1. The Spread of
Civilization in East and
Southeast Asia

2. Ancient China
• China is one of the
earliest river valley
civilizations in the
world.
• In fact, China has over
3,500 years of written
history making it the
oldest, continuous
civilization in the
world.

3. Ancient China
• Ancient Chinese
civilizations were ruled
by dynasties – series of
family rulers
• Some significant
dynasties were the
Shang (first ever
dynasty) followed by
the Zhou, Qin and Han.
• These dynasties would
rule for thousands of
years.
• The last of them
ending rule in 1911.

4. The Fall of Ancient China
• Following the Zhou
Dynasty, China collapsed
and was constantly at war
with one another.
• China became a land of
troubles.
• Long-held Chinese
values—social order,
harmony among people,
and respect for leaders—
were forgotten.

5. Confucius
• Some thinkers, however,
tried to find ways to
restore these values.
• One of the most
important of these
thinkers was Confucius.
He became a well-
educated man who
thought deeply about the
troubles of China.

6. Confucius
• He believed that a time of peace
could return if the people would
work at five basic relationships:
– ruler and subject
– father and son
– husband and wife
– older and younger brothers
– friend and friend
• The family relationships, he
thought, were the most
important.
• Respect for parents and
ancestors.

8. Confucius say… famous Confucius quotes
• Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
• It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you
do not stop.
• Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in
getting up every time we do.
• When anger rises, think of the consequences.
• Have no friends not equal to yourself.

9. Not so famous Confucius
quotes
• If you drive like hell, you are bound to get there quickly.
• If you run behind a car you will get exhausted.
• Man who stands on toilet is high on pot.

10. A new Ruler
• A new ruler arose to put an end
to the troubles of the warring
states period in China.
• At 13, he became king of a part
of China called Qin (Chin), and
he brought the different parts of
China together.
• He took a new name—
Shi Huangdi, which means “First
Emperor.”

11. Shi Huangdi
• Shi Huangdi took steps to bring
all parts of his empire together.
• He ordered the peasants to
build a network of roads that
linked one corner to another.
The network stretched for over
4,000 miles and trade grew.
• He also set standards for
writing, law, money, and
weights and measures that
were to be followed
throughout the empire.

12. The Great Wall
• Perhaps Shi Haungdi’s
most famous
achievement was the
building of the Great
Wall of China.
• He ordered the wall to
be built to keep out
foreign invaders such as
the Mongolians.
• When completed, the
wall stretched for over
1,400 miles across
China.

13. Did you know?
• The Great Wall of China
is the only manmade
object you can see from
space!
• It has been expanded
many times over the
years and is currently
over 5,500 miles long.
• Over 1 million people
are buried within the
wall.

14. Shi Haungdi’s Tomb
• Shi Haungdi had a giant
mausoleum created while he was
still alive.
• The mausoleum consists of Shi
Haungdi’s tomb surrounded by
rivers of mercury and a terracotta
army “standing guard”.
• Terracotta Army there were over
8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with
520 horses and 150 cavalry
horses.

15. Fall of the Han Dynasty
• Following the fall of the Han
Dynasty in 220 A.D., China once
again broke apart and remained
divided for another 400 years.
• Many ruling families fought for
control.
• Despite the instability, China’s
society did not fall as Rome did
and enter into a Dark Ages like
Europe.
• Instead, agriculture and
technology continued to improve.

16. The Tang Dynasty
• Eventually, a father and son duo
named Li Yuan and Li Shimin
crushed all rivals and
established the Tang Dynasty.
• The son, Li Shimin becomes
emperor 8 years later and takes
on the name of Tang Taizon.
• Tang Taizong became China’s
most admired emperor. He was
a brilliant general, a government
reformer, a historian, and a
master of calligraphy.

17. Chinese Calligraphy
• Chinese calligraphy is fine handwriting.
• Even though it is writing, calligraphy is
considered a work of art and must be
practiced to perfect.
• Each stroke must be precise and each
character must be written correctly.
• In modern times, the Chinese alphabet
has been simplified, but in Ancient
China, there was upwards of 80,000
characters that a master of calligraphy
needed to learn.

18. The Tang Dynasty
• The Tang Dynasty would unite
and bring stability to the
region for the first time in 400
years.
• Tang rulers built a sizable
empire, forcing neighboring
lands such as Korea, Vietnam,
and Tibet to become tributary
states – an independent state
that has to acknowledge the
supremacy of another state
and pay tribute to its ruler.

19. The Tang Dynasty
• The Tang revive civil service by
recruiting talented officials and
training them in Confucian
philosophy.
• They break up large land
holdings (which weakens rich
landowners and strengthens
the government) and give it
back to the people.
• This also creates more revenue
for the government as more
people now pay taxes.

20. Fall of the Tang
• After many years of
stability, the Tang would
fall due to corruption,
high taxes and
rebellion.
• A rebel general
overthrew the last Tang
emperor and
established the new
Song Dynasty.

21. The Song Dynasty
• The Song dynasty lasted
for 319 years, but
controlled less territory
than the Tang.
• It was a time of great
wealth and cultural
achievement for China.

22. The Song Dynasty
• Its emperors had an open border
policy that encouraged foreign
trade and imports.
• Chinese cities prospered as
centers of trade.
• Farming methods improved and
farmers produced two crops a
year, creating a surplus.
• Thousands of tons of grain were
shipped along the Grand Canal
linking the Huang and Chang
rivers.

23. Did You Know?
• During the Song Dynasty,
Chinese first started using
gunpowder. (850AD)
• It was first used in fireworks,
then in weapons.
• It didn’t make its way to
Europe till later in the Middle
Ages (1200’s) and was first
used on the battlefield in the
Battle of Crecy during the
Hundred Years War. (1346AD)

24. Do you know any other Chinese
inventions at this time?

25. Other Chinese Inventions
• In addition to
gunpowder, the Chinese
had invented many other
things that had never
been seen before in
Europe.
• Such inventions were the
smallpox vaccination,
spinning wheel, clocks,
printing press, silk,
porcelain, umbrella and
the compass.

26. Achievements in Architecture
• Pagodas were Chinese
temples with eaves that
that curve up at the
corners.
• Many Buddhist sculptures
dominated the landscape.

27. Women in Medieval China
• Despite the many advances in
society, women took a secondary
role in Medieval China.
• Women would often manage the
family affairs such as servants
and finances of the household
however they could not keep a
dowry and had to become part of
her husband’s family when they
married (like property).
• Families in China valued boys
more than girls, and women had
a subordinate position in society.

28. Foot Binding
• The custom of foot binding
emerged during the Song
dynasty.
• This painful process stunted
the size of a girl’s feet making
it incredibly difficult to walk.
• It was thought that a
woman’s place was in the
home and this greatly limited
a woman’s ability to leave
the home.

29. Can you think of any modern
day “foot binding”?

30. Is it so different?
• X-ray of bone changes • X-ray of bone changes
in a bound foot in high heels foot

31. The Mongol and Ming Empires
Focus Question
What were the effects of the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Ming
dynasty on China?

32. Mongol Armies Build an Empire
• The Mongols were a nomadic people who grazed their horses and
sheep on the steppes, or vast, treeless plains, of Central Asia. Rival
Mongol clans spent much of their time warring with one another. In
the early 1200s, however, a brilliant Mongol chieftain united these
warring tribes.

33. • This chieftain took the
name Genghis Khan
meaning “Universal
Ruler.” Under his
leadership, Mongol
forces conquered a vast
empire that stretched
from the Pacific Ocean
to Eastern Europe

34. Genghis Khan
• Originally called Temüjin, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) was
renowned for being ruthless, determined, and courageous.
When Temüjin was nine years old, a rival Mongol clan
poisoned his father. At the age of 15, Temüjin was taken
prisoner. For the rest of his life, he never forgot the
humiliation of being locked in a wooden collar and paraded
before his enemies.

35. • When he regained his freedom, Temüjin wandered
among drifting clans. He took revenge on the clan that
had imprisoned him and in time, became supreme ruler
of all the Mongols. Once despised, Genghis Khan would
be admired and feared across two continents

36. Mongols Invade China
• Genghis Khan imposed strict military discipline and demanded
absolute loyalty. His highly trained, mobile armies had some of the
most skilled horsemen in the world. Genghis Khan had a reputation
for fierceness. He could order the massacre of an entire city. Yet he
also could be generous, rewarding the bravery of a single fighter.

37. • Genghis Khan did not live to complete the conquest of China. His
heirs, however, continued to expand the Mongol empire. For the next
150 years, they dominated much of Asia. Their furious assaults
toppled empires and spread destruction from southern Russia
through Muslim lands in Southwest Asia to China.

38. • Protected by steep mountain ranges, India avoided invasion, but the
Mongols arrived in China, devastated the flourishing province of
Sichuan (see chwahn), and annihilated its great capital city of
Chengdu.

39. Rulers Establish Order and Peace
• Once conquest was
completed, the
Mongols were not
oppressive rulers.
Often, they allowed
conquered people to
live much as they had
before—as long as they
regularly paid tribute to
the Mongols.

40. • Genghis Khan had set an
example for his successors
by ruling conquered lands
with toleration and justice.
Although the Mongol
warrior had no use for city
life, he respected scholars,
artists, and artisans. He
listened to the ideas of
Confucians, Buddhists,
Christians, Muslims, Jews,
and Zoroastrians.

41. In the 1200s and 1300s, the sons and grandsons of Genghis
Khan established peace and order within their domains.
Today, many historians refer to this period of order as the
Pax Mongolica, or Mongol Peace.

42. • Political stability set the stage for economic growth. Under the
protection of the Mongols, who now controlled the great Silk
Road, trade flourished across Eurasia. According to a
contemporary, Mongol rule meant that people “enjoyed such a
peace that a man might have journeyed from the land of sunrise
to the land of sunset with a golden platter upon his head without
suffering the least violence from anyone.”

43. • Cultural exchanges increased as foods, tools,
inventions, and ideas spread along the
protected trade routes. From China, the use
gunpowder moved westward into Europe.
Techniques of papermaking also reached
parts of Europe, and crops and trees from
the Middle East were carried into East Asia.

44. • Although Genghis Khan had conquered such vast territory, his empire
would not reach its peak for another 50 or so years under the
leadership of his grandson, Kublai Khan. The Mongol empire would
stretch from Europe in the west, south into the Middle East, north in
Russia and as far east as China and the Koreas.
The Height of the Mongolian Empire

45. An All-Mongol Government
• Kublai Khan tried to prevent
the Mongols from being
absorbed into Chinese
civilization as other
conquerors of China had
been. He decreed that only
Mongols could serve in the
military. He also reserved the
highest government jobs for
Mongols or for other non-
Chinese officials whom he
employed. Still, because
there were too few Mongols
to control so vast an empire,
Kublai allowed Chinese
officials to continue to rule in
the provinces

46. • Under Mongol rule, however, Kublai Khan created a mix of
cultures. He incorporated Mongol, Chinese, Middle Eastern
culture.
• He, himself adopted the Chinese name Yuan, and
established a new dynasty.
• He also commissioned Arab architects to build his palace.

47. • He also welcomed
many foreigners to
his court, including
the African Muslim
world traveler Ibn
Battuta and
European traveler
Marco Polo.

48. Marco Polo Writes About China
• The Italian merchant Marco Polo was one of many visitors to China
during the Yuan dynasty. In 1271, at age 14, Polo left Venice with his
father and uncle. For the next 24 years of his life, he spent travelling.
He crossed Persia and Central Asia to reach China. He then spent 17
years in Kublai’s service. Finally, he returned to Venice by sea, visiting
Southeast Asia and India along the way.

49. • In his writings, Marco Polo left a vivid account of the wealth
and splendor of China. He described the royal palace of
Kublai Khan (see Traveler’s Tale) and also described China’s
efficient royal mail system, with couriers riding swift ponies
along the empire’s well-kept roads. Furthermore, he visits
the Great Wall of China, and brings back many inventions
never seen before in Europe.

50. Marco Polo
• Marco Polo wrote about his adventures and travels.
Many people were intrigued by his tales. In the next
centuries, Polo’s reports sparked European interest in the
riches of Asia. He would be an inspiration for later
explorers such as Christopher Columbus who sought to
find a sea route to Asia. However, many people also did
not believe him.
• On his deathbed, a priest was summoned and asked
Marco Polo if he would like confess and take back any of
the stories or tales and admit them as a lie.
• Marco Polo’s response was “I did not tell you half of what
I saw.”

51. Mongols Continue Outside Contact
• As long as the Mongol empire
prospered, contacts between Europe
and Asia continued. The Mongols
tolerated a variety of beliefs. The pope
sent Christian priests to Beijing, while
Muslims set up their own
communities in China.

52. The Ming Restore Chinese Rule
• The Yuan dynasty declined after the death of Kublai Khan,
which occurred in 1294. Most Chinese despised the foreign
Mongol rulers. Confucian scholars retreated into their own
world, seeing little to gain from the barbarians. Heavy taxes,
corruption, and natural disasters led to frequent uprisings.

53. • Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang
(dzoo yoo ahnd zahng),
a peasant leader, forged
a rebel army that
toppled the Mongols
and pushed them back
beyond the Great Wall.
In 1368, he founded a
new Chinese dynasty,
which he called the
Ming, meaning brilliant.

54. • The Ming restored the
civil service system,
and Confucian
learning again became
the road to success.
The civil service exams
became more rigorous
than ever. A board of
censors watched over
the bureaucracy,
rooting out corruption
and disloyalty.

55. The Economy Grows
• Economically, Ming China was immensely productive. The
fertile, well-irrigated plains of eastern China supported a
population of more than 100 million. In the Chang River
valley, peasants produced huge rice crops. Better methods
of fertilizing helped to improve farming

56. • Reshaping the landscape helped as well. Some farmers cut
horizontal steps called terraces into steep hillsides to gain soil
in which to grow crops. In the 1500s, new crops reached
China from the Americas, especially corn and sweet potatoes.

57. • Chinese cities, such as Nanjing, were home to many industries,
including porcelain, paper, and tools. The Ming repaired the extensive
canal system that linked various regions, made trade easier, and
allowed cities to grow. New technologies increased output in
manufacturing. Better methods of printing, for example, led to the
production of a flood of books.

58. Culture Flourishes
Ming China also saw a revival
of arts and literature. Ming
artists developed their own
styles of landscape painting
and created brilliant blue
and white porcelain. Ming
vases were among the most
valuable and popular
Chinese products exported
to the West.

59. • Confucian scholars continued to produce classical poetry. At
the same time, new forms of popular literature to be enjoyed
by the common people began to emerge. Ming writers
composed novels, including The Water Margin about an
outlaw gang that tries to end injustice by corrupt officials.
Ming writers also produced the world’s first detective stories.

60. • How did Ming rulers restore a previous style
of Chinese government?

61. • How did Ming rulers restore a previous style
of Chinese government?
Answer: They restored the Civil Service System,
and Confucian learning again became the road
to success

62. Chinese Fleets Sail the Seas
• Early Ming rulers proudly
sent Chinese fleets into
distant waters to show the
glory of their government.
The most extraordinary of
these overseas ventures
were the voyages of the
Chinese admiral and
diplomat Zheng He (jeng
he).

63. Zheng He and His Fleets
• Starting in 1405, Zheng He commanded the first of seven
expeditions. He departed at the head of a fleet of 62 huge
ships and over 200 smaller ones, carrying a crew of about
28,000 sailors. The largest ships measured 400 feet long. The
goal of each expedition was to promote trade and collect
tribute from lesser powers across the “western seas”.

64. • Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He explored the coasts of Southeast Asia
and India and the entrances to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. He also
visited many ports in East Africa. In the wake of these expeditions, Chinese
merchants settled in Southeast Asia and India and became a permanent
presence in their trading centers

65. • Exotic animals,
such as giraffes,
were imported
from foreign lands
as well. The
voyages also
showed local
rulers the power
and strength of
the Chinese
empire.

66. • What was the
relevance of
Zheng He’s
overseas
expeditions?

67. • “The countries beyond the
horizon and from the ends of the
earth have all become subjects. . .
. We have traversed immense
waterspaces and have behold in
the ocean huge waves like
mountains rising skyhigh, and we
have set eyes on barbarian
regions far away . . . while our
sails loftily unfurled like clouds
day and night continued their
course, traversing those savage
waves as if we were treading on a
public thorough fare.”
• —Zheng He, quoted in The True
Dates of the Chinese Maritime
Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth
Century (Duyvendak)

68. Exploration Ends
• In 1435, the year Zheng He died, the Ming emperor suddenly
banned the building of seagoing ships. Later, ships with more
than two masts were forbidden. Zheng He’s huge ships were
retired and rotted away.

69. • Why did China, with its advanced naval technology, turn its
back on overseas exploration? Historians are not sure. Some
speculate that the fleets were costly and did not produce
profit.

70. • Also, Confucian scholars at
court had little interest in
overseas ventures and
commerce. To them,
Chinese civilization was the
most successful in the
world. They wanted to
preserve its ancient
traditions, which they saw
as the source of stability. In
fact, such rigid loyalty to
tradition would eventually
weaken China and once
again leave it prey to foreign
domination

71. • Fewer than 60 years after China halted overseas expeditions,
the explorer Christopher Columbus would sail west from
Spain in search of a sea route to Asia. We can only wonder
how the course of history might have changed if the Chinese
had continued the explorations they had begun under the
Ming.

72. 1. What military
equipment is
illustrated in the
painting?
2. How did the
Mongols come
across this
equipment (Did they
invent it?)
3. What skills are
emphasized by the
artist?

73. The Emergence of Japan and the Feudal Age
Focus Question
What internal and external factors shaped
Japan’s civilization, and what characterized
Japan’s feudal age?

74. Geography Sets Japan Apart
• Japan is located on an
archipelago (ahr kuh
pel uh goh), or chain of
islands, about 100 miles
off the Asian mainland
and east of the Korean
peninsula. Its four main
islands are Hokkaido,
Honshu, Kyushu, and
Shikoku.

75. Seas
Protect
Japan
• Japan is about the size
of Montana, but four-
fifths of its land are too
mountainous to farm.
As a result, most people
settled in narrow river
valleys and along the
coastal plains. A mild
climate and sufficient
rainfall, however,
helped Japanese
farmers make the most
of the limited arable
land.

76. • The surrounding seas
have both protected
and isolated Japan. The
country was close
enough to the mainland
to learn from Korea and
China, but too far away
for the Chinese to
conquer. Japan thus had
greater freedom to
accept or reject Chinese
influences than did
other East Asian lands..

77. • At times, the Japanese sealed themselves off from foreign influences,
choosing to go their own way. The seas that helped Japan preserve its
identity also served as trade routes. The Inland Sea was an especially
important link among various Japanese islands. The seas also offered
plentiful food resources and the Japanese, developed a thriving
fishing industry

78. Forces of Nature
• The Japanese came to fear and respect the dramatic forces of nature.
Japan lies in a region known as the Ring of Fire, which is made up of a
chain of volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean. This region is
therefore subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Underwater earthquakes can launch killer tidal waves, called
tsunamis, which sweep over the land without warning, wiping out
everything in their path.

79. • How did the sea help
Japan preserve its
identity?

80. Early Traditions
• The people we know today as the Japanese probably migrated
from the Asian mainland more than 2,000 years ago. They
slowly pushed the earlier inhabitants, the Ainu, onto the
northernmost island of Hokkaido.

81. The Yamato Clan Claims Power
• Early Japanese society was
divided into uji, or clans.
Each uji had its own chief
and a special god or
goddess who was seen as
the clan’s original ancestor.
Some clan leaders were
women, suggesting that
women enjoyed a respected
position in society.

82. • By about A.D. 500, the Yamato clan came to dominate a corner of
Honshu, the largest Japanese island. For the next 1,000 years, the
Yamato Plain was the heartland of Japanese government. The Yamato
set up Japan’s first and only dynasty. They claimed direct descent
from the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and chose the rising sun as their
symbol.

83. • Later Japanese
emperors were revered
as living gods. While
this is no longer the
case, the current
Japanese emperor still
traces his roots to the
Yamato clan.

84. A Religion of Nature
• Early Japanese clans honored kami, or superior powers that were
natural or divine. The worship of the forces of nature became known
as Shinto, meaning “the way of kami.” Although Shinto has not
evolved into an international religion like Christianity, Buddhism, or
Islam, its traditions survive to the present day in Japan..

85. • Hundreds of Shinto shrines dot the Japanese countryside. Though simple in
design, they are generally located in beautiful, natural surroundings. Shinto
shrines are dedicated to special sites or objects such as mountains or
waterfalls, ancient gnarled trees, or even oddly shaped rocks

86. • Missionaries from Korea
had introduced
Buddhism to Japan in
the 500s. With it came
knowledge of Chinese
writing and culture that
sparked a sustained
period of Japanese
interest in Chinese
civilization.

87. Japan Looks to China
• In the early 600s, Prince Shotoku of the Yamato clan decided to learn about
China directly instead of through Korean sources. He sent young nobles to
study in China. Over the next 200 years, many Japanese students, monks,
traders, and officials visited the Tang court.

88. The Japanese Visit China
• Each visitor to China spent a year or more there—negotiating,
trading, but above all studying. The visions returned to Japan eager to
spread Chinese thought, technology, and arts. They also imported
Chinese ideas about government. Japanese rulers adopted the title
“Heavenly Emperor” and claimed absolute power. They strengthened
the central government, set up a bureaucracy, and adopted a law
code similar to that of China.

89. • Still, the new bureaucracy had little real authority beyond
the royal court. Out in the countryside, the old clans
remained strong.

90. • In 710, the Japanese
emperor built a new capital
at Nara, modeled on the
Tang capital at Chang’an.
There, Japanese nobles
spoke Chinese and dressed
in Chinese fashion. Their
cooks prepared Chinese
dishes and served food on
Chinese-style pottery.

91. • Tea drinking, along with an
elaborate tea ceremony,
was imported from China.
Japanese officials and
scholars used Chinese
characters to write official
histories. Tang music and
dances became very
popular, as did gardens
designed using Chinese
influences.

92. • As Buddhism spread, the Japanese adopted
pagoda architecture. Buddhist monasteries
grew rich and powerful. Confucian ideas and
ethics also took root. They included an
emphasis on filial piety, the careful
management of relationships between
superior and inferior, and respect for learning.

93. Selective Borrowing Preserves Culture
• In time, the initial enthusiasm
for everything Chinese died
down. The Japanese kept some
Chinese ways but discarded or
modified others. This process is
known as selective borrowing.
• By the 800s, as Tang China
began to decline. After
absorbing all they could from
China, the Japanese spent the
next 400 years digesting and
modifying these cultural
borrowings to produce their
own unique civilization.

94. Can you think of any examples of
selective borrowing in the U.S.?

95. • Japan, for example, never
accepted the Chinese civil
service examination to
choose officials based on
merit. Instead, they
maintained their tradition
of inherited status through
family position. Officials
were the educated sons of
nobles.

96. • The Japanese asserted
their identity by revising
the Chinese system of
writing and adding
kana, or phonetic
symbols representing
syllables. Japanese
artists developed their
own styles

97. Warriors Establish Feudalism
• Feudal warfare swept
Japan in the 1400s.
Disorder continued
through the following
century. Yet, despite the
turmoil, a new Japanese
culture arose. While the
emperor presided over
the splendid court at
Heian, rival clans
battled for control of
the countryside.

98. • Local warlords and even
some Buddhist temples
formed armed bands
loyal to them rather
than to the central
government. As these
armies struggled for
power, Japan evolved a
feudal system. As in the
feudal world of
medieval Europe, a
warrior aristocracy
dominated Japanese
society.

99. Shogun Rule
• In theory, the emperor
stood at the head of
Japanese feudal society. In
fact, he was a powerless,
though revered,
figurehead. Real power lay
in the hands of the shogun,
or supreme military
commander. Minamoto
Yoritomo was appointed
shogun in 1192. He set up
the Kamakura shogunate,
the first of three military
dynasties that would rule
Japan for almost 700 years.

100. The Ways of the Warriors
• Often the shogun
controlled only a small part
of Japan. He distributed
lands to vassal lords who
agreed to support him with
their armies in time of
need. These great warrior
lords were later called
daimyo (dy myoh). They, in
turn, granted land to lesser
warriors called samurai,
meaning “those who
serve.” Samurai were the
fighting aristocracy of a
war-torn land.

101. • Like medieval Christian
knights in Europe, samurai
were heavily armed and
trained in the skills of
fighting. They also
developed their own code
of values. Known as
bushido, or the “way of the
warrior,” the code
emphasized honor, bravery,
and absolute loyalty to
one’s lord

102. • As the age of the samurai
progressed, the position
of women declined
steadily. When feudal
warfare increased,
inheritance was limited
to sons. Unlike the
European ideal of
chivalry, the samurai
code did not set women
on a pedestal. The wife of
a warrior had to accept
the same hardships as
her husband and owed
the same loyalty to his
overlord.

103. Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants
• Far below the samurai in
the social hierarchy were
the peasants, artisans, and
merchants. Peasants, who
made up 75 percent of the
population, formed the
backbone of feudal society
in Japan. Peasant families
cultivated rice and other
crops on the estates of
samurai. Some peasants
also served as foot soldiers
in feudal wars. On rare
occasions, an able peasant
soldier might rise through
the ranks to become a
samurai himself.

104. • Artisans, such as armorers
and swordmakers, provided
necessary goods for the
samurai class. Merchants
had the lowest rank in
Japanese feudal society.
However, as you will see,
their status gradually
improved.

106. Japan Holds Off Mongols
• During the feudal age, most fighting took place between rival
warlords, but the Mongol conquest of China and Korea also
threatened Japan. When the Japanese refused to accept Mongol rule,
Kublai Khan launched an invasion from Korea in 1274. A fleet carrying
30,000 troops arrived, but shortly afterwards a typhoon wrecked
many Mongol ships and drove the invaders back to the mainland.

107. Kamikaze
• In 1281, the Mongols landed an
even larger invasion force, but
again a typhoon destroyed much
of the Mongol fleet. The Japanese
credited their miraculous delivery
to the kamikaze (kah muh kah
zee), or divine winds. The Mongol
failure reinforced the Japanese
sense that they were a people set
apart who enjoyed the special
protection of the gods.