Tang China and Japan

China has had thousands of years of history, and is considered one of the world's oldest civilizations. China went through many empires, dynasties and rules but the first account of a dynasty was the Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC. This was a relatively small dynasty; but never the less important to the development of China as we know it today and even the influenced the development of other empires such as Japan.

The Han dynasty is also an important dynasty because it is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of Chinese civilizations ever since. The Han dynasty saw an age of economic prosperity and witnessed significant growth in money and the economy. Many inventions developed during the Han dynasty influenced China for many years. Many of the inventions in the military revolved around the expansion of trade along the silk road which was encouraged because it was concurrent with the Roman empire, and they wanted goods from across the world.

There were many other dynasties before the Tang Dynasty; the most relevant being the previously mentioned Han dynasty and the Sui dynasty. The Sui dynasty lasted from 581 to 618. CE. This dynasty was important because it shows the shocking changes that happened under the Tang dynasty. This was the dynasty that preceded the Tang Dynasty, so, we can see the geographical changes that happened under the Tang Dynasty.

China under the Tang Dynasty was an incredibly large and powerful empire, this made other empires look upon them for influence on culture. In Tang Civilizations and The Chinese Centuries Mr. Lockhard states, “Indeed, the Tang dynasty is regarded by many historians as the most glorious period of China’s long history.” (2). The Tang dynasty was preceded by the Sui dynasty and lasted from 581 to 618. CE. This dynasty not only developed into a strong empire geographically but also culturally they grew and was now seen as powerful and even superior many outside empires.

The Tang dynasty was the largest and most powerful empire in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Tang Dynasty established imperial control over many empires, this is what built their large and developed empire. Military campaigns forced many other regions under Tang China’s control.

To outside empires they displayed superior leadership skills and important culture that influenced many other empires such as Japan. Their superiority made Japan want to be in China’s good graces because they admired the Tang dynasty.

In the mid-third century CE, a war-like group from Korea came to Japan, and established power over Southern Japan. These people are known as "Tomb Culture", due to their extravagant burial sites. They unified, and over time, their complex society of the higher class gave way to a Japanese state in the Yamato plain, in the modern region of Nara. Eventually, the Soga kinship group, a small branch of the imperial family, took control, and many of their leaders began making innovations, and connecting with their surroundings & surrounding cultures/states. Religions & philosophies heavily influenced the area and its legal scripts. China was the biggest influence by far. Eventually, the Nakatomi kinship group would take power of Japan in 645 CE, and gave Japan an emperor, like China.

Cultural diffusion, describes the spread of one culture's practices, beliefs, and/or items, like food, music, or tools. There are three different types of cultural diffusion: forced diffusion, indirect diffusion and direct diffusion. These types of diffusion are often influenced by ethnocentrism and xenocentrism.

The term xenocentrism refers to the desire to engage in the elements of another's culture rather than one's own.

Indirect diffusion happens when traits are passed from one culture to another through a middleman, without the first and final cultures being in direct contact.

Religion- Buddhism came to Japan sometime in the 6th century CE, traditionally 552 CE. According to Mr. Cartwright, “Buddhism continued to evolve as a faith in both India and China with sects developing which eventually made their way to Japan via monks who studied abroad.” (par. 6). This quote tells us that Buddhism was introduced to Japan by monks; this is an example of indirect diffusion. This is also an example of xenocentrism because Japan thought of China as a superior empire with superior religious ideas. This introduction of Buddhism was important to Japan because they hoped other empires such as China who they thought of as superior would look at Japan in a favorable manner. They wanted to be looked upon favorably to increase trade and diplomatic relations. They thought of China as superior overall but especially in religion thus adopting it is an example of xenocentrism. This mix of indirect diffusion and xenocentrism likely happened because Japan’s ruler at the time- Prince Shotoku- was a promoter of ties with China and was an advocate of all things Chinese this made many other Japanese people respect Chinese culture. Because Japan's ruler was an advocate for Chinese culture, respect for this culture became ingrained in Japanese society. The indirect diffusion happened because Buddhism had to be spread to emipers far from China through monks. Religion in this time period is often spread through indirect diffusion because trade with the silk roads was popular.

Art- At the end of the Jomon Period, from around 400 BCE scholars, and students were regularly sent to China to learn about Chinese art, for the benefit of the Japanese people. This was the first time that Japan saw interaction with China. Then in the Asuka Period which lasted from 538-710 CE, artists copied what works they could to take home as reference works. This idea of copying is happening because Japan thought of China as superior thus this is a work of xenocentrism. They started regularly importing the native arts to absorb and adapt to Chinese preferences. The artists sent to Japan were acting as a middleman for Japan, this is an example of indirect diffusion. They brought with them many new ideas about pottery, sculptures, painting, and poetry. Sculptures of the previously uncelebrated Buddha started to have more human-like expressions in statues. But this was not the only form of art that became human-like; other forms of art such as paintings and pottery began to see newly transformed ideas about natural life and the way they should be depicted.

Architecture- Japanese architecture was influenced by one's seen in China by Japanese artists. A text called "Ancient Japanese & Chinese Relations" by Mr. Cartwright states, “Artists copied what works they could not take home as reference works,” (par. 8). This quote is telling us that the artists Prince Shotoku sent to China to study Chinese culture came back to Japan with new ideas about architecture that imitated the ones they saw in China. This transition of architectural styles happened in the Asuka Period which lasted from 538-410 CE. This new style of architecture is an example of indirect diffusion and xenocentrism. This text also states, “The architecture of the public buildings of Nara and its successor as capital Heiankyo (Kyoto) followed Chinese models with most buildings for public administration having crimson columns supporting green tiled roofs.” (par. 9). This quote gives a specific example of the kind of architecture that came to Japan. The new architectural style was in the capital of Japan; this made other areas of Japan look up to this new style and started mimicking it. Thus making the new style of architecture spread throughout Japan. The spread of architectural ideas in Japan is unique because architecture is not usually an example of xenocentrism but because China’s position as a superior empire was so ingrained in Japanese society that they were bound to adopt this style of architecture. Indirect diffusion is how architecture is often spread; we see this in Japan as well.

Technology- Like most large empires have a trend of doing, Tang China's innovations and discoveries were often ahead of most others, and they often spread very far too many other places & countries. These technologies spread far through both direct & indirect diffusion and usually spread through xenocentrism, as different cultures saw the technology as useful and adopted it. The relationship between China & Japan is not an exception to this.

Woodblock printing was invented in China during the Tang dynasty, sometime before 900 CE. While paper had been around for a very long time at this point, this new form of printing allowed for repeated text to be replicated much faster, like books, or standardized tests, of which god majorly introduced to China after this invention. This invention mostly spread to the west, like Spain & Baghdad, but still had a major impact on Japan and how it made art, as we can see today. This new writing also facilitated in the spread of Buddhism because Buddhist scriptures were easier to spread and write. This is xenocentrism, because foreign cultures saw this thing as better to their own culture's way of doing it, and adopted the new thing.

Political systems- During its Nara period (710-794 CE), Japan borrowed heavily from aspects of the superior China. Heavy Chinese influences shaped the Japanese government through inspiration, & sometimes copying. They copied/imitated entire government branches, governments, services, & legal practices. Japan would also commonly send groups of envoys to China in order to learn more about it, and further adopt Chinese practices.

One of the most common things they adopted from China was their legal systems, and one of those things they adopted was the 6 year census. This law respects the Chinese idea that the land did not belong to individual people, but to the entirety of the people as a whole. Every 6 years, the land would be split between the people as the government & bureaucracy saw fit. Japan, closely following both Chinese philosophies & Chinese laws, replicated this law very quickly after it was created in China during the 7th century CE, through the knowledge of envoys. It is Xenocentrism, because Japan is openly accepting this law from another culture because they see the Chinese culture as superior to their own, and were actively trying to become like them by following their religions, values, and legal systems. This is one of such examples.

Writing- While Japan was in its Nara period (710-794 CE), it was under heavy Chinese influences only, so China kind of acted as Japan's portal to the rest of the world. China slowly became more and more diverse in culture, and they wrote their findings of other cultures down. As they wrote down things, Japan read, and enthusiastically did they read. Often, Chinese writings being spread was the main way Japan learned about things from China.

One of these things was religion, namely Buddhist scriptures. Buddhism spread to China from Buddhist missionaries, and Japanese envoys learned about it through Chinese scriptures. Following suit, Japan quickly adopted Buddhism and made many major temples around the area. This even happened twice again, when around 800 CE, two Japanese nomads came back to Japan to share their findings from some original Buddhist writings from China, which both spread in Japan as two different regional Buddhist sects. Again, this is xenocentrism, because Japan is adopting foreign ideas & writings for their own, and not only once, not only twice, but three times.

This kind of xenocentrism is the common theme of the Nara period (710-794 CE). Before Japan sprouted into it's own identity, it borrowed heavily from Chinese ideas, trying to become exactly like them. While the following Heian dynasty would grow individually, and slowly turn away from Chinese influences, the roots founded by the Nara period gave Japan a heavy Chinese influence that helped empower them, and stabalize themselves for future generations.

Important note- While other types of diffusion such as direct diffusion and forced diffusion are seen in the development of many other empires they are not seen in this spesific example of cultural diffusion.

Overall, throughout history, China has consistently been one of the major spheres of the world, often collapsing just to reform again bigger & stronger. Its influences were huge, and its advanced legislation, administrative techniques, technologies, and culture were revered & respected by many people of this time. Perhaps the biggest example of this is Japan, which adopted tons and tons of ideas and cultures from China, which helped boost Japan's knowledge & image. The relationship between China & Japan was mostly one of indirect xenocentrism, as Japan lived somewhat far away from China, but still eagerly waited to hear from merchants, envoys, missionaries, or whoever, what was going on in that great country down south.