History of Asia
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The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. See History of the Middle East and History of the Indian Subcontinent for further details on those regions.
The coastal periphery was the home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations and religions, with each of three regions developing early civilizations around fertile river valleys. These valleys were fertile because the soil there was rich and could bear many root crops. The civilizations in
The steppe region had long been inhabited by mounted nomads, and from the central steppes, they could reach all areas of the Asian continent. The northern part of the continent, covering much of Siberia was also inaccessible to the steppe nomads due to the dense forests and the tundra. These areas in Siberia were very sparsely populated.
The centre and periphery were kept separate by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus, Himalaya, Karakum Desert, and Gobi Desert formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could only cross with difficulty. While technologically and culturally the city dwellers were more advanced, they could do little militarily to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force. Thus the nomads who conquered states in the Middle East were soon forced to adapt to the local societies.
The spread of Islam waved the Islamic Golden Age and the Timurid Renaissance, which later influenced the age of Islamic gunpowder empires.
Asia's history features major developments seen in other parts of the world, as well as events that have affected those other regions. These include the trade of the
Prehistory
A report by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari on Lahuradewa, India shows new C14 datings that range between 9000 and 8000 BC associated with rice, making Lahuradewa the earliest Neolithic site in entire South Asia.[2] Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River alluvium approximately 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BC.
Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, between c. 9500 and 8000 BC, the site comprises a number of large circular structures supported by massive stone pillars – the world's oldest known megaliths.
The
Around 5500 BC the
, based upon dryland agriculture.In southern Mesopotamia were the alluvial plains of Sumer and Elam. Since there was little rainfall, irrigation systems were necessary. The Ubaid culture flourished from 5500 BC.
Ancient
Bronze Age
The Chalcolithic period (or Copper Age) began about 4500 BC, then the Bronze Age began about 3500 BC, replacing the Neolithic cultures.
The
China and Vietnam were also centres of metalworking. Dating back to the Neolithic Age, the first bronze drums, called the Dong Son drums have been uncovered in and around the Red River Delta regions of Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the prehistoric Dong Son Culture of Vietnam. Song Da bronze drum's surface, Dong Son culture, Vietnam
In Ban Chiang, Thailand (Southeast Asia), bronze artifacts have been discovered dating to 2100 BC.
In Nyaunggan, Burma bronze tools have been excavated along with ceramics and stone artifacts. Dating is still currently broad (3500–500 BC).
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Iron and Axial Age
The Iron Age saw the widespread use of iron tools, weaponry, and armor throughout the major civilizations of Asia.
Middle East
The
The
India
The Maurya and Gupta empires are called the Golden Age of India and were marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, art, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Indian culture. The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, which began in Indian sub-continent, were an important influence on South, East and Southeast Asia.
By 600 BC, India had been divided into 17 regional states that would occasionally feud amongst themselves. In 327 BC,
The Kushan Empire would fall apart by 220 AD, creating more political turmoil in India. Then in 320, the
Classical China
Zhou dynasty
Since 1029 BC, the Zhou dynasty (Chinese: 周朝; pinyin: Zhōu Cháo; Wade–Giles: Chou Ch'ao [tʂóʊ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ]), had existed in China and it would continue to until 258 BC.[8] The Zhou dynasty had been using a feudal system by giving power to local nobility and relying on their loyalty in order to control its large territory.[8] As a result, the Chinese government at this time tended to be very decentralized and weak, and there was often little the emperor could do to resolve national issues. Nonetheless, the government was able to retain its position with the creation of the Mandate of Heaven, which could establish an emperor as divinely chosen to rule. The Zhou additionally discouraged the human sacrifice of the preceding eras and unified the Chinese language. Finally, the Zhou government encouraged settlers to move into the Yangtze River valley, thus creating the Chinese Middle Kingdom.
But by 500 BC, its political stability began to decline due to repeated nomadic incursions[8] and internal conflict derived from the fighting princes and families. This was lessened by the many philosophical movements, starting with the life of Confucius. His philosophical writings (called Confucianism) concerning the respect of elders and of the state would later be popularly used in the Han dynasty. Additionally, Laozi's concepts of Taoism, including yin and yang and the innate duality and balance of nature and the universe, became popular throughout this period. Nevertheless, the Zhou dynasty eventually disintegrated as the local nobles began to gain more power and their conflict devolved into the Warring States period, from 402 to 201 BC.[9]
Qin dynasty
One leader eventually came on top, Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 始皇帝, Shǐ Huángdì), who overthrew the last Zhou emperor and established the Qin dynasty.[8] The Qin dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín Cháo) was the first ruling dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC.[10] The new Emperor abolished the feudal system and directly appointed a bureaucracy that would rely on him for power. Huang's imperial forces crushed any regional resistance, and they furthered the Chinese empire by expanding down to the South China Sea and northern Vietnam. Greater organization brought a uniform tax system, a national census, regulated road building (and cart width), standard measurements, standard coinage, and an official written and spoken language.[11] Further reforms included new irrigation projects, the encouragement of silk manufacturing,[11] and (most famously) the beginning of the construction of the Great Wall of China—designed to keep out the nomadic raiders who'd constantly badger the Chinese people. However, Shi Huang was infamous for his tyranny, forcing laborers to build the Wall, ordering heavy taxes, and severely punishing all who opposed him. He oppressed Confucians and promoted Legalism, the idea that people were inherently evil, and that a strong, forceful government was needed to control them. Legalism was infused with realistic, logical views and rejected the pleasures of educated conversation as frivolous. All of this made Shi Huang extremely unpopular with the people. As the Qin began to weaken, various factions began to fight for control of China.
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; 206 BC – 220 AD) was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–265 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. One of the Han dynasty's greatest emperors, Emperor Wu of Han, established a peace throughout China comparable to the Pax Romana seen in the Mediterranean a hundred years later.[11] To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people". The Han dynasty was established when two peasants succeeded in rising up against Shi Huang's significantly weaker successor-son. The new Han government retained the centralization and bureaucracy of the Qin, but greatly reduced the repression seen before. They expanded their territory into Korea, Vietnam, and Central Asia, creating an even larger empire than the Qin.
The Han developed contacts with the Persian Empire in the Middle East and the Romans, through the Silk Road, with which they were able to trade many commodities—primarily silk. Many ancient civilizations were influenced by the Silk Road, which connected China, India, the Middle East and Europe. Han emperors like Wu also promoted Confucianism as the national "religion" (although it is debated by theologians as to whether it is defined as such or as a philosophy). Shrines devoted to Confucius were built and Confucian philosophy was taught to all scholars who entered the Chinese bureaucracy. The bureaucracy was further improved with the introduction of an examination system that selected scholars of high merit. These bureaucrats were often upper-class people educated in special schools, but whose power was often checked by the lower-class brought into the bureaucracy through their skill. The Chinese imperial bureaucracy was very effective and highly respected by all in the realm and would last over 2,000 years. The Han government was highly organized and it commanded the military, judicial law (which used a system of courts and strict laws), agricultural production, the economy, and the general lives of its people. The government also promoted intellectual philosophy, scientific research, and detailed historical records.
However, despite all of this impressive stability, central power began to lose control by the turn of the
Medieval
During this period, the Eastern world empires continued to expand through trade, migration and conquests of neighboring areas. Gunpowder was widely used as early as the 11th century and they were using moveable type printing five hundred years before Gutenberg created his press. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism were the dominant philosophies of the Far East during the Middle Ages. Marco Polo was not the first Westerner to travel to the Orient and return with amazing stories of this different culture, but his accounts published in the late 13th and early 14th centuries were the first to be widely read throughout Europe.
Western Asia (Middle East)
The Arabian peninsula and the surrounding Middle East and Near East regions saw dramatic change during the Medieval era caused primarily by the spread of Islam and the establishment of the Arabian Empires.
In the 5th century, the Middle East was separated into small, weak states; the two most prominent were the
While the
After Muhammad introduced Islam, it jump-started Middle Eastern culture into an
that would later finds it way back to Western Europe.The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the
Central Asia
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Medieval Asia was the kingdom of the Khans. Never before had any person controlled as much land as Genghis Khan. He built his power unifying separate Mongol tribes before expanding his kingdom south and west. He and his grandson, Kublai Khan, controlled lands in China, Burma, Central Asia, Russia, Iran, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Genghis Khan was a Khagan who tolerated nearly every religion.
South Asia/Indian Subcontinent
India
The Indian early medieval age, 600 to 1200, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity. When
Major economic and military powers like the Delhi Sultanate and Bengal Sultanate, were seen to be established. The search of their wealth led the Voyages of Christopher Columbus.
The Vijayanagara Empire based in the Deccan Plateau region of South India, was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, patronized by saint Vidyaranya, the 12th Shankaracharya of Sringeri in Karnataka.[13] The empire rose to prominence as a result of attempts by the southern powers to resist and ward off Turkic Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. At its peak, it subjugated almost all of South India's rulers and pushed the sultans of the Deccan beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna river region. After annexing modern day Odisha (ancient Kalinga) from the Gajapati Kingdom, became a notable power.[14] The Kingdome lasted until 1646 after a major military defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates.
East Asia
China
China saw the rise and fall of the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties and therefore improvements in its bureaucracy, the spread of Buddhism, and the advent of Neo-Confucianism. It was an unsurpassed era for Chinese ceramics and painting. Medieval architectural masterpieces the Great South Gate in Todaiji, Japan, and the Tien-ning Temple in Peking, China are some of the surviving constructs from this era.
Sui dynasty
A new powerful dynasty began to rise in the 580s, amongst the divided factions of China. This was started when an aristocrat named Yang Jian married his daughter into the Northern Zhou dynasty. He proclaimed himself Emperor Wen of Sui and appeased the nomadic military by abandoning the Confucian scholar-gentry. Emperor Wen soon led the conquest of the southern Chen dynasty and united China once more under the Sui dynasty. The emperor lowered taxes and constructed granaries that he used to prevent famine and control the market. Later Wen's son would murder him for the throne and declare himself Emperor Yang of Sui. Emperor Yang revived the Confucian scholars and the bureaucracy, much to anger of the aristocrats and nomadic military leaders. Yang became an excessive leader who overused China's resources for personal luxury and perpetuated exhaustive attempts to conquer Goguryeo. His military failures and neglect of the empire forced his own ministers to assassinate him in 618, ending the Sui dynasty.
Tang dynasty
Fortunately, one of Yang's most respectable advisors, Li Yuan, was able to claim the throne quickly, preventing a chaotic collapse. He proclaimed himself Emperor Gaozu, and established the Tang dynasty in 623. The Tang saw expansion of China through conquest to Tibet in the west, Vietnam in the south, and Manchuria in the north. Tang emperors also improved the education of scholars in the Chinese bureaucracy. A Ministry of Rites was established and the examination system was improved to better qualify scholars for their jobs.[15]: p. 270 In addition, Buddhism became popular in China with two different strains between the peasantry and the elite, the Pure Land and Zen strains, respectively.[15]: pp. 271–272 Greatly supporting the spread of Buddhism was Empress Wu, who additionally claimed an unofficial "Zhou dynasty" and displayed China's tolerance of a woman ruler, which was rare at the time. However, Buddhism would also experience some backlash, especially from Confucianists and Taoists. This would usually involve criticism about how it was costing the state money, since the government was unable to tax Buddhist monasteries, and additionally sent many grants and gifts to them.[15]: p. 273
The Tang dynasty began to decline under the rule of Emperor Xuanzong, who began to neglect the economy and military and caused unrest amongst the court officials due to the excessive influence of his concubine, Yang Guifei, and her family.[15]: p. 274 This eventually sparked a revolt in 755.[15]: p. 274 Although the revolt failed, subduing it required involvement with the unruly nomadic tribes outside of China and distributing more power to local leaders—leaving the government and economy in a degraded state. The Tang dynasty officially ended in 907 and various factions led by the aforementioned nomadic tribes and local leaders would fight for control of China in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Liao, Song and Jin dynasties
By 960, most of China proper had been reunited under the
Yuan dynasty
By 1227, the Mongols had conquered the Western Xia kingdom northwest of China. Soon the Mongols incurred upon the Jin empire of the Jurchens. Chinese cities were soon besieged by the Mongol hordes that showed little mercy for those who resisted and the Southern Song Chinese were quickly losing territory. In 1271 the current great khan, Kublai Khan, claimed himself Emperor of China and officially established the Yuan dynasty. By 1290, all of China was under control of the Mongols, marking the first time they were ever completely conquered by a foreign invader; the new capital was established at Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing). Kublai Khan segregated Mongol culture from Chinese culture by discouraging interactions between the two peoples, separating living spaces and places of worship, and reserving top administrative positions to Mongols, thus preventing Confucian scholars to continue the bureaucratic system. Nevertheless, Kublai remained fascinated with Chinese thinking, surrounding himself with Chinese Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian advisors.
Mongol women displayed a contrasting independent nature compared to the Chinese women who continued to be suppressed. Mongol women often rode out on hunts or even to war. Kublai's wife, Chabi, was a perfect example of this; Chabi advised her husband on several political and diplomatic matters; she convinced him that the Chinese were to be respected and well-treated in order to make them easier to rule.[16]: p. 327 However, this was not enough to affect Chinese women's position, and the increasingly Neo-Confucian successors of Kublai further repressed Chinese and even Mongol women.
The Black Death, which would later ravage Western Europe, had its beginnings in Asia, where it wiped out large populations in China in 1331.[17][18]
Japan
Asuka period
Japan's medieval history began with the Asuka period, from around 600 to 710. The time was characterized by the Taika Reform and imperial centralization, both of which were a direct result of growing Chinese contact and influences. In 603, Prince Shōtoku of the Yamato dynasty began significant political and cultural changes. He issued the Seventeen-article constitution in 604, centralizing power towards the emperor (under the title tenno, or heavenly sovereign) and removing the power to levy taxes from provincial lords. Shōtoku was also a patron of Buddhism and he encouraged building temples competitively.[19]
Nara period
Shōtoku's reforms transitioned Japan to the
Heian period
With the Heian period (from 794 to 1185) came a decline of imperial power. Chinese influence also declined, as a result of its correlation with imperial centralization and the
Loss of imperial power also led to the rise of provincial warrior elites. Small lords began to function independently. They administered laws, supervised public works projects, and collected revenue for themselves instead of the imperial court. Regional lords also began to build their own armies. These warriors were loyal only their local lords and not the emperor, although the imperial government increasingly called them in to protect the capital. The regional warrior class developed into the samurai, which created its own culture: including specialized weapons such as the katana and a form of chivalry, bushido. The imperial government's loss of control in the second half of the Heian period allowed banditry to grow, requiring both feudal lords and Buddhist monasteries to procure warriors for protection. As imperial control over Japan declined, feudal lords also became more independent and seceded from the empire. These feudal states squandered the peasants living in them, reducing the farmers to an almost serfdom status. Peasants were also rigidly restricted from rising to the samurai class, being physically set off by dress and weapon restrictions. As a result of their oppression, many peasants turned to Buddhism as a hope for reward in the afterlife for upright behavior.[21]
With the increase of feudalism, families in the imperial court began to depend on alliances with regional lords. The Fujiwara clan declined from power, replaced by a rivalry between the
Kamakura period
The end of the Genpei War and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate marked the end of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period in 1185, solidifying feudal Japan.
Korea
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The three Kingdoms of Korea involves
North-South States Period
The rest of
Later Three Kingdoms of Korea
The unified Korean kingdom, Later Silla divided into three kingdoms again because of the corrupt central government. It involves
Goryeo
Goryeo reunited the Korean peninsula during the later three kingdoms period and named itself as 'Empire'. But nowadays, Goryeo is known as a kingdom. The name 'Goryeo' was derived from Goguryeo, and the name Korea was derived from Goryeo. Goryeo adopted people from fallen Balhae. They also widened their territory to north by defending Liao dynasty and attacking the Jurchen people. Goryeo developed a splendid culture. The first metal type printed book Jikji was also from Korea. The Goryeo ware is one of the most famous legacies of this kingdom. Goryeo imported Chinese government system and developed into their own ways.
During this period, laws were codified and a civil service system was introduced. Buddhism flourished and spread throughout the peninsula. The
Southeast Asia
Khmers
In 802,
Vietnam
The history of Vietnam can be traced back to around 20,000 years ago, as the first modern humans arrived and settled on this land, known as the
Pre-historic Vietnam was home to some of the world's earliest civilizations and societies—making them one of the world's first people who had practiced agriculture. The Red River valley formed a natural geographic and economic unit, bounded to the north and west by mountains and jungles, to the east by the sea and to the south by the Red River Delta. The need to have a single authority to prevent floods of the Red River, to cooperate in constructing hydraulic systems, trade exchange, and to repel invaders, led to the creation of the first legendary Vietnamese states approximately 2879 BC. While in the later times, ongoing research from archaeologists have suggested that the Vietnamese Đông Sơn culture were traceable back to Northern Vietnam, Guangxi and Laos around 700 BC.
Vietnam's long coastal and narrowed lands, rugged mountainous terrains, with two major deltas, were soon home to several different ancient cultures and civilizations. In the north, the Đông Sơn culture and its indigenous chiefdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc started to flourish by 500 BC. In Central, Sa Huỳnh culture of Austronesian Chamic peoples also thrived. Both were swept by the Chinese Han dynasty expansion from the north - the Han conquest of Nanyue brought parts of Vietnam under the Chinese rule in 111 BC. Traditional Chinese became the official script as well as the later developed independent Nôm script of Vietnamese.
In 40 BC, the
During these 1,000 years there were many uprisings against Chinese domination, and at certain periods Vietnam was independently governed under the Trưng Sisters, Early Lý, Khúc and Dương Đình Nghệ—although their triumphs and reigns were temporary.
When Ngô Quyền (Emperor of Vietnam, 938–944) restored sovereign power in the country with the victory at The battle of Bạch Đằng River (938), the next millennium was advanced by the accomplishments of successive local dynasties: Ngô, Đinh, Early Lê, Lý, Trần, Hồ, Later Trần, Later Lê, Mạc, Revival Lê, Tây Sơn and Nguyễn. Nôm script (Chữ Nôm) of the Vietnamese started to develop and become more sophisticated, with literature being published and written in Nôm. At various points during the imperial dynasties, Vietnam was ravaged and divided by civil wars and witnessed interventions by the Song, Yuan, Cham, Ming, Siamese, Qing, French, and Empire of Japan.
The Ming Empire conquered the Red River valley for a while before native Vietnamese regained control and the French Empire reduced Vietnam to a French dependency for nearly a century, followed by brief but brutal occupation by the Japanese Empire. During the French period, widespread brutality, inequality and cultural remnants of Hán-Nôm were being destroyed, with the French wishing to rid the Vietnamese of their Confucian legacy from the 1880s. French was the official language during this period. The Vietnamese Latin script, seen to be a Latin transliteration of Hán-Nôm, superseded the Hán-Nôm logographic scripts and became the main mode of written as well as spoken language since the 20th century.
Japan invaded in 1940, creating deep resentment that fuelled resistance to post-World War II military-political efforts by the returning power of France, and the United States who had viewed themselves as fighters for liberty and democracy against the red waves of communism. In the Vietnam War, the United States or the Western Bloc supported South Vietnam and the Soviet Union or the Eastern Bloc supported North Vietnam. Political upheaval, a period of intense fighting and war, followed by Communist insurrection and victory further put an end to the monarchy after World War II, and the country was proclaimed a Socialist Republic. Vietnam suffered heavy sanctions as well as political and economic isolation following brutal wars with China and Cambodia in the successive years. Following that era, the Đổi Mới (renovation/innovation) reformations were enacted. The forces of market liberalisation and globalisation has shaped Vietnam's economic and political circumstances since.
Early modern
The Russian Empire began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the 16th century onwards. In the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing dynasty. In the 16th century, the Mughal Empire controlled much of India and initiated the second golden age for India. China was the largest economy in the world for much of the time, followed by India until the 18th century.
Ming China
By 1368,
Society and economy
The Hongwu emperor, perhaps for his sympathy of the common-folk, had built many irrigation systems and other public projects that provided help for the peasant farmers.[22]: p. 504 They were also allowed to cultivate and claim unoccupied land without having to pay any taxes and labor demands were lowered.[22]: p. 504 However, none of this was able to stop the rising landlord class that gained many privileges from the government and slowly gained control of the peasantry. Moneylenders foreclosed on peasant debt in exchange for mortgages and bought up farmer land, forcing them to become the landlords' tenants or to wander elsewhere for work.[23] Also during this time, Neo-Confucianism intensified even more than the previous two dynasties (the Song and Yuan). Focus on the superiority of elders over youth, men over women, and teachers over students resulted in minor discrimination of the "inferior" classes. The fine arts grew in the Ming era, with improved techniques in brush painting that depicted scenes of court, city or country life; people such as scholars or travelers; or the beauty of mountains, lakes, or marshes. The Chinese novel fully developed in this era, with such classics written such as Water Margin, Journey to the West, and Jin Ping Mei.
Economics grew rapidly in the Ming dynasty as well. The introduction of American crops such as
Foreign interests
In the interest of national glory, the Chinese began sending impressive
As was inevitable, Westerners arrived on the Chinese east coast, primarily
Decline
Near the end of the 1500s, the extremely centralized government that gave so much power to the emperor had begun to fail as more incompetent rulers took the mantle. Along with these weak rulers came increasingly corrupt officials who took advantage of the decline. Once more the public projects fell into disrepair due to neglect by the bureaucracy and resulted in floods, drought, and famine that rocked the peasantry. The famine soon became so terrible that some peasants resorted to selling their children to slavery to save them from starvation, or to eating bark, the feces of geese, or other people.[22]: p. 509 Many landlords abused the situation by building large estates where desperate farmers would work and be exploited. In turn, many of these farmers resorted to flight, banditry, and open rebellion.
All of this corresponded with the usual dynastic decline of China seen before, as well as the growing foreign threats. In the mid-16th century, Japanese and ethnic Chinese pirates began to raid the southern coast, and neither the bureaucracy nor the military were able to stop them.
Korea: Joseon dynasty (1392–1897)
In early-modern Korea, the 500-year-old kingdom, Goryeo fell and new dynasty Joseon rose in August 5, 1392. Taejo of Joseon changed the country's name from Goryeo to Joseon. Sejong the Great created Hangul, the modern Korean alphabet, in 1443; likewise the Joseon dynasty saw several improvements in science and technology, like Sun Clocks, Water Clocks, Rain-Measuring systems, Star Maps, and detailed records of Korean small villages. The ninth king, Seongjong accomplished the first complete Korean law code in 1485. So the culture and people's lives were improved again.
In 1592, Japan under
After the Qing invasion, the princes of the Joseon dynasty lived their childhood in China. The son of King Injo met
Japan: Tokugawa or Edo period (1603–1867)
In early-modern Japan following the
Society in the Japanese "
In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, daimyōs and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyōs might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local lords. Otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this
India
In the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India in the early 18th century. During emperor Shah Jahan and his son Aurangzeb's Islamic sharia reigns, the empire reached its architectural and economic zenith, and became the world's largest economy,[27] worth over 25% of world GDP. In the mid-18th century it was a major proto-industrializing region.[28]
Following major events such as the
British and Dutch colonization
The European economic and naval powers pushed into Asia, first to do trading, and then to take over major colonies. The Dutch led the way followed by the British. Portugal had arrived first, but was too weak to maintain its small holdings and was largely pushed out, retaining only Goa and Macau. The British set up a private organization, the East India Company, which handled both trade and Imperial control of much of India.[31]
The
The
The
Late modern
Central Asia: The Great Game, Russia vs Great Britain
The Great Game began in 1838 when Britain decided to gain control over the
Qing China
By 1644, the northern Manchu people had conquered Ming dynasty and established a foreign dynasty—the Qing dynasty—once more. The Manchu Qing emperors, especially Confucian scholar Kangxi, remained largely conservative—retaining the bureaucracy and the scholars within it, as well as the Confucian ideals present in Chinese society. However, changes in the economy and new attempts at resolving certain issues occurred too. These included increased trade with Western countries that brought large amounts of silver into the Chinese economy in exchange for tea, porcelain, and silk textiles. This allowed for a new merchant-class, the compradors, to develop. In addition, repairs were done on existing dikes, canals, roadways, and irrigation works. This, combined with the lowering of taxes and government-assigned labor, was supposed to calm peasant unrest. However, the Qing failed to control the growing landlord class which had begun to exploit the peasantry and abuse their position.
By the late 18th century, both internal and external issues began to arise in Qing China's politics, society, and economy. The exam system with which scholars were assigned into the bureaucracy became increasingly corrupt; bribes and other forms of cheating allowed for inexperienced and inept scholars to enter the bureaucracy and this eventually caused rampant neglect of the peasantry, military, and the previously mentioned infrastructure projects. Poverty and banditry steadily rose, especially in rural areas, and mass migrations looking for work throughout China occurred. The perpetually conservative government refused to make reforms that could resolve these issues.
Opium War
China saw its status reduced by what it perceived as parasitic trade with Westerners. Originally, European traders were at a disadvantage because the Chinese cared little for their goods, while European demand for Chinese commodities such as tea and porcelain only grew. In order to tip the trade imbalance in their favor, British merchants began to sell Indian
After Lin
Manchuria
Manchuria/Northeast China came under influence of Russia with the building of the
Joseon
When it became the 19th century, the king of Joseon was powerless. Because the noble family of the king's wife got the power and ruled the country by their way. The 26th king of Joseon dynasty, Gojong's father, Heungseon Daewongun wanted the king be powerful again. Even he wasn't the king. As the father of young king, he destroyed noble families and corrupt organizations. So the royal family got the power again. But he wanted to rebuild Gyeongbokgung palace in order to show the royal power to people. So he was criticized by people because he spent enormous money and inflation occurred because of that. So his son, the real king Gojong got power.
Korean Empire
By the
Contemporary
The European powers had control of other parts of Asia by the early 20th century, such as
China
Prior to World War II, China faced a civil war between Mao Zedong's Communist party and Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist party; the nationalists appeared to be in the lead. However, once the Japanese invaded in 1937, the two parties were forced to form a temporary cease-fire in order to defend China. The nationalists faced many military failures that caused them to lose territory and subsequently, respect from the Chinese masses. In contrast, the communists' use of guerilla warfare (led by Lin Biao) proved effective against the Japanese's conventional methods and put the Communist Party on top by 1945. They also gained popularity for the reforms they were already applying in controlled areas, including land redistribution, education reforms, and widespread health care. For the next four years, the nationalists would be forced to retreat to the small island east of Fujian province, known as Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), where they remain today. In mainland China, People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party, with Mao Zedong as its state chairman.
The communist government in China was defined by the party
Today China plays important roles in world economics and politics. China today is the world's second largest economy and the second fastest growing economy.
Indian Subcontinent
From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, large regions of India were gradually annexed by the East India Company, a chartered company acting as a sovereign power on behalf of the British government. Dissatisfaction with company rule in India led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which rocked parts of north and central India, and led to the dissolution of the company. India was afterwards ruled directly by the British Crown, in the British Raj. After World War I, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, and noted for nonviolence. Later, the All-India Muslim League would advocate for a separate Muslim-majority nation state.
In August 1947, the British Indian Empire was
Korea
During the period when the Korean War occurred, Korea divided into North and South. Syngman Rhee became the first president of South Korea, and Kim Il Sung became the supreme leader of North Korea. After the war, the president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee tries to become a dictator. So the April Revolution occurred, eventually Syngman Rhee was exiled from his country. In 1963, Park Chung Hee was empowered with a military coup d'état. He dispatched Republic of Korea Army to Vietnam War. And during this age, the economy of South Korea outran that of North Korea.
Although
See also
References
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- ^ a b c d Stearns 2011, p. 43.
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1331: Black Death emerges in China and eventually spreads to Europe.
- ISBN 9781410922786.
Chinese records from 1331 describe a mysterious illness that swept through Hopei province in the northeast. It killed 90 percent of the population.
- ^ a b c Bowman 2000, pp. 124–137.
- ^ a b Stearns 2011, pp. 291–301.
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- ^ Stearns 2011, Chapter 15.
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- ^ Philip Ziegler, Mountbatten(1985) p. 401.
- ^ OCLC 1462689.
At the lowest estimate, half a million people perished and twelve millions became homeless.
- ^ Abid, Abdul Majeed (29 December 2014). "The forgotten massacre". The Nation.
On the same dates [4 and 5 March 1947], Muslim League-led mobs fell with determination and full preparations on the helpless Hindus and Sikhs scattered in the villages of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha. The murderous mobs were well supplied with arms, such as daggers, swords, spears and fire-arms. (A former civil servant mentioned in his autobiography that weapon supplies had been sent from NWFP and money was supplied by Delhi-based politicians.)
- ISBN 978-0-674-73129-5.
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