Final

• Korea was an important link in transmitting Mahayana Buddhism to East Asia
• The Three Kingdoms in 7th century Korea consisted of Silla in the south, Paekche in the west, and Korguryo in the north
• The Tang-Silla alliance took advantage of inherent weaknesses Paekche and Korguryo

  • Taxation caused discontent
  • There were issues with succession
  • Tang China, who had helped Silla win, thought this was their victory
  • "Protector General to Pacify the East"
• Assertion of independence under Unified Silla (668-935 C.E.)

  • Silla King Munmu assisting rebel forces in Paekche and Korguryo
  • They began to undermine the presence of the Tang by helping rebels
  • No one was happy with the Chinese troops on the peninsula
• 676 was a pivotal year for Korean independence

  • 8 years after the invasion
  • Korean politics began to take on more of an independent role
  • Korean culture began to flourish independently of China
  • They were more or less on equal footing
• One benefit of relations with Tang was a symbolic status as a tributary state

  • Silla had this status
  • The other states outside of Chinese territory had to acknowledge China as superior and be submissive to their emperor
  • They had to show their submission on a symbolic level
  • This linked Silla and other Korean states of this kind with China and the cosmopolitan network of the Silk Road
  • With more commerce, they could receive more prosperity
• Another benefit of relations with Tang was the adoption of a Confucian centralized infrastructure

  • The capital at Kyongju was modeled after Chang'an to be a perfect miniature
  • The Office of Chancellery (Chipsabu) oversaw a lot of day-to-day issues
  • There was an erosion of aristocratic power in favor of a centralized monarchy; meaning they went to lower-ranked aristocratic nobles who didn't have entrenched goals or interests that would create corruption
  • They created a centralized ideology (where Buddhism comes in)
• Buddhism in the Silla state and during this time was seen as a great way to fend off "evil spirits" and "protect state from external and internal dangers” (it was seen as occult magic)

  Many local Sillan families believed in Shamanism and saw Buddhism as a threat
• Silla royal family wanted to adopt Buddhism because it was considered "hip" and "cool" to be a part of the Buddhist world

  It connected them to all of Asia
• The Martyrdom of I-ch'a-don:

  • Intentionally provoked people by telling them he was going to build a temple he didn't have the right to build so that they would behead him (supposedly)
  • He predicted that when he was beheaded, milk would gush from him instead of blood
  • Also, his head would be propelled onto the summit of a mountain
  • There are accounts of this actually happening
  • This miraculous event changed the mind of doubters and made them accept Buddhism
• Buddhism was considered a superior form of shamanism:

  • It promoted social unity, which the elite liked
  • Commoners believed in devotional sects which said that if they were devoted, they would reach enlightenment
  • Political unity comes from religious unity
• 1. By 7th century, Buddhist faith had already pervaded all social classes
• Monarch as Chakravartin:

  • The Turner of the Wheel of Dharma
  • Hye’cho’s pilgrimage to India (704-787)
  • Pulguk-sa in Kyongju as “Buddha-nation Temple” right at the base of Mt. T’oham
  • Silla wanted to build Buddhist sites to prove their dedication - Sokkuram
• Sokkuram Outer Sanctum:


  • Guardian deities, Indra, and Brahman
  • Fearsome-looking figures guarding the entrance
• Sokkuram Inner Sanctum:


  • Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and international sangha
  • As you enter, you enter the sacred space
  • Buddhism is an international religion, and Sokkuram reflected this by showing a sangha of people from all over the world, not just Korea
• Sokkuram Interior layout:


  • Hierarchal progression to the central figure of the Buddha
  • Tiny (meant to provide a spiritual shield for the capital from evil spirits)
• Sokkuram


  A case study of religious syncretism through art
• Buddhism is a very international religion
• The Sokkuram Triple Gems - The Buddha, The Dharma, The Sangha

  • Buddhist Dharma: the law and teachings
  • Sangha: monks, nuns
  • Dharma is conveyed through the design and symmetry
  • Beautifully crafted mandalas (representing power and protection) were taken to the river and washed away, which represented impermanence and not being attached to the physical world
• Everything in Sokkuram is symmetrical and mathematical

  • Made symmetrical to be a powerful force field against outside unwanted spirits
  • It's not about scale, but design
  • Three demensional
• "Cosmopolitan Credentials" from being part of the Buddhist world - a part of a worldwide phenomenon
• Sokkuram was powerful through "mathematic perfection"

  • Meticulous balance and symmetry in the layout
  • Single mathematical calculation reinforces the idea of interdependence
  • Every architectural element becomes a microcosm of the whole
• The Persistence of Indigenous Traditions

  • Assumed the exact function of Neolithic Korean sodas
  • Sodos: traditional burial mounds
  • Shamanistic tradition where kings were buried in these mounds
  • Also used to perform protective rituals for the state
  • "cave temple"
  • Misnomer - it was never a cave!
  • They took stones, built a mount, and filled the top with turf
  • Thwarted evil spirits
• Possibly a statue of the Buddha Vairocana facing east towards the Sea of Japan

  • they thought they came from the Sun
• Synthesized shamanistic role of king with Buddhist notion of a Chakravartin

  • Silla Buddhism became accepted as less of a path toward enlightenment, and more as a higher expression of indigenous shamanism
• Buddhism had to adapt a lot to accept different cultures

  • Religions never stay the same - as they expand, they have to change (nothing is permanent) - like Disneyland bahaha
• Late 3rd century BCE - Conditions for unity towards the late Zhao Period:

  • Warring states - endless fighting and political intrigues between the seven dominant states
  • The Xiongnu (a particular tribe of Huns) threat was relentless and debilitating
  • Dramatic economic growth - rice cultivation and increased commerce meant more wealth and people; more of a need for centralized government
  • China was not truly unified
• Logistical advantages of Qin state:

  • Strategic location - remote, away from east congestion, mountain passes made it hard to get to (attack and retreat easily)
  • Simple agrarian economy - made up of illiterate peasants loyal to the state, conducive for mobilization (farmers don't have to farm several months out of the year, so they can be used for military expansion)
  • Legalist state - not Daoist or Confuciast
• Advantages of a Legalist state:

  • Harsh and well-defined laws that leave no room for ambiguity
  • Different from Confucianism, which tried to win the hearts of the people
  • Laws seen as a way to deter crime
  • Attractive to migrants who wanted to live somewhere safe
• Legalist crime punishments:

  • If you were found dumping ash in public, your hands or feet would be amputated
  • If you were caught stealing, your nose would be cut off
  • If you punish minor offenses harshly, it deters people from committing worse crimes
  • Major crimes saw you beheaded
• Unification by Qin's first emperor (Shi Huangdi) in 221 BCE:

  • Only had some royal blood
  • Father was a conniving merchant
  • He was made fun of for this
  • Was his rise to power out of spite?
  • Assumed the title of emperor or Huang Di
  • Very confident
  • Said "History begins with me"
  • He thought no one needed to know what happened before he came into power
  • charismatic and confident
  • Committed genocides
  • Managed to unify China
  • Workaholic - huge attention to detail
• The Qin Record (221-207):

  • China was unified in 221 BCE
  • Creation of a totalitarian "police state"
  • There was a death penalty if you were found studying Confucianism
  • Huangdi wanted to find the elixir of life
  • It was rumored he lacked the moral virtue to live forever
  • 460 scholars buried alive as punishment
• Shi Huangdi's burning of books in 213 BCE:

  • He ordered the burning of books not of Qin origin
  • Some scholars risked their lives by keeping certain books or memorizing them so that we can see them today - Analects
  • This poses the question: how many classics will we never see?
• Historical bias against Qin Dynasty:

  • Historians tended to be Confucianists, so they didn't like Shi Huangdi, who wanted to destroy all traces of Confucianism (among other cultures)
• Qin's egalitarian measures:

  • There was a universal military draft that no one was exempt from - even the rich
  • Uniform tax system
  • System of meritocracy
  • Officials chosen based on merit, not birth status
  • 120,000 nobles were held as hostages in the capital
  • They had to bring their weapons, and Shi Huangdi had them melted into gigantic statues of him
  • Qin was egalitarian, yet had brutal measures
• Qin Dynasty Standardization:

  • Standardized weights and measures
  • This facilitated commerce due to everyone using the same system of coins
  • Axel width of carts
  • Ruts built into the road by carts driving in the dirt
  • Having a standard axle width made this easier
• The Great Wall helped protect Qin from Xiongnu

  • The unification of China made the Great Wall "great again" because they were able to fix damages
  • The length was 1,400 miles long
• The terracotta tomb of Shi Huangdi showed contradictions in the Qin state:

  • Very organized and rational
  • Soldiers carefully arranged to protect the emperor in the afterlife
  • Each soldier had unique facial features
  • Even with diversity, this state could create unity
  • There were 700,000 laborers
  • Many died and were buried alive because they knew too much about the layout
  • They feared tomb raiders
  • Order was rational, but the motive was irrational and paranoid
• The totalitarian paradox showed contradictions in Qin state:

  • Qin's obsession with rational order was at once a display of irrational excess
  • They went to irrational extremes
  • To secure long-lasting peace, they had to kill as many people as possible
  • To safeguard equality, the emperor needed absolute authority
• Chronology of the Han Dynasty:

  • Former Han (207 BCE to 8 CE)
  • Wang Mang Interlude
  • Later Han (25 CE to 220 CE)
  • Called Han, but the dynasty had essentially fallen at this point
  • The second half of the Han Dynasty was not as robust as the first half