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1.1 Developments in East Asia c. 1200- c. 1450

Unit Resources: Click Buttons Below
Unit 1: Self-Paced CourseUnit 1: Practice Multiple Choice QuesionsFRQ Practice30-minute Tutoring Session

Thematic Focus: Governance, Culture, & Economic Systems

Essential Question:

How did developments in China and the rest of East Asia between c. 1200 & c. 1450 reflect continuity, innovation, and diversity?


SKILL:  Contextualization



Essential Vocabulary

filial piety, neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, Confucianism, champa rice, meritocracy, bureaucracy, civil service, Grand Canal, , scholar gentry, foot binding,  woodblock printing,  syncretic, feudalism, nuclear families, polygyny,  Grand Canal, Champa rice

Governance in East Asia

A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes.


OBJECTIVE: Explain the systems of government employed by Chinese dynasties and how they developed over time.


HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS: Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in the 13th century. This included the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional methods of Confucianism and an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule.


EXAMPLES

Cultural traditions: filial piety in East Asia, influence of Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism in East Asia, Confucian traditions of both respect for and expected deference from women, Chinese literacy and scholarly traditions  and their spread to Heian Japan and Korea


Branches of Buddhism: Theraveda, Mahayana, Tibetan


Technological Innovations: Champa rice, Transportation, innovations, like the Grand Canal expansion, Steel and iron production, textiles and porcelains for export


Comprehensive Overview of 1.1

Includes links to videos articles, and additional resources.

Lesson Focus

Chinese dynasties

Religious syncretism

Religious syncretism

Five Relationships in Confucianism 

(not equal):

  • Father-Child
  • Ruler-Subject
  • Husband-wife
  • Older brother-younger brother
  • Friend- friend

"A country would be well-governed when all the parties performed their parts aright in these relationships"




Religious syncretism

Religious syncretism

Religious syncretism

Spread the cultural traditions & technology from China.

  • Religion: The Japanese combined Buddhism with their Shinto religion. Shinto was based on respect for the forces of nature and ancestor worship. Buddhist rituals became part of Shinto
  • Government: Japanese rulers such as Prince Shotoku worked on building a strong central government simil

Spread the cultural traditions & technology from China.

  • Religion: The Japanese combined Buddhism with their Shinto religion. Shinto was based on respect for the forces of nature and ancestor worship. Buddhist rituals became part of Shinto
  • Government: Japanese rulers such as Prince Shotoku worked on building a strong central government similar to the Chinese government
  • Culture: The Japanese adopted  Chinese styles of cooking, gardening, drinking tea, and even hairdressing. they based their system of writing on Chinese characters.
  • The Arts: Japanese artists borrowed techniques and themes from the Chinese painters. In addition, Japanese architecture incorporated features of China's.
  • Agriculture: Japan began to raise rice using the wet-field method of the Chinese.


The Grand Canal

Economic Systems

Religious syncretism

Economic Systems

The economy of Song China became increasingly commercialized while continuing to depend on free peasant and artisanal labor. 

Their economy flourished as a result of increased productive capacity, expanding trade networks, and innovations in agriculture and manufacturing.


~


“Emperor Zhengdong, being deeply concerned with agriculture, came to

The economy of Song China became increasingly commercialized while continuing to depend on free peasant and artisanal labor. 

Their economy flourished as a result of increased productive capacity, expanding trade networks, and innovations in agriculture and manufacturing.


~


“Emperor Zhengdong, being deeply concerned with agriculture, came to know the Champa rice from Vietnam was drought resistant and that the green lentils of India were famous for their heavy yield and large seeds. Special envoys, bringing precious things, were dispatched with a view to securing these varieties … When the first harvests were reaped in the autumn, the emperor called his closest ministers to taste them and compose poems for Champa rice and Indian green lentils.”

Shu Wenying, Buddhist monk, China, 11th century CE

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