China and the World
Together Again: The reemergance of a unified china:
In this section of the reading I learnt about the "Golden Age" of China and women in the society.
The reading was interesting and a few things stood out to me, especially in the women's section.
In China's golden age political fragmentation didn't remain a problem for them unlike the western Roman Empire. China was able to reunify and was solidified due to the extension of the canal system. China's canals linked northern and southern parts economically and contributed much to its prosperity. China's golden age was a time of great prosperity and developments such as their art and literature. The most interesting part of this section to me was the officials and the selecting of officials. I found it interesting to read that even though there were tests to examine and individual, most positions went to the sons of the privileged. The last shocking thing in this section was in the part about women in the dynasty. The golden age wasn't golden for everyone, especially the women. Women were seen as a distraction and the feet binding is so horrifying!
China and the Northern Nomads: A Chinese World Order in the Making:
This section talked about the way northern nomads lived, the tribute system, and cultural influence.
The main points of this section were 1) China's many interactions with a larger eurasian world shaped both China's own development and that of world history more generally.
2) Northern nomads had long focused their economies around the raising of live stock, they organized locally in small, mobile, kinship-based groups, sometimes called tribes, and ocassionly created much larger and powerful states or confederations.
The tribute system was a set of practices that required non-chines authorities to acknowledge Chinese superiority and their own subordinate place in a Chinese centered world order. this system normally worked.
The tribute system also disguised some realities that contradicted its assumptions.
3) When nomadic peoples actually ruled parts of China, some of them adopted Chinese ways, employing Chinese advisors, governing according to Chinese practice and, at least for the elite, immersing themselves in Chinese culture and learning.
Coping with China: comparing Korea, Vietnam, and Japan:
This section talks about the relationships and influences between China and other places.
The first part talks about Korea and China. China and Korea we're bitter rivals and they resisted Chinese political control except when they found it advantageous to join with China against a local enemy.
Korea normally maintained its political independence.
Vietnam and China is the next part. the elite culture of Vietnam borrowed heavily from China.
The Vietnamese were ruled by Chinese officials.
The last comparison was between Japan and China. Japan was different from Vietnam and china and was physically separated by ocean and was never successfully invaded or conquered by their giant mainland neighbor.
China and the Eurasian World Economy:
This section talks about chinas impact on Eurasia. China economic revolution was thanks to their teachnoglicial innovations to peoples and places far from east Asia as people covered Chinese achievements abroad. Chinese technologies were transferred from one place to another and their procducts stimulated other innovations. Chinese prosperity during the song dynasty stimulated great commercial life and market based behaviors. The most interesting past of this section was to learn that some of the things China learnt were from Vietnam. China learned about cultivation and processing of sugar and cotton and the religion of buddhism.
China and Buddhism:
The most important gift received from Vietnam to china was the region buddhism. buddhism entered through the Silk Road during the first and second centuries. buddhism took solid root in china in popular and elite culture. buddhist ministries provided an array of social services for ordinary people. In the end....several decades later.... Chinese state took direct action against the buddhist establishment as well as against other foreign religions.
In this section of the reading I learnt about the "Golden Age" of China and women in the society.
The reading was interesting and a few things stood out to me, especially in the women's section.
In China's golden age political fragmentation didn't remain a problem for them unlike the western Roman Empire. China was able to reunify and was solidified due to the extension of the canal system. China's canals linked northern and southern parts economically and contributed much to its prosperity. China's golden age was a time of great prosperity and developments such as their art and literature. The most interesting part of this section to me was the officials and the selecting of officials. I found it interesting to read that even though there were tests to examine and individual, most positions went to the sons of the privileged. The last shocking thing in this section was in the part about women in the dynasty. The golden age wasn't golden for everyone, especially the women. Women were seen as a distraction and the feet binding is so horrifying!
China and the Northern Nomads: A Chinese World Order in the Making:
This section talked about the way northern nomads lived, the tribute system, and cultural influence.
The main points of this section were 1) China's many interactions with a larger eurasian world shaped both China's own development and that of world history more generally.
2) Northern nomads had long focused their economies around the raising of live stock, they organized locally in small, mobile, kinship-based groups, sometimes called tribes, and ocassionly created much larger and powerful states or confederations.
The tribute system was a set of practices that required non-chines authorities to acknowledge Chinese superiority and their own subordinate place in a Chinese centered world order. this system normally worked.
The tribute system also disguised some realities that contradicted its assumptions.
3) When nomadic peoples actually ruled parts of China, some of them adopted Chinese ways, employing Chinese advisors, governing according to Chinese practice and, at least for the elite, immersing themselves in Chinese culture and learning.
Coping with China: comparing Korea, Vietnam, and Japan:
This section talks about the relationships and influences between China and other places.
The first part talks about Korea and China. China and Korea we're bitter rivals and they resisted Chinese political control except when they found it advantageous to join with China against a local enemy.
Korea normally maintained its political independence.
Vietnam and China is the next part. the elite culture of Vietnam borrowed heavily from China.
The Vietnamese were ruled by Chinese officials.
The last comparison was between Japan and China. Japan was different from Vietnam and china and was physically separated by ocean and was never successfully invaded or conquered by their giant mainland neighbor.
China and the Eurasian World Economy:
This section talks about chinas impact on Eurasia. China economic revolution was thanks to their teachnoglicial innovations to peoples and places far from east Asia as people covered Chinese achievements abroad. Chinese technologies were transferred from one place to another and their procducts stimulated other innovations. Chinese prosperity during the song dynasty stimulated great commercial life and market based behaviors. The most interesting past of this section was to learn that some of the things China learnt were from Vietnam. China learned about cultivation and processing of sugar and cotton and the religion of buddhism.
China and Buddhism:
The most important gift received from Vietnam to china was the region buddhism. buddhism entered through the Silk Road during the first and second centuries. buddhism took solid root in china in popular and elite culture. buddhist ministries provided an array of social services for ordinary people. In the end....several decades later.... Chinese state took direct action against the buddhist establishment as well as against other foreign religions.
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