(cache) Introduction to Classical Japan (500-1185) and Korea (c. 50 BCE-918 CE)

CLASSICAL JAPAN (500-1185)

Japan's classical period (ca. 550-1185), like that of other civilizations, is the period in which the foundation for later historical development is laid.

This is the first of several periods in Japanese history where the Japanese genius for deliberate cultural borrowing and adaptation is evident. (The Japanese refer to this period as the first of three great reform periods; the other two periods of intense, deliberate borrowing are those of the Meiji Restoration, 1868-1912, and the Occupation following WW II).

In the 6th to the 8th centuries the Japanese study and borrow from the continental culture of China, first introduced to them by Koreans. The Japanese then send study missions to China.

The East Asian cultural sphere evolves when Japan, Korea, and what is today Vietnam all share adapted elements of Chinese civilization of this period (that of the Tang dynasty), in particular Buddhism, Confucian social and political values, and literary Chinese and its writing system.

The classical period of Japanese history dates from ca. 550 CE when the Koreans introduce Buddhism, and with it Chinese culture, to Japan and the Japanese proceed to study and consciously borrow and adapt elements of Chinese civilization to Japan. The Japanese borrow the notion of a centralized state, Confucian values of moral cultivation of individuals in service of the state, Buddhism, and Chinese language. They use Chinese written and spoken language as an official language of government; the Japanese also take the Chinese writing system and adapt it to develop a writing system for their own spoken language, i.e. Japanese, which up until this time was only spoken. (Japanese and Chinese belong to totally different language families; the Japanese language is syllabic and the Japanese develop a system of syllabaries by adapting the Chinese characters.)

Following the adaptation of the Chinese written script to the Japanese spoken language, Japanese literature flourishes; Japanese aesthetic tastes are evident in the evolution of waka poetry.

The literary contributions of women are notable during the height of classical Japanese court culture: women, who do not have to write in Chinese for official reasons are freer to work with the Japanese spoken and written language, and many of the diaries (The Pillow Book), poems (the short form, waka), and the world's first novel (The Tale of Genji) are written by ladies of the court in Japan at this time. (The Tale of Genji is written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the court, in the 11th century.)

This period in Japanese history precedes the more well known medieval period of the samurai warriors and stands in contrast to that period in terms of values and political structure. Poetry and the refinements of the court are important in the classical period, not the codes of warriors in battle. These classical values remain a very important part of Japanese culture throughout Japanese history, down to the present, so it is worthwhile to introduce this period to students.

CLASSICAL KOREA (c. 50 BCE-918 CE)

Origins of the Korean People

In prehistoric times the Korean peninsula was populated by nomadic peoples migrating from the Northeast Asian mainland, who developed settled agricultural communities around 4,000-5,0000 years ago.

Chinese historical records show the existence of tribal states in northern Korea and Manchuria (northeast China) before 1,000 BCE and parts of the Korean peninsula were occupied by Chinese military forces during the Han dynasty around the time of Christ.

According to Korean legend, a semi-divine figure named Tangun established the first Korean kingdom in 2,333 BCE and named his kingdom Choson, which was also the name of the last Korean dynasty (1392-1910) and the name for Korea currently used in North Korea (in South Korea, the name for Korea is Hanguk).

Three Kingdoms (c. 50 BCE – 668 CE)

In the first century BCE numerous tribal states on the Korean peninsula consolidated into three kingdoms: Koguryo in the north (extending into Manchuria), Paekche in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast. All were strongly influenced by Chinese culture and government administration, including the use of the Confucian examination system to train government officials. Buddhism, originally from India, was also adopted from China and became an important part of Korea’s religious culture to the present day.

Development of a writing system: Like the Japanese and Vietnamese, Koreans adopted the Chinese writing system. However, like Japanese, the Korean language is structurally very different from Chinese, and Chinese characters were modified and new characters invented to correspond to Korean grammatical patterns. A modified Chinese writing system called idu was used along with "pure" classical Chinese to write the Korean language, until an indigenous Korean writing system. This system was called hungmin chongum (meaning "correct sounds for instructing the people") when it was invented in the mid-fifteenth century but became known as Hangul after 1913. It is a phonetic writing system.

Silla (668-935)

The Tang dynasty of China (7^th century-10th century) was a "golden age" of Chinese civilization, and Chinese culture strongly influenced China’s neighbors at this time, especially Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Of the three, Korea was probably the most faithful to the Chinese "model," although it maintained its cultural distinctiveness and, unlike Vietnam, was never incorporated into the Chinese empire itself.

In the seventh century, the Korean kingdom of Silla allied with Tang China to defeat its rivals Paekche and Koguryo, and by 668 Silla had conquered most of the Korean peninsula. Historians often refer to the period from the Silla conquest until the end of the Silla dynasty as "Unified Silla," although the extreme north of the peninsula and a large part of Manchuria were under the control of the Parhae kingdom, which had incorporated part of the Koguryo aristocracy into its ruling elite.

The state religion of Silla was Buddhism, and some of the most impressive Buddhist monuments in Asia were built during the Silla period near the Silla capital of Kyongju in southeastern Korea.

Silla was also very active in maritime trade in East Asia, and the kingdom was even known by Arab traders, who were the first to transmit knowledge of Korea, or "al-Sila" as the Arabs called it, to the West.