Asia During the Middle Ages

Asia (during the middle ages)
Chapter 12

1. TANG & SONG
in China
CHAPTER 12
SECTION 1

2. PROSPEROUS CHINA
During this era of the “European Middle
Ages”, China was arguably the most
advanced place on earth.
Despite a series of Wars and many dynasties
rising and falling, the Tang Dynasty was able to
bring together China and rule for almost 300
years. The Tang emperor who began these
achievements was Tang Taizong.

3. In the 600s the Chinese would expand their
influences by growing West, and also taking
control over what would be modern day Korea.

4. CHINESE BUREAUCRACY
One way the Chinese managed to keep a
large empire, and a large bureaucracy
efficient was through the civil service
examination system.
This exam was open to all men including the
commoner. However, it was only the
wealthy who had the educational resources to
prepare for these standardized tests.

5. DRAWING HISTORICAL
CONNECTIONS
This concept of exams leading towards
success is still a strong component in Eastern
Asia, where in nations like China, Japan and
South Korea a single exam can decide a
students’ Universities admission.
How do these Chinese,
Korean, Japanese College
Entrance Exams provide
unfair advantages?

6. Assignment: You are a college admissions persons for
KIS University.

You get to determine a student’s admission based
upon their:

GPA, SAT Score, Extra-curricular activities (including
sports), personal statement. 

Provide an exact % for each of these categories 

(your total should be 100%).
KIS JEJU
We will come back to this later.

7. Example from
student from class
of 2019

8. BIG CITY BIG STATE
Census’s show that
Chang’an (todays Xian) the
capital was the largest city
at the time. Furthermore, it
showed that the state of
50-80 million people was
the largest state at the time
as well.
Comparable
to today

9. Fall of Economy

Anti-Foreign sentiments
During the late Tang period the economy was doing poorly.
The emperor Wu-tsung, a devout Taoist, attempted to
eliminate Buddhism from 843 to 845 by closing thousands of
temples.
The decline of Buddhism and conflicts between the Chinese
and foreign traders marked the beginning of a change in
Chinese attitudes. After hundreds of years of
cultural exchange, by 836 C.E. no foreigners
would be welcome in China.
http://www.ushistory.org/civ/9d.asp

10. THE FALL OF THE TANG
After imposing taxes that were too
high internal dissent began. 

At the same period, from the West, Arab
forces begun to chip at the Tang Dynasty.
Unable to recuperate, the Tang would fall
in 907 when their capital was raided, and
their emperor (Ch’ang-an) is murdered.

11. 960-1279

12. THE SONG
Small is beautiful: The empire of the Song
was not as large as the Tang, however, it was
stable, powerful and prosperous.
They managed to keep out northern rebels by buying
them out with silver, silk and tea.
The capital was Hangzhou.
During the same period the Manchurian people took 

over the Northern parts of China.

14. SONG PROSPERITY
During this period China had…

-At least 10 cities with over 1 million people.

-A population of over 100 million.
Countries: # of cities with
+1 million in 2017
USA: 10, S. Korea: 9, Germany: 4

15. ADVANCEMENTS
Agriculture: improvement on cultivating rice.
Using the silk road, trade flourished. Also, advanced
sailing technology helped the Chinese trade via ocean/
sea.

16. Successful Trade
Unlike the Tang, foreign
relations and trade were
critical for growth.
The dynasty set up major
harbors at Quanzhou,
Guangzhou and Xiamen.
The government built a
major navy to protect
merchant shipping.

17. CHANGES IN SOCIETY
Greater roads and advanced sailing created a far
more mobile population.
A new upper class was called the gentry, a group that
attained their status through education and civil service
positions rather than land ownership.
Women were already deemed lower than men in status,
but during the Tang and Song Dynasties it became
worse. One symbol of this change was the custom of
“foot binding”.

19. Women in the 21st century and “feet”
Are high heels the “foot-binding of the 21st
century”? Why yes or why no?

20. Chinese consistency
What partly attributed towards the
constant growth in arts, invention
and culture of the Chinese is their
consistency in ancient texts.
Starting as early as 1045BC, the
Chinese had a common language
for 2000 years.

21. INVENTIONS
Gunpowder

Paper-making

Chinese writing

Abacus

Spinning Wheel

Playing Cards,
Kites, Explosives,
Umbrella


22. Alcohol

Mechanical Clock

Tea

Silk

Porcelain

Compass
INVENTIONS

23. Of all the inventions listed on the
previous page, which one do you think
had the most long lasting impact? Why?
What are some modern inventions that
you believe will still have an impact
1,000 years from now?

24. .POHPMJBO"UUBDLT
The Song were attacked by the Mongols
led by Kublai Khan. After several
decades of fighting their capital was
taken, and the empire ended in 1279.

25. WAIT FOR IT…THE MONGOLS
CHAPTER 12
SECTION 2 & 3

26. INTRODUCTION
The physical geography of where the
Mongols lived played a major role in shaping
their society.
Where they lived, temperatures would
range from negative 50 degrees up to
35 degrees in the summer. 

This meant that they had to move West or
South to find better land to survive.

28. NOMADIC
The Mongols were Nomadic people who
domesticated animals and took them
everywhere they went in order to feed them.
This led towards battles amongst the
Mongols for right to fields and water.

29. GENGHIS KHAN
Born as Temujin, he unites all the Mongol tribes.
He accepts the title Genghis Khan, meaning
“Universal Ruler”.
For 21 years, he would go on to lead his united
group of Nomads conquering various parts of
Asia, establishing one of the largest Empires in history
He first invaded the Jin Empire in 1211, followed
by the Western lands where Muslims lived in
Central Asia.

31. Mongol Empire at its largest

32. Genghis Khans
Success in 3 Pts
1. Organization: He was able to gather his military
in brigades and companies/units.
2. Strategist: He would use tricks like luring enemies
in with a smaller military than ambushing from the
sides.
3. Cruelty: He would terrify enemies into surrender.

33. Superb on horse.
Able to travel up to 120 miles a day.
Incredibly tough. If they lacked food, they
would create a small gash in the horses neck
and drink horse blood for sustenance.
MONGOL SOLDIERS
Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace) 1200-1300

35. KUBLAI KHAN
The grandson of Genghis Khan
who took over from 1260.
He starts off by overwhelming the
Chinese military in 1279.
He then takes over as China’s
new emperor and founds the
Yuan Dynasty, uniting China.

36. MONGOLS IN CHINA
Restored the Grand Canal.
Built a paved highway.
Foreign trade increased (Due to
the Mongols creating safe travel
routes).
Kublai invited foreign merchants to
further increase trade, the most famous
among them being, Marco Polo.

37. MARCO POLO 1254?-1324
Fluent in Asian languages and serves in
Kublai Khan’s court for 17 years.
Marco Polo’s information was introduced to
Europeans in a rather unorthodox

way. When he was captured and 

imprisoned during a war, he

told his fellow prisoners his stories

about China. There, one of the

prisoners kept notes of what Polo

said, and wrote a book on based on

his stories.

38. THE MONGOL DEMISE
Outside: The Mongols were waging wars on southeast
Asia and Japan, which were unsuccessful.
Domestic: High taxes were angering the Chinese.
Khan’s death: led towards a power struggle in 1294,
which did not help keep down the riots that occurred
throughout China during that time.
1368, the Mongols are overthrown by the Chinese,
around the same time the rest of the Mongol Empire
began to disintegrate.

39. MONGOL LEGACY
1. Mongols reinvigorated Eurasian trade.
2. Created the Yam System (delivery).
3. Tolerant of different religions. They didn’t ask
people they conquered to convert.
4. Incredibly brutal. Often destroying entire cities, the
numbers they killed could have exceeded 1 million.
5. Not interested in architecture (therefore very little
Mongol architecture is left today).
Crash Course History

40. Too Big to Administer
Upon the death of Genghis Khan, his
empire was left for his three sons.
Different areas of the empire were
administered by different sons. The areas
were administered separately, and each
territory would last a different amount of
itme, but by the 1600s, they would all
disspear, with the Chaghatai Dynasty
being the last to fall.

41. Mongolia Today
Capital: Ulan Bator (Coldest capital city
in the world!)

HUGE Country: You could fit the South
Korea into Mongolia over fifteen times!

Buddhism: is the dominate religion

Economy: Average GDP per Capita is not
very high at $4,056 a year, roughly equal to
nations such as Vietnam, Ghana and Laos.
http://www.mongolia-travel-guide.com/mongolia-facts.html

42. FEUDAL POWERS 

IN JAPAN
Chapter 12
Section 4

43. JAPANS GEOGRAPHY
500 miles from China meant that Japan
received various cultural influences, yet
was distant enough to avoid invasion.
The country had rainfall, but only 12%
of the land was suitable for farming. 

There were numerous earthquakes and
tidal waves, and many natural disasters.

45. EARLY PHASES
The main religion was Shinto.
The nation was not united, instead various
tribes and local lords had control over their
own areas.
However, by the 7th century the Yamato clan
claim to be the descendants of the sun god
Amateras, and call themselves the emperors of
the nation.

46. The Capital Moves
Capital moves to what is today
known as Kyoto.

Kyoto will remain 

the capital for 

Japan until 1868, when the
government relocates the 

capital to Tokyo.

47. CULTURE
Buddhism: Brought in by Korean travelers. 

Due to the similarity with Shintoism, many people
blended various practices of the two together.
Writing: The Japanese adopted the Chinese system of
writing.
Government: The Japanese attempted to model the
Tang rulers who had a civil-service system, but this fails.
Control remained in the hands a few families.

49. Large land owners begun to set up
private militaries. They would have
numerous Samurai, body guards
who would be loyal and follow their
masters orders.

50. The samurai code was called Bushido.
During the late 1100s, the two strongest clans in
Japan fought, the Minamoto leader won, and he was
given the title, shogun, or “supreme general”.
Japan was able to fight off two naval invasions sent
by Kublai Khan in 1274 and 1281.

51. -Chivalry
-Shields and spear
-Iron
-Large groups
-Pledged loyalty to lord.
-Code of honors
-Swords
-Publicly, below lords, but
above peasants/merchants.
-Bushido
-Bow and arrow, katana
-Steel
-Sandals
Medieval Warfare Today

52. Samurai Domination
The Samurai would go on to dominate
politics in Japan until the Meiji restoration
in the late 1800s.
The introduction of Western weapons,
and the government opened up by the
West led to a final showdown between the
government and the Samurai.

53. Perry &
Takamori
Perry first arrived to Japan
in 1853, intimidating the
Japanese with a powerful
fleet with cannons. He
returned in 1854, and
ordered the Japanese
ports to open for trade.
Japan, completely out
gunned reluctantly opened
ports up to the USA.
Takamori is often cited
as the “Last Samurai”,
given his last stand
against the Japanese
government in 1877
(The Satsuma
Rebellion).

54. Meiji Reformation (Grade 10)
Refers to the large reformation made by the
Japanese government under Emperor Meiji in
the late1800’s.
Took place in Japan after being forced to open
ports by General Perry and the US navy.
Japan sought to catch up to Europe through
modernizing their governments, military,
politics, food and clothing through following
various Western models.

55. Concept of Preserving Culture
vs. Advancing Culture
Clothing
Traditional
Clothing
Western (Suits)
Weapons Bows and SwordsGuns, Gatling gun
Food Traditional foods
More Western
cuisines
Politics
Closed to the
world
Open
Mannerisms Bushido
Western
philosophy

56. Concept to Consider
What did Japan gain through
Westernization / modernization? 



What did Japan lose through
Westernization / modernization?

58. KINGDOMS OF
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Chapter 12
Section 5

59. GEOGRAPHY
Warm, humid and occasional monsoons.
On the mainland, five great rivers flow from the
North and cut valleys to the seas.
The key to power in southeast Asia is control
of the harbors.

60. INDIA AND CHINA
This area of the world has been influenced by these
two areas.
Hindu and Buddhist missionaries have
spread their faiths, while India in many ways
shaped the region’s culture, language, and art.
Chinese politically influenced the areas in
southeast Asia.

61. KHMER
EMPIRE
The Khmer Empire would span across what
would be today’s Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and
Southern Vietnam.
The empire peaked around 1200.
The Khmer’s capital was Angkor, within he
capital elaborate and extensive city temples were
built, the most famous one being Angkor Wat.

65. Accomplishments
Great architecture.
High-tech irrigation system.
Most of the Khmer legacy can be seen with the
today at the city of Siem Reap.

66. Reason for Collapse?
Is unclear. But several theories exist.
1. War with neighboring states.
2. Over-population
3. Lengthy drought.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/medieval/qt/Collapse-Of-Angkor.htm
Lack of documentation
from the 14-15th century.

67. KOREA
Chapter 12
Section 5
Also

68. MYTHICAL BEGINNINGS
According to legends, the first Korean state
was founded by hero Tan’gun, whose father
was a god and mother was a bear.
Adopted many aspects of Chinese culture.

69. GEOGRAPHY
Much of the land is mountainous and only a
limited portion of the land is good for farming.
A mountain barrier exists between Korea and
Manchuria, which created a type of isolation.

71. EARLY HISTORY
In 108BC the Han Dynasty took over Korea,
where they established a military government.
Through the Chinese, ideas such as centralized
government, Confucianism, Buddhism and
writing were passed on.
In the mid-600s, the Silla Kingdom was able to
defeat other Korean Kingdoms and drive the
Han Dynasty out of Korea.

72. Koguryo
Silla
Baekje
Gaya
Confederation

73. GYEONGJU
It was the capital for the Silla Kingdom
and is the home for many Buddhist
monuments and UNESCO heritage sites.

76. Under the Silla, there were various
Buddhist monasteries that were built
and a new type of writing system, one that
was suitable for writing Korean
phonetically through still using Chinese
characters.
Led by the rebel Wang Kon, the rebels
took over Silla Kingdoms in 935AD.

He would go on to name this new
Kingdom as the Koryu Dynasty.

78. KORYU DYNASTY
The Koryu attempted to create a civil
service model like the Chinese had.
However, this failed, and the sons
of nobles continued to receive the best
positions.
Between 1231-1392 the Koryu were
occupied by the Mongolians.

79. The Koryu Rule
During the Koryu period, the people who
lived there had generally positive relations
with China and adopted various aspects of
Chinese culture and political systems.
The downfall of the Empire would derive
from its military. The military was not treated
well by the empire and as result, the military
would stage a coup d’etat and rule the final
years of the Koryu as a military regime.

80. Yi and Hanyang
Founded by Taejo Yi
Seong-gye.
The capital was set
to Hanyang (Which
would later on
become Seoul).
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Choson-dynasty
In theory, any person could
become Yangban by passing

81. Yi (Choson) Dynasty.
The Chosen Dynasty or Yi Dynasty begins
from 1392 and lasts until the 20th century,
despite numerous periods of occupation/war
(Japan 1592-98, Manchu 1627-, 1910-1945 Japan).
The capital of the Kingdom was established at
Hanyang (todays Seoul).
It was during this period that Hangul was
invented.

82. The Yangban
A new class called Yangban would
emerge during this period.

Unlike previous dynasties, land was not
limited to high ranking bureaucrats, but
were also redistributed towards along
scholar-officials, known as Yangban.

83. Key Words: 8 Groups of 2-3

1. Taejo of Goryeo

2. Silla Kingdom

3. Dae Jo-yeong

4. King Sejong the Great

5. Hangul

6. Baekje Kingdom

7. Goguryeo Kingdom

8. Gojoseon
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