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Questions and Answers
What was the primary way Song rulers justified their power?
What is a key concept in Confucianism that emphasizes the importance of honoring one's ancestors?
What was a practice that restricted women's mobility and caused health problems?
What was the philosophical influence on Neo-Confucianism?
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What was the social position of women in Song China?
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What was the basis for the Imperial Bureaucracy's Civil Service Examination?
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What was the primary emphasis of Mahayana Buddhism as it spread to East Asia?
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Which type of Buddhism developed in Tibet?
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What was the primary characteristic of the Song Dynasty's economy?
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What was the name of the Buddhism that developed in China during the Song Dynasty?
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Study Notes
Maintaining and Justifying Power in the Song Dynasty
- Song rulers maintained and justified their power through two main methods: Revival of Confucianism and Imperial Bureaucracy.
- Confucianism emphasized a hierarchical view of society, where unequal relationships are maintained through concern and benevolence from the superior to the inferior.
Confucianism
- Key idea: Filial Piety, which involves honoring one's ancestors and parents.
- Society is composed of unequal relationships, where the greater entity should treat the lesser entity with concern and benevolence.
- Neo-Confucianism emerged, which combined Confucianism with Buddhist and Taoist philosophical ideas, demonstrating historical continuity between ancient China and the Song period.
Women in Song China
- Women were relegated to a subordinate position in the hierarchy.
- Women's legal rights were restricted, and their property became their husband's after marriage.
- Foot binding was a common practice, where young girls' feet were broken and bound up tightly to make them smaller, often causing trouble walking or inability to walk.
Imperial Bureaucracy
- The Civil Service Examination was a requirement for eligible men to gain a good job in the bureaucracy, based on Confucian Classics.
- Bureaucratic jobs were awarded based on merit, increasing the competency and efficiency of the bureaucracy.
Cultural Influence on Other States
- Korea had a tributary relationship with China, adopting Confucian principles, civil service examination, and marginalizing women.
- Japan voluntarily adopted Chinese imperial bureaucracy, Buddhist traditions, and writing system.
- Vietnam had a tributary relationship with China, adopting Confucianism, Buddhism, literary techniques, and civil service examination, but did not adopt foot binding.
Buddhism in China
- Four Noble Truths: Life is suffering, we suffer because we crave, we cease suffering when we cease craving, and the Eightfold Path leads to the cessation of suffering and craving.
- Eightfold Path involves a moral lifestyle and practices of meditation, with additional features of karma and rebirth from Hinduism.
Spread of Buddhism in East Asia
- Buddhism originated in Sri Lanka as Terra Vada Buddhism, emphasizing escaping the cycle of birth and death and restricted to monks.
- Mahayana Buddhism emerged as Buddhism spread to East Asia, emphasizing that Buddhist teachings were available to all, and compassion, making the Buddha into a kind of God or object of devotion.
- Tibetan Buddhism developed in Tibet, emphasizing more mystical practices, such as lying prostrate and elaborate imaginings of deities.
The Song Economy
- Despite the Song Dynasty's emphasis on traditional Chinese ideas, Buddhism continued to play a significant role in their society.
- The Chinese developed their own distinct version of Buddhism, known as Chan Buddhism.
- China's economy prospered during the Song period, with the trend beginning in the Tang Dynasty.
- Four causes of China's economic prosperity were:
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Description
Learn about the Song Dynasty, a significant period in ancient and post-classical China. Discover how Song rulers maintained and justified their power, and the role of Confucianism in their hierarchical society.
