Condense History of China, Korea, and Japan
A. Brief History of China Website Link
Xia (c. 2200 - c. 1750 BC)
The first Chinese dynasty had descended from a wide-spread Yellow River valley Neolithic culture known as the Longshan culture, famous for their black-lacquered pottery.
Shang (c. 1750 - c. 1040 BC)
The Shang was the most advanced bronze-working civilization in the world at that time; they also provided the earliest and most complete record of Chinese writing.
Western Zhou (c. 1100 - 771 BC)
The Zhou was the most powerful principality and played the role of hegemony in the area. They used a father-to-son succession system.
Eastern Zhou (771 - 256 BC)
Spring & Autumn Period (722 - 481 BC)
Warring States Period (403 - 221 BC)
After the capital was sacked by barbarians from the west, the Zhou dynasty was divided into eastern and western periods. As the power of the Zhou declined, the Spring & Autumn period, provided a history of period with a proliferation of new ideas and philosophies. The three most important, from a historical standpoint, were Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism.
The politics of the Warring States period were much the same as those of the Spring & Autumn period; the major difference was that massive armies, long battles, sieges, were all common features of the Warring States battlefield.
Qin (221 - 206 BC)
In 221 BC, the first Emperor of China, Qin Shihuangdi, conquered the rest of China after a few hundred years of disunity. Qin Shihuangdi had a great many accomplishments, not the least of which was the linking together of many of the old packed-earth defensive walls of the old principalities into the Great Wall of China. In the year 210 BC Qin Shihuangdi died. It wasn't long before the dynasty fell apart, helped in part by a revolution by a soldier.
Earlier Han (206 BC - AD 8)
Wang Mang Interregnum (AD 8 - 25)
Later Han (25 - 220)
Han was an important dynasty. The overwhelmingly predominant ethnic group in China is called the Han. They developed the administrative model, which every successive dynasty would copy. Between AD 8 and 25, a man named Wang Mang ruled China. While he did seem to have some good, reform-oriented ideas, he really wasn't up to the task of ruling. After his death in AD 25, the Han royal family took back the reins of power, and set up the Later Han dynasty. In AD 220, it collapsed, plunging China into 350 years of chaos and disunity.
Three Kingdoms (220 - 265)
Dynasties of the North and South (317 - 589)
It was a time of various wars between different kingdoms. Socially, there were two important developments. The first was that the ethnic Han Chinese kept on moving south, while 'barbarians' moved into the north and assimilated themselves into Chinese society. The second development was Buddhism was introduced into China around the middle of the first century AD, but really didn't catch on until the fall of the Han dynasty.
Sui (589 - 618)
Sui was very short and it did a pretty good job of re-unifying China. Because it had a northern power base, it was part barbarian, as was the Tang.
Tang (618 - 907)
The Tang is considered to be one of the great dynasties of Chinese history. There are two interesting historical things about the Tang. The first is the Empress Wu, the only woman ever to actually bear the title 'Emperor'. She was not a nice person. In her own vicious, ruthless, scheming way, she was absolutely brilliant. The second was the An Lushan Rebellion. It is related to Emperor Xuanzong. Until he fell in love with a young concubine named Yang Guifei, he had been a great ruler. Yang took advantage of her power to stuff high administrative positions with her corrupt cronies. She also took under her wing a general named An Lushan, who quickly accumulated power, and launched his rebellion. The rebellion marked the beginning of the end for the Tang.
Northern Song (960 - 1125)
Southern Song (1127 - 1279)
It was a time of remarkable advances in technology, culture, and economics. The most important development during the Song was that agricultural technology developed to the point where the food-supply system was so efficient that there was no need to develop it further. However, politically and militarily, the Song was a failure. The northern half of China was conquered by barbarians. Then a hundred and fifty years later, the Mongols, fresh from conquering everything between Manchuria and Austria, invaded and occupied China.
Yuan (Mongol) (1279 - 1368)
While time of Mongol rule is called a dynasty, it was in fact a government of occupation. While the Mongols did use existing governmental structures for the duration, the language they used was Mongol. The Yuan dynasty also featured the famous Khubilai Khan, who, among other things, extended the Grand Canal. Beijing Opera was invented during the Yuan. Neo-Confucianism, a notoriously conservative brand of Confucianism, was led to the rise.
Ming (1368 - 1644)
The Ming rulers distinguished themselves by being fatter, lazier, crazier, and nastier than the average Imperial family. In the early 1400s, a sailor named Zheng He sailed as far west as Mogadishu and Jiddah. But once the sailors came back, the trips were never followed up on. Conservative scholars at court failed to see the importance of them. For the first time in history, China was turning inwards, clinging to an incorrect interpretation of an outmoded philosophy. During that time, they moved the capital to Beijing, fortified the Great Wall, built the Forbidden City, and gave Macao to the Portuguese.
Qing (Manchu) (1644 - 1911)
In 1644, the Manchus took over China and founded the Qing dynasty. The Qing weren't the worst rulers; under them the arts flowered and culture bloomed. However, in their attempt to emulate the Chinese, they were even more conservative and inflexible than the Ming. Their approach to foreign policy was to make everyone treat the Emperor like the Son of Heaven and not acknowledge other countries as being equal to China.
Other problems that plagued the late Qing included rampant corruption, a steady decentralization of power, and they were losing control on too many fronts at the same time.
The attitude of the Western powers towards China (England, Russia, Germany, France, and the United States) was strangely ambivalent. On the one hand, they did their best to undermine what they considered to be restrictive trading and governmental regulations; the best example of that was the British smuggling of opium into Southern China. On the other hand, they did do their best to prop up the ailing Qing, the most notable example being the crushing of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 by foreign troops.
Republican China (1911-1949)
In the early 1920s, Dr. Sun Yatsen, as the leader of the Nationalist Party (KMT), accepted Soviet aid. With the Communist help, Sun Yatsen was able to forge a alliance with the fledgling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and started the task of re-unifying a China beset with warlords. After Sun died in 1925, the leadership of the KMT was then taken over by Chiang Kaishek. Chiang launched his famous "Northern Expedition", which unified Southern China and let the Nationalists control the Lower Yangzi. Once they got to Shanghai, Chiang launched a massacre of CCP members. The Communists were forced to abandon their urban bases and fled to the countryside. In 1934, the Nationalists were closing in on the Communist positions, when the Communists started the Long March. They had traveled 6,000 miles in one year and finally reached near Yan’an. While in Yan'an, Mao consolidated his position as the sole leader of the Revolution.
In 1937, the Japanese invaded China proper from their bases in Manchuria. The Japanese occupied the major coastal cities and commit atrocities. By the time that the war had ended in 1945, 20 million Chinese had died at the hands of the Japanese. The Nationalists, in contrast to the Communists, were disorganized and corrupt. The Communists was doing a better job fighting the Japanese than the Nationalists.
At the end of World War II, the war between the Nationalists and the Communists started up again. By 1949 October, the Nationalists had fled to Taiwan and Mao Zedong had proclaimed the creation of the People's Republic of China.
The People's Republic of China (1949- )
In 1950, China intervened in the Korean War to save the North Koreans from being wiped off the map, and by 1953, the Korean War was over (actually, South Korea and North Korea are still technically at war with each other, even though the fighting stopped in 1953).
In 1958, Mao, who was growing increasingly distant from Moscow, launched the Great Leap Forward. The idea was to mobilize the peasant masses to increase crop production by collectivizing the farms and use the excess labor to produce steel. What ended up happening was the greatest man-made famine in human history. From 1958 to 1960, poor planning and bad management managed to starve 30 million people to death. Officially, the government blamed it on "bad weather."
By 1962, the break with the Soviets was complete, and China started to position itself as the 'other' superpower while it recovered from the Great Leap Forward. Unfortunately... in 1966, Mao launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The origins of the Cultural Revolution are vague, but probably stem, in part, from a growing separation between Mao's clique and the rest of the CCP. Mao called upon students to rebel against authority, and they did, forming units of Red Guards. China promptly collapsed into anarchy. Schools shut down, offices closed, transportation was disrupted -- it was so bad that even today, the full history is still far from known. In terms of the chaos, blood, and destruction, it was comparable to the French Revolution, though it lacked the same political impact. At one point, Red Guards were fighting pitched battles with Government troops outside of the Foreign Ministry building. Later on in the Cultural Revolution, Red Guard units ended up fighting each other for supremacy. In the summer of 1967, there were massive riots in both Hong Kong and Macau.
One of the reasons why Mao was able to pull off something like the Cultural Revolution was because he was taking on the trappings of an emperor -- indeed, Mao himself often compared himself to the First Emperor of China. Another reason was the political support of the People's Liberation Army, spearheaded by a general named Lin Biao. During the glory years of the Cultural Revolution, Lin became very close to Mao, and was appointed his heir-apparent. Lin was also in charge of developing the 'cult of personality' around Mao. But after 1969, Lin's position began to deteriorate, and he vanished in 1971. Lin apparently died in an airplane crash in Mongolia; the official story is that he was fleeing to Russia. Many people believe that Mao had him murdered. It is doubtful that the whole story will ever be told, particularly as the principles involved (Mao and Lin) have taken their secrets to the grave.
While the Cultural Revolution 'officially' ended in 1969, and the worst abuses stopped then, the politically charged atmosphere was maintained until Mao's death in 1976. Deng Xiaoping, who was purged twice during the Cultural Revolution (once at the beginning; once again right before Mao died); eventually emerged as the paramount leader in 1978, and promptly launched his economic reform program.
Deng's actions, initially limited to agricultural reforms, gradually started to spread to the rest of the country. One of his favorite sayings is "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white; what matters is how well it catches mice." This is in direct contrast to the ideology of the Maoist years, where a favored slogan was "Better Red than Expert," which meant, in practice, that totally unqualified ideologues were put in charge of projects that really needed technical expertise.
In 1982 Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister of Britain, went to Beijing to meet with Deng Xiaopeng. Most of the talks concerned the issue of Hong Kong. By the time she had left, the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China had signed an agreement in principle to hand Hong Kong from the UK over to China. In 1984, the agreement was formalized in a document known as the Joint Declaration. The people of Hong Kong were never consulted about their future.
Hong Kong is a place of many ironies, and the handing over of the territory to China is replete with them. Many of the people who made Hong Kong what it is today were only in the territory because they were fleeing the Communists and are now faced with the prospect of returning to Communist rule. The Hong Kong Chinese residents lucky enough to have British citizenship are not actually allowed to live in Britain; and those who hold the British National (Overseas) [BN(O)] passport will find themselves PRC nationals after 1997, whether they like it or not. Finally, there is perversely poetic justice in the fact that Hong Kong, which was made by unequal treaties, will be unmade by an unequal treaty.
As the economic reforms on the mainland spread, the question of political reform started to come to the surface, propelled by events in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This came to a head in Tiananmen Square in May, 1989. The leaders of the Communist Party saw this as an attack on their power, and proceeded to destroy it. Officially, 200 unarmed demonstrators died. The actual figure is far higher, and it is doubtful that there will ever be an accurate roll call of those who died on June 4.
After June 4, progress and reform in China stopped for three years. But in 1993, Deng Xiaoping, in one of his last major public appearances, toured the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and emphatically voiced his approval. After that, the Chinese economy exploded, and it has only been recently that the economy has cooled off to more reasonable levels.
One of the most significant developments in recent history was the death of Deng, on February 19, 1997. While he has not been active in politics for some time and has not appeared in public for more than three years, the deaths of senior leaders has always had an unsettling impact on Chinese politics. Given Deng's former position as the paramount leader of the country, the political shockwaves will not only be substantial, but unpredictable.
On the other hand, given that Deng had apparently handed over power to Jiang Zemin several years ago and 'retired,' we may be witnessing a new epoch in Chinese politics, one where the death of a senior leader does not automatically result in a scramble for power. It will be several years before we are able to look back and accurately assess the events of this period; after all, Mao died in 1976 but it was not until two years later that Deng was able to fully consolidate his grip on power. Either way, the next few years will be interesting times.
Longer term, it is impossible to predict what will happen. China will probably become a leading industrial power sometime in the next century, and it will probably become more closely economically tied to its East Asian neighbors. However, predictions that China will become the world's largest economy by the year 2020 are based on unsustainable growth projections. And if the last 150 years of Chinese history tells us anything, it is that the only predictable thing is unpredictability.
China will hold the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing and 2010 World Trade Show in Shanghai.
B. Condense History of Korea
Overview: The history of human activity in Korea can be traced far into the Paleolithic period, about 500,000 years ago. The beginning of Korean history is often dated to 2333 B.C. when King Tan-gun, a legendary figure born of the son of Heaven and a woman from a bear-totem tribe, established the first kingdom named Choson, literally meaning the "Land of the Morning Calm." While the historicity of the Tan-gun myth is disputed among scholars, it is known that ancient Korea was characterized by clan communities which combined to form small town-states. They rose and fell so that by the first century B.C., Three Kingdoms, Koguryo (37 B.C. - A.D. 688), Paekche (18 B.C. - A.D. 660) and Silla (57 B.C. - A.D. 935), had emerged on the Korean Peninsula and part of what is now known as Manchuria.
Ever
since Shilla unified the peninsula in 668, Korea has been ruled by a single
government and has maintained its political independence and cultural and ethnic
identity in spite of frequent foreign invasions. Both Koryo (918-1392) and
Choson (1392-1910) Dynasties consolidated their dynastic power and flourished
culturally, while repelling intruders like the Khitans, Mongols, Manchus or
Japanese.
In the late 19th century, Korea became the focus of intense competition among imperialist nations such as China, Russia or Japan. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and instituted colonial rule, bringing the Choson Dynasty to an end and with it traditional Korea. National liberation occurred in 1945 but was soon followed by territorial division. The Republic of Korea in the South has a democratic government, while the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the North is ruled by a Communist regime.
Pre-20th Century
??- 57 B.C.: Evidence of inhabitants in Korea from as early as 4000 BC exists in Korea. Legend has that the man-god Tan Gun founded the Joseon (meaning Land of the Morning Calm) Kingdom in 2333 BC. Almost no centralized communities existed from then until three kingdoms emerged in the 1st century BC.
57 B.C. - 668 A.D.: The Three Kingdoms of Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje had similar ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Koguryo occupied the northern part of the peninsula from the Chinese border to the Han River, while Silla and Baekche dominated the southern regions. All three kingdoms were heavily influenced by China, and Buddhism was introduced to Koguryo in 372. Various alliances were formed either with or against the Chinese until 660 when Silla allied with China to overthrow Baekje. Goguryeo fell shortly afterwards in 668.
668 - 935: The Silla Kingdom period marked the start of Korea's cultural development. Buddhism expanded and furled the construction of numerous temples and art works. However, despite Chinese influences, Silla remained largely tribal in culture. Society divided into distinct classes with a large semi-slave population supporting an aristocratic minority. Warlords began amassing power bases to the north and eventually took over Silla and founded a new kingdom- Goryeo.
918 - 1392: Korea's English name was derived during the Goryeo period. At this time the government codified the laws and introduced a civil service system. During this time Buddhism flourished and spread throughout the peninsula. Like other kingdoms before it, Koryo was also subject to internal strife and external threats, most notably from the Mongols who had taken over China. In 1231 the Mongols invaded Korea, forcing the royal family to flee to Kanghwa Island near Seoul. After 25 years of struggle, the royal family finally surrendered. The following 150 years saw continued Goryeo rule, but under the control of the Mongols. As the Mongols declined in power, so too did Goryeo. In 1392 a Korean general, Yi, Song-gye, was sent to China to campaign against the Ming rulers. Instead, he allied himself with the Chinese, returned to overthrow the Korean king, and setup his own dynasty. During this time, Korea also perfected the art of celadon pottery.
1392 - 1910 The ruler of the Yi (Lee) Dynasty (also known as the Chosun Dynasty) moved the capital to Hanyang-gun (today's Seoul) in 1394 and adopted Confucianism as the country's official religion. As a result, Buddhists lost much of their wealth and power. It was during this period that the Korean alphabet, Hangul, was invented by King Sejong the Great in 1446. This period also had its share of external problems, suffering invasions by the Japanese (1592-1598) and the Manchus (1627-1636). With the arrival of Japanese and Western traders in the 19th century, the Korean rulers tried to prevent the opening of the country to foreign trade by closing the borders, earning Korea its nickname of the Hermit Kingdom. Beginning in 1876, the Japanese forced a series of Western-style trade agreements on Korea, leading to Japan's eventual annexation of the country in 1910. Due to growing anti-Japanese sentiment, in 1897 King Kojong declared himself to be emperor of the Taehan Empire, an independent Korea. However, during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japanese forces moved onto the peninsula, despite Korean declarations of neutrality. The signing of the Japan-Korea Protection Treaty in 1905 gave Japan virtual control over Korea, and in 1910 a Korean royal proclamation announced the annexation by Japan.
20th Century
1910 - 45: During its occupation, Japan built up Korea's infrastructure, especially the street and railroad systems. However, the Japanese ruled with an iron fist and attempted to root out all elements of Korean culture from society. People were forced to adopt Japanese names, convert to the Shinto (native Japanese) religion, and were forbidden to use Korean language in schools and business. The Independence Movement on March 1, 1919, was brutally repressed, resulting in the killing of thousands, the maiming and imprisoning of tens of thousands, and destroying of hundreds of churches, temples, schools, and private homes. During World War II, Japan siphoned off more and more of Korea's resources, including its people, to feed its Imperial war machine. Many of the forced laborers were never repatriated to Korea.
1945 - 60: The Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, cause the peninsula to
came under divided rule: the USSR occupied Korea north of the 38th parallel,
while the U.S. occupied the southern section. Under UN auspices, a democratic
government established the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in 1948 with
its capital in Seoul. The Communists
established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) with its
capital in P'yongyang. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean Army invaded the
South, starting the
Korean War. UN forces helped the South while Communist Chinese volunteers
sided with the North, resulting in a three year war which left millions dead on
both sides. (The
Korean War section gives greater detail about this period, including a
day-by-day calendar with historical events, diary entries from people who were
there, and period photographs.) Student protests against the corrupt government
caused Syngman Rhee to step down as president in 1960.
1961 - 79: On May 16, 1961, General Park, Chung Hee organized a military coup and toppled the civilian government. He then established martial law and later had himself elected president. Though his leadership was oppressive, President Park instigated many economic and social changes which helped elevate Korea into and industrializing nation. Major infrastructure enhancements, including the Seoul-Pusan expressway and the Seoul subway system, began under his regime. The Korean CIA chief assassinated President Park on October 26, 1979.
1980 - 87: In the power vacuum left by President Park's death, General Chun, Doo
Hwan staged a military coup and seized power on May 17, 1980. After re-establishing martial law, he had himself elected President
and banned several hundred former politicians from campaigning. A military
crackdown against student protests in the southern city of Kwangju resulted in hundreds of deaths and
injuries. Although his rule was more lenient than General Park's, and he adopted
many reforms, the Korean people became tired of military rule. Violent student
demonstrations in 1987 forced President Chun to implement more social reforms
and hold presidential elections in 1988.
1988 - 92: General Noh, Tae-woo, Chun's chosen political successor, won the presidential election. The opposition party failed to field a single candidate, splitting the opposition vote and giving Noh a comfortable win. During his term, President Noh's government established diplomatic relations with many non-capitalist countries, including the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, both long-term allies of communist North Korea. The successful hosting of the 1988 Olympic Games brought Korea to the center stage of world recognition.
1992 - 1996: The election of President Kim, Young-sam ushered in a new era of
civilian rule. Since taking office he worked hard to reform the widely
criticized regulatory system through his "New Economy" and "Globalization"
programs. The implementation of the real-name financial transaction act put an
end to the easy hiding of hot money. Another 2,000 rules and regulations were
abolished or amended during President Kim's term. Despite the many contributions
he made, Kim, Young-sam will probably be remembered most for the dismal
economic situation the country was in when he left office.
1997 - 2002: The election of President Kim, Dae-jung marked the first time an
opposition leader has been elected as president in Korea. After failing in four
other attempts to win the popular vote, his party joined with the party of Kim,
Jong-pil, and riding the population's growing resentment towards the ruling
party, gained the narrow majority needed to gain the presidency. His term
immediately got off to the rocky start when the former ruling party boycotted
the National Assembly session which was to have confirmed President Kim's choice
of cabinet and prime minister Candidates.
2003-Present:
Mr. Roh, Moo-hyun has been
elected as the
President of South
Korea. On
March 12,
2004
he was
impeached
by the
National Assembly,
and
Prime Minister
Goh Kun
replaced him as acting president. The impeachment was overturned by the
country's Constitutional Court on
May 14,
2004
and Roh's powers were immediately restored. Before entering politics, Roh was a
noted
human rights
lawyer.
Korean War Special Brief
During the early morning
hours of June 25, 1950, the North Korean Army crossed the border and invaded
South Korea in an unprovoked attack. Their goal was the militaristic
re-unification of the Korean peninsula, divided after World War II along the
38th parallel. The poorly trained and ill-equipped South Korean Army was quickly
overrun. The North Korean Army easily captured the South's capital city of
Seoul.
Hundreds of thousands of refugee civilians and retreating soldiers flooded the
roads heading south, with the advancing Communists close on their heels. The
U.S. hurriedly sent a small continent of forces while preparing a larger force.
They could do little to slow the onslaught from the North and were constantly
pushed southward towards Pusan. Many North Koreans disguised themselves as
refugees and ambushed the soldiers fighting for the South. This led to several
unfortunate incidents where South Korean and U.S. (and later U.N.) troops were
ordered to fire upon civilians.
By August, North Korea had
advanced down most of the peninsula, with the Korean and U.N. forces making a
stand along the "Pusan Perimeter." Douglas MacAurthur made his famous Inch'on
landing on September 15th, and the U.N. forces quickly went on the offensive.
Korea's Future
In what was termed "the trial of the century," former Presidents Chun and Noh and several of their closest cronies were convicted in December 1996 for crimes committed after 1979. Chun received life imprisonment, while Noh was sentenced to 17 years in jail. President Kim, Young-sam issued a special pardon for them a year later, in the name of national reconciliation. President Kim, DaeJoong was selected as the second civilian president after the President Kim, Yong-sam.
Trying to create a more favorable environment for economic growth and foreign
investment, the government has been liberalizing many of the existing economic
policies. Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) in 1996 as a full member. However, in order to sustain its development of
the past decades, the country must proceed with structural adjustments,
especially in its finance sector.
The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and membership in the
OECD have increased outside pressure on Korea to open its domestic markets to
competitors. Imports have risen, and a trade deficit of $20.6 billion occurred
in 1996. Domestic manufacturers have gradually lost some of the market share
they enjoyed under the protection provided by the government, and new
opportunities for foreign companies have been created. And local
manufacturing have received even greater pressure from China in the recent
years.
In November 1997, Korea became the third Asian nation after Thailand and Indonesia to become a ward of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since August. It was a humiliating pill to swallow for a nation that had only joined the OECD the previous year. The IMF package ended up totaling close to $60 billion, by far the largest bailout ever by the organization. In exchange for the bailout, Korea must make several economic changes, which, while painful in the short term, should make Korea more competitive in the future. Korea paid the all the IMF bail-out debt in 2000, just in three years.
Korea recovered its position as the 11th largest economy in the world in 2004 and moves a step closer to be one of the world's advanced countries. Korea, often known as the most digitized and wired country in the world, become the power house in Asia especially in the fields of electronics, automobiles, ship buildings, and semi-conductors. (Dr. Lee)
C. Brief History of Japan
Note: Many dates are approximate. Some developments emerged over a period of years, and precise dates for events before A.D. 600 have not been determined. Notice how long the prehistorical era was compared to other periods.
JOMON (10,000 - 300 B.C.)
Prehistoric period of tribal/clan organization.
Stone Age hunters and gatherers who make jomon (rope-patterned) pottery inhabit
Japan. 660 B.C. Mythological Jimmu ("Divine Warrior"), descendant of sun goddess
Amaterasu Omikami, founds empire.
YAYOI (300 B.C. - A.D. 300)
Rice cultivation, metalworking, and the potter's wheel are introduced from China and Korea.
Era named "Yayoi" after the place in Tokyo where wheel-turned pottery was found.
In Shinto, Japan's oldest religion, people identify kami (divine forces) in
nature and in such human virtues as loyalty and wisdom. 100-300: Local clans
form small political units.
KOFUN (YAMATO) (300 - 645)
Unified state begins with emergence of powerful clan rulers; Japan establishes
close contacts with mainland Asia.
Clan rulers are buried in kofun (large tomb mounds), surrounded by haniwa (clay
sculptures). Yamato clan rulers, claiming descent from Amaterasu Omikami, begin
the imperial dynasty that continues to occupy the throne today. Japan adopts
Chinese written characters. Shotoku Taishi (574-622) begins to shape
Japanese society and government more after the pattern of China. He seeks
centralization of government and a bureaucracy of merit. He also calls for
reverence for Buddhism and the Confucian virtues.
ASUKA (645 -710) A great
wave of reforms called the Taika no Kaishin (Taika Reforms) aims to strengthen
the emperor's power.
New aristocratic families are created. Especially powerful is that of Fujiwara
no Kamatari, who helped push the reforms.
NARA (710 - 794) Imperial
court builds new capital, modeled upon Chang-an in China, at Nara. Though
emperors are Shinto chiefs, they patronize Buddhism in the belief that its
teachings will bring about a peaceful society and protect the state.
Legends surrounding the founding of Japan are compiled as history in the Kojiki
(Record of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan). With the
adoption of Buddhism as the state religion, its monasteries gain political
power.
HEIAN (794-1185) Imperial
court moves to Heiankyo (now Kyoto) to escape domination of Nara's Buddhist
establishment. Official contacts with China stop in 838.
Buddhism, in combination with native Shinto beliefs, continues to
flourish. Flowering of classical Japanese culture aided by invention of kana (syllabary
for writing Japanese language). Court women produce the best of era's
literature. Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (ca. 1002) is the world's first
novel. Court undergoes decline of power with rise of provincial bushi (warrior
class).
KAMAKURA (185-1333) Military government established in Kamakura by Minamoto no Yoritomo. Emperor, as figurehead, remains in Kyoto with the court aristocracy.
1192: Imperial court confers on Yoritomo the title of seii taishogun ("barbarian-subduing generalissimo"). Bushi become new ruling class.
1274, 1281: Kublai Khan's Mongol invasions are repelled with help of kamikaze ("divine winds," or storms). Defense against these invasions weakens structure of the military government at Kamakura.
MUROMACHI (1333 -1568)
Muromachi district of Kyoto becomes base for Shogun Ashikaga Takauji's
new military government.
Takauji and his successors become patrons of Zen and spontaneity in ink
painting, garden design, and the chanoyu (tea ceremony).
1467-1568: The 10 year-long Onin no Ran (Onin War) brings disintegration of central government, followed by the Sengoku Jidai (Era of the Country at War). Firearms introduced by shipwrecked Portuguese soldiers (1543),Christianity by Francis Xavier (1549).
AZUCHIMOMOYA MA (1568 -1600)
Oda Nobunaga starts process of reunifying Japan after a century of civil war; he
is followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598). Foundation of modern Japan
is laid.
Hideyoshi's ambition to conquer Korea and China is thwarted by local resistance.
Arts such as painting, monumental decorative designs, and the tea ceremony
continue to flourish.
EDO (TOKUGAWA) (1600 -1868)
Japan enters an age of peace and national isolation.
Tokugawa leyasu founds new shogunate at Edo
(now Tokyo). In 1635 national isolation policy limits Chinese and Dutch traders
to Nagasaki. Christianity is suppressed. Establishment of rigid social hierarchy
ensures peace and stability throughout Japan. (Samurai are ranked highest,
followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants.) By the early 1700s, cities and
commerce flourish. A growing merchant class enjoys Kabuki and Bunraku
theater. Printing and publication of books increase; education becomes available
to the urban population. Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his steam frigates
arrive in Japan (1853); the United States wants to use Japanese ports as supply
bases for its commercial fleet. Japan accepts the U.S. demands and
opens its door for the first time in two centuries.
MEIJI (1868 -1912) The
emperor is restored; Japan makes transition to nation-state.
Dispossessed bushi become soldiers, policemen, and teachers with fall of
feudal system and political reform. New national policy is to make Japan a rich
and powerful country, to prevent invasion by Western powers. Emphasis is on
building a strong military and strengthening industries. Japan becomes world
power through victories in Sino-Japanese (1895) and Russo-Japanese (1904-05)
wars. Korea annexed (1910-45).
TAISHO [1912-1926] Japan
expands economic base within Asia and the Pacific.
Prospering businessmen support Liberal party government, broadening political
participation. Universal manhood suffrage begun in 1925.
SHOWA [1926 -1989] Japan
experiences World War II and its aftermath, as well as economic recovery.
Japan's liberal rulers replaced; military-run cabinets make imperialistic
inroads in China. Manchuria taken over in 1931.
1937-1945: World War II; war in China followed by invasion of Southeast Asia.
1940: Japan joins the Axis powers.
1941: Pearl Harbor brings United States into war in the Pacific.
August 1945: first atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, the second on Nagasaki. The emperor airs by radio a statement of unconditional surrender.
1945-1952: Allied occupation of Japan; democratic party government restored; women gain legal equality and right to vote. Enactment of the new (democratic) constitution transforms Japan's political life, making it a truly parliamentary state.
After the war, Japan was placed under international control of the Allies through the Supreme Commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Entering the Cold War with the Korean War, Japan came to be seen as an important ally of the US government. Political, economic, and social reforms were introduced, such as an elected Japanese Diet (legislature) and expanded suffrage. The country's constitution took effect on May 3, 1947. The United States and 45 other Allied nations signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan in September 1951. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in March 20, 1952, and under the terms of the treaty, Japan regained full sovereignty on April 28, 1952.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Japan's history consists mainly of its rapid development into a first-rank economic power, through a process often referred to as the "economic miracle". The post-war settlement transformed Japan into a genuine constitutional party democracy, but, extraordinarily, it was ruled by a single party throughout the period of the "miracle". This strength and stability allowed the government considerable freedom to oversee economic development in the long term. Through extensive state investment and guidance, and with a kick-start provided by technology transfer from the U.S.A. and Europe, Japan rapidly rebuilt its heavy industrial sector (almost destroyed during the war). Given a massive boost by the Korean War, in which it acted as a major supplier to the UN force, Japan's economy embarked on a prolonged period of extremely rapid growth, led by the manufacturing sectors. Japan emerged as a significant power in many economic spheres, including steel working, car manufacture and the manufacture of electronic goods. Highlights of the era are the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 and Expo '70 in Osaka. In 1972 relations with China are normalized.
It is usually argued that this was achieved through innovation in the areas of labor relations and manufacturing automation (Japan pioneered the use of robotics in manufacturing). Throughout this period its annual GNP growth was over twice that of its nearest competitor, the U.S.A. By the 1980s, Japan - despite its small size(1) - had the world's second largest economy. These developments had a marked effect on its relations with the U.S.A., the foreign nation with which it had the closest links. The U.S.A. initially heavily encouraged Japan's development, seeing a strong Japan as a necessary counterbalance to Communist China.
By the 1980s, the sheer strength of the Japanese economy had become a sticking point. The U.S.A. had a massive trade deficit with Japan - that is, it imported substantially more from Japan than it exported to it. This deficit became a scapegoat for American economic weakness, and relations between the two cooled substantially. There was particular friction over the issue of Japanese car exports, as Japanese cars by this point accounted for over 30% of the American market. The U.S.A. also criticised the closed nature of the Japanese economy, which was marked by heavy tariff protection which made entry into the Japanese market difficult for foreign firms. Japan throughout the 1980s and 1990s embarked on a process of economic liberalisation aimed at appeasing American criticism. The car issue was dealt with through a series of "voluntary" restrictions on Japanese exports and by making factories in America.
(1) Japan is small in area compared to countries like China (which has 26 times the area) or the USA (25 times) but is larger than the UK (with only 2/3 the area of Japan) and Germany (94%). In population, however, Japan is about half the size of the United States.
The economic miracle ended abruptly at the very start of the 1990s. In the late 1980s, abnormalities within the Japanese economic system had fueled a massive wave of speculation by Japanese companies, banks and securities companies. Briefly, a combination of incredibly high land values and incredibly low interest rates led to a position in which credit was both easily available and extremely cheap. This led to massive borrowing, the proceeds of which were invested mostly in domestic and foreign stocks and securities. Recognising that this bubble was unsustainable (resting, as it did, on unrealisable land values—the loans were ultimately secured on land holdings) the Ministry of Finance sharply raised interest rates.
This "popped the bubble" in spectacular fashion, leading to a major crash in the stock market. It also led to a debt crisis; a large proportion of the huge debts that had been run up turned bad, which in turn led to a crisis in the banking sector, with many banks having to be bailed out by the government. Eventually, many became unsustainable, and a wave of consolidation took place (there are now only four national banks in Japan).
Critically for the long-term economic situation, it meant many Japanese firms were lumbered with massive debts, affecting their ability for capital investment. It also meant credit became very difficult to obtain, due to the beleaguered situation of the banks; even now the official interest rate is at 0% and has been for several years. Despite this credit is still difficult to obtain.
Overall, this has led to the phenomenon known as the "lost decade"; economic expansion effectively came to a total halt in Japan during the 1990s. The effect on everyday life has been rather muted, however.
Unemployment runs reasonably high, but not at crisis levels. The official figure is a little under 5%, but this is a considerable underestimate — the real level is probably around twice that. This has combined with the traditional Japanese emphasis on frugality and saving (saving money is a cultural habit in Japan) to produce a quite limited effect on the average Japanese family, which continues much as it did in the period of the miracle.
The current Prime Minister of Japan, since 2001, is Junichiro Koizumi. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State.
HEISEI (1989- ) Global
issues foster debate.
In 1989 Prince Akihito succeeds to the throne. In1991 the gulf War
ignites controversy over Japan's role in the international community. Should
Japan strictly protect the "peace" constitution of 1947, a major cause of its
prosperity? Or should it contribute troops as well as financial support to
United Nations operations? In 1993, after Japanese troops are pulled out of a
United Nations operation in Cambodia, the arguments go on: Should Japan become
more internationally minded? Or should domestic peace and prosperity be the main
priority?