1. Chapter 13 – The spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam
The people of China’s borders naturally were influenced by their great neighbor
Japan “borrowed” heavily from China during the 5th and 6th centuries
In all 3 regions, Buddhism was a key force in transmitting Chinese civilization

2. Japan – The common people looked to Buddhist monks for spiritual and secular assistance and meshed Buddhist beliefs with traditional religion

3. *Taika reforms (646 CE) – Attempts to remake the Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinese-style emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy & peasant army
Taika reforms failed; the aristocracy returned to Japanese traditions
Heian – Japanese city later called Kyoto – built to escape influence of Buddhist monks
*Bushi – regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies (Samurai)
Similar to Feudalism in Europe – local nobles carved out estates and reduced the peasants to serfdom

4. Samurai – mounted troops of the bushi; loyal to local lords, not the emperor

5. The aristocrats lived in palaces and gardens; the basis of their life was the pursuit of enjoyment
Sinfication– Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions (from previous chapter)
Japanese peasants were reduced to the status of serfs with the rise of the Samurai

6. Bakufu – Military government established by the Minamoto; retained an emperor, BUT the real power resided in military government and samurai
Shoguns – Military leaders of the Bakufu

7. Similarities of Japan and Western European Feudalism
BOTH were not able to sustain more centralized political forms
BOTH embraced elite militaristic values
BOTH of their women were excluded from inheritance
Warfare based on spying, timely assaults, wise command, and organization of professional armies.
Japanese determined aristocratic rank by birth, thus blocking social mobility (think of the Indian caste system!)

8. Korea Not until 3rd century CE was Korea independent of China
Korean bureaucracy admitted members almost exclusively by birth rather than test scores
“It’s not what you know, but who you know.” ;-)

9. Buddhism supplied the key links between Korea and China
Korea, because of its proximity to China, was more profoundly influenced over a longer period than any other state

10. Korea’s Three Kingdoms
Three competing kingdoms emerged in Korea: Silla, Koguryo and Paekche
Koguryo* – Tribal people of northern Korea; established an independent kingdom in the northern half of the peninsula; adopted cultural Sinification*
Silla* – southeast Korean kingdom was successful in establishing a unified and independent government in Korea although they paid the Tang tribute.
Korea’s Three Kingdoms

11. Southeast Asia
Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, & the Malay Peninsula
Located between China and India (and south of China)
More rights for women than in India or China

12. VIETNAM
they had their own culture (remained distinct, in spite of Sinfication)
They were prepared to receive the benefits of Chinese civilization but not to lose their identity
Their spoken language was not related to Chinese
Vietnamese women had more freedom and influence than Chinese women did

13. Vietnam adopted Chinese model of government as well as Confucianism as state religion/philosophy
The expanding Han Empire first secured tribute from Vietnam; later, after 111 BCE the Han conquered and governed directly
Viets attended Chinese schools, learned Chinese scripts
Chinese techniques made Vietnamese agriculture the most productive in Southeast Asia

14. Geography, environment, and movement in Vietnam divided the nation into two cultural divisions – one in the south along the Mekong River and the other in the north along the Red River
The conflict between north and south left the Vietnamese oblivious to outside threats from the French and the Catholic Church.

15. The Khmer Empire - Cambodia
Kingdom of Angkor in 9th century
Jayavarman (King) united Khmer Empire
Thai people invade and destroyed the Khmer capital in 1432
Khmer set up new capital in Phnom Penh

16. Thailand
Influenced by both China and India; Thailand adopted Buddhism as its state religion and the political practices of India.

17. Malay Peninsula/Indonesia
Heavily influenced by Indian culture
In the 15th c. an Islamic state formed around the small city of Malacca (southwest Malaysia)
A sultanate* is a term used for a land ruled by the authority and office of a strictly Islamic monarchy

18. The Least You Need to Know
As the Chinese Empire developed and grew culturally and politically, so did its influence on Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia
Geographic isolation set the stage for Japan to develop its own unique culture and government
Although originally dominated by China, Korea eventually emerged as a divergent nation, both politically and culturally
In Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the class that most welcomed Chinese influence and culture was the court bureaucrats (scholar-gentry; upper-class)