Chapter 7: India, China, and Japan

1.
a. How did Hinduism influence life in India?
Caste rules ensured a stable society, a council of elders made all important decisions in villages, and local Brahman priest influenced the council.
b. What effect did Muslim rule have on India?
The Delhi sultans were assembled, and there was a period of peace and economic prosperity. However, Hindus had to pay a heavy tax and there were conflicts between Islamic and Hindu beliefs.
2.
a. How did Akbar try to unify the Mogul Empire?
He lifted the non-believer tax, married a Muslim princess, appointed qualified Hindus to high office, forbade the destruction of Hindu temples
b. How did his successors change his policies?
His successors ended his policy of religious toleration. They closed Hindu schools, destroyed temples, and reimposed the nonbeliever tax.
c. What happened as a result of these changes?
There was a fierce resistance among the Hindus which struggled to overthrow the Moguls.
3. Describe Chinese achievements in each of the following areas:
a. Government: they invented the examinations for civil service to recruit talented and royal officials in the imperial court
b. Technology: they invented the printing press: both block print and movable type
c. Arts: there were many poets who based their poems on emotions and nature. There were also artists who sat at one place for days to try to capture the mood and then paint the scene without once glancing at it.
4.
a. How did foreign trade affect China during the T’ang and Sung empires?
The Chinese were exposed to many new products such as peppers and dates. Also, they learned about new seeds and farming methods from their contacts with the foreigners.
b. Why did trade become even more extensive under the Mongols?
The Mongols built great highways across their empire so that trade and travel increased.
c. What attitude did the Chinese take toward foreign trade by the 1500’s?
The Chinese closed off all their ports and did not allow foreigners to land. Later, the foreigners were kept under close supervision in Macao, and later, Canton.
5.
a. How did Chinese culture influence the Japanese
The Japanese adopted the Chinese characters as well as Noh Buddhism. They borrowed Chinese styles in art and literature. Nobles studied Confucian and Taoist philosophy.
b. Why did the Japanese borrow some Chinese ideas and not others?
The Japanese tried to adopt the idea of Civil Service Examinations, but this didn’t fit into their idea that a person’s place in society was inherited.
6.
a. What type of government did the Tokugawa shoguns establish in Japan?
They established a strong central government and organized a government bureaucracy to supervise taxation, finance, and justice. And they preserved the feudal order.
b. How did they limit the power of the daimyo?
They limited the power of the daimyo by making them stay every other year in Edo (Tokyo) while their families remained there every year so that they could not organize revolts.
7.
a. How were Buddhist teachings brought to Japan?
Zen Buddhism was brought to Japan by Chinese monks.
b. How did Buddhism affect Japanese society?
Zen Buddhism stressed on one’s love for nature, which complemented the Shinto idea of respect for the forces of nature. Both men and women learned flower arranging, gardening, and tea ceremony (which was meant to reflect peace, simplicity, and love of beauty)
For Further Thought
1. Analyzing.
a. How did differences in religious beliefs contribute to clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India?
The Hindus believed that the cow was a sacred animal while Muslims believed that it was food. Hindus believed that music was important, while Muslims believed that it was an offense of god.
b. In what ways was there a peaceful blending of the two cultures?
Urdu came to be (it’s a combination of Persian and Hindi written in Arabic script), Purdah, the practice of secluding women, was adopted, and Muslim mosques were often designed and built by Hindu architects. Hindu artists also painted works that illustrated Persian stories.
2. Applying Information
a. How did Chinese and Japanese attitudes toward foreigners change in the 1500s and 1600s?
They rejected the foreigners to trade in only one city of the country. The Japanese restricted them to the port of Nagasaki while the Chinese restricted them the Macao, and later, Canton.
b. Why do you think their views of foreigners changed?
The Japanese shoguns didn’t like the way that Japanese Christians were pledging obedience to some far-away pope, and they later feared that the Europeans were going to conquer Japan, so they limited their trade with foreign countries.
The Chinese probably thought they had enough to go on without any contact with foreign countries. They probably thought that they were superior to all other countries and didn’t need to be influenced by their cultures.
3. Analyzing a Quotation
A Japanese saying states: “The rice that Hideyoshi cooked was eaten by Tokugawa Ieyasu.” Do you think this saying accurately describes what happened in Japan after the late 1500s?
I don’t think this saying accurately describes what happened in Japan because Japan also flourished under Tokugawa Ieyasu. For example, cities like Edo (Tokyo) grew quickly, and there was peace and prosperity under the Tokugawa shoguns.
4. Comparing
a. Describe the structure of Japanese feudal society.
The Emperor held the highest rank in society, but had no political power. The Shogun was the actual ruler who imposed laws, set wages and prices, and controlled taxes.
The Daimyo were landowners that controlled large estates.
Samurai Soldiers pledged obedience to the Shogun and Daimyo
Peasants and Artisans provided food and weapons
Merchants traded these products to gain money, but they had a low social status.
b. How was Japanese feudalism similar to feudalism in Western Europe?
The Daimyo = the lords, samurai soldiers = knights, peasants = serfs, artisans and merchants were basically the same.
c. How was it different?
The emperor of Japan held no political power, but in Europe, the King had most of the power. The merchants were ranked higher than peasants in Europe, the they were below peasants in Japan.
Developing Basic Skills
1. Using visual evidence
Study the painting on page 119. Does the painting express the same feelings about nature as Li P’s poem?
Yes it does.
2. Map Reading
Map on page 122 and maps on pages 197-198
a. What was the extent of the Mongol empire?
i. It covered almost all of Asia except northern Russia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam
b. What countries today are located in the lands once ruled by the Mongols?
i. Afghanistan, Persia, Russia, Korea…etc.
c. Why do you think Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and grandsons?
i. Because he wanted to be FAIR. :D :D :D
3. Using Diagrams
Diagram page 127:
a. Who held the highest status in Japanese society?
The Emperor
b. Who had the lowest status
The Merchants
c. Why do you think the daimyo had so much power and influence
They could change laws, governed the taxes… did everything.
d. What does the diagram tell you about the structure of Japanese society?
It is very much like the status of feudal Europe.