How did elements of Indian culture mainly spread to Southeast Asia?

What religions did Indian merchants, monks, and other travelers bring to Southeast Asia?

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam

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Resistance

Despite these powerful Chinese influences, the Vietnamese preserved a strong sense of their separate identity. In A.D. 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. To this day, the Trung sisters are remembered as great martyrs and heroes. Finally, in 939, as the Tang dynasty collapsed in China, Vietnam was able to break free from China. The Vietnamese turned back repeated Chinese efforts to reconquer their land, but Vietnam still remained a tributary state of China. Ties between the two lands remained so strong that, while China was the "large dragon" of East Asia, Vietnam became known as the "smaller dragon."

Chinese Domination

In 111 B.C., Han armies conquered the region, and China remained in control for the next 1,000 years. During that time, the Vietnamese absorbed Confucian ideas. They adopted the Chinese civil service system and built a government bureaucracy similar to that found in China. Vietnamese nobles learned to speak and read Chinese. Unlike the rest of Southeast Asia, where Theravada Buddhism had the strongest impact, Vietnam adopted Mahayana Buddhist beliefs from China. Daoism also helped shape Vietnamese society.

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The Srivijaya Empire

In Indonesia, the trading empire of Srivijaya (sree wih JAW yuh) flourished from the 600s to the 1200s. Srivijaya controlled the Strait of Malacca, which was vital to shipping. Both Hinduism and Buddhism reached this island empire. As elsewhere in Southeast Asia, however, the local people often blended Indian beliefs into their own forms of worship based on nature spirits. Later, Islam spread to Sumatra, Java, and other islands. Local rulers adopted the new religion, which cemented commercial links with other Muslim trading centers around the Indian Ocean.

The Rise of Vietnam

In most of Southeast Asia, Indian influence was stronger than Chinese influence. Indian traditions spread mostly through trade rather than conquest. China, however, sent military forces to conquer the neighboring state of Annam (now the northern part of Vietnam). The heart of northern Vietnam was the Red River delta, around present-day Hanoi. There, the river irrigated fertile rice paddies, or fields, which provided food for a growing population.

Indian Influence Increases

In the early centuries A.D., Indian traders settled in Southeast Asian port cities in growing numbers. They gave presents to local rulers and married into influential families. Trade brought prosperity as merchants exchanged products such as cotton cloth, jewels, and perfume for raw materials such as timber, spices, and gold. In time, local Indian families exercised considerable power. Also, people from Southeast Asia visited India as pilgrims or students. As these contacts increased, Indian beliefs and ideas won widespread acceptance. Indian influence reached its peak between 500 and 1000. Hinduism and Buddhism were often practiced together, with many families practicing both or intermarrying. Though Hindu influence would decline in later years, the impact of Hinduism can still be seen in Southeast Asia today.

The Khmer Empire

Indian influences also helped shape the Khmer (Kuh MEHR) empire, which reached its peak between 800 and 1350. Its greatest rulers controlled much of present-day Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The Khmer people adapted Indian writing, mathematics, architecture, and art. Khmer rulers became pious Hindus. Like the princes and emperors of India, they saw themselves as god-kings. Most ordinary people, however, preferred Buddhism. In the 1100s, King Suryavarman II (sur yuh VAHR mun) built the great temple complex at Angkor Wat. The ruins that survive today, though overgrown with jungle and pocked by the bullets of recent wars, are among the most impressive in the world. Hundreds of carved figures tell Hindu stories and glorify the king. Although the images of Vishnu, Shiva, and the Buddha reflect strong Indian influence, the style is uniquely Khmer. The temples at Angkor Wat were intended to be Suryavarman's tomb. He and other royal family members wanted to be associated with the gods to ensure their immortality. Many of the carvings and sculptures there show the Hindu god Vishnu with Suryavarman's features. Angkor Wat is part of a larger city, Angkor, which served as the center of the Khmer empire and was at one time one of the wealthiest and most sophisticated capitals in the world. Its artwork and design have been preserved despite being abandoned to the jungles in the 1300s.

Indian Culture Spreads

Indian merchants and Hindu priests filtered into Southeast Asia, slowly spreading their culture. Later, Buddhist monks and scholars introduced Theravada beliefs. Following the path of trade and religion came the influence of writing, law, government, art, architecture, and farming.

How did Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam become established in Southeast Asia?

Indian traders, missionaries, and other settlers brought Indian religions and customs to the area.

Trade in the Southern Seas

Island Southeast Asia has long been of strategic importance. All seaborne trade between China and India had to pass through either the Malacca or Sunda straits. Whoever commanded these straits controlled rich trade routes. The monsoons, or seasonal winds, shaped trading patterns in the southern seas. Ships traveled northeast in summer and southwest in winter. Between seasons, while waiting for the winds to shift, merchants harbored their vessels in Southeast Asian ports, which became important centers of trade and culture. Soon, an international trade network linked India, Southeast Asia, and China to East Africa and the Middle East. The key products of Southeast Asia were spices. In coastal towns from India to Southeast Asia, merchants bought and sold cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and other spices. Only a fraction of the spices traded in the region went to markets in Europe. Most cargoes were carried to East Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa.

Arrival of Islam

Long after Hinduism and Buddhism took root in Southeast Asia, Indians carried a third religion, Islam, into the region. By the 1200s, Muslims ruled northern India. From there, traders spread Islamic beliefs and Muslim culture throughout the islands of Indonesia and as far east as the Philippines. Today, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any nation in the world. Arab merchants, too, spread the new faith. The prevalence of Islam in lands surrounding the Indian Ocean contributed to the growth of a stable, thriving trade network.

Two Major Regions

Southeast Asia is made up of two major regions. The first, mainland Southeast Asia, includes several peninsulas that jut south between India and China. Today, this region is home to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and part of Malaysia. The second region, island Southeast Asia, consists of more than 20,000 islands scattered between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It includes the present-day nations of Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei (broo NY), and the Philippines.

How did the government, language, and religion of Vietnam show outside influences?

The Vietnamese civil service system was modeled after the one used in China, the language of the upper classes was Chinese, and the Vietnamese adopted a Chinese form of Buddhism.

Describe the geography of Southeast Asia and explain how geographic features affected the development of the region.

There is the mainland, which consists of several major peninsulas separated from the rest of Asia by mountains and high plateaus, and the island Southeast Asia, which consists of 20,000 islands, including several large ones. The mainland is separated from the rest of Asia by mountains and high plateaus, making it more difficult for invaders to cross. Early settlements sprang up on the four river valleys. Island Southeast Asia controlled much of the regional trade because of its control of sea lanes. The monsoon winds shaped the trading patterns, helping Southeast Asia become not only an important part of international trade routes but also a trading center.

Kingdoms and Empires

The blend of Indian influences with local cultures in time produced a series of kingdoms and empires in Southeast Asia. Some of these would rival those of India.

The Pagan Kingdom

The kingdom of Pagan (puh GAHN) arose in the fertile rice-growing Irrawaddy Valley in present-day Myanmar. In 1044, King Anawrahta (an ow RAHT uh) united the region. He is credited with bringing Buddhism to the Burman people. Buddhism had reached nearby cultures long before, but Anawrahta made Pagan a major Buddhist center. Anawrahta filled his capital city with magnificent stupas, or dome-shaped shrines, at about the same time that people in medieval Europe were beginning to build Gothic cathedrals. Stupas originated in India, but in Pagan, they took on a distinctly different form. These stupas were designed as sacred mountains of bricks and stone with stairways and terraces that turned them into large temples. Painting, carvings, and sculpture told the life of the Buddha. The great Anada temple at Pagan dates from 1090 A.D. and is still in use. Over time, many stupas have been built over smaller stupas. Pagan flourished for some 200 years after Anawrahta's death, but fell in 1287 to conquering Mongols. When the Burmans finally threw off foreign rule, they looked back with pride to the great days of Pagan.

How were the kingdoms of Southeast Asia similar and different?

The kingdoms and empires of Southeast Asia were influenced by other civilizations—India in the case of most, but China in the case of Vietnam. Women had more influence than in other Asian cultures; different: Some were more heavily involved in trade than others. Svrijaya adopted Islam, which the others did not, and Vietnam adopted a different form of Buddhism than the other islands.

Separated by Mountains

The mainland is separated from the rest of Asia by mountains and high plateaus. Still, traders and invaders did push overland into the region. Mountains also separate the four main river valleys of Southeast Asia—the Irrawaddy (ihr uh WAH dee), Chao Phraya (chow PRY uh), Mekong, and Red. These river valleys were home to early civilizations.

Early Traditions

The peoples of Southeast Asia developed their own cultures before Indian or Chinese influences shaped the region. At Bang Chiang in Thailand, archaeologists have found jars and bronze bracelets at least 5,000 years old. This evidence is challenging old theories about when civilization began in the region. Over the centuries, diverse ethnic groups speaking many languages settled in Southeast Asia. Living in isolated villages, they followed their own religious and cultural patterns. Many societies were built around the nuclear family rather than the extended families of India and China.

How does Angkor Wat offer evidence of Indian influence in the region?

The temple complex blends elements of Indian architecture with Khmer style. It also contains sculptures and other art that reflects Hindu beliefs.

What are some ways India influenced the countries of Southeast Asia?

Traders brought Indian goods, beliefs, and ideas, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, to the region. The Khmer empire adapted Indian writing, mathematics, architecture, and art.

Role of Women

Women had greater equality in Southeast Asia than elsewhere in Asia. Female merchants took part in the spice trade, gaining fame for their skill in bargaining, finance, and languages. In some port cities, they gained enough wealth and influence to become rulers. Matrilineal descent, or inheritance through the mother, was an accepted custom in Southeast Asia. Women also had some freedom in choosing or divorcing their marriage partners. Even after Indian and Chinese influences arrived, women retained their traditional rights.

How did elements of Indian culture mainly spread to Southeast Asia?

through trade