Title: Influences of Chinese Civilization
Duiker, William J. and Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2011). The Essential World History, Volume I (Sixth ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (ISBN:978-0-495-90211-1)
McNeill, J.R. and McNeill, William H. (2003). The Human Web: A Birdâ€TMs Eye View of World History (First ed.). New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company. (ISBN:0-393-92568-4)
1. There are significant differences in the historical cultures of China and the three smaller countries to the east and south--Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Most people today think in terms of these countriesâ€TM recent histories--the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Japan as an economic giant devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami; or at most, with reference to the Cultural Revolution in China during the 1960s and 1970s, or the legacy of Japanâ€TMs defeat in World War II. Nevertheless, these four countries are linked historically, and China had ongoing influence, sometimes including actual political dominance, on the development of government and culture in the other three.
2. Chinese Civilization had a profound influence on Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, shaping their respective cultures, including the arts and literature. Choose one of the three countries and formulate a response to the following questions:
a. Why did people adopt Chinese cultural characteristics, and how was the adoption implemented?
b. What made the adoption of cultural elements attractive or unattractive to people in other countries?
3. Ensure to use the Textbook references.