Lecture Notes: China in East Asia and the Spread of Buddhism

Overview

• Focus on East Asia, primarily China; brief overview of South Asia and India.
• Main topic: Popularization and spread of Buddhism.
• Chinese history timeline advancement from BCE to 1000 CE.

Timeline and Dynasties

• Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE):
  • Established after the Chu Han contention.
  • Bureaucracy based on Confucian principles.
  • Controlled iron and salt industries.
  • Importance of peasants for economy and military.
  • Tribute states established; defeated step nomads (Zhongnu).

Silk Road

• Overland trading system linking China, Korea, Japan to the Mediterranean world.
• Goods: Chinese silk, tea, porcelain; Southeast Asian spices like pepper and cinnamon.
• Exchange of gold and silver from Europe.
• Spread of ideas, religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam), technology (paper-making, gunpowder), and diseases (bubonic plague).

Development of the Silk Road

• Initiated by Alexander the Great linking Caspian Sea with Europe.
• Han Dynasty (113 BCE) connected China to the Caspian Sea.
• Role of trade in geopolitical and cultural exchanges.

Eastern and Western Han Periods

• Western Han: 202 BCE - 9 CE.
• Eastern Han: 25 CE - 220 CE.
• Crisis in 9 CE: Civil war and Yellow River flooding, humanitarian crisis.
• Collapse leads to Three Kingdoms Period.

Three Kingdoms Period and Jin Dynasty

• Devastating conflict and population decline.
• Jin Dynasty reunites China briefly (265 - 420 CE).

Northern and Southern Dynasties

• Fragmentation into North (barbarians) and South (Jin continues).
• Multiple small dynastic states (16 States of the Five Barbarians).

Spread of Buddhism

• Origin in India, around 400 BCE.
• Promoted by Ashoka the Great (268-232 BCE), became state religion.
• Spread to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, and later China.

Buddhism in China

• Two major sects: Mahayana (spread to China), Theravada (spread to Southeast Asia).
• Influential during Eastern Han and Northern/Southern Dynasties.
• Appeal due to message of compassion and lack of factional alignment.

Sui and Tang Dynasties

• Sui Dynasty (581 - 618 CE): Reunification of China, promotion of Buddhism.
• Massive infrastructure projects, downfall due to forced labor.
• Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 CE): Golden Age, cultural flourishing, cosmopolitan society.

Buddhism's Influence

• Promoted art, sculpture; a period known as the golden age of Chinese Buddhism.
• Tang period marked extensive international trade and cultural exchange.
• Challenges faced during the decline of Tang, including anti-Buddhist persecution in 845 CE.

Transition to Song Dynasty

• Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907 - 979 CE) followed by Song Dynasty.
• Song Dynasty: Invention of paper money, gunpowder, compass; first standing navy.

Conclusion

• Recap of the vast historical development spanning 1000 years.
• Importance of Silk Road in ancient globalization.
• Understanding the spread of Buddhism from India to China.