Notes

2.5: Impacts of Connectivity

 

During the Postclassical era, the Mongols went on to rule during a period of relative stability (Pax Mongolica). This would protect and encourage commerce throughout the empire, permitting the exchange of people and goods across Afro-Eurasia. As connectivity increased throughout this region, technologies would easily spread across the globe. 

 

But those were not the only things that diffused globally. Religion was a big factor that would travel along trade routes, serving to unite and divide populations. 

• Buddhism (East Asia): The faith had spread from India to China along the Silk Roads. Over time, Buddhism would mix Daoist principles to form Chan/Zen Buddhism. 

• Under the Song Dynasty, the scholar-gentry class would adopt Buddhist ideals into their everyday life, demonstrating Buddhist influence into Confucian identity. These Buddhist ideals most effectively spread due to the development of printing techniques, which would allow these texts to be widely available. 

• Buddhism went on to spread to Japan and Korea as well, who both adopted both Confucianism and Buddhism. In Korea specifically, the elite prioritized classical Confucian pieces, while Buddhism was attractive to peasants. 

• Neo-Confucianism asserted itself as a syncretic faith that would originate in the Tang Dynasty, and would better develop in the Song Dynasty. Neo-Confucianism would combine abstract thought with traditional Buddhist and Daoist principles.

 

Hinduism and Buddhism would grow to prominence through Southeast Asia, consolidating in the form of empires. Some of these empires include:

• The Srivijaya (Sumatra) Empire: A Hindu Kingdom 

• Majapahit (Java) Kingdom: A Buddhist Kingdom. 

• The Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lankan): Large centers of Buddhist studies where Buddhist priests would offer advice to monarchs on government matters. 

• Khmer Empire (the Angkor Kingdom): The Khmer Empire would embody both Buddhist and Hindu influences. An example of this cultural blending would be exhibited through the Angkor Thom, which were monuments that originally featured Hindu gods and went on to simultaneously include Buddhist sculptures. 

 

Famous Travellers would note their experiences as they visited and witnessed these larger empires. They expand the general public’s understanding of the world. Some examples of these travellers include:

• Marco Polo: A distinguished Italian traveller who would report on the East, specifically Kublai Khan’s imperial court under the Yuan dynasty. 

• Ibn Battuta: A Muslim traveller who would document his travels throughout the Islamic world and beyond. 

• Margery Kempe: An English mystic who introduces a unique perspective on life during the Middle Ages as a woman and mother. She could not read nor write, so all of her accounts were written by a scribe.