Download THE MEDIEVAL EAST (500 – 1350 AD)

THE MEDIEVAL EAST (500 – 1350 AD)
During the European Medieval Age (500-1350 AD), important developments were also
taking place in the Far East. In China, the Sui dynasty (589-618 AD) at last succeeded in
reuniting the nation into one kingdom after several centuries of internal turmoil and
political fragmentation. This political reunification was the chief accomplishment of the
Sui rulers. The Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) followed and held the nation together for
over three centuries, strengthening the Chinese state and encouraging the development
of art, technology, and good government. The population of China rose to between 50
and 80 million people, the largest in the world even at that time. Civil servants were
selected on the basis of their performance on standardized examinations. Buddhism was
tolerated and even promoted, and porcelain for the first time became a major Chinese
product, valued both domestically and for export. The Tang era was thus one of high
culture and technological innovation.
After a short period of unrest, China's Tang dynasty was replaced by the Song dynasty
(960-1234 AD). The technological base established under the Tang was broadened, and
everyday life became relatively prosperous. The first paper money in history was issued,
the Chinese built their first navy, printing using movable type first appeared (several
hundred years before Johann Gutenberg’s similar printing press in Europe), and
gunpowder was invented. Moreover, the population of China doubled during the Song
era, perhaps reaching as high as 150 million people. During the early 1200's, Mongols
began infiltrating into China, setting the stage for a new era in which the nation would
be controlled by foreign invaders.
The Mongols were a north Asian people who had long been regarded by the Chinese as
barbarians, and in fact, as early as the Qin dynasty, a great earthen wall had been erected
to keep them at bay. Nonetheless, they overwhelmed China in the early 1200’s, and the
Yuan dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the
principal founder of high Mongol culture. He also established Beijing as the capital of
China, as it still is today. The Italian traveler and adventurer, Marco Polo, claimed to
have visited Beijing during Kublai Khan's reign. Kublai Khan's successors spread
Mongol influence into India and Afghanistan, and to most of the south Asian republics
which were once part of the Soviet Union. By the late 1300’s, however, the Mongols
were losing their grip on China, and a native reaction was building against them.
In 1368, the Yuan dynasty was replaced by the native Chinese Ming dynasty. This
would be the last dynasty which could trace its family heritage back to the Han. Beijing
remained the capital of China under the Ming, and the population rose to around 200
million. A vast army and navy was developed, perhaps with as many as a million men
under arms, and the Great Wall which still stands was erected to protect the Chinese
heartland from any further invasions from the north. Equally impressive was the Grand
Canal, an artificial waterway stretching over a thousand miles from Beijing to
Hangzhou, built at about the same time. A nation-wide communication system in which
couriers carried messages from one end of the country to the other was also established.
When the first Europeans arrived in the Far East by sea, they first encountered and
conducted business with Ming officials or their representatives. This cross-cultural
contact may in fact have stimulated the development of the first Chinese capitalists, the
first Chinese businessmen to trade and seek profits in the western manner. Finally,
Chinese fleets themselves began to undertake voyages of exploration into the Indian
Ocean and at least as far as Africa.
Japan's Asuka Period is dated from 538 to 710 AD. Political centralization was achieved
for the first time, perhaps under Prince Shotoku, and Buddhism was introduced from the
Asian continent. The strong influence of Chinese culture and Confucian philosophy on
Japanese life was established in the 600's AD, and in the early 700's work began on the
Kojiki, a collection of myths and stories about the origin of Japan and its history up to
about 600 AD. A similar work, the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), appeared around
the same time. They claimed that Japan had been founded in 660 BC by the legendary
Emperor Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Although the country had
a divine emperor or empress whose ancestry could be traced back to Jimmu, the actual
business of government was conducted by court officials and military officers drawn
from Japanese nobility (shoguns). This governmental arrangement was to be the rule
throughout most of Japanese history.
The Heian Period, which lasted from 794 to 1185 AD, is considered by many to be the
peak period in Japan's cultural history. Poetry collections and the famed Japanese novel,
the Tale of Genji, date from this era. A distinctively native Japanese culture was
gradually emerging, and powerful aristocratic families were beginning to compete for
control of the nation. From them would arise a number of powerful clans, including the
Tokugawa, which would play an important role in Japanese history at the end of Japan's
feudal age. From them also came the samurai, Japan's hereditary warrior class. From the
late 1100's to the end of the 1800's, Japan was a feudal nation in the European sense,
with territory held by powerful landlords called "daimyo," who were supported by
warlords called "shoguns" and their loyal samurai warriors. The divine emperor or
empress remained a figure to be revered but a mere figurehead with no real political or
military authority. Some shoguns supported and protected the royal family and some
opposed them, making feudal Japan in many ways similar to feudal Europe, at least
from the 1100's through the 1300's.
In the late 1200’s the Mongols attempted to invade the Japanese islands by sea, but a
massive typhoon (hurricane) destroyed the fleet, and Japan’s independence was
preserved, as if by a miracle. This miraculous or divine wind which saved the nation was
called “kamikaze,” a term which would resurface almost 700 years later during World
War II.
Several small kingdoms were situated in ancient times on the Korean peninsula, all of
which were heavily influenced by China, both culturally and politically. Japanese
influence was also strong within the region, and Buddhism was introduced from India.
Eventually, three kingdoms emerged: Goguryeo (modern North Korea and the northern
part of South Korea), Silla (modern southeast South Korea), and Baekje (modern
southwest South Korea). Seoul, the present capital of South Korea, was once the capital
of Baekje. Pyongyang, the current capital of North Korea, was once a capital of
Goguryeo. All three of these major kingdoms were at war with one another during much
of the period between 500 and 1350 AD.
Due to its geographical position in Asia, the Korean peninsula was also frequently a
battleground for Chinese and Japanese troops, each desirous of controlling it. The region
has continued to be a dangerous flash point right up to the present day.