Section 2

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Section 2 Diverse Traditions of Southeast Asia

• I. Geography of Southeast Asia

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• Setting the Scene
• Buddhism was one of many exports from
• India that had a profound effect on the
• peoples of Southeast Asia. Sandwiched
• between China and India, the region
• known today as Southeast Asia was
• strongly influenced by both of these
• powerful neighbors. Yet the distinct
• cultures of Southeast Asia retained their
• own unique identities.

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A. Location

• Southeast Asia consists of two major regions
• Mainland SE Asia Island SE Asia

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• Location
• The mainland is separated from the rest of Asia
  by mountains and high plateaus

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A. Location

• Mountains separate the four main river valleys
• the Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red

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A. Location

• The river valleys were home to early civilizations

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A. Location

• All trade had to pass through the Malacca or
  Sunda straits - whoever controlled the straits
  controlled trade

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• B. Trade Routes in the Southern Seas
• The monsoons, or seasonal winds, shaped
• trading patterns

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C. Early Traditions

• The peoples of Southeast Asias river valleys
• developed their own unique cultures

Thailand
Shwedagon Pagoda Rangoon, Myanmar
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II. Impact of India

• Indian merchants, Hindu priests, and Buddhist
• monks spread their culture in SE Asia between
• 500 and 1000 AD

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B. Islam

• By the 1200s, Muslims ruled northern India

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B. Islam

• Traders spread Islamic beliefs and civilization
• throughout the islands of SE Asia

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III. New Kingdoms and Empires

• Indian influences and local cultures produced
• kingdoms and empires in Southeast Asia

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• A. Pagan
• The kingdom of Pagan arose in the fertile rice-
• growing Irrawaddy Valley (Myanmar)

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• A. Pagan
• In 1044, King Anawrahtar united the region
• and made Pagan a major Buddhist center

The Ananda Temple, Pagan
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• A. Pagan
• Pagan fell in 1287 to the Mongols

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• B. The Khmer Empire
• The Khmer empire (800 to 1350) controlled
• much of Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia

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• B. The Khmer Empire
• In the 1100s, King Suryavarman II built a great
• temple complex at Angkor Wat

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• B. The Khmer Empire
• Angkor Wat temple - hundreds of carved
• figures tell Hindu myths and glorify the king

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• C. Srivijaya
• The trading empire of Srivijaya flourished from
• the 600s to the 1200s

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IV. Vietnam Emerges

• A. Chinese Domination
• In 111 BC, Han armies conquered Vietnam and
  remained in control for 1,000 years

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• A. Chinese Domination
• Vietnam was able to break free from China in 939
  when the Tang dynasty collapsed

In AD 39, two noble sisters, Trung Trac and Trung
Nhi, led an uprising that briefly drove the
Chinese occupiers from the land. They tried to
restore a simpler form of government based on
ancient Vietnamese traditions
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C. Religion
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C. Religion

• Most of the worlds major religions are
  represented in the region

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C. Religion

• Islam - the main religion in Indonesia, Malaysia,
  and Brunei

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C. Religion

• Christianity is practiced in areas once
  controlled by Europeans

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C. Religion

• Buddhism is another major religion

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C. Religion

• China has a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and
  Confucianism

42.2 are nonreligious 28.5 adhere to Chinese
folk religion 8.4 profess Buddhism 8.1 are
Atheists 7.1 are Christians 4.3 are
Muslims 1.5 are Taoists
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C. Religion

• The Japanese mainly practice Shinto and Buddhism