Ch. 28-History and Government of East

Asia

Some of the world’s longest continuous civilizations can be found in East Asia. Their history is filled with the rise and fall of powerful ruling families-dynasties

River Valley Civilizations

The culture of East Asia began about 2,000 BC along the Wei River, a major tributary to the Yellow River (Huang He).

Wei River Valley

River Valley Civilizations

Recorded history begins with the Shang Dynasty about 1,700 BC.

As with all dynasties in China, the Shang dynasty eventually fell. The people of China would explain the end of a dynasty as a revocation of the Mandate of Heaven– the gods removed the kings when they were displeased.

Imperial ChinaDuring the Imperial period in China, China was built into an organized series of city-states (kingdoms).

The Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang in about 1,100 B.C.

The Zhou created a huge trading empire during which time Chinese culture was spread throughout the region, trade increased and China is brought into the iron age.

Confucius and Dao

Two well-known Chinese philosophers emerge at this time. They had an immeasurable impact on Chinese society.

Confucianism became the basis for Chinese law and administration

The Qin Dynasty

By 221 B.C., the Qin Dynasty had built a Chinese Empire. During this time the Great Wall of China was built. The wall was built to keep out the nomadic Mongol invaders

Great Wall of Qin Dynasty

Xian

Tang Dynasty

The rulers of the Tang Dynasty continued to make the empire larger.

By 620 A.D. merchants, travelers, and silk traders were taking Chinese culture all over East Asia

Mongols Rule China

From the mid 1200’s A.D to the late 1300s, China was ruled by people from the North. The Great Wall was built to keep these invaders from Mongolia out however, the Mongols were smart and found other ways to enter into China.

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan led his brutal armies into China and crushed the royal forces of the emperor.

Kublai Khan (Genghis Khan’s grandson) built the present day capital of Beijing, from where he united China into one large empire.

Korea and Japan

The early people in Japan lived in small tribal communities called clans.

The Yamato people ruled Japan by 400 A.D.

The Japanese leaders sent their children to China to learn technology, government and the arts.

Feudal Japan

By 1,100 A.D., nobles began to fight each other for control of the Islands.

The countries first military ruler, or shogun, took power in 1,192.

Samurai

He built a private army of soldiers that were very loyal to the Shogun. They were known as the Samurai.

Military dictators ruled Japan until the late 1,800s.

Korea

The kingdom of Silla ruled a unified Korean peninsula until it was overthrown by the Koryu Dynasty in the late 1,100s.

The Mongols then conquered the Koryus and took control of the peninsula

Korea

In recent history, Japan gained control of the peninsula in 1905. As a result of WWII, the peninsula was taken from Japan and split between the United States and Russia who promised to reunify the Koreans and promote Korean rule of the peninsula. This did not happen. Korea is still split.

Contacts With the West

By the 1,600s, leaders in China, Japan and Korea wanted to remain isolated from the Western nations.

China tried to maintain its isolation by limiting trade with all foreigners to a single port city of Guangzhou.

Contacts With the West

Eventually Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France and the United States forced trade treaties on China- under the threat of guns and warships.

Japan Resists Western Influence

In 1853, the United States sent warships into Tokyo Bay to force access to Japanese markets.

Rather than fight, the Japanese signed a trade agreement.

Japan rapidly began to modernize and began to seek to build an empire of its own.

War and Revolution

Japan aided the Allies in WWI and gained Germany’s former possessions in China and the Pacific. They were well on their way to building an empire.

During WWII, in a quest for more influence in the Pacific, Japan took over more parts of China and began to take over other colonial holdings in Southeast Asia.

Japan is Defeated

At the end of WWII, Japan had been defeated by the United States. All of Japan’s colonial holdings were taken away and divided among the victorious allies.

The 38th Parallel

Korea was split between Russia and the United States. In the 1950’s the communists and democratic halves of Korea fought for control of the entire peninsula. The South was supported by the United States while the North was supported by China and Russia.

Korean War

The war in Korea was the first in a series of “Cold War” conflicts between the communists in the East and capitalists in the West.

The outcome of the Korean war was a stalemate. The division between the two regions remains the same today as the day it was divided after WWII.

Revolutions in China

In 1911, the Chinese Empire came to an end when a nationalist Sun Yat-sen, overthrew the Manchu Dynasty.

China’s Nationalist Government

In 1927, Chaing Kai-shek set up a nationalist government.

China’s Communist Government

After WWII, Mao Zedong’s communist party gained control of China through a democratic election.China remains one of the last communist countries in the world

Japan Rebuilds

After WWII, Japan transformed its self into a democracy. With in only a few decades, an economic boom made Japan one of the richest countries in the world.