China Changes:
Womens status goes up
o Song:
Footbinding, have to be virgins before marriage, widows celibate
confined to house, polygamy, concubines
Neo Confucianist ideas of gender roles promote this.
o Yuan:
None of the Songs to bullet.
Women hunted
Chabi=Kublai Khans wife who had a lot of influence and promoted
Buddhism
Merchant/Artisan status goes up
o Song:
Jinshi made high officials and high status. Considering contributing
members of society, unlike merchants.
Had extreme influence on emperor- convinced him that Buddhism hurt
economy because monasteries didnt pay taxes.
Neo Confucianist idea that education/intelligence is the most important
thing
o Yuan:
No civil service exams- scholar-gentry not in political power.
had both scholars and artists at the court
urban life flourished- trade, dramas (The Romance of the West
Chamber), actors became celebrities
Chinese people persecuted:
o Song:
Ethnocentrism only Chinese people in govt
Yuan:
China Continuities:
Well Organized Bureaucracy:
o Yuan is a chinese name (dynastic cycle continued)
o Postal system, organized taxation
o Capital in center of china (Khanbalik <current day Beijing>)
Trade leading to cultural diffusion:
o Song Yangdi built grand canal in Sui dynasty. Millet and rice trade
Indian buddhism, persian rugs.
Exported silk, porcelain and paper
govt regulated markets, guilds, deposit shops, and flying money
Used dhows and Junks (best ship at the time!) compasses.
o Yuan persian maps and improved Chinese calendar(called abacus). Muslim
doctors.
Golden Horde:
Russia doesnt take part in European exploration or the Renaissance
Rise of Moscow:
o Became trade city through Mongol connections to Asia
o gained power as tax collectors for Golden Horde
o Where orthodox leaders lived
o rise helped by Mongol weapons, rituals, court practices, and military draft
styles
Russia Continuities:
Russian Orthodoxy
o Kievan Rus
brought from Byzantine through missionaries (like Cyril and Methodius)
Prince Vladimir I converted to Christianity and forced conversions.
Golden Horde
churches didnt pay taxes
mongol policies strengthened hold on rural land
religious tolerance