The Orient

1
The Orient
2
Ancient China

• Ruled by monarchs (called dynasties) for
  thousands of years
• Justified by the Mandate from heaven
• Developed early forms of irrigation, gunpowder,
  barbed wire, paper
• Most advanced culture of the ancient world
• ex 215 B.C. - The Great Wall is built spans
  thousands of miles

3
Tang Song Dynasties

• (618-907) Tang Dynasty
• First to expand the empire to include Vietnam,
  Korea, Tibet
• Built a system of canals to encourage trade and
  transportation
• (960-1279) Song Dynasty
• Made rice Chinas number one food product
• Used the Silk Road to trade with merchants from
  the Middle East

4
Chinese society

• Governed by a feudal class system
• 1st class Gentry (wealthy, educated, landowners)
• 2nd class Peasants (poor working class)
• Women were lower than men and suffered from the
  practice of foot binding (caused limping and
  deformed feet)

5
Chinese Art

• Art focused on nature and religion (Buddha)
• Architecture focused on the pagoda

6
Mongolian Empire

• Created by Genghiz Khan in the early 1200s (north
  of China)
• Emphasized strict military discipline
• Traded food, inventions, ideas with East Asia
  and Middle East nations
• Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghiz) conquered all
  of the Chinese Empire

7
Marco Polo

• Italian merchant from Venice
• 1271 Traveled throughout Asia spent 17 years
  serving Kublai Khan
• Returned to Italy Wrote a book about the
  Chinese culture that inspired other Europeans to
  explore China

8
Japan

• Japanese people probably emigrated from Asia onto
  the islands
• Suffers from frequent tsunamis and volcano
  eruptions
• Ujis (Clans) practiced polytheism which they
  called shinto
• The culture is a blend of Chinese, Korean, and
  other regions

9
Japanese society

• 1192 Japanese shoguns emerge as leaders in
  society
• Emphasis on military strength begins
• Shogun becomes the leader
• Daimyos (war lords) become vassals and lords
• Samurai become the fighting nobles
• Developed a code of morals bushido
• Peasants, artisans, and merchants all worked to
  help the samurai

10
Japanese society

• 1274 Mongols failed to invade Japan because the
  fleet was destroyed by a typhoon
• 1300-1868 Japan is in a constant state of war
  between conflicting shogun families