Chinese Dynasties 1 (February 15, 2023)

- Dynasty = Succession of rulers coming from the same family or clan.

- The circle of a dynasty
1. The place is growing old.
2. Old dynasty.
3. The mandate of heaven is gone.
4. Natural disasters.
5. New dynasty.

Chung-kuo/Zhongguo (China)
- “Middle Kingdom”
- Chinese people believe that they are the center of everything because of sinocentrism. (the chinese
belief that their blood is superior to all)
- To them, if you weren’t Chinese, you would be a barbarian.
- Emperor - has the mandate of heaven, which means they have the permission of God.
- Mandate of heaven = “son of heaven” or “anak ng langit”
- If you lead righteously, you would have the mandate of heaven. If you do not, the people would remove
you from the throne. The citizens would rebel and the person who would be successful in dethroning
the previous emperor will be the new ruler.
- Kowtow = the action of bowing three times wherein the forehead and nose are touching the ground. It is
not allowed to look the emperor in the eyes while talking.
- Filial piety = obedience and respect to one's parents. They think highly of their parents.

Xia/Hsia (first dynasty)

- Called “The Legendary Dynasty” because there is no physical evidence so far.
- Founded by Yu. (he was considered a hero because he thought of a solution for the flooding river)
- Already knew agriculture.
- There was a recorded solar eclipse.
- Writing was already invented by Ts’ang Chieh.
- Chieh kuah

Shang
- Founded by Ch’eng T’ang.
- Anyang - a great shang city.
- Agriculture
- Used oracle bones.
- Used calligraphy as art.
- Start of the bronze age culture.
- Had a slave society.
- Chopsticks were invented by Chou Hsin.

Chou/Zhou (jo)
- China’s feudal age.
- Feudal system (feudalism) = splitting one place into smaller regions.
- Founded by Wu Wang.
- Age of warring state (The emperor decided to use the feudal system and it ended in disaster since the
province rulers, his family and friends, all turned against each other and lost loyalty to him)
- Longest dynasty. (900 years)
- Introduced horseback riding.
 - Golden age of chinese philosophy (because many philosophers existed during this era like mencius,
lao-tzu, and confucius)
- Confucius created the golden rule and other philosophies about being a leader.

Ch’in/Qin
- Shih Huang Ti (The First Great Emperor) (Zhao Zheng) = he had all the books burned because he
wanted the history of China to start with him. (except from the medicine books)
- He had the “hand of metal.”
- Because he had many enemies, he was scared of them following him to the afterlife, so he had ordered
people to make life-sized warriors (terracotta warriors), horses, and chariots.
- He united China into one nation.
- There was no slavery at the time.
- Nomadic tribes were trying to get into China, so he ordered the construction of the Great Wall Of China.
- Many people died here so it is also called “The Longest Graveyard.”
- Political unity was advanced.
- Weights and measurements were standardized.
- Li Su & Sian.

Han
- China’s warrior dynasty.
- Wu ti (warrior conqueror)
- Silk road/silk route = main road of exporting silk to Europe and other countries.
- Tsai Lun = inventor of paper.
- Ssuma ch’ien = father of Chinese history.
- P’an chao, Liu pang, Ming ti, & Hsu Shen “Shuo Wen”
- Civil service examinations = a test to see if you can work in the public service or government.

Sui
- Founded by Yang Chien/Sui Wen Ti
- Yang ti
- Reconstruction of the Great Wall.
- The Great Canal was built. (connection between the two parallel rivers)

T’ang
- “Greatest dynasty” because they were able to maintain the golden age.
- Li yuan
- Chang-an
- Li shih min/t’ai tsun
- Empress Wu Hou or Wu Zetian (warrior empress) = first woman ruler and she was able to conquer
korea.
- Golden age of chinese poetry
- Tu Fu “god of poetry” = sad poetry
- Li po = love poetry
- Li yian = woman poet
- Diamond sutra = first printed book
- Peking gazette = first printed newspaper
- Gunpowder = used for fireworks
- Rise of the gentry
- Buddhism make great gains
Sung/Song
- The Mongols (lead by Genghis Khan) broke the great wall during this dynasty. Because of this, the
capital waved from the north to the south meaning that there was conflict in the north and peace in the
south.
- Xenophobia = fear of strangers or foreigners.
- Golden age of painting and literature.
- Foot Binding (for women) = The feet of a young girls are tied up to stop the growth of the feet. This was
considered as a beauty standard and women were only educated about being a housewife and mother.
- Kublai khan = completed the quest of china. Grandson of kublai khan.
- Was not politically weak.

Chinese Dynasties 2 & History of Japan (February 22, 2023)

Yuan
- First foreign dynasty.
- Founded by Kublai Khan (“khan” is a title, which means great ruler or great king)
- He put mongol’s capital in china.
- Peking = former name of beijing.
- Restricted chinese to low ranking government roles.
- Kublai Khan opened China to all foreign countries
- Marco polo:
- Comes from a venetian family of merchants.
- He came to China when he was 17 years old.
- Kublai Khan saw talent in him and asked him to stay in China and become a governor.
- He stayed in China for 17 years.
- When he came back to Europe, he published his book “the travels of marco polo”
- In his book, he wrote how beautiful Asia is and how rich Asia is in gold and nature. Because of
this, Europe's curiosity grew and motivated them to go to Asia.
- Kublai Khan invaded Korea.
- He also wanted to invade Japan:
- Before 1274, he sent an envoy regarding how the Mongols will control Japan and they accept
Kublai Khan as their ruler. They declined this envoy.
- In 1274, he declared war and sent 900 ships and 25 000 soldiers. The Mongols backed out
since a big typhoon came.
- In 1280, he sent 200 000 soldiers. They backed out again because of a big typhoon.
- Kamikaze = the big typhoon that saved Japan twice.
When Kublai died, no one was as good as him so the Chinese broke free.

Ming
- Founded by Chu Yuan Chang (Hung Wu)
- Restoration of Chinese Culture
- Isolationism = because of the Mongols, they cut off the connection from other foreigners, but they
realized that it was bad to their economy so they lifted it.
- Temple of heaven and forbidden city
- It is the biggest palace in the world and is called a city because of its enormous size.
- Has 10k rooms.
 - Called forbidden because only the emperor’s family and court.
- China became the “mistress of oriental seas” because they became amazing ship builders and ruled
the seas.
- Cheng ho
- Bring most of asia into chinese tributary systems

Manchu (ching/qing)
- Another foreign dynasty.
- Law of avoidance = the manchu were not allowed to marry the chinese because they wanted to
preserve their identity as manchus.
- Queue = hairstyle for men. The Chinese did this as a sign of submission to the manchus.
- This is the time wherein the european people started to conquer countries. The British invaded China
through trade. The european decided to put opium into cigarettes, then sell opium to the chinese. (8 out
of 10 chinese people were addicted to opium)
- Opium War = the war between china and great britain.
- In 1908, Emperor Hsuan Tung, a 3 year old, became the emperor. The temporary ruler was his father,
but the people were not satisfied by him so they dethroned him.
- In 1912, Hsuan Tung stepped down from his position and continued to live as an ordinary person by the
name of Henry Pu Yi.

Japan
- Land of the rising sun
- Has four main islands
- Hokkaido
- Honshu (largest)
- Shikoku
- Kyushu
- 37,923.1 km2 or 145, 916.9 sq mi.
- 6,852 islands
- Ainu/s = its original habitants

The Legendary Beginning

- Ang buong mundo ay natatakpan ng dagat. Medyo curious ang magkapatid na sina Izanami at Izanagi
kung ano ang mangyayari kung pakialaman nila ang dagat. I-dinip nila ang kanilang spear sa dagat.
Habang paakyat ito, bumagsak ito ng ilang patak ng putik, kaya lumikha ng isla. Nagpasya ang dalawa
na manirahan sa isla. Sila ay umibig at nagpakasal. Nagsilang sila ng maraming diyos, na lumikha ng
maraming isla ng Japan.
- Amaterasu = diyos ng araw.
- She sent her grandson, prince ninigi, to japan. He fell in love with a mortal and married her. One of his
descendants, Jimmu Tenno, “Tenno” being a title, became the first human emperor. He founded the
state of Yamato and the first imperial dynasty. He also ruled for 75 years.
- Divine origin = their belief that where they came from is heavenly or divine.

Nara period
- First permanent capital was established, which was Nara.
- Buddhism.
- They imported Japanese people into China because they believed that China was civilized.
- Kanji = system of writing.
Heian period
- Heian-kyo = capital.
- Golden age of Buddhism.
- Flourishment of literature.
- Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote the first novel,“The tale of Genji” or “Genji Monogatari.”

History of Japan 2 & Religions and philosophies in South Asia (March 8, 2023)

Minamoto yoritomo
- Minamoto = family name
- Founded the shogunate
- First Shogun

Hojo regency
- Repelled the two Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 under Kublai Khan.

Shogunate system
- “Bakufu”
- “The emperor reigns; shogun rules”
- They loved their emperor so they kept him/her, but only as a ceremonial emperor.
- It is a unique military government wherein a military leader is the ruler.
- Shogun = military general who rules and has all the authority. They were given complete command of
all the armies in japan.
- They used the feudal system.
- The more land u had, the more power u contained.
- Social Class:
- Emperor = only a ceremonial emperor
- Shogun
- Daimyo = land owners
- Samurai “those who serve” = Japan’s warriors
- They serve and place their loyalty to their daimyo. Even if the choice was their family or
their own life, they would still choose their daimyo.
- To them, honor was important.
- Bushido = “way of the warrior”
- Code of honor
- Code of conduct
- Demanded skill and bravery in battle, self-control and absolute loyalty to the lord.
- A samurai loses their honor when they…
- Lose their loyalty
- Are afraid to fight
- Do not follow their daimyo’s orders.
- Are still alive and their daimyo is dead.
- They commit honorable suicide in two ways:
- Harakiri = belly-slitting. Is usually done when they are about to be caught by their
opponent.
- Seppuku = ritual suicide and is belly-slitting as well. Usually done in groups.
- Peasants and artisans
- Merchants = they are at the bottom due to the fact that they cannot produce anything on their
own.
Japan’s Triumvirate of Heroes
1. Oda Nobunaga
- Son of a daimyo
- Overthrew the ashikaga
- Conferred the title of Vice Shogun
- Planned to eliminate the power of the Buddhist temples.
- Welcomed the jesuits and allowed them to live and preach
- Converted to christianity
2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Son of a poor peasant
- Unified japan
- Took the title “Kwampaku” (regent)
- Dreamt of building an asian empire
- Invaded korea but failed
- Conquered the rebellious feudal lords
3. Tokugawa Iyeyasu
- (under the tokugawa shogunate)

Shogunates that have rules Japan

1. Kamakura Shogunate
- First shogunate
2. Ashikaga Shogunate
- Founded by ashikaga takauji
- Disorders and constant feudal wars
- Government went bankrupt
- Education was neglected
- People continued to pay taxes despite their immense poorness
- Poverty and misery
- Constant feudal wars
- Droughts, fires, plagues, and famine
- Progress in several lines of culture:
- Noh = classical plays
- Kabuki = popular plays
- Closing years:
- 1542, First arrival of the first portuguese (the reason for the japanese’s immediate
acceptance of the portuguese was because of their firearms or guns)
- 1592, introduction of christianity by Francis Xavier “Apostle of Indies”
3. Tokugawa Shogunate
- Founded by tokugawa iyeyasu
- Moved the capital to edo or tokyo
- Ordered “sankin kotai”
- At first, was friendly with the west
- He killed christians and deported missionaries
- Tokugawa iyemitsu
- Grandson of tokugawa iyeyasu
- Persecuted lorenzo ruiz
- He would offer rewards to people who would reveal christians
- Houses were searched for bibles and other stuff.
- He ordered the spaniards to leave japan
- In order to be spared, you have to prove that you have betrayed your religion.
 - Shimabara revolt:
- Happened at shimabara
- Revolt of christian daimyos and peasants
- They revolted because of oppressive taxes and continuous persecutions.
- The dutch helped to suppress the revolt
- Seclusion decree of 1639 = isolation of japan to the world.
- Sakoku = “chained or locked country”
- They closed the ports of japan.

Religions and philosophies in South Asia - Hinduism

1. Hinduism
- From india.
- Founded by Aryans
- Warlike people
- From europe
- Went to indus valley and saw dravidians
- They were able to drive away the dravidians.
- Used to have animism as their religion, but later introduced Hinduism.
- Famous trinity (represent the cycle of life)
- Brahma = the creator (birth)
- Vishnu = the preserver (living)
- Shiva = the destroyer (death)
- Caste system (social class)
- Brahmin = priests and scholars
- Kshatriyas = rulers and warriors
- Vaishya = farmers, merchants, and artisans
- Sudras = slaves
- Untouchables/outcastes/pariahs
- People were disgusted by them.
- They were not included in the caste system.

Religions and Philosophies in South Asia 2 - Buddhism (March 15, 2023)

Buddhism
- From India.
- To be content with what you have.
- Founded by Siddhartha Gautama.
- His class in the caste system was kshatriya (he was a prince).
- He was called Buddha which means “The enlightened one.”
- He did not intend to create a religion. His objective was to give enlightenment and reform
people.
- When he died, his deciphers and followers decided to spread his word and teaching, which
resulted in Buddhism.
- Four noble truths
- Man’s life is filled with misery and suffering.
- Man’s suffering is caused by his own selfish desires.
- Man can end his suffering by conquering his desires
- Attainment of havana through the “eightfold path”
- Tamang pag iisip
 - Tamang pananaw
- Tamang intensyon
- Tamang pagsasalita
- Tamang pagkilos
- Tamang hanapbuhay
- Tamang pagkaunawa
- Tamang konsentrasyon
- Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
- Don't get upset with people and situations, because both are powerless without your reaction.

Religions and philosophies in South Asia - Hinduism 2, Jainism, & Sikhism (march 22,
2023)

Hinduism
- Rules:
- Do not marry outside your class.
- Your job is chosen according to your class
- The caste system is hereditary.
- There is no way to change your class.
- The motive for these rules is to stabilize the rulers.
- If you do not follow these rules, you will become an untouchable.
- Vaishya and Sudras are mixed race.
- Brahmins and Kshatriya are Aryans.
- Untouchables are dravidians.
- Dharma = duties and responsibilities of a person.
- Karma = accumulation of good and bad things.
- Reincarnation = after death, a soul will begin a new life.
- If your karma is good, you may be born in a higher class in your next life. If your karma is bad, you may
be born in a lower class or as an animal.
- In the cycle of karma and reincarnation, your soul will purify and will go out of the cycle. Afterwards, it
will go to brahma.
- Gopastami = celebration of the cow. They are bathed, clothed, and fed because cows are considered
holy and represent life and sustaining human life.
- Vedas = earliest sacred book and consisted of hymns, prayers, rituals
- Suttee = widow burning.

Buddhism
- Accepted by the people who suffered from the inequality of the caste system.
- It was possible for a person to gain enlightenment in one lifetime (as Buddha had).
- Hinayana Buddhism
- southeast asia
- To achieve nirvana
- original buddhism
- Buddha is a teacher and holy person
- Mahayana Buddhism
- east asia
- accepted changes and modifications to buddhism.
- Bodhisattva are enlightened beings who stay and help others reach enlightenment
- Buddha is a god.
Jainism
- From india
- They believe in reincarnation
- Mahavira (formally known as Vardhamana)
- Mahavira = dakilang bayani
- Left his family and became poor.
- He lived 12 years in peace and meditation
- While he was chillin under a tree, he stumbled upon Kevala.
- Kevala = avoid the following
- Anger
- Show off
- Desire
- Scam
- 3 gems of Jainism
- Wastong pananampalataya
- Wastong kaalaman
- Wastong kaasalan
- Ahimsa
- Be vegetarian
- Do not harm or kill animals and humans.
- Do not kill insects
- No war

Sikhism
- From India.
- Baba Nanak or Guru Nanak
- Founder
- First guru of sikhism
- Became ascetic
- Goals:
- unity for all
- To get out of the cycle
- Follow the rules of their guro (pari)
- Meditate
- Charity
- Diyos
- Nirankar = walang hugis
- Akal = walang hanggan
- Hindi maaaring magkatawang-tao
- You will be saved if you fight the 5 bad habits:
- Sexual desires
- Anger
- Greed
- Pagkamakamundo (you are only focused in material things)
- Arrogance
- Holy book = guru granth sahib
Imperialism (april 12, 2023)
- Expansion of territory to achieve world power.
- 2 types of Imperialism:
1. Direct Imperialism (Tuwiran) = through war and military power.
- Colonialism = to gain power or control in an area to be able to use its resources.
2. Indirect Imperialism (Di-tuwiran) = through politics, commercial, trading, and economy.

Reasons or factors as to why europe headed towards Asia

- The book of Marco Polo
- Krusada o Crusade (1096-1273)
- Mercantilism
- Downfall of Constantinople
- The renaissance

Religions & Philosophies in East Asia

Confucianism
a. Obligation in society
- Each person has their obligation in their society and family.
- Proper rules of conduct govern relationships between people.
- 5 basic social relationships:
- Ruler & subject
- Husband & wife
- Brother & little sibling
- Father & son
- Friend & friend
- Take care of family because it is the foundation of society
- Filial piety = respect and obedience to one’s parents.
b. Moral in the government
- Rulers should be good and set a moral example for his subjects.
- “If a ruler is upright, all will go well without orders. But if he himself, is not upright, even though
he gives orders, they will not be obeyed”
- Moral merit as a quality for leadership.
- Educated leaders were needed.
- Respect your elder = there will be peace if the people loved their ruler.
- Virtues:
- Jen = kindness
- Yi = proper behavior
- Li = respectfulness
- Xiao = respect to parents
- Confucius’ sayings:
- “To know what you know and know what you do not know is knowledge.”
- “A man has committed a mistake and does not correct it, it is committing another mistake.”
- “By nature, men are pretty much alike; it is learning and practice that set them apart.”
- “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.”
- Mencius’ teachings:
- All people are good.
- Every person has the right to dethrone their ruler if they cannot live up to high expectations, in
which the mandate of heaven is lost.
 - Mencius’ sayings:
- “He who giants the heart of the people gains the throne, and he who loses the people’s heart
loses the throne.”
- “There has never been a good war”
- Book = the analect

Taoism
- From the word “Tao,” which means “The way.” This is the path wherein everything moves and changes
are consistent. It is also an innate force that is felt or sensed rather than learned from the words of a
teacher.
- Founded by Laozi or Lao Tzu
- Teachings:
- Nature has its own path and it must be allowed to take its own path.
- Go with the flow of nature and feel its spirit.
- Life and death are together. That is reality.
- Principle of “wu wei” = “you can do everything by doing nothing”
- Balance between “yin and yang”
- The symbol for “yin and yang” is the same symbol used for taoism.
- Yin = darkness
- Yang = light
- Both are needed to maintain balance in the world. If one is lost, then the world would be
in chaos.
- Sayings:
- “To the good, I am good; to the bad, i am good for virtue is goodness”
- “Keep behind and you shall inevitably be in front”
- “He who overcomes others is strong, but he who overcomes himself is stronger”
- Book = The ways and its powers

Legalism
- Ang pangunahing gawain ay palakasin ang estado.
- Ang pinuno ay dapat magkaroon ng ganap na kapangyarihan.
- Ang mga tumulong sa estado ay dapat gantimpalaan; ang mga sumalungat dito ay dapat parusahan o
alisin.
- Ginamit ito noong panahon ni Shih Huang Ti.
- Hinikayat ang kamay ng metal o paggamit ng mahigpit na mga patakaran.

Tibetan buddhism or Lamaism

- A branch of Buddhism
- “Lamas” = the superiors
- Uses theocracy
- Their leader is called “Dalai Lama.”
- Tenzin Gyatso
- 4th dalai lama
- Fought so that tibet could be free from china
- Because of his desire to free tibet from china through a peaceful way, he won a nobel peace
prize in 1989
- Used by holy monks and tibetan civillians.
- Pagpapatirapa at pag-aalay kay Buddha.
- Singing of mantras and prayers.
- Avalokitesvara = merciful buddha
 - Reading of Buddhist holy text.
- Pagpapaikot ng prayer wheel
- Turned clockwise to get the blessing of Avalokitesvara.
- There is engraved holy text or mantra on the wheel.

Shinto
- From japan
- Shinto = the way of the gods
- They worship “kami,” which are the spirits of the world.
- The most important kami is Amaterasu, sun god.
- 4 obligations of shinto:
- Tradition and family
- Love for nature
- Cleanliness
- Matsuri = celebrations
- There are rituals about cleaning a person.
- This can be done by washing the hands and mouth using water.
- This is done before a ceremony.
- Before you enter a shrine, you must clean your hands and mouth using water provided outside the
shrine.
- Shrine = holy structure where they worship their gods.
- Torii = traditional gate that can be found in the entrance of shinto shrines to symbolize the entrance of a
holy structure.

Zen Buddhism
- Light can be achieved by meditation.
- To live righteously and disciplined.
- During the time of the shogunate, many samurai and daimyo supported this.

Religions & Philosophies in West Asia

Judaism
- One of the oldest religions.
- From Israel.
- Founded by the Jews or Israelites.
- Uses Monotheism, which is the belief that there is only one God.
- In Judaism, their great lord is Moses.
- Torah or Pentateuch
- Their Holy Book.
- Pinaka Sentro ng pag aaral ng Judaism.
- Formed with 5 books:
- Genesis
- exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Sampung utos = this is their guide in actions and living.
- This is extremely important.
- It comes with consequences and punishments if not followed.
 - They don’t believe that Jesus is the messiah or savior.
- Days of abstinence:
- Rosh hashanah = jewish new year.
- Yom kippur = day of atonement.
- Sabbath = jewish day of rest.
- Pesach passover = commemoration of the exodus. (The exodus is the escape of the
Israelites from Egypt)
- Jewish holy city = jerusalem
- Jewish teachers/priests = rabbis
- Jewish place of worship = synagogue
- Considered founder = Abraham

Islam
- From Saudi Arabia
- Islam is from the Arabic word “Salam,” which means “Surrender.”
- Muslim means "obeying, submitting, and obeying Allah."
- 2nd biggest religion in the world.
- Monotheism
- Qur’an/koran = holy book
- Muhammad
- Founder ng Islam.
- Discovered:
- mystery between good and bad.
- Allah is good.
- Allah is the only god and made the world.
- He is from Mecca.
- At first, people did not accept Allah’s teachings, as a result, he escaped to Medina. In the end,
he came back and then the people accepted Allah’s teachings.
- Their center of worship, the black stone, is located in Kaaba at Al-masjid-al-haram, the great mosque of
Islam, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (center of Islam).
- They believe that Jesus is not a God but a prophet.
- Theu believe in Judgement Day (If a soul is good, they are taken to paradise or heaven. But when a
soul is bad, they are taken to hell)
- They do not eat pork or drink beer.
- Men can have more than 4 muslim wives as long as they can sustain them all.
- Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad are the prophets of allah.
- Place of worship = Mosque
- Five pillars of islam:
- Shahada = there is no god other than Allah and muhammad is the prophet.
- Salah = pray 5x everyday (morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, before sleeping)
- Zakat = help those in need.
- Sawm = fast during the month of ramadan.
- Hajj = visit mecca at least once in your lifetime. For those who do it, they are given the title of
“Hajji.”

Zoroastrianism
- From Persia (now known as Iran)
- Zoroaster = founder
- They believe in Dualism, which is the belief of 2 gods:
- Ahura mazda = tagapaglikha/diyos ng mabuti
- Ahriman = diyos ng masama
- The world is a conflict between two forces: good and evil
- Man is given the freedom to choose either good or bad.
- In the final judgment, the good will go with you ahura mazda in heaven. While the evil one is with
ahriman in hell.
- The concept of heaven and hell are not physical places but on the mental level.
- At the end of time, Ahura Mazda will triumph over Ahriman.
- The world will end by being consumed by fire.
- Good people will live in the kingdom of eternal happiness and goodness.
- The wicked will be punished forever.
- There is a way to fight evil, it is to do good.
- There is a way to fight the darkness, it is by spreading the light.
- By spreading love, conflict or anger can be eliminated.
- Zend avesta = holy book
- Follower = parsi