Rice, the staple food of the Korean diet, is eaten at most meals. Millet, wheat, barley, corn, and sorghum are also eaten, especially in the north. The vegetables Koreans eat include potatoes, Chinese cabbage, turnips, and onions. Garlic and red peppers are used as seasoners. Kunchi (pickled vegetables) is a favorite dish. Fish and other seafood’s are the usual sources of proteins. Trog, or rice, is a popular confection. Traditional clothing, made of cotton or synthetic materials, is worn only by some people in the rural areas and by others on specific occasions. Loose-fitting, long-sleeved jackets and oversized trousers that are tied at the waist and bound or left loose at the ankles are traditional garments for men. Nearly all men in the cities and most of the farmers have adopted Western- style shirts, trousers, and suits. Western-style shoes have largely replaced the traditional sandals, which were made of various materials. The traditional dress of Korean women includes the chima, a long, high-waist, pleated skirt worn over a slip or loose trousers called paji. The chogori, a short, flared blouse, is worn open in front of a tight-fitting undergarment.
Most Koreans do not belong to an organized religion. The Confucian ethnical system, however, has greatly influenced Korean culture. Buddhism, influenced from China in the 4th century, has a following of about 13 million person in South Korea. Confucianists number about 4.7 million. There are about 6 million Christians, mostly Protestants. Chondogyo, a native Korean religion known originally as Tonghak (Eastern Learning), had about 815,000 adherents in the late 1970’s. It was founded in the mid- 19th century in opposition to foreign cultural influences. Shamanism, the superstitious worship of spirits, is widespread in rural areas. Religion is discouraged by the North Korean government. Korea’s artists have been strongly influenced by the cultures of neighboring nations. Nevertheless, they have always produced sculptures, paintings, and pottery that are peculiarly their own. Little early Korean sculpture has survived, though a few fine stone figures and relief carvings during the reign of the Silla Dynasty. Most of the sculpture of this period is of bronze, small in scale, and dedicated to Buddhist deities. remain. The golden age of Korean sculpture reached its height in the late 7th century.
The Essay on How can your Korean Heritage Influenced your Future?
Every person is raised in a particular culture with its unique and distinct characteristics, traditions and practices. These various cultural attributes cultivate the person’s innate characteristics and shape them to be who they are in the future. Korea is one of the oldest civilizations that continue to uphold their traditional cultural traditions and practices. Korean heritage is very rich and ...
Except for some tomb frescoes dating from the 4th through the 7th centuries, few examples of early Korean painting have survived. Painters of the last Yi Dynasty (1392-1910), however, left a rich legacy. Their paintings were executed on silk or paper scrolls and album leaves. They depicted towering landscapes, important personages, and scenes of daily life. The ceramics of Korea almost certainly represent the country’s most significant artistic contribution. Functional as well as decorative, Korean ceramics have an unmistakable character. The utilitarian vessels of the Silla period are of sturdy dark-gray earthenware with modest, usually incised, decoration. The rich-green celadons of the Koryo period are adorned with brilliant brushed or inlaid designs that are admirably adapted to their forms. The heavier wares of the Yi Dynasty bear designs, usually on a white porcelaneous base, which seem swiftly executed, almost offhand, yet masterly. Early Korean architecture is exemplified by the tombs of Koguryo and the remains of great walled fortresses. From the late 7th century into the Koryo Dynasty many Buddhist temple complexes–actually small villages– were built.
Although their general features were Chinese, they were adapted to local materials and landscape by their Korean builders. Early Korean architecture is exemplified by the tombs of Koguryo and the remains of great walled fortresses. From the late 7th century into the Koryo Dynasty many Buddhist temple complexes–actually small villages– were built. Although their general features were Chinese, they were adapted to local materials and landscape by their Korean builders. Under the Yi Dynasty the increasing popularity of Confucianism was mirrored in the construction of Confucian shrines. There was also an upsurge of nonreligious architecture, including imposing palaces, town gates, and watchtowers. Korea’s performing arts were greatly influenced by those of China, whose dance, music, and instruments the Koreans adopted. Korea, in turn, played a major role in transmitting music and dance to Japan. Among the earliest extended performances in Korea were the danced mask plays that originated around the 9th century. Their purpose was to make crops grow, to ward off evil spirits and disease, to placate the spirits of the dead. By the end of the 14th century, various elements of these plays were combined in the “typical” mask play, the Sandae. Accompanied by drums, flutes, and the Korean harp, or kayageum, the Sandae satirized the nobility and corrupt priests. Korea’s puppet plays may have originated at about the same time as the mask plays. The puppet plays were performed on a two-story stage. The puppets–one to three feet tall–were in the upper story; their manipulators were hidden below. A kind of musical drama was created by combining a narrative with folk tunes. The first permanent Korean theater for performances of this type was built in Seoul in 1902. This genre survives partially in the popular Pan- Sori (folk opera).
The Essay on Korean War North Korea United
The Korean War originated in the division of Korea into South Korea and North Korea after World War II (1939-1945). Efforts to reunify the peninsula after the war failed, and in 1948 the South proclaimed the Republic of Korea and the North established the People's Republic of Korea. In 1949, border fighting broke out between the North and the South. On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces crossed ...
Unlike other Asian countries, Korea failed to develop a classical theater from its popular theatrical forms. Folk dances and mask plays, once established, remained unchanged. During the 20th century the Korean performing arts were greatly influenced by the West, at first by way of Japan, where a type of play called shimpa developed about 1890. The shimpa plays were patterned on realistic Western drama. In later decades adaptations of shimpa plays became very popular in Korea. The Earth-Moon Society, formed by men who had studied theater in Tokyo, began presenting plays by Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, and George Bernard Shaw in 1923. Familiarity with the work of contemporary Western playwrights led, increasingly, to the writing of Korean plays that dealt with existing social conditions. Since 1945 much has been done to encourage the performing arts of Korea. A government-sponsored National Theater opened in April 1950. The Seoul Cultural Center for the performing arts and a new National Theater in Seoul were opened in the 1970s. The first Korean literature is thought to have been primitive poetry which, accompanied by music and dance, was used in prehistoric religious rites. The evolution of Korean poetry as an independent art form is believed to have begun in the 1st century AD. The brief Sijo probably developed late in the Koryo period and is still popular today. It was used as a vehicle for romantic and naturalistic themes. Under the Yi Dynasty, the novel gradually replaced poetry as the most popular literary form. The early Korean novelists sought primarily to edify their readers. The works of later novelists mocked the yangban (aristocracy).
The Essay on The Fall Of The Roman Empire 4
A deserted street lay before me (Empty of any trace of humanity except for the darkened buildings on either side and the debris that littered the street). I stumbled through the maze of abandoned carts, toppled market stands, and the rubble that used to be parts of the city. As I rounded the corner, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the horror before me. The Roman Plaza had been turned into a ...
The late 17th and early 18th centuries are known as “the golden age of the classic novel” in Korea. The most popular novel of this era, ‘Chunhyangjon’ (The Story of Spring Fragrance), is about the love of an aristocrat’s son for a lower-class girl. Many of the classic Korean novels had romantic themes. Growing Western influence in the last half of the 19th century inspired the “new novel.” The “new novels” promoted such ideas as political democracy and social equality. The best known of these novels was ‘The Tears of Blood’ by Yi Injik. New writers in many branches of literature emerged. Such authors as Yi Kwangsu, Ch’oe Namson, Kim Tongin, and Kim Sowol assimilated Western literary trends and contributed to the development of modern Korean literary forms. During World War II, the progress of Korean literature was blocked by a Japanese ban on native culture. After the Korean War, however, new writers emerged who drew their inspiration from contemporary trends in world literature, and there was a surge of literary activity. Beginning in the 12th century the samurai, provincial warriors who resembled medieval European knights, began to assume power, though the emperor continued to hold authority in theory. The samurai often managed the estates of aristocrats, and sometimes they held land in their own right. Rivalry between two warrior clans–the Taira and the Minamoto–led to the Heiji War (1159-60).
The Essay on Kuril Tai Mongol Khan Mongols
... of the Mongol empire south into China and increased Chinese influence. Khubilai maintained a summer residence north of the Great Wall at ... of chieftains as their khan. Temujin took the honorific, meaning supreme or great (also romanized as genghis or), creating the title ... Chinggis Khan, in an effort to signify ...
The Taira won, but a revolt begun in 1180 ended in 1185 with the victory of the Minamoto. Yoritomo Minamoto then established a new government at Kamakura, and in 1192 he was named shogun, or chief military commander, by the imperial court. He was authorized to appoint military governors (shugo) in the provinces and land stewards (jito) on many private estates. His administrative organization, called the bakufu (camp government), served as a model for a series of later regimes. The Kamakura shogunate successfully repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and in 1281. It was overthrown by a domestic revolt in 1333, and Takauji Ashikaga established a new regime. A dispute between rival families over the succession to the shogunate led to the Onin War (1467-77).
Centralized control disappeared as the country was plunged into civil wars that lasted until the late 1500s. During this period, warrior leaders fought each other for land and vassals. The emperor and shogun became politically insignificant. Local lords known as daimyo divided the country into feudal domains. Their vassals served both as warriors and as government officials. The daimyo taxed the peasantry, who made up the bulk of the population. Meanwhile, Japan was developing trade contacts with the outside world. Official trade missions to China began in 1404. Japanese traders were active along the coasts of Korea and China, especially during the 16th century. Japanese adventurers and pirates also operated in Eastern Asian waters, some reaching Siam (now Thailand) and the Philippines. Later in the feudal period, the first Europeans arrived in Japan, known to them as Xipangu from the tales of Marco Polo. Portuguese traders came first, in 1543, followed by Spanish, English, and Dutch traders. In the hope of attracting European trade, some daimyo in Kyushu encouraged conversions to Christianity. The first Christian missionary in Japan was the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier.
He preached in Japan only two years (1549-51), but the Christian missionary movement enjoyed great success in Japan for the next three decades. Mongol Empire, realm ruled by the great Mongol khans in the 13th and 14th centuries; uniting almost all of western and eastern Asia, it was one of the largest land empires in history. The original homeland of the Mongols, situated in the eastern zone of the Asian steppe, was bounded by the Da Hinggan Ling (Greater Khingan Range) on the east, the Altay and Tian Shan mountains on the west, the Shilka River and the mountain ranges by Lake Baikal on the north, and the southern extent of the Gobi Desert on the south. Today this region comprises approximately the Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Autonomous Region of China, Mongolia, and the southern fringes of Siberia. Consisting for the most part of fertile prairies and wooded mountains in the north, the Gobi Desert in the central zone, and vast grasslands in the south, the entire region lies about 1000 m (about 3000 ft) above sea level. With the exception of the northernmost extremities, it is extremely arid. In this environment Mongolian-speaking tribes developed a pastoral economy based on the sheep and the horse, the latter supplemented by the camel in the most arid regions.
The Essay on Comparing the Fall of Han China and Roman Empire
Han China and Rome were two of the most powerful and popular empires of their time, but they fell like any other empire before them. Han China and Rome’s Empires had the same causes for their declines, but their effects are different. The major reasons for the fall of Rome are truly those that have to do with Rome’s political and economic state. One of the Rome’s problems prior to its fall ...
Certain commodities, such as grain, textiles, tea, and metals, were obtained through trade with the adjacent agricultural civilization of China. Other than tending the flocks, hunting was the foremost occupation. The way of life was nomadic and social organization tribal. Tribal warfare was endemic, and individuals of great personal prowess moved easily to positions of leadership. The political-military hierarchy of the tribe was bound together by personal bonds of mutual protection and loyalty extending downward from the chieftain, to subordinate chiefs, to individual warriors. The first flowering of the Mongol Empire occurred in the 13th century. At a convocation of tribes in 1206, the powerful conqueror Temujin, then master of almost all of Mongolia, was proclaimed universal ruler with the title Genghis Khan, or Great Khan. The city of Karakorum was designated his capital. Genghis’s army, although not particularly large for its day, was distinguished by its superb horsemanship and expert archery, the discipline and control of its aristocratic leaders, and the khan’s own brilliant military strategy and tactics. The neighboring Chinese Empire and the Central Asian states, both militarily weak and fragmented, inevitably surrendered, as did the decaying Arab-Turkish society of the Middle East, to the Mongol hordes racing over Asia.
The Essay on Political and economic effects of Mongol rule on China and Middle East
Yuan economic policies also accommodated traditional Chinese practices. Yuan rulers did not try to convert China into the Mongol-style nomadic economy; instead, they fostered agriculture. They restored the she, rural organizations composed of about 50 families, to assist in farming. These organizations also improved flood control, established charity granaries for orphans and widows, and ...
It was thus a foregone conclusion that the empire Genghis subsequently welded together should achieve a degree of centralization and power unprecedented among the earlier domains of Mongol-speaking tribes. Genghis presided by virtue of self-asserted divine right, acknowledging as his only superior authority, the Great Yasa, an imperial code that he drew up and that remained the permanent basis for Mongol rule. Genghis’s vast empire stretched from the China Sea to the Dnieper River and from the Persian Gulf virtually all the way to the Arctic Ocean. After the death of Genghis, his empire in accordance with tribal custom was divided among the sons of his primary wife and their heirs. The khanate of East Asia was ruled directly by the third son, Ogadai, who succeeded Genghis as the great khan. The khanate included Outer Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, much territory in China, Tibet, and the northern fringes of Indochina. Although Ogadai was in turn succeeded by his son and his grandson, the next great leader of the khanate was his nephew, Mangu Khan. Together with his brother Kublai Khan, Mangu Khan succeeded in conquering nearly all of China. In 1279 Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, defeated the Southern Song dynasty, bringing the remainder of China under his control.
Kublai transferred the capital to Beijing, which he called Khanbalik. There he ruled as emperor of the Chinese Yuan (Y?an) dynasty as well as great khan of the Mongols. Rather than attempting to amalgamate the sedentary agricultural society into tribal units, he successfully followed the bureaucratic system through which Chinese dynasties since the Tang (T’ang) had ruled. The Mongols carefully guarded, however, their cultural identity and ruling-class prerogatives; Chinese talent was systematically excluded from positions of authority, and discriminatory social and legal codes were followed. The Mongol emperors following Kublai succumbed to the decadent life of the Chinese court and became intrigued with the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. When disaster struck with flooding of the Huang He (Yellow River) and severe famine in northern China during the middle decades of the 14th century, the Mongol leadership was unable to meet the administrative challenge. In 1368, while the Mongols’ Asian empire was torn by internal dissension, the great khans in China were replaced by the Ming, a native dynasty.
