Southeast Asia and Korea

Around the orbit of ChinaChapter 12:5

Southeast Asia

• Labeling the map– Label each of the empires we discuss on your map as we go

through the notes.• Geography and Trade• Influence of India and China

– Hinduism and Buddhism• Khmer Empire• Saliendra and Srivijaya Dynasties

– Importance of the Straits of Malacca• Vietnam• Korea – The Koryu Dynasty

Places discussed in class

• Khmer Empire• Koryu Dynasty• India• China• Mongolia• Philippines• Saliendra and

Srivijaya Dynasties

• Thailand/Siam• Burma/Myanmar• Vietnam• Malaysia• Sumatra and Java

Women in SE Asia• More Freedom – expected to manage family

businesses, run household, and participate in trade– Additionally, heavily involved in rice cultivation, handicraft

production, and marketing as well as bearing children– Daughters valued higher than in other parts of Asia!

• Bilateral Kinship– Male or female lineage– Marriage: Monogamous; money and property transferred

to wife’s family (reverse in European and other Asian cultures!)

– Bride Price versus Dowry• Who is paying for the privilege of marriage?

Women in SE Asia, continued

• Dutch observations: Women in SE Asia were “constant when married, but very loose when single,” and it was “thought to be an obstacle and an impediment to marriage for a girl to be a virgin.”

• Chinese: “In Cambodia it is the women who take charge of trade”• Chinese: “It is the [Siamese] custom that all affairs are managed by

wives… all trading transactions great and small.”• British: “The women of Siam are the only merchants in buying goods,

and some of them trade very considerably.”• British: “Women in the Birman country… manage the more important

mercantile concerns of their husbands.”• Chinese: “In [Vietnam] every man is a soldier. The commercial

operations are performed by women.”

Mainland – the Khmer• Monsoon trades– Indian influence: Hinduism, Buddhism, and

Sanskrit to SE Asia– Theravada vs Mahayana• Theravada – “Elders” – more conservative; textual and

personal• Mahayana – E and SE Asian practice; universal salvation

Khmer Empire

• Present-day Cambodia– Funan expansion 800-1200 CE (peak influence) laid the

groundwork for the Khmer Empire.• Rice Crops

– Could feed large populations– Three-to-four cultivations a year due to Khmer irrigation and

agricultural policy – the purpose of government!• Angkor Wat – one square mile of city-temple

– Built for Vishnu, “The Preserver”– Also served as an observatory– Has been a Buddhist temple (Wat) since the 15th Century

Hinduism

• During the Gupta Empire, Hinduism became more monotheistic.

• Emphasis of Brahma – representing unity of all things– Brahma: The Creator– Vishnu: The Preserver/Savior/Protector– Shiva: The Destroyer – Other gods remain, but take a lesser role

Angkor Wat

One Square Mile

Mount Meru, celestial mountain

Celestial Mountains

Island Traders

• Present-day Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia– Malay-speaking peoples, but all trade came through the area and

they were very diverse (cultural diffusion…)• Wealth gained by taxing trade• Saliendra– Java (SE of Sumatra)– Buddhist Borobudur temple complex built c 800 CE

• Nine Terraced levels

• Srivijaya conquest 7th-13th century– Capital Palembang, on Sumatra– Center of Buddhist learning

Borobodur: 9th Century

Mahayana Buddhist Shrine and Pilgrimage site

Three Levels:Desire, Forms, Formlessness

Vietnam• Least influenced by India, but constant dealing

with China• 100 BCE-900 CE Chinese domination (Han

conquest, T’ang retreat)• Independent kingdom in 939 CE– Buddhism prominent– Women more freedom and influence than Chinese

• Ly Dynasty (1009-1225 CE)– Capital at Hanoi– Mongol attempts to conquer Vietnam all failed

(1257, 1285, and 1287)

Korea

• Peninsula bordered by mountains and sea• Han conquest: 108 BCE– Centralized government, writing, Confucianism

and Buddhism prominently acquired by Koreans– Forced withdrawal of Chinese with factionalizing

peninsula• Silla conquest of competitors mid-600s CE– Phonetic writing based on Chinese characters

Koryu Dynasty (935-1392 CE)• Est. by Wang Kon, rebel officer– Confucian civil service exams, universities, – Society divided between aristocrats and all others, led to

rebellions in 1100s– 1231 Mongol invasion

• Tribute of 20,000 horses, clothing for 1 million soldiers, slaves

– Mongol empire collapsed 1350s, Koryu overthrown 1392 CE• Artwork– Celadon Pottery– Block printing of entire Buddhist Canon (Tripitaka Koreana)

• First time all Buddhist Scriptures written down in one set!• Duplicates in the 13th century, since originals were destroyed by

Mongols

Block Printing