The Pacific Century Second Edition Study Guide

Pauletta Otis

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367294649
• eBook ISBN: 9781000304190
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Asian Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book provides basic information and analysis concerning how the forces of change during the Pacific Century will provide a base for the future of the Pacific Asia. It presents a general chronological development of the civilizations and empires in the Pacific Asia.

Chapter 1
Dynasties, Empires and Ages of Commerce: Pacific Asia to the Nineteenth Century

Overview

This chapter provides a general chronological development of the civilizations and empires in this region and provides a basic framework for understanding the schools of thought which provided the ideological bases for those civilizations and empires. The authors begin with a broad overview of the development of the first Chinese Empire. They then relate the unique experiences of Korea, Japan, and the islands to their own indigenous conditions and to the larger region.

In China, Qin Shihuandgdi named himself the first emperor and began the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty with related laws, bureaucracy, and military forces. The philosophical basis for his rule was the idea that the Emperor’s role and person had inherent power and virtue. The Emperor, or Son of Heaven, was supreme arbiter between Heaven and Earth. Burning books to be rid of all the alternative viewpoints, he established a pattern of promotion of an acceptable “party line.” The optimistic Confucianists were attacked by the Legalists who believed that governments should be based on strict rules. They established a counter force and essentially backed the existence of the totalitarian state. The Daoists took another position: they basically supported the idea that a basic harmony would exist if individuals followed a natural course, or the Way. In relationship to governance, these ideas are congruent with what would be later identified as “grass-roots” or popular movements - reform of government by individuals and maintenance of governance by the proper behavior of individual citizens and natural economic forces.

The Han Dynasty is associated with the establishment of a universally understood written Chinese language. This allowed a governing structure for the Chinese state that held sway for nearly two thousand years: an absolute monarch, a council of ministers, and a civil service. During this period, Wei Man invaded the area of Korea and founded the kingdom of Chosun (194 BCE). Also during this time, the Wa (Japanese) broke a pattern of self-imposed isolation, and invaded Korea. Although in cultural contact with China and other countries in the region and incorporated some aspects of Confucianism and Buddhism, the Japanese maintained their distinctive Shinto beliefs. This supported the idea that while the origin of imperial authority may be “heaven,” the mandate was changing and in response to elite manipulation. In the seventh century, a Japanese delegation to China brought back ideas that formed the basis for the Taika Reform that supported the increasing centralization of state authority. Korea was unified when the Silla overthrew the Paekche in 668 allowing it to develop relatively unhindered by outside aggression.

The Tang Dynasty established a Tributary system for external relationships. Internally the period is characterized by the aristocratic maintenance of rule and a period of relative prosperity supported by a new merchant class. The Indian connection with Buddhism (as accepted in a variety of culturally specific ways) had an enormous effect on China, Japan, and Korea in systems of artistic endeavor, philosophy, and political rule. The dynasty failed as the Han dynasty when expenses out-weighed revenue.

The Song dynasty established its legitimacy on the commercial growth of the Hangzi Valley, particularly Canton and Quanzhou. Trade with Korea, Arabia, Persia, India, and as far away as Constantinople, supported a rich trading economy and new cultural developments. In this atmosphere Zhuxi (Chu Hsi, 1130–1200) encouraged the spread of Neo-Confucianism to the masses.

In 1206, Genghis Khan’s disciplined army of 130,000 men drove the northern Song Chinese southward. The Monguls did not conquer the Southern Song until 1260 when Kublai became the Great Khan He extended the Mongol khanates to Korea and other land based civilizations, but failed in naval excursions against Japan and Java. (This is the era of the kamikazi or “divine wind” associated with the defeat of the Mongols by the samurai on the island of Kyushu.) This is also the era of Marco Polo’s visit, the establishment of Christian missions, and a suggested alliance of China, Persia, and the Europeans against the Saracens of the Middle East.

The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) with its capital of Nanjing provided prolonged period of peace and stability for China based on successful trade relationships in the region. It is a period known for the successes of the Chinese armada of 20,000 men aboard an estimated 316 ships which supported Chinese commerce in Pacific Asia. Tributary relationship with surrounding countries were generally peaceful although China’s relationship with Korea was constantly strained. Korea was forced to accept the “younger brother” or yi designation admitting its inferior status. The Ming dynasty came apart as the result of several factors: internal corruption, expenditures on defense systems and irrigation projects, international fall of the price of silver, attack of Korean by the Yokugawji Shoguns of Japan, and the persistent and pervasive influence of foreign learning.

The Manchus led by Nurhachi attacked the Ming in 1618. This empire which lasted until 1911 was resistant to change. Its policies and practices were to leave China vulnerable to both internal and foreign influence. One of the most significant precursors of the twentieth century revolutionary changes, was the Taiping Rebellion of 1851–1864. The domestic grievances based on overwhelming poverty, class distinctions, urbanization, and lack of government responsiveness were coupled with new ideologies brought in by the Europeans. This formed a lethal mixture of reality problems and ideological based solutions.

Among the religions or schools of thought most important to this region are Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, Islam and Christianity. Each provided an intellectual framework for related economic and political organization. Confucius (Kong Fuzi, 551–479 BCI) emphasized orderliness based on mutual responsibility. The Legalists, referring to the era of Sage Kings, supported elite maintenance of social order. Lao Tzu and the Daoists saw orderliness as a process, or Way. The ideologies of the twentieth century - Democracy, Communism, and Maoism - have historic predecessors in these philosophies.

Turning to Southeast Asia, the authors discuss continuity and...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1: Dynasties, Empires and Ages of Commerce
• CHAPTER 2: Seaborne Barbarians: Incursions by the West
• CHAPTER 3: Meiji: Japan in the Age of Imperialism
• CHAPTER 4: The Rise of Nationalism and Communism
• CHAPTER 5: Maelstrom: the Pacific War and its Aftermath
• CHAPTER 6: Miracle by Design: The Postwar Renaissance
• CHAPTER 7: The New Asian Capitalists
• CHAPTER 8: Power, Authority, and the Advent of Democracy
• CHAPTER 9: Sentimental Imperialists: America in Asia
• CHAPTER 10: China’s March to Modernization
• CHAPTER 11: Beyond the Revolution: Indonesia and Vietnam
• CHAPTER 12: Siberian Salient: Russia in Pacific Asia
• CHAPTER 13: Pacific Century: Regional and Global Perspectives