Japan vs. China
China has always considered itself to be the center of the world. They thought themselves to be the best and most successful. Chinese culture was highly advanced and very unique, but it had its faults too. It was a big brother to the other Asian civilizations, and served as a model for Korea and Japan. From one aspect it could be said that because China was the original, it was the leader and pioneer, but the Japanese may be quick to point out that they had the advantage of refining Chinese culture. Japan was able to pick and chose aspects that would become sinofied in their lifestyle, and they were able to weed out practices that, because of a historical or prior religious affiliation, China was forced to carry around, like access baggage. China's claim to being the center of the world may have been more true than they thought, more culturally than geographically, which allotted for lesser developed cultures to hold China in contempt and rivalry. Since China's dawn it was a battlefield. Large, cumbersome boarders set up a number of opportunities for vultures to pick and nibble at China. The Great Wall was built to keep out the raiding tribes and nomads, who were fierce soldiers and experienced riders of horses, such
Japan's government modeled China's. Its capital, Fujiwara, mimicked Louyang, China's capital at the time relations became significant. Japan's government was a system of ranks similar to the T'ang, which deprived the Uji of land. At the time of Shotoku's rule the clans were centralized. Japan did not rule through mandate of heaven. This allowed the rulers of Japan more legitimacy over the throne. Shotoku highly revered Chinese culture and drew from them many policies and ways of life. Shotoku lived more like a Chinaman than a Japanese person. He used chairs, raised his children to be cultivated in Chinese ways, and even his idea of the 17 Articles, which was unrelated to China, began with a Confucian quote. Confucianism hit Japan hard, and had a lasting impact. Schools were set up devoted to his study and the study of his works. The Sui, who were closely linked with the Xianbei rebels, was a very successful era of rule. After the Sui usurped power and took over rule, they used modified forms of the equal field system of taxation. "By setting the uniform taxes in grain, cloth, and labor services relatively low, they were able to increase the numbers of households on the tax registers"(Ebery111). The non- Han Chinese Sui were able to increase China's tax base to nine million. The Sui also was able to quell rebels incursions by setting one group of rebels against another. The Sui standardized measures and set strict bureaucratic policies, which were further elaborated on by the Tang. The Sui initiated written examinations to test Confucian scholars. This practice was a foundation used all throughout Asian history to elicit the best scholars and officials. More important than Confucius, was Buddhism, brought over by soldiers and then spread across Japan. Japan branched off their own sects of Buddhism, such as Tendai Buddhism, but its presence in Japan was because of China and India. However there were sects of Buddhism that were directly brought over from China. Zen Buddhism was taught by monks, over a fifth of which studied Zen in China and then returned after many years to spread the practice across Japan. "Buddhism, after all, remained essentially Chinese. Most of its senior figures, both men and women, had come to Japan from China or Korea. Its scripture
Some common words found in the essay are:
Wudi Xiongnu, Founded India, Korea Japan, Louyang China's, Tang Sui, Japan Chinese, Taoism Beasley16, Buddhism Towards, Chinese Sui, Mongols Chinese, chinese culture, brought china, japan china, china forced, buddhism brought, established japan, hit japan, japan japan, tributary system, sects buddhism,
Approximate Word count = 1549
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
