What Chinese Influence On East Asia Can Teach Us

My blog entries thus far have resembled a form of travelogue.

But today, I'm going to try something new. In accordance with my blog name, Blogging through East Asia, I am going to attempt to bring three countries together, weaving their history and perhaps my own thoughts.

This past week, I visited Chang'an (present day Xi'an), the ancient capital of more than ten Chinese dynasties. My first impression of Chang'an was a mixture of surprise and disappointment. The modern Xi'an is dirty, crowded, and invaded by American chains such as Starbucks and McDonalds. Perhaps I was too naive thinking that inside the ancient city walls of Xi'an, I can at least catch a glimpse of the past.

Xi'an's world-famous archaeological site, the Terracotta Army, was impressive but not satisfying for I have already done enough of tomb sightseeing in Egypt. Besides, every time I see grandiose tombs, I cannot help but wonder why these kings spent so much time and effort on making things that they cannot take with them.

What did catch my attention, however, was the the connection that I found interlocking China, Korea, and Japan. In contrast to rather homogenous Europe, each country in East Asia boasts their distinct culture, language, and heritage, regardless of the fact that China played a big brother role for much of history in East Asia.

But before I go any further, I'm going to let you play a guessing game.

Here's a picture of a beautiful woman in history. Which country do you think she comes from?

Choices

A: China

B: Japan

C: Korea

D: border of Russia

E: none of the above

If you have guessed China, you're correct. This was one of the popular fashion trends during the period of the early Tang Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. Notice the woman's piled-up forelock hairstyle. Do you think you have seen this hairstyle in some other country? Yes, you're right. It looks very similar to Japanese women's traditional hairdo.

I knew that Japanese people were excellent at taking foreign culture and adapting it as their own, but never did I suspect that Japanese hair style and make-up trend can be traced back to the eighth century Tang Dynasty.

There's of course more. Let's take Buddhism, for example.

To find out more about the Sino-influence in Japanese and Korean Buddhism, I visited the Famen Temple, located in Famen town, about 120 kilometers west of Xi'an.

Although India is the hometown of Buddhism, Buddhism was already flourishing in China by the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), and it is undeniable that China had the biggest role in spreading Buddhism in East Asia.

Buddhism was first introduced to the Koguryo court of Korea in 372 CE by the Chinese. Then, the elements of Buddhism slowly migrated from Korea to Japan in the fifth century even though the first official introduction did not take place until the mid-sixth century. It is said that during the war of different states in the Korean peninsula, the state of Paekche offered to teach Japan "new glorious truth" if Japan offered military aid.

The spread of Buddhism in East Asia was top-down. The elite families first adopted it, and then it gradually spread to the commoners. One of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism says that suffering is an ingrained part of existence. Given the elaborate life-styles of the nobles in East Asia, in addition to the enormous tax-free estates of Korea and Japan, I find it quite ironic that the nobles even bothered to adopt Buddhism. Maybe they needed something to be preoccupied with (i.e. building temples, coming up with lavish offerings, etc.)

I think I ended my last post with the irony of not being able to appreciate the present under the name of "future." I see a recurring tendency of mine to find ironies in society. Ironies are ecumenical in this world. The founder of a whistleblower website, WikiLeaks ends up on the run himself, Chinese intellect Liu Xiaobo is awarded the Nobel Prize for writing a book that made him a political prisoner in his own country, the world pays so much attention to Iraq and Afghanistan, but conveniently chooses to neglect the Somali Muslim insurgency in Africa, and the list continues.

Never mind that I may only be a twisted twenty-year-old college student somewhere on the east coast; never mind that I may be also be blind to a lot of things. Yet, I know my strengths and will work to mend my weaknesses. I don't think fighting to lessen ironies of the world is a grand goal. It's a matter of perceiving truth and doing something about it.

p.s. If you are also a twisted twenty-some-year-old college student somewhere on the east coast,

feel free to add on to the irony list, or to anything. I would love to hear your thoughts.