VIDEO:Muncy The Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE

VIDEO:Muncy The Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE

Tong is the Golden Age of Chinese Culture. They took poetry seriously as other arts. This was a time of high culture. The Tong was a cosmopolitan culture. They were a melting pot of the world. It was home to the Han Chinese, Turks, Persians, Arabs, Jewish, Muslims, Christians, etc. Chang’an capital. This cosmopolitan type was driven by the Silk Road. In 751 CE, they battled the Abassids in Sagdia. Women were also empowered here until the Communist Revolution. The first century and half was the power point. Emperor Taizong (r. 626-649 CE) – wasn’t the first but set the tone for the dynasty. Emperor Wu (r.690-705 CE) – the only woman to rule in her own right within Chinese History. Emperor Xuanzong (r.712-756 CE) – He was an excellent emperor but made dumb mistakes. In 755, his general rebelled against him. An Lushan. In 907, the last Tong Emperor was deposed by one of his generals. China then went into the Five Dynasties Period from 907-960 CE.

Eno: The Junzi Administrators of the Tang

The Legalist state was created by the Qin in order to prescribe what actions people have to perform, and they are rewarded or punished based on if their acts meet or fail to meet the standard the state has set. This leaves morality out of the question. It’s either pursue reward with greed or punishment because of fear. Confucian strives to become a “junzi” who is a cultivated and ethical gentleman. The idea of the junzi kept changing over time.

VIDEO

Muncy: The Rest of East Asia in the Medieval Period

Vietnam, Korea, and Japan were Sinicized. This means the act of becoming Chinese. And these places adopted most of Chinese culture. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced in all three of these countries. All three adopted Confucianism. The Japanese and Korean writing is based on Chinese script. The Steppe peoples are largely nomadic people governed by clan and tribal loyalties, not by state. Cultural Diffusion is different practices and ideas to different cultures. There are differences in gender.

VIDEO

Muncy: Classical and Medieval Southeast Asia

VIDEO

Muncy: The Steppe Peoples

The Eurasian Steppe was the home to nomads. The Xiongnu harasses Qin and Han dynasties. They were the reason why the great wall began. The Huns destroyed the Eastern Empire. The Turks were people of the Steppe. As nomads all these people were herders of sheep. Diet was meat based with dairy. They used the dong from sheep for fires. Most of the steppe is grassland. They used sheep’s wool to make felt. They used this felt for housing. The Steppe people mostly lived in Yurts or Gers. Most of the Steppe peoples were exceptional horsemen. The Mongols developed a short bow. Fictive Kinship means where people become brothers and join another clan. Most stayed in their family. Tribes were led by mean called khans. The khan’s jobs were to keep his tribe safe and to bring wealth through warfare. They were charismatic, diplomatic, and were tribal warriors. They could be renounced if they don’t do their job. And people can just follow another khan. The Chinese define themselves in opposition to the Steppe peoples. They saw them as barbarians. There was still trade between Steppe and Chinese peoples. Chinese people believed they weren’t the barbarians from the North.

The Northern Wei Dynasty 386-535 CE

This brought Buddhism into China. In 1127 the Jurchen people, conquered the Northern part of China. In the 13^th century the Mongols conquered all of Eurasia. Mongolian Empire (1206-1368 CE). The empire crumbled in the 14^th century.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Ming China and Mogul India came out of the Mongolian conquering. The Ottoman Empire which is the heir to the Byzantine Empire and is a precursor to the modern state of Turkey. Russia and Europe.

11/16/17 Lecture

The Mongols: Masters of the 13^th century

Jurchen began their invasion of Northern China in 1115 CE. And they had conquered the northern part of China. Jin Dynasty lasted from 1115 to 1234 CE. The Jurchen only ruled in the North. A large portion of China had moved to the South. The Jin dynasty was a ruling of the North and plenty of Chinese folk were already living. Two government were set up – the Jurchen and Chinese. Two different traditional systems. The Jurchens set up a system for the Chinese to still flourish in China. They used soldiers and bureaucrats and they used the same examination system that the Song had set up. This dynasty only lasted about a 100 years and existed only in the north. Hunna took down Gupta dynasty.

With the coming of the Mongols, the steppe peoples with the Mongol empire really become the center stage of Eurasia. In the 13^th century, every last civilization was affected by the Mongols. The Mongolian Empire was the largest Empire of all time. They rule over all of Asia and some parts of Europe. In the 13^th century, Chinggis Khan – Genghis Khan unified all of the Mongolian tribes and conquered the rest of Asia. He sets up an empire that he rules over and passes and is maintained by his grandson. Eurasia is often referred to “Pax Mongolica” and this means the “peace of the Mongols”. This system falls apart in 13^th century.

The Peace of the Mongols, Eurasian Integration, and the Regional Reaction

Commerce explodes because of these trade roads. Traders are also bringing ideas with them. The Mongols were religiously tolerant. There is a lot of commerce to Islam. A lot of Mongols converted to Buddhism. They converted to Tibetan Buddhism. Gunpowder was either perfected by Mongols or Turks. During the Mongolian Empire, there are hands cannons. Europe had been a land of gangster warlords for about 900 years. In addition to all the integration, the Mongolian Empire caused significant changes within specific regions. Mongols burned down the House of Wisdom. The Russian state – modern day Russia. The Chinese kick out the Mongols and build a wall to keep them out.

Mongols: The People of the Yurts (Gurs)

They used dairy to make alcohol. People of the Mongols had a fluid identity. They had clans and tribes were above clans. Tribes were headed by somebody referred to as the ruler or the khan. The only way the khan defends his position is to defend his clan. Khans got their power from going to war. They were stealing sheep. You are not stuck in a tribe, but have the ability to change allegiances.

Genghis Khan was born Temujin in 1167. If they have milk and meat, they would share it with other clans. In age 10, his father runs across a rival clan. Temujin’s dad gets poisoned but says that if he doesn’t drink the milk, the whole system falls apart. They had no steppe. He was living on the edge of society, he formed a little war band. He keeps stealing and getting more livestock and more people are joining him. They form a tribe. By 20 years old, he had 20,000 people follow him. He created a leader system of 10 in order to give orders very quickly. In his mid-30s, most people of Mongolia believed Temujin was destined to rule all of us. In 1206, he calls a meeting of all the Mongol leaders. Kurultai is a meeting of clan heads. Clan Heads elected him Genghis Khan. The universal ruler. He breaks his command structure up so his command structure doesn’t rebel against him. In 1227, Chinggis Khan dies. Kurultai again and Ogedei gets elected. Karakorum is established as an international city. He wanted this to be the center of the world. In 1234, Ogedei completed the conquest of the Jin Dynasty. In 1237, he sent a general to attack Kievan Rus. These were Slavic people. In 1241, he reached Hungary. He dies in 1241. In 1241, there is another kurultai. There is a lot of debate. Ogedei’s wife, Toregene, had a favorite son, Guyuk (grandson of Chinggis Khan) to be elected. In 1248, Guyuk died. Mongke took over from 1251-1259. He took over Korea. In 1260, Mongke’s brother got elected. He was Kublai Khan r.1260-1294. He gets elected in 1260 CE and this sets off a Civil War among the Mongols. The Mongols go through a civil war because of this. In 1264, the Mongol Empire was split into khanates. There was the IL khanate in Persia. The Golden Horde helped to form the Russians. The UN dynasty rules over China. Kublai Khan is still considered to be the great khan. Kublai was really into Chinese culture, and he consulted Confucian scholars. He also built a new capital that is currently Beijing. In 1271, Kublai claimed the mandate of heaven. He starts a campaign against the southern song. In 1279, he defeated the southern song dynasty. This reunified China. The UN dynasty lasted from 1271-1368. During this period, the Chinese are completely kicked out of the government. A lot of these Mandarins become doctors and create medicine. It is hard to maintain segregation. By the end of the 1200s, Mongol and Chinese culture started to mix. In 1332, Emperor Huizong who was a 13 year old ruled. His chancellor ruled. In 1331, the bubonic plague hit the low lands of the Himalayas. It starts in southern China in 1331. Hubei province is who was affected. In 1347, the bubonic plague arrives in Europe. Within 3 years, it killed ½ to 1/3 of all Europeans. In 1344, the yellow river flooded. In 1350s, the plague started breaking all over China. In 1368, the rest of the Mongols are pushed out and the Ming dynasty was founded. The Ming dynasty was a very looking inward dynasty. It is this dynasty that builds the Great Wall of China.