The+Asian+World

Emily Meyer and Rhiannon Clark 400-1500

Without stones there is no arch. -Marco Polo

There were many dynasties in the Asian World. They included the Sui Dynasty from 589-615, the Tang Dynasties from 618-907, the Song Dynasty from 960-1279, the Yuan Dynasty from 1271-1368, and the Ming Dynasty from 1368-1644. Those dynasties were all in china, but the Asian World also included Japan. Ainu was the prehistoric name of Japan. Japan is located on an archipelago or chain of islands. Japan has approximately 3000 islands. Nature was very sacred to the Japanese, one mountain in particular had many temple used for worship was a volcano mountain called Mt. Fuji.

Many things were invented during the Tang Dynasty among them woodblock printing and the fire-lance. The first book was printed it was The Diamond Sutra. Also, Empress Wu started requiring a civil service exam for government workers. During the Song Dynasty China became a unified state. And a new wealthy elite group of scholars was started they were called scholar-gentries. And Ma Yu Ching’s was created it was the world’s oldest restaurant. In the Yuan Dynasty the Mongols controlled China. Kublai Khan or “The Wise Khan” was the one who founded the Yuan Dynasty. Today’s Beijing was renamed Peking, after originally being called Khanbaliq or “The City of the Khan”. In the Ming dynasty Hung Wu, a Buddhist monk, drove the Mongols out of China. He was probably part of the White Lotus Society which was a secret organization that led a revolt against the Mongols. Nanking became the Capital City. Emperor Yung La built the Forbidden City which was the home of the emperors. But, in 1433 China isolated it’s self from Europe and the rest of the World. Then the Mongol Empire came it was the largest empire in this world’s history. Genghis Khan was the first Mongol Emperor, Temuchin was his original name and he was the Universal Monarch. The Golden Horde was a Mongol cavalry and was the greatest nomadic fighting force of all time. Kublai Khan or “The Great Khan” conquered all of China. In 1294, Kublai Khan died and the Mongol Empire began to fall. The early Japanese people were called Yayoi and they lived in clans which were family groups. The Yamato Clan emerged as the strongest clan in 300AD. The Yamato became Japan’s first and only dynasty. Prince Shotoku unified the clans of Japan. There were many different classifications of people. There were shogun or general; they were the most powerful of the samurai. The samurai or those who server, were warrior knights. A ronin was a Samurai without a lord. Daimyo meaning Great Name were great landowners. A ninja also known as warriors of the night were spies and assassins. Bushido or way of the warrior was the samurai code of conduct. It valued things like honor, loyalty, simplicity, courage, and obedience to ones lord. If a samurai had by disloyal or had committed a crime they might commit Hara-Kari, a ceremonial suicide. During the Nara Period, Nara became the first permanent capital city, and the Fujiwara clan took the power from the Yamato Emperor and the emperor became a figurehead. Then during the Heian Period, Heian became the new capital city, it was known as “The City of peace & tranquility”. The Tale of Genji, the world’s first novel was printed during this period, and it was written by Lady Muraski. Minamoto Yoritomo became the first shogun. The kamikaze or divine wind was divine that saved Japan from a Mongol invasion. The Onin war took place between 1467-1477, it was a civil war between Samurais. Tokugawa Leyasu united Japan and they had peace and stability. Edo, modern day Tokyo became the new Capital City.

Religion in the Asian World had not really changed from Ancient Asia. They still followed Zen Buddhism, and meditation meant enlightenment. Neo-Confucianism was taken from Confucianism it stated that fulfillment in life came from good moral principles. There was also Tao which was the “Way of Nature”. The Japanese believed that Amaterasu was the Sun Goddess that crated Japan. She gave the first emperor three gifts that all emperors received in the future. She gave them a mirror, a jewel, and a sword. They believed that Jimmu was the first emperor, but he may have been mythical. The Japanese also believed that Kami or spirits inhabited all things in nature. Christianity came to Japan in the form of Francis Xavier was Jesuit Priest. Soon though Christianity became a suspected threat to Japan and they isolated themselves from the world.
 * __5 important Terms__ **
 * __ 1; Mongols- __Pastoral people from the region of modern day Mongolia who where organized loosely into clans.**
 * __2; Porcelain-__ A ceramic made of fine clay backed at very high temperatures.**
 * __3: Kami-__ Spirits worshiped by early Japanese, whom they believed resided in the tree's. rivers, mountains, ect. **
 * __4: Firelance-__ F ire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. **
 * __5; Shogun-__ Leader of centralized government in the system called the shogunate.**

** __1:__ __Genghis Khan-__ The first Mongol Emperor, Temuchin was his original name and he was the Universal Monarch. **
 * __5 important People__ **
 * __2;__ __Kublai Khan-__“ The Great Khan” conquered all of China. In 1294, Kublai Khan died and the Mongol Empire began to fall.**
 * __3:__ __Prince Shotoku-__ Yamato prince that tried to unify the clans so that the Japanese could resist an invasion from the Chinese. **
 * __4: Marco Polo-__ Venetian merchant traveler, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. Travels where recorded hile her was in prison. **
 * __5;Wu Zhao-__ Known as Empress Wu. daughter of Chinese general, mistress to an emperor in 649. viewed as very power hungry. **

1) [|sui, tang, and song dynasty]-This website has information about the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties, and if you click on the links at the bottom you can find more information about the dynasties in China. 2)[|Samurai]-This website has information about Samurai and their origins, plus information about museums that you can visit to see artifacts connected to them today. 3)[|St. Francis Xavier]-This website has in depth information about St. Franics Xavier who was the priest that brought Christianity to Japan. In goes more into his life before Japan and his death. 4)[|Edo(Tokyo)]-This website gives a virtual tour of Edo or Tokyo as it is known today, Edo was a center of life in Japan like London in Britain or Paris in France it was a huge part of culture and was at one point in the Asian world was the capital and it still is today. 5)[|Onin War]-This website has more in depth detail about what went on during the Onin War like why it happened and so on.
 * Five links to websites containing information about the Asian World*

Timeline: 500s - Grand Canal is completed 618 - Tang Dynasty begins 802 - Jayavarman is crowned god-king and unites the Khmer of Angkor 905 - Fire-lance invented 1000s- Moveable type invented in China 1258 - Mongols defeat the Abbasids at Baghdad 1368 - Zhu Yuanzhang defeats the Mongols and establishes the Ming dynasty 1369 - Timur Lenk seizes power and begins conquests 1392 - Yi dynasty is established in Korea 1397 - Golden Pavilion builtin Japan 1450 - Japanese civil war results in the collapse of hte shogunate media type="youtube" key="AB5bX9m2G8w" height="315" width="420" media type="custom" key="12053593"