Compare and Contrast Essay ~ Feudal Japan and Europe

The feudal system; a system by which the holding of estates in land is made dependent upon an obligation to render military service to the king or feudal superior. It was a system that was developed independently on opposite sides of the world: Japan and Europe. There were significant similarities and few differences. Europe being more militaristic and agricultural while Japan was more intellectual and aesthetic. However, the economic systems of Japan and Europe were both effected by agriculture and the idea of reciprocation but the specifics varied within the layers of social hierarchy.
During the time of the about the 500's, Europe was just starting to develop the system of feudalism. It was good for the economy as it helped to connect the different layers of their social hierarchy. The political leaders gave the people under them protection, money to the knights and land to the lords. In return, the king was given loyalty. It was a give and get sort of system that made almost everyone happy and content. A similar system was used in Japan. The shoguns were on the top of the social pyramid and promised protection and land to the daimyos and peasants below him. Given back to the shogun was loyalty. A small difference in the reciprocation system was the payment given to the knights and samurai. Knights in Europe were given money while the samurai in Japan were given land. But the basic structure of the feudal hierarchy systems were very similar.
The feudal system helped to stabilize Europe. It was so structured and stable they were able to make advancements in their agricultural ways. They sophisticated their plow and created the three-field system which allowed crop rotation leading to a reduction of famine. Architecture is another thing that flourished. Rounded arches were established, thicker walls were built and the style became more simplistic. A simple assumption can be made that advanced mathematics was required to create the rounded arches. This being taken into consideration, it can also be assumed that the European society had become stable enough that intellectual, aesthetic and economic advancements were possible.
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On the other side of the world in Japan, the architecture and art styles had been adopted from China. They had writers, poets and artists all of which flourished during the time of feudal Japan. Books were published, an example being the The Tale of Genji, the first written novel. Next came The Pillow Book; a personal diary that got published. Court life sophisticated and etiquette became a huge part of the Japanese culture; a culture that was slowly becoming their own. Japan eventually moved away from the Chinese influence and developed their own style of art and religion. It can be assumed that intellect and aesthetic meant stability because if they didn't have stability, people would be more worried about their next meal rather than what they were going to make a scroll of next. This was similar in Europe. Their society also had enough stability to create such a large endeavor of aesthetic and intellectual achievements. Stability was another thing that feudal Japan and Europe had in common. Social changes were also made during the feudal times of both regions. The hierarchies in Europe became more loose, but at the same time becoming more strict in Japan. Merchants had a higher position of status in Europe; they were given some freedom. However, it was the opposite in Japan. Merchants were considered low class which impacted their economy because trade lacked the diversity that was gained in Europe. Even though the merchants were at different levels of the social hierarchy, the simple fact that both countries is a major similarity. Neither country had anything to do with the other nor did they have any contact but they both developed a system that gave certain more freedoms than others.
In Europe there was a hierarchy within the hierarchy. The catholic church had a lot of power in Europe. They controlled about one third of the land and one tenth of everyone's taxes were given to the church to pay for miscellaneous things. It acted as inns, hospitals and sometimes a place of refuge from the war. It was the education of children where they were taught things like obdeience and the importance of the church. This was different in Japan as the religion was Zen Buddhism borrowed from China. This form fo Buddhism stressed mental and self discipline which, depending on how it's looked at, can be taken as a similarity or difference. Obidience as in obeying other people would be a difference but obdience as in obeying themselves would be a similarity.
In conclusion, Japan and Europe had a lot in common with their feudal systems even though they were developed independently. They had a lot of similarities as well as significant differences. Their societies in general were very parallel in that they both had social hierarchies that established a sense of power and placement. Their economies were also alike because they both had a system of reciprocation that gave everyone something to keep them safe and/or supplied. Europe and Japan also had civilizations that were both stable enough to make agricultural and and aesthetic advancements. Although, Europe was Catholic that had their own hierarchy system while Japan was Buddhist and were influenced by China. Overall, it was easy to see that a feudal way of life helped to stabilize their societies to make them create a successful way of life.

Mirror of Simple Souls

~Book written in 1310 by Marguerite Porete
Exerpt from chapters 119-122

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Genghis Khan Videos

Mongol Video Responses

BBC Part 5 - Genghis Khan Goes to War - This video showed the mongols at war. It gave a good visual description of their tactics and how they defeat their enemies. However, it was hard to determine which army was which and who the Mongols were fighting. Who was the army that the Mongols were fighting?

BBC Part 6 - Genghis Khan: Ruler of all Men - In this video, Genghis Khan's frist real victory was shown. He was then declared Ruler of all Men, a title that the Mongols thought the Chinese would fear. So, to avoid being taken by surprise, the Mongols invaded China before Chine could invade the Mongols. How did Genghis know to go around the Great Wall?

BBC Part 7 - Invasion of Northern China - The Mongols have moved to China in this video. It was their first big invasion. They gave no mercy, destroying entire villages and staying long enough to eat, drink, rest and enjoy the victory prizes (women). How do the Mongols keep the region they won under their power if they move on to takeover another region?

BBC Part 8 - Victory inside the Great Wall - China is getting more worn in this video, even though they have the more sophisticated weapons. The Mongols are just to persistent for the Chinese and end up getting defeated when their general kills himself. The Mongols make it through the barrier of the Great Wall and into the city to continue their invasion. Why is Genghis Khan so confident about him and his army?

BBC Part 9 - Genghis Builds a Capitol - After defeating China, Genghis set up a permanent capital place he called Karkorum where the economy was being established. He wanted to expand his trading capabilities so he set up what would be known today as a "Pony Express". However, Genghis got a return package he didn't like from Persia and declared yet another war. He tookover Persia and sent an army to continue westward, taking over as many other regions as possible. How far is Genghis going to get before he is defeated?

BBC Part 10 - Genghis Khan's Last Words - After invading a good portion of Asia and parts of Europe, Genghis Khan died. Not without appointing a new Khan; his son Odgedi who carried out his father's wishes of taking over the world. Odgedi only got as far as Russia, Poland and Hungary before he died as well. Although, he didn't appoint a new Khan which, by tradition, meant there wouldn't be another new Khan ever. The territoy they had spent so long building up, finally crumbled but the Mongols are still well known to this day as the world's mightiest warriors. Will there ever be another army like the Mongols?

DBQ - Treatment of Women in the Postclassical Era

In the post classical period, women were treated differently depending on the region in which they lived, the religious views of the region and the way they ran their society. There were parts of the world where they were treated positively and parts where they were treated negatively. A set of five articles were given as examples of the treatment of women throughout time. Each aritcle represented the attitude towards women from different parts of the world. Following are some furthered explanations of the previously explained.
Two out of five documents were explicitly aimed toward the religious view of an Islam and Jewish region. Even though they were in opposite favors, both felt that religion played a big part in the role of women. One was saying that women could have a say in how their body is used; that they could decide whether or not to have sex with their husbands. It was also said they could have some property rights (document 1). It's assumable that the rights that are spoke of are related to inheritance because throughout history it has been an issue in some countries. Here the view of women is more positive. The other religious document was of a more negative perspective. It said that women were a lower class than even ignoramus' because they couldn't understand the grace said at dinner (document 2). This was also an assumed fact because men were the ones were mainly educated in Hebrew. Women weren't educated therefore unable to understand therefore not worthy of saying grace. Both articles are written from a religious standpoint and both give insight to the status of women in two different parts of the world.
The next two articles were written from a society standpoint. They also had both positive and negative veiws on women that varied depending on their location. The first soceity aimed article was negative. It was speaking from a legal angle about women testifying in court and how it was dishonorable because it was looked down upon for women to be seen in front of men because of social status (document 3). A reasonale explanation for this kind of custom could be a man's fear of his wife cheating because if his wife was being seen in front of other men, the chance of her cheating was increased. Second was a Chinese look at the educational abilities of women. The main message of the article was to emphasize the fact that women were capable of reading and arithmetic (document 4). They could run their household, even if they had unsatisfying husbands, because of these atributes. This implicates that women were held high in value in China and because of this they were educated in literature and math. Both articles share the social point of view of women in two different parts of the postclassical world.
In the final article the soceity aspect was positive but the religious aspect was negative. Women were allowed to have multiple partners and didn't have to be veiled in public. Slavewomen and children were allowed to work naked because of climate conditions in Mali (document 5). While this was socially acceptable in Mali, it was not morally acceptable in the Muslim world. Ibn Battuta was a Muslim traveler who was morally disgusted by the practices of women in Mali because being from another part of the world, he was used to certain customs which he didn't see while traveling. The article itself was strange because it gave a two-sided view of women and their rights in Mali. It was fun to be able to decipher what was going on in this particular article because it was giving the positives of Mali society while still giving a negative point of view.
In conclusion, it can be determined that civilizations had their own way of treating women within their societies. It can also be determined that these variations depended on location in the world. China; the fact that they developed independently as a civilization may have had something to do with the way they didn't undermine the abilities of women. They didn't have another civilization to build from or take ideas from. They just went from their own beliefs and what they felt was right. However, in places like Rome ideas had been shifted around and blended together forming new beliefs and morals about women that resulted in a negative attitude. Overall, its predictable that no matter where an article is pulled, the treatment of women is unpredictable. The criteria is too hard to pinpoint what exactly will show what kind of treatment that was given, meaning that a direct article is necessary. Another article that might be helpful to more pinpoint the criteria for treatment of women in the postclassical era would be from the Olmec civilization in the Americas because it would give another insight to what the treatment of women was within an independently developed civilization.

Primary Document from Japan

The Tale of Genji

Summary- This primary document is a series of stories written by Murasaki Shikibu around 1011ce. It was the very first novel ever written and is still very valued today. It tells about daily like during the Heian period of Japan. In the stories, different aspects of life were addressed; from the royal lives to the love lives of people. There are 54 chapters total in which Genji travels throughout the land of Japan experiencing everything there is to experience during this time period. Most of the stories relate to nature in some way and a majority involve more than one person much unlike ancient Chinese poetry and paintings. Overall, The Tale of Genji is a great example of life during the Heian period of Japan.

Relation- The way this text relates to what we discussed in class on Thursday is pretty simple. We talked about Heian period in Japan and that is what The Tale of Genji is all about. We talked about politics, samurai, the Book of Five Rings, etc. This tale is a continuation of some of the things we talked about. It gives good insight to what life was like back in that period.

Chinese Poem & Painting

-Spring View
--Du Fu
The country is broken, though hills and rivers remain,
In the city in spring, grass and trees are thick.
Moved by the moment, a flower's splashed with tears,
Mourning parting, a bird startles the heart.
The beacon fires have joined for three months now,
Family letters are worth ten thousand pieces.
I scratch my head, its white hairs growing thinner,
And barely able now to hold a hairpin.

-This poem is talking about war within one country: China. Similar to the American Civil War between the north and the south. Someone is crying in the city, over a flower which is getting splashed with tears because they miss a family member. They get jumped by a bird that flies away and makes their heart start racing. They read the letters that they had received from a loved one which brings back memories. "A picture's worth a thousand words" but "Family letters are worth ten thousand pieces". Obviously, this person is very sentimental. They're also old and were once a part of the government. This person is probably thinking back..remembering the times of the war by reading those family letters; the first 6 lines being the memory. The last 2 lines explaining how the man is now old with white hair and close to death because he's weak from age.


Chinese Painting-First Picture
-This painting is of two people standing under trees in spring. One person, the more apparent man, is older and looking to the sky, as if looking to the spirits. The other person, in the lower left hand corner, is younger and looks like he's following or admiring the older man while holding a crutch. It seems that the younger boy could be the younger version of the older man in front of him. The younger boy could be seeing into his future, seeing the man he wishes to be when he gets to be that age. Or, it could be that the boy is following the man; whether it be from admiration or apprenticeship or both. They're standing under a tree and near some bushes. The tree has a bird on sitting on it which could be representing the coming warm weather.

Connection
-The poem and painting are related because both imply the season of spring which could mean the beginning of something new. This is shown better in the painting as there is an old man followed by a young boy. Another connection is the old man in each. Both are surrounded by trees, grasses and/or flowers and both seem to be remembering something specific. Thinking of family members or thinking to the future, both men are in a sort of forested area. The forestry could be a sense of calming for them because they can relate to them and their life cycle. They're born, they grow, they die. It's relaxing and an easy place to think, even if they're thinking of sad things.