History and Culture of Ancient China and Japan

Ancient and Medieval China and Japan had multiple cultural aspects in their history such as the political, social and economic structures. For instance, Chinese Dynasties brought forth new ideas like Confucianism, Daoism, and some ideas of Legalism. New trade routes were formed along with a tax system to improve the economic growth Ancient China.

Kingdoms were divided by territories. These territories were ruled by warlords. Ancient Japan was made up of clans until Shōtoku Taishi unified all the clans under one Chinese model. Later on, aristocrats and clans battled for power. Aristocrats ended up gaining power and took taxes from the central government. Ancient Japan had a patriarchal society. Noble families strived to have male descendants who would carry on the name. Ancient Japan also adopted Shintoism, a way of life. In ancient China and Japan, different dynasties and clans have introduced ideas and beliefs that still shape China and Japan as of this date.

China and Japan each had their own ideas that are still somewhat present today. In Ancient China, different dynasties brought Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalist ideas into the country. Confucianism is more focused around the political and ethical aspects of things, instead of the spiritual. Confucianism called for compassion, empathy, and humanity. Most of their ideas were put together in the Analects, a book that Confucius wrote about how China should be ran. Confucianism also emphasized the Five Constant Relationships which were: loving parent and obedient child, dutiful husband and obedient wife, kind older sibling and respectful younger sibling, considerate older friend and deferential younger friend, and benevolent ruler and loyal subjects.

Confucianism is the least strict compared to Daoism and Legalism. Daoism came from Han Laozi’s teachings and focuses the natural order of things. Daoist people believe in emphasis on inaction. They don't interfere with the natural order because they believe humans will naturally make mistakes. Legalist, on the other hand, is more strict than both Confucianism and Legalist. In Legalism, it is believed that all humans are evil, and the only way to establish control is by establishing strict laws and heavy punishments. Legalist people encouraged morality and punished bad behaviors.

There are political patterns which we witness in China’s history. New dynasties continue to rise and fall due to the same reason. A new dynasty will emerge and restore order, protect people from invaders from outside the country, and expand trade and influence. Then, as it ages, the dynasty will over tax the population, lose control of officials, and will allow the systems and facilities of the country to decline. Eventually, it will allow corruption to enter the country and it will be not able to defend against invaders. After this, a new dynasty will emerge again and restore order. The cycle continued to occur because kings and noble men became greedy.

However, Ancient China had improved economically with the Qin Kingdom. The ruler of the Qin Kingdom, Qin Shihuangdi, created a money system. He also commanded for a highway system to be built, which would help with trading and delivering supplies. He ordered a canal to be dug to supply armies. He taxed peasants after splitting the aristocrats’s land among them. This changed the economic aspect of Ancient China.

The Qin Kingdom may have changed the economic structure of Ancient China, but the Han Dynasty influenced the political structure. The Han Dynasty divided the enteral government into a censorate and military service. In addition to this, they divided the empire into provinces. The Han Dynasty used Confusion ideas, instead of Legalist. They tested the morality of people who were appointed into office.

Ancient China had social standards, like religion. Many people believed in supernatural beings that contributed to royalty and the afterlife. People communicated with these beings through oracle bones, which is China’s first evidence of writing. The religion in Ancient China was polytheistic, and some kings, like the Zhou King, were regarded as link between Heaven and Earth.

Ancient China has many political, economic, and social structures, and some of them were similar to Ancient Japan’s structures. Ancient Japan's society was made of clans, where most people were farmers or artisans. However, Shōtoku Taishi combined all of these clans and made them one under a Chinese model.

It was believed that the ruler was a divine figure. Rulers were pictured as a symbol of Japan. After Shōtoku Taishi died, the Fujiwara clan took control of Japan and there was a battle for power among the aristocrats and clans. Aristocrats ended up gaining power and hired warriors called samurai. The samurai had certain expectations and ways of code. They carried a long sword and a short sword. The long sword was for combat and the short sword was for a suicide ritual, called Bushido. Bushido is a samurai ritual in which they commit suicide by cutting the bottom of their abdomen because that is where they believed the heart was. The samurais did this because they believed suicide was a noble death. If the samurai did not die in battle than they were supposed to commit suicide. It states in Shiba Yosimasa’s Advice to Young Samurai from around AD 1400 states, “to regard your one and only life as like dust or ashes and die when you shouldn’t is to acquire a worthless reputation. A genuine motive would be, for example, to give up your life for the sake of the sole sovereign…” This shows how important reputation is. They believe that it is better to end one’s life rather than to die naturally.

Shōtoku Taishi and aristocrats helped Japan economically. Shōtoku Taishi created a new tax system and made all taxes paid to the government instead of the artisans. After Shōtoku Taishi died, aristocrats took taxes from the government.

In Ancient Japan, aristocrats weren’t the only people who had some sort of power. Because Japan was a patriarchal society, men had dominant power. The people of high class strived for a male heir to carry on the name, so hiring concubines was common. Many arranged marriages were also common to ensure that people either kept their status or raised it.

The political, social, and economic structures of Ancient Japan and China influenced these today. We still see aspects of Confucianism in China. The money system that was created still somewhat influenced China’s money system today. Many of the beliefs and ideas introduced in the ancient times have continued to be apart of the lives of the people in China and Japan. Taking everything into consideration, it is by far easier to see how much ancient times of China and Japan impacted the two countries today.