-Unlike European feudalism, women were not held in high esteem; lost any freedoms they had under Fujiwara period
-a. emperor
b. shogun
c. daimyo
d. samurai
e. ronin
f. peasants
g. artisans
h. merchants
-Heian period – wives could inherit land, own land (could contribute more) – only noblewomen
-Women’s power decreased over time
-Women had limited ed b/c of Conf
-Fujiwara noblewomen were expected to live in near-total isolation and spent time studying Buddhism and used writing to communicate with family (Heian)
Political
-centralized power during the Tang
-isolated self-sufficient small states dominated by aristocratic clans
-(310-710) Yamato clan gained relig/cult influence and wanted to copy China’s central gov’t
-Taika period (645-710)
Clan claimed imperial authority and made
Reforms to centralize the gov’t
-Nara period (710-794)
Chinese influence at its highest; aristocracy gained back powers
-(794-1185) Heian Period – centralized gov’t, capital moved to Kyoto from Nara
*Emperors rarely ruled, but served as
figureheads/symbols of authority-isolated him in seclusion
*Fujiwara family was in power (aristocratic clan)
-Aristocrats living elegant lives at imperial capital led to countryside not being controlled as much
-Taira and Minamoto clans fought for power (noble families)w/private armies – like lords in Europe
-(1185-1500s) Minamoto won and established their gov’t at Kamakura (near Tokyo) while imperial court remained in Kyoto (power goes to shogun); military state
-(1185-1573) Medieval Japan (period that fell b/t age of Chinese influence and court domination of political life/cent gov’t unifying all of Japan and the modern age with Tokugawa dynasty in 16th century with cent gov’t again)
-Gov’t under Yamato same as China (legal code, centralized gov’t)
-Chinese influences came early (Conf ideas and bureaucracy) but b/c of political independence they were able to select among elements of Chinese culture
-Borrowed bureaucratic legal reforms from China (Taika reforms) – equal field system
-hereditary hierarchy (not by education)
-Court etiquette from Tang
*rejected Conf and civil service exams
-Chinese influence declined after Taika reform failures and the rise of the aristocracy ; ended centralized bureaucracy and was a decline in Confucian influence
-Leaders called themselves emperors but unsuccessful in creating centralized state with bureaucracy/civil service exams
-(1185) Kamakura Shogunate – emperor (figurehead) and court kept capital in Kyoto but military dictatorship ruled by landholding clans (decentralized military regime) in Kamakura
-feudalism where shogun controlled military gov’t and divided land into regional units led by daimyos and protected by samurai (part warrior/part nobility)
-separation of imperial power from real political power (since 9th century)
-Unlike Mandate of Heaven, emperor cannot be overthrown
-Growing authority of regional warlords led to a reduction in Chinese cultural influences since it was linked to the central gov’t and Conf bureaucracy
Economic
-ag
-artisan class of weavers, carpenters, ironworkers
-trade regulated by clan leaders
-majority were peasants who worked land owned by lords or Buddhist monasteries
-During Kamakura period, trade/manufacturing focused on markets in larger towns and foreign trade with Korea and China
-made advances in ag technology and productivity
-developed advanced techniques in steel making
Cultural
-Shintoism (reverence of ancestors and nature spirits and deities)
-women had higher status than in China b/c of the need for whole community to participate in wet-rice cultivation
-Status of women better than China-family alliances allowed them to have role in negotiating property -Women had little ed b/c of Conf -Influence limited to the aristocratic elite
Political
- indep in early Tang after collapse of Sui
-aristocracy chosen by birth for gov’t positions
-aristocrats and royal houses dominated Korean society more than in China
-monarchy
-(600s) Tang conquered, Silla’s king had to recognize Tang emperor as his overlord
-Got porcelain but used celadon bowls (pale green)
-literacy rate improved b/c of printing from China
Vietnam – no assimilation of Chinese ideas until Tang period; As Tang fell during early 10th century, Vietnam won independence and resisted later Chinese efforts at imperial expansion to the south—more resistant to the Chinese
Before China
After China
Social
-society based on nuclear family -women active in community and political life, economy
-stayed living in villages, not cities
-finally accepted extended family like in China
-women had more privileges (commerce, politics, poetry)-limited ed b/c of Conf
-women participated in business ventures, dominated local and regional markets
Political
-Han conquered but Viet did not assimilate
-valued indep and did not want to become tributary
