahfuza Shovik
May 16, 2013
Essay Summaries #3
Mr. Trainor, Pd. 3
Impact of Interregional Trade on Asia From 600 to 1450
•
One impact of interregional trade that remained the same in this period was the constant spread
of religions.
•
The control of the Silk Road in the mid-600's belonged to the Tang Dynasty. Because of this,
Buddhism was spread to areas south and east of China, like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
•
Also, China allowed foreign contact with the new Islamic and Byzantine empires. Traders from
this region used to expand their religions as well.
•
It was mostly Islam, which spread to South and Southeast Asia. Some sects of Christianity
managed to spread as well.
•
Merchants were attracted to these religions because of standardized law codes they offer.
•
Another continuity is the impact of the spread of Chinese innovations.
•
China created technologies throughout this period. At first it was just silk, porcelain, and
gunpowder. Later it was playing cards and glassmaking.
•
In the fifteenth century it was maritime inventions that arose with the prevalence of sea trade.
•
Through trade, these luxuries were adapted into other cultures and help lead to the invention of
more items.
•
However, a change was the gradual transition from overland trade to sea trade because of its
conveniences.
•
The constant overthrow and reestablishment of Chinese dynasties caused periods of civil war
where trade routes were unusable because of no security from the government. When Tang China fell,
the routes became unsafe to travel. It was only after Song Dynasty was established that the Silk Road
became safe enough to use. Sea trade was not dependent on the rise and fall of empires.
•
Even during stable times, like the Pax Mongolica, land trade proved to be a hazard as it caused
the bubonic plague. Its origins are in China but they swept as far as Europe because of the amount of
interaction needed in land trade. Because of this the Silk Road disintegrated and was traded for
maritime commerce.
Alicia Chen
May 16, 2013
Essay Summaries
Mr. Trainor, Pd. 3
AP World CCOT Asia Religion #4 Outline
Thesis: Confucianism and Buddhism in China affected the lifestyle and hierarchy of the Chinese people
from 600-1450 CE. A change was that Confucianism condemned the existence of Buddhism in Chinese
society and new forms of Buddhism were given birth while Confucianism remained and was not significantly changed
-Continuity: both religions affected the socio economics of Chinese society
Buddhism
-shunned earthly ties and so monks and nun did not pay taxes
- this was done to protect spirit
-buddhism forbid marriage alliances and denied descendants to ancestors
- class distinction was hereditary and played a major role in distribution of power
Confucianism
- human nature is good
-hereditary class distinctions and noble lineages played a lesser role in Tang times
-reinforced Chinese culture’s tendency toward hierarchy and obedience putting an emphasis on education and cultured behavior
-civil service examinations implemented
-women were subordinates in patriarchal society
-upper class women lost opportunities
-marriages were arranged for grooms benefit
-practice of foot binding to cripple women
-women of all classes had inheritance and property rights, and retained control over their dowry after
divorce or husband’s death
-still women were second-class
continuity: while confucianism remained relatively the same throughout the time period, new form of
Buddhism rose
-buddhism before postulated that souls evolve toward spiritual perfection through the path of enlightenment and reincarnation to reach nirvana.
-Chan instead stressed simplicity and meditation.
-became very popular and spread outside of China
-confucianism mostly remained the same from its neoconfucianism period in the song all throughout
china until the Ming Dynasty
-restored to its place of prominence and rejoined with Buddhism as a guiding force in Chinese philosphy and religion
Alicia Chen
May 16, 2013
Essay Summaries
Mr. Trainor, Pd. 3
# 9.
thesis: the impact of new technology on East Asia continued to became more and more advanced while
lifestyles and trade patterns were changing and becoming increasingly complex.
Continuity
Foreign influence continues, new technologies introduced
ie opium wars affected leadership in china, less efficient
wwii bomb dropping damaged infrastucture of japan
trade with foreigners
Change
cause the downfall of the Qing Dynasty- technologically behind the Europeans
the changing of dynasties
the changing of trade patterns
Alanna Wong
#5
Describe continuities and changes in the social, political, and economic role that Confucianism played
in both the Ming and Qing Empires of China from 1450 to 1750.
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Confucianism led to artistic and cultural achievements during the Ming
-
Spreads outward to other East Asian countries through economic interactions
Changes
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Approaches to Confucianism change as different branches are made by the Qing dynasty
-
Strengthened during Ming Dynasty but weakened China during Qing Dynasty
-good for Emperor Hongwu
-decentralization during Ming dynasty- there was a peasant revolt from 1636 to 1644 which led to the
fall of the Ming
-
Expansion of trade during the Ming dynasty but more conservative during the Qing towards for-
eign peoples, leads to lack of trade with Western society
Continuities
-
Social and political roles remained the same
-
Idea of ruler-subject obedience in Confucianism led to strengthened central governments
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Education and politics were based on Confucian values and teachings
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Confucianism played a role in domestic relations, filial piety
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Was used as motivation for farming and production for the people
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Confucian scholars had political power
-
Civil service exam, social mobility and rewarded discipline – loyal supporters of imperial power
Mahfuza Shovik
May 16, 201
Essay Summaries #6
Mr. Trainor, Pd. 3
Cultural, Political, and Economic Impacts of Islam
in South and Southeast Asia During 1000 - 1750
•
Islam brought an obvious change of religion. Monotheism was finally introduced to South and
Southeast Asia by the Mughal Empire. Many converted because of promises of equality.
•
However, a continuity is the failure of Islam to diffuse through all these regions. In India, many
rural areas were still Hindu dominated. Islam would spread faster through urban centers because of all
the trade going on as opposed to the countryside were old customs and traditions prevailed.
•
Female inferiority and prepubescent marriages were still practiced and the despite government
intervention, sati, the tradition of a woman throwing herself into her husband's funeral pyre, was still
legal.
•
Unlike other Muslim states, Hindi remained the language of India as opposed to Arabic mainly
due to India's strong literary tradition.
•
In both South and Southeast Asia, the veiling of women never caught on as that was a Arab
tradition adapted by the Muslims and not in the religion itself.
•
Islam brought on political changes through the Mughal Empire. Early leaders, such as Babur
and Akbar the Great, were religiously tolerant, focused on centralizing governments, and creating fair
and equal law codes. Taxes on non-Muslims were rid of which also aided in converting others to
Muslim.
•
This did not continue as later leaders began to be become strict Muslims with harsher policies.
One example it Azungzeb, who eventually caused the fall of the Mughal Empire.
•
Islam influenced their conquered lands through trade as well, who first appeared in Indonesia in
the 1200's.
•
A good example was of Muslim influence over trade was Malacca, a port city in current day
Malaysia, which had a Muslim ruler promote trade with those is Gujarat India. Cultural diffusion aided
in spreading Islam. Also trade converted many Southeast Asians because Islam provided security,
stability, and low taxes to the merchants and encouraged trading.
Lise Ho
Essay Summaries #7
May 16, 2013
Mr. Trainor, Pd.3
Analyze continuities and changes in the patterns of interaction along the Silk Road from 200 BC
to 1450 CE.
Although, the Silk Road was developed in before the Common Era, the pattern of interactions along the
Silk Road from 200 BC to 1450 CE remained influential primarily because of how trade consistently
evolved into cultural diffusion. However, due primarily to the rapid increase in the use of new
technology and the decline of the Chinese empire’s military power, the interactions along the Silk Road
declined.
Continuity:
 Influential because of continued spread of ideas and goods along the road
-> Cultural Diffusion
 included religion, spices, silk, ideas, philosophies, military technology
 This was a continuity because whenever a good crosses the Silk Road, interactions occur between
merchants. With this communication and an almost assured conversation, people were bound to
talk about ideas and values of their countries. In this way, Confucianism through the Silk Road was
more likely to spread.
 The Silk Road brought advanced technologies to China.
 Merchants on the Silk Road continued using the Silk Road because they got back much from using
the Silk Road as a trading method.
 Thus along with this continued seeking to trade for money, ideas were continually spread on the
Silk Road.
Changes:
 the Changes primarily occurred due to the increase in other methods to transport goods and
trade, and a loss of control on the Silk Road.
 As China's military declined with the Tang Dynasty, China was unable to maintain order and
control of the Silk Road. Bandits, and other gangs would attack merchants. thus, without protection, the Silk Road became less safe to trade on.
 This loss of control was because of the Mongols under the Khans. After taking the Silk Road
for several years, neglect on the Mongols' part led to the decline of trade of the Silk Road.
 Marine technology was growing. Technology such as the compass revolutionized sea trading.
With the use of the Silk Road being particularly dangerous, sea trade became preferred over
overland trade which had become increasingly dangerous over the years. New sea routs were
discovered causing more paths to get to the West to open up.
 in addition, the secret of silk had been smuggled into Europe.
Shirley Huang
5.17.2013 Outline # 8
Period 3
ESSAY PROMPT #8:
Analyze the changes and continuities in commerce in the Indian Ocean region from 650 CE to 1750 CE.
 This Indian Ocean region was very important because not only was it used by India, but also
almost the rest of the world! (that was known at the time)
 Many different countries came here to trade what they had for those things that they did not. For
example, many European countries would come with goods and then trade them for Indian
spices.
 If it hadn’t been for the trade in the Indian Ocean region, the Americas may not have been fully
discovered until much later. Columbus was looking for a simpler route to India and decided to
go the opposite direction in which everyone else was traveling and stumbled across North
America.
 During the whole time trade occurred in this area, the same trade routes were used. People followed the same paths because of the ugly weather in the area. The sea had certain storms as
well as un-calm days that followed the seasons and so, people had to either wait or follow a certain path in order to reach the ports.
 A lot of the goods that had been traded in the beginning of this period were being traded towards the end of the period. (i.e. silk, gold, spices, porcelain, and cotton).
 Over time, different countries/nations/empires took control of the area or had a strong overbearing presence on the area. Some of these countries included Britain, the Dutch, as well as the
Portuguese.
 Unfortunately, this region became a slave trade towards the end of the time period. Rather than
being used for good, many countries used the same paths and routes to get slaves rather than
goods.
 Many European countries as well as America would follow the routes towards India and pick up
slaves in Africa.
Christina Ko
10. Analyze how EAST ASIA'S relationship to global trade patterns changed from 1750 to the present.
 From 1750 to the present East Asian countries flourished and currently play a major role in
global trade by providing other countries with many different items
 Japan during 1750 was still in isolation with very limited trade. Ports were closed to all of the
West except for the Dutch
 Commodore Matthew Perry visits Japan in 1853 and scares them in to opening their ports to
foreign trade. Many of the daimyo were furious at the shogun for agreeing to his demands that
they create a plan to overthrow them.
 Under the Meiji Restoration, Japan undergoes economic, political, social, cultural and educational changes. They also started to industrialize and the government created shipyards, steel
factories and mines
 China under the Qing dynasty was very prosperous in 1750, but by the late 18th century their
power had started to decline.
 When Japan had started industrializing and improving economically, China was experiencing
food shortages, corruption with the government (the exam system- how government officials
were chosen- was thought to favor sons of those in high positions)
 McCartney mission-British wanted to open up trade between China and Britain because there
was a high demand for Chinese goods in Britain and a low demand for British goods in China.
The Qing Dynasty had the Canton System where British goods were only allowed to enter China through the Canton port. To fight this imbalance of power in trade the British started to give
the Chinese opium (from India) in exchange for porcelain and silk. Now the British did not
have to pay with gold and silver. This led to the Opium Wars: disliking the selling of Opium the
Chinese government had created bans on Opium but the British continued to sell. Eventually
the British declares war on China and China loses because China's army was lacking and was
technologically behind the British Army
 After losing the Opium War, the Chinese signed the Treaty of Nanking which effectively dismantled the Canton system and forced china to open up more ports to foreigners, this leads to
the creation of "spheres of influence" in China
 So by the 1900s China's trade was mostly being controlled by foreign country's while Japan on
the other hand was able to become a world power, conquering Manchuria, Japan and even gaining a sphere of influence in China
 After WWII, Japan was essentially rebuilt with help from America. And by 1951 is able to operate independently from American occupation. Japan starts to rebuild industries and expand
trade. Businesses would take advantage of government aid and new technologies and by 1975
Japan became a economic superpower. Like China under the Qing Dynasty, Japan exported
huge amounts of manufactured goods but rarely brought in foreign goods. Asian countries following the Japanese model, the "Asian Tigers"-South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore- were all able to become industrial powerhouses.
 China's Mao Zedong instituted his plan, the "Great Leap Forward" hoping to propel China in to
a global superpower. Deng Xiaoping, after Mao's death implements economic reforms and he
allows foreign investment in China. Many foreign businesses started to open up factories in
China (cheap labor) and thus China has become a major exporter.
Yarl Dhayaparan
Period 3
Due: May 16, 2013
Topic: Southeast
Asia: Q11
Question: Analyze major changes and continuities in the formation of national identities in
SOUTHEAST ASIA from 1900 to the present.
Synopsis: Gradually, from 1900 to the present, national identities were formed in Southeast Asia. However, at the beginning of Western colonization of these countries, Burma(Myanmar),Vietnam, Cambodia
, there was some nationalist feeling, but it was not a significant percent of the population. This, however
soon changed. They sought peaceful reform, but by the late 20th century, as these appeals for reforms
failed, these countries desired decolonization and independence resulting in violence. Although their
goal was accomplished they continued to rely on the west for trade.
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A. Changes: From the early 1900s to soon after WW1 was the degree of nationalist feeling in the people and how they expressed it changed.
-In the early 1900s, despite being considered of a lower status than the Europeans, the Vietnamese and
Cambodians (under the French) and Burmese (under the British) did not actively seek independence or
equality.
- Many were educated in Europe in order to expose them to ‘civilized society’ and others fought
for democracy in WW1, they learned the Western ideals of liberty and equality which contradicted the oppressive manner of the Europeans towards them.
1. At first, the attempts to reform were peaceful.
-Those like Ho chi Minh and Nguyen Thai Hoc sought reform peacefully at first through their creation
of the Indochinese Communist Party and Vietnamese Nationalist Party, respectively.
For example, Nguyen Thai Hoc had sent many letters to the Governor General asking that free trade and
home industries be allowed. The French felt superior to their colonies and thus refused to bow down to
the colonial subjects’ demands. Hocs ‘s letters were ignored.
2. Vietnamese nationalism later turned violent
-By the mid to late 1900s, this often lead to riots in Vietnam which the French and British violently suppressed.
Causes of Nationism
1. These countries first became colonies of the West due to economic interests of these colonizers.
2. The Burmese were angered by the British’s disrespect towards Buddhism by refusing to take off their
shoes in temples . This led to religious nationalism from angered Buddhists.
3. During this time, they were educated in France and Britain and learned Western ideals of liberty and
equality. This led to the growth of nationalism and a desire for independence from the West and a demand for equal rights.
Result of the rise in Nationalism-these countries were later granted independence due to France’s and
Britain’s struggle to financially maintain these colonies.
Continuities:
- Even after the growth of nationalism and independence, these countries knew no other means of
survival than to continue trade with these European nations.
-Ultimately, throughout this time period, the West has a lot of influence in this region through trade,
to colonization to Western ideals.