China discovers the world, Strayer 9

10/10/2015

Hallie Schulze

10/10/2015 20:50:34

MQ #1: Why are the centuries of the Tang and Song dynasties in China sometimes referred to as a "golden age"?

-growth of population (120 million by 1200)
-agricultural production (fast-ripening, drought-resistant strain of rice from Vietnam)
-urbanization (Hangzhou held large markets and houses more than a million people)
-industrial production (iron industry provided 32,000 suits or armour and 16 million arrowheads annually)
-technological innovation (new inventions like gun powder and printed books)
-commercialization (producing for the market rather than for local consumption)

Miss anything?

Sydney Han

11/10/2015 09:01:23

Hey Hallie, to add on to your list there was the rise of neo-Confucianism, reviving Confucian thinking while incorporating insights of Buddhism and Daoism. They also built lasting state structures, including 6 ministries (personnel, finance, rites, army, justice and public works) and the Censorate (agency which exercised surveillance over the rest of gov. checking for character and competence or public office). And I'm not sure if this is also included but there was the revival of the examination systems as well. They became more complex and there was an effort to prevent cheating (checking the candidates before the test and using numbers instead of names). The preparation in schools and colleges- for the examination systems- became a central feature in upper class life. So, I'm not sure if the examinations part is included in the answer, but I hope this helped :)

Hallie

11/10/2015 09:44:40

Yeah thanks!!!

Bingham

11/10/2015 15:03:04

Um, you have most of the elements here between the two of you, but my reading was a bit different.

During this period, China reached a cultural peak, setting standards of excellence in poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics.

Particularly during the Song dynasty, there was an explosion of scholarship that gave rise to Neo- Confucianism.

Politically, the Tang and Song dynasties built a state structure that endured for a thousand years.

Tang and Song dynasty China experienced an economic revolution that made it the richest empire on earth.

Population grew rapidly, from 50 million–60 million people during the Tang dynasty to 120 million by 1200, spurred in part by a remarkable growth in agricultural production.

During this period, China possessed dozens of cities of over 100,000 people and a capital at Hangzhou with a population of over a million people.

Industrial production soared during the period, and technological innovation flourished, including the invention of printing and gunpowder, along with innovations in navigation and shipbuilding that led the world.

The economy of China became the most highly commercialized in the world, producing for the market rather than for local consumption. Look up the word "commercialized."

Hallie Schulze

10/10/2015 20:56:20

MQ#2: In what ways did women's lives change during the Tang and Song dynasties?

-they were involved a lot in religion (Queen Mother of the West in Daoism)
-new Confucianism supports and worsens patriarchy
-foot binding (supporting the idea that women should be smaller, weaker, and more delicate than men)
-they worked as either maids, cooks, dressmakers, etc. or as entertainers/concubines/prostitutes
-their property rights expanded
-they were encouraged to get an education

Cathleen

11/10/2015 16:47:49

I'm just going to elaborate on your stellar answer, is that cool?
-women no longer participated in textile creating
Maybe try separating the working as maids, etc from the concubines and prostitutes, because those are different ideas. Women working as maids, cooks, dressmakers was a positive trend, because they ha dmore autonomy in that sense. Becoming a prostitute showed the dominating patriarchy and resulted in jealousy amongst women (concubines versus the wife. both compete for man's attention)
There's a big difference between women getting jobs like selling fish versus selling their bodies.

Bingham

11/10/2015 17:36:00

Excellent point!

Hallie Schulze

10/10/2015 21:00:21

MQ#3: How did the Chinese and their nomadic neighbors to the north veiw each other?

Nomads:
-drawn to China
Chinese:
-annoyed by the constant attacks if the nomads
Both:
-need each other's goods
-thought the of the other as a threat

Bingham

11/10/2015 15:07:04

The nomadic neighbors saw China as the source of grain, other agricultural products, and luxury goods.

They also viewed China as a threat, because the Chinese periodically directed their military forces deep into the steppes, built the Great Wall to keep the nomads out, and often proved unwilling to allow pastoral peoples easy access to trading opportunities within China.

The Chinese saw the nomads as a military threat. (Which they were.)

But they also needed the nomads, whose lands were the source of horses, which were essential to the Chinese military, and of other products, including skins, furs, hides, and amber.

Also, the nomads controlled much of the Silk Road trading network, which funneled goods from the West into China.

elle (praying hands emoji) norman

12/10/2015 22:41:28

For MQ 4 (What assumptions underlay the tribute system,?), I was wondering if it's completely necessary to explain the tribute system or not. Should I just go into my explanations or give an example of what the system was?

Bingham

13/10/2015 02:47:57

I think that when you discuss the underlying assumptions, you'll end up being descriptive of the system.

Morgan Levine

13/10/2015 21:05:40

MQ #4: In what different ways did Korea, Vietnam, and Japan experience and respond to Chinese influence?

Okay, so this question seems outrageously broad, and I'm sure that I'm going to miss things. Also, I think it's interesting to note that all of the countries engaged in a tributary relationship with China while retaining distinctive identities (each created their own language based off of Chinese, too), so that's a general thing - I think the differences lie in the ways that they engaged w/ China and cultivated their own culture. Okay, so here's my take:

KOREA
- creation of state was dependent on Silla-Chinese alliance
- sharply resisted Chinese efforts to assimilate Koreans
- sought to replicate Chinese culture and court life
- Korean aristocracy used Chinese luxury goods
- Students sent to China to study
- Confucianism and Buddhism became prevalent religions
- As Confucian/Chinese influence grew, traditional freedoms for women decreased

VIETNAM
- 1,000 years of strong Chinese presence stirred resentment and rebellions that eventually allowed Vietnam to gain independence.
- Vietnam utilized Chinese state structure to assert state power
- Vietnamese women retained power in local religions

JAPAN
- physically separated from China, so all borrowing of Chinese culture was voluntary (!!)
- Japanese aristocrats engaged in missions to China in order to create a Chinese-style state
- Confucian emphasis on moral quality of rulers
- adopted Chinese culture/schooling/cities
- blended Buddhism with native Japanese Shinto
- women retained status until rise of samurai culture

Ok, this is a lot - it needs to be cleaned up, and probably (sigh) needs some additional information. Help, anyone?

Morgan again, sorry

13/10/2015 21:10:22

It's actually MQ #7, folks. Sorry bout that.

Cathleen

13/10/2015 21:56:51

in what different ways did Japanese and korean women experience the pressures of confucian orthodoxy?
Korean women restrictions were heightened by Confucian orthodoxy. Rights they had before like raising children in their families' homes, female inheritance, widow remarriage, and burial ceremonies of a husband in his wife's burial area went against the fundamentals of confucianism. Plural marriages for men were eroded and primary wives were given better privileges than a secondary wife. This caused tension amongst families and women.
Japanese elite women escaped this restrictive form of chinese confucianism like foot binding or being restrained to the house all day. This is largely part to the influence of chinese confucianism from the more liberal tang dynasty with more freedom for women.Japanese women were allowed to inherit property, live apart from her husband or with her family, and could break a marriage easily.

Too much? Too little? Way off?

China discovers the world, Strayer 9

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Bingham

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