Qin dynasty
unite China 246 B.C
adopts legalism
transition- the mandate of Heaven
Han Dynasty
actively avoid Qin policies
Wudi (141-87 B.C)
martial emperor
Han Dynasty
Salt and Iron Debate
Legalists vs Confucians regarding state’s role in the economy
Confucianism in Han bureaucracy
Legalist structure
mandate of heaven
ethical cultivation
government by virtuous men
Han Court Officials
most powerful after emperor
frequently moved
empress Dowager
wife whose child was heir to the throne
Empress Lu- murdered a rival and then her son when he came of age; made her younger son the new heir
Court Eunuchs
came from low status
castrated as boys and assigned to emperors harem
close relations with emperor
Wang Mang
9-23
interruption of Han rule
abolished private slavery and made loans to poor peasants.
Later Han dynasty
period of expansion
ends in 220 C.E
China divided into 3 kingdoms
Tale of the 3 kingdoms
Confucianism han
Dong Zhongshu Confucian scholar (if emperor in accordance with heaven, all went well, if not heaven would send warning sign) Yin and yang: all nature was a single, interrelated system, reflecting the workings of the yang and yin and the 5 elements.
Han historian
THE HISTORIAL RECORDS
Sima Qian
first to use actual documents and firsthand accounts of events
wrote a history of the known world from ancient times down to the emperor Wudi
Neo-Daoism
Nirvana:
influenced by Buddhism
concerned with immortality (sought in dietary restrictions, yoga and sexual abstinence)
wewui
Seven Sages of Bamboo grove
devoted themselves to playing the lute, drinking wine and discussing poetry and philosophy
The Spread of Buddhism Han
entered in 1st century
-seen as a Daoist sect
Nirvana became wewui (not doing).
Sui dynasty
sui wendi 581-604 construction if Grand Canal short lived history repeats - sui--- tang Qin--Han
Tang dynasty
-bureaucracy dominated by aristocrats
chang’an
equal field system (land distribution to peasants)
chang’an
capital of tang
grid pattern with 4 quadrants
palace and government offices located to the north
largest city in 750. pop of 1 million
Tang woman emperor
690-705
Wu Zhao
strong supporter of Buddhism
supported scholars of North gate (passed examination test) didn’t support aristocrats.
Xuan Zong
712-750
period of culture brilliance
infatuated with a woman
tributary states
spread of Tang culture
example of Silla in Koriea
Decline of Tang dynasty
confrontation with Muslim armies
Battle of Talas River
751.
Tang army defeated by Arabs
An Lushan Rebellion
755, capture go chang’an by An Lushan general
Tang culture
cosmopolitan
active trade with foreign people (Silk Road)
painting -emphasis on landscapes
poetry-secular
The Silk Road
fill up
tang poetry
LiBo (701-762) Daoist leanings beauty and fantastical drowned -DuFu (712-770) failed exam, government job compassion for sufering
Tang Buddhism
actively promoted by most emperors
Tiantai sect: strongly ideological
Song Dynasty
reunited china in 960 situation of peasants improves -agricultural revolution -end of equal field system -bureaucracy made up commoners -south becoming more important
agricultural revolution Tang
technologically driven
end of equal system
peasants can purchase land
Scholarly gentry class
one person in the family passed examination.
growing importance of the examination system
technological advancements Tang
printing press
gunpowder
porcelain
Song culture
secular
growing demand for luxury good (trade in luxury goods with other parts of Asia)
Song poetry
Su Dungpo 1037-1101
painter and calligrapher
forced into exile
Neo-Confucianism
anti-Daosit
Zhu Xi 1130-1200
Li: great ultimate, a part of all things in the universe
zen like meditation “quiet sitting”
The mongols
nomads
Genghis Khan born 1167. unites the mongols
Kublai Khan
Kubai Khan
1215-1294
conquest of China
initiates yuan dynasty
Beijing
new capital
ethnic classification
souther China becomes more insular
Islam
Islam rose in the area we call the Middle East, the natural crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia
The 5 pillars
shahada – witness sallat – prayer zakat – charity sawm – fasting hajj – pilgrimage
Jihad
the struggle against oneself and sin
Jihad’s different types
- Jihad-e-Akbar : r self-reformation.
- Jihad-e-Kabir : of propagation of the truth, the message of Qur’an.
Muhammad
At the time of Muhammad, the Middle East was sandwiched between two great empires—the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire.
born in Mecca in 570.
foundational texts
The Qur’an and the Hadith
Mecca
The area between the two empires was often contested between the Romans and Persians.
The Ka’aba
cube-shaped structure of unknown antiquity.
dominant clan in Mecca
The Umayyad clan
Medina (Yathrib)
In 620, Muhammad was visited by some Arabs from the nearby oasis town of Yathrib
the Hijrah
the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina
622
the umma
the community of believers
Muhammad’s death
632
caliphs
“successor” to the Prophet
first caliph
Abu Bakr
friend of Muha
Uthman
member of Umayyad clan
strongly opposed – assassinated
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib
married to Muhammad’s daughter Fatima
Battle of Siffin
Mu’awiyya against Ali. Ali was assassinated by one of his supporters who had turned against him for accepting a negotiated settlement with Mu’awiyah.
657
the two major Caliphates
Umayyad Caliphate
Abbasid Caliphate
Umayyad Caliphate
capital at Damascus
opposition to Umayyad centers around descendents of ‘Ali
Abbasid Caliphate
gain support by claiming descent from Muhammad
new capital – Baghdad
Shi’ites disappointed
actually descended from Muhammad’s uncle al-Abbas)
Harun ar-Rashid
A Thousand and One Arabian Nights
watermark of Abbasid rule was under Harun ar-Rashid, the fourth ‘Abbasid caliph
Baghdad flourished
Shi’ism
‘Ali the only rightful successor to Muhammad
Husayn – ‘Ali’s son
Battle of Karbala
fought in 680, Husayn and his small band of warriors were defeated and destroyed by an overwhelming Umayyad force.
the Imamate
majority are Twelvers
hidden Imam
Husayn would later come to constitute an important figure for Shi’ites.
They would come to regard him as an imam (a leadership title with a religious connotation) and a martyr
Sunnism
felt the leadership of the umma should go to someone more a matter of consensus.
the largest denomination in Islam.
the house of the sunnah (practice) of the Prophet.
Hadith –
based on the practice of the Prophet.
a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad that, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims
Sunna
daily practice