The Heian period is a historical period in ancient Japan.
The Heian period began in 794 when Emperor Kanmu moved the capital from Nara to Heian-kyo (now Kyoto), and ended in 1192 when Minamoto Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate and took over power. At the end of the Nara Dynasty, the contradiction between the imperial court and the aristocratic forces intensified. In order to weaken the power of the powerful nobles and monks, Emperor Kanmu decided to move the capital from Heijo Kyo to Nagaoka (today's Kyoto City) in Yamashiro Province in 784, where he planned to build a new capital and named it Heian Kyo, hoping to achieve peace, auspiciousness, tranquility and peace. Peace. Since Heian-kyo was completed in 794, historians often regard 794 as the beginning of the Heian Dynasty (there is also some theory that the decision to move the capital in 784 is the beginning of the Heian Dynasty). The name of the Heian period comes from the name of its capital.
History
Moving the capital to Heian and the reform of the Kanmu Dynasty
In 781 AD, Emperor Kanmu (reigned from 781 AD to 806 AD) came to the throne. In order to promote reforms, with the support of Fujiwara Tanetsugu (738 AD - 785 AD), who overthrew Monk Dokyo and gained the real power of rule, he moved the capital to Nagaoka in Yamabeko Province (today's central and southern Kyoto Prefecture) in 784 AD and left. Heijōkyō is a city where conservative forces such as aristocrats and large temples are entangled. The conservative forces tried to stop it and killed Fujiwara Tanetsugu, who advocated the move of the capital. However, conspirators such as the Otomo family, the Saeki family, and the Danji Hi family were immediately severely punished. In the same year, the emperor issued an imperial decree announcing that the capital would be moved to Heian-kyo. This event was known as the "Heian-kyo capital move" in history. In the 13th year of Enryaku (AD 794), the capital was moved from Nagaoka to Kuzuno in Yamaback Province, which was called Heian-kyo (today's Kyoto). The 400 years from the move of the capital to Heian to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192 were called the Heian period in history. After the Heian period, Kyoto remained the capital of Japan until the Meiji Restoration.
Reforms in Saga and other dynasties
After the Kanmu dynasty, emperors of various dynasties also carried out reforms. In order to strengthen the emperor's power and improve work efficiency, Emperor Saga (reigned from 809 AD to 822 AD) reorganized government agencies and set up "Tibetans" and "Inspections of Non-violators". Both of these are official positions that are not specified in the order, so they are called "officials outside the order". Tibetans served the emperor, were in charge of confidential documents, conveyed the effectiveness of the emperor's edicts, and were in charge of military, police, and judicial matters in Kyoto. These two originally temporary official positions were later changed to permanent ones, with the establishment of the Tibetan Affairs Office and the Prosecution and Non-Violation Affairs Office, with increasingly greater powers. With the continuous reform, many of the original contents of the laws and regulations have become outdated, and the provisions need to be constantly revised. Emperor Saga ordered the formulation of a "format", which was named "Hongren Formation" in the era name. "Ge" refers to the modified legal text, and "style" refers to various detailed regulations for the application of the legal text. In the 10th year of Tianchang (AD 833) of the Chunhe Dynasty, the 10-volume annotation "Ling Yi Jie" compiled by the Yoro Ling officials unified and fixed the interpretation of the Ling, and had the same effect as the Ling. In the 11th year of Zhenguan (869 AD), the government of Emperor Qinghe formulated the "Zhenguan Style" (12 volumes of style, 20 volumes of style), and further improved the court rituals.
The emergence of the Tian Du System
Due to the collapse of the class-field system, in order to ensure financial resources, the country had to adopt a new method of renting and tax collection, the Tian Du System (negative name system) So it appears. The land blocking system allows relatively wealthy farmers to contract a certain area of ??cultivated land every year and bear the responsibility of paying rent. This kind of contractor is called "Tian Du" (also known as "Tian Dao" and "Tian Be"), and the cultivated land contracted is called "negative name". The contracted cultivated land of "Tian Du" must submit an application to the state every spring ("application document"). ”) enter into a contract. The adoption of the land blockage system, on the one hand, shows that the state is trying to prevent land from being owned by farmers and continuing to maintain state ownership of land after the discontinuation of the class field system; on the other hand, it also shows that the state has recognized to some extent that since the mid-eighth century The outcome of the Pantian peasant struggle was the recognition of the peasants’ possession of the land they actually cultivated. The term "field wall" seems to come from the habit of landowners building barriers (walls) around the land they occupy. Of course, since the contract is stipulated to be renewed every year, it means that the land occupation method of Tiandu is still very unstable. With the implementation of the landholding system, the government no longer collects taxes and fees based on the number of people registered in the household registration, but on the actual cultivated land area registered in the land register.
The Development of Feudal Economy
After the 10th century AD, iron farm tools and the use of cattle and horses for farming have become popular among farmers and farmers, and rice production methods have made significant progress. For example, they practiced soaking seeds before sowing, transplanting rice seedlings, and started irrigating the fields with water trucks. They also knew how to weed in the field, use rice racks to dry in the sun, etc., and the rice yield was improved. There are as many as 70 types of dry field crops (grains and vegetables) listed in the 10th-century Japanese dictionary "Japanese Classics", which proves that dry field crops also achieved significant development and popularity during this period.
The division of labor between agriculture and handicrafts expanded. In the handicraft workshops near the ancient cities of Nara, Kyoto and some manor houses, there are craftsmen with special skills: weavers, carpenters, masons, knifemakers, furnace makers, lacquerware makers, gold and silversmiths, Buddha statue casters, etc. These craftsmen either produce to order or are engaged in the construction and repair of temples and government offices. Business also developed. In Nara and Kyoto, market commerce has developed into shop commerce, and independent businessmen called "city people" and "city girls" have appeared. In local areas, regular markets were opened in front of temples and in important areas of manors, and independent merchants called "traffickers" appeared.
Warehouses called "tsuwu" and "wen" appeared in important places on land and water. The "wenwan" who ran the warehouse (often a wealthy owner) kept the property for the manor, transported the annual tribute or sold it as an agent, and collected the procedures. fee. There are many such warehouses along the Yodogawa River, where goods distribution is the most prosperous.
The emergence of regent politics
While the public citizenship system was being destroyed, the emperor's politics (politics of laws and regulations) were also in danger. One of its symbols was the emergence of the Fujiwara clan's regent politics. As early as the collapse of the monks' regime in the late Nara period, the power of the aristocracy expanded again. The power of the Fujiwara family, which regarded itself as the hero of the Taika Reform, recovered significantly. In particular, the Kita family, among the four, continued to rise rapidly. By the second half of the 9th century, it actually reached the point of establishing the Shogguan. Politics, to the point of monopolizing government affairs.
As the largest wealthy aristocrat, the Fujiwara family has always been generously rewarded by the emperor's government, in the name of accepting "position fields", "position fields", "titles", "titles" and temporary rewards. , obtained a large amount of land, labor and wealth, far better than others. This was the economic basis for the Fujiwara clan's political fortune, but it was possible to seize the highest power mainly by continuously playing power tricks to attack his clan, and by marrying the royal family to obtain the status of a relative. At the beginning of the 9th century AD, Fujiwara Fuyuji (775 AD - 826 AD), after being appointed to hide the head, immediately sent his daughter to the palace as Emperor Nintoku's daughter Toru. Because of his daughter, Emperor Buntoku (850 AD - 857 AD) Reigned in 1999) and gained the status of the emperor's maternal grandfather. Fuyuji's son Fujiwara Ryofou (804 AD - 872 AD) followed the same example and sent his daughter to the palace, thus becoming the grandfather of Emperor Seiwa (reigned 858 AD - 875 AD). A series of political events such as the "Yingtianmen Change" and the "Yingtianmen Change" overwhelmed political opponents. As a result, in 857 AD, he made an exception and became the first non-imperial minister of Taizheng as the mother-in-law of Emperor Wentoku. Then in the following year, as Taizheng minister, he became the "general regent of the common people" for the young grandson Emperor Qingwa, and then in Zhenguan. In the 8th year (AD 866), he officially received the title of "Regent" and began a veritable regency of Renchen (subordinates). After Ryofusa, his adopted son Fujiwara Motsune (836 AD - 891 AD) served as regent, and in 887 AD he was given full power to take charge of national affairs by Emperor Uta who had just ascended the throne in 887 AD. The edict said: "Everything of its size and scale, and hundreds of officials under its control, must first be shut down by the Taizheng ministers, and then reported." The word "Guanbai" is taken from the famous Chinese historical book "Hanshu", which means "reporting". In Japan Soon it became the name of an official position, which was equivalent to Prime Minister (Prime Minister). In this way, the Fujiwara clan created the special political system of "Kanpaku politics" in Japanese history, that is, as a foreign relative, the emperor served as the "regent" when he was young, and the emperor became the "Kanpaku" when he became an adult.
The rule of the bureaucratic aristocratic group represented by the Fujiwara family has completely lost its progressive nature, becoming politically corrupt and life-degrading. What they pursue are splendid palaces, shrines and Buddhist temples used as villas, grand festival ceremonies, banquets, literature and music that decorate the status of aristocratic lords. To satisfy this luxurious life, huge income from the state is as important as Feeling inadequate, they resorted to peddling politics. For those who can pay to contract the project, they will be sold to the state secretary and the corresponding official position below according to the amount of money they paid. The position of the Secretary of State has the greatest opportunity for corruption and enrichment. Many bureaucrats and nobles bribed the Fujiwara family to get the position of Secretary of the State concurrently. They were in Kyoto and sent Daimiya to take the post, which was called "remote appointment". The State Secretary did not care about production and allowed the acting officials to plunder the people within the government's territory, so he was nicknamed "Recipient". At that time, there was a popular saying that "the leader must grasp the ground even if he falls", which vividly illustrates the greed of Guosi.
The rebellion of the Samurai Order and the rise of the Minamoto and Taira clans
Two major rebellions occurred almost simultaneously in the 1030s - the "Taira Shomon Rebellion" and the "Fujiwara Rebellion" Pure Friend Rebellion." The former occurred in the 5th year of Taiping (935 AD), and the latter occurred in the 2nd year of Tianqing (939 AD), so it is called the "Tingping and Tianqing Rebellion" in history. Pingjiangmen (AD 940) belonged to the Huanwu Ping clan and settled in the general area. In 935 AD, internal strife broke out among the same clan, and the imperial court intervened. For this reason, he gathered the Kwantung warriors who resisted the government and drove away the local officials in the northern part of Kwantung. In 939 AD, he declared the independence of the eight Kwantung kingdoms, built a palace on Shimonsou Island, and called himself the new emperor. The panicked imperial court sent an army to conquer the country in 940 AD, but by the time the army arrived, the rebellion had been quelled by members of the Taira clan, Taira Sadamori, and the Shimono commander Fujiwara Hidego, both of whom were local samurai. Fujiwara Juntomo (AD 941) was a third-rank official of the Iyu Kingdom (now Shikoku Aiyuan County). In the fifth year of Taihei (935 AD), he led more than a thousand ships to launch a rebellion and attacked Awaji and San The national capitals of the two countries are moving towards the Kyushu Dazaifu. It was pacified by Yuan Jingji in 941 AD. The "Tingping and Tianqing Rebellions" showed that the imperial court was no longer able to suppress the rebellion and had to rely on the power of local warriors. From this time on, the strength of local warriors began to be recognized by the central government.
Emperor Uta
After that, the "Taira-Tadajo Rebellion" (1028 AD - 1031 AD) occurred which started in Boso and quickly spread to Kamesou and Musashi. ). After the generals they sent showed incompetence, the imperial court quickly solved the problem by sending Minamoto Yorinobu (968 AD - 1048 AD) of the Minamoto clan in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that Minamoto Yorinobu's reputation made Taira Tadadō fearful and he surrendered without a fight. From then on, the power of the Taira clan was replaced by the Genji clan in Kanto.
Twenty or thirty years later, the rebellions of the Abe and Qingyuan clans occurred in the Northeast one after another - the "Battle of the First Nine Years" (1051 AD - 1062 AD), which actually lasted for 12 years. and the "Battle of the Last Three Years" (1085 AD - 1087 AD). Because the imperial court successively appointed Minamoto Yorinobu's son Minamoto Yoriyoshi (998 AD - 1075 AD) and his grandson Minamoto Yoriyoshi (1039 AD - 1106 AD), the two rebellions were able to be put down. The power of the Genji expanded from the Kanto region to the Northeast. During this period, the Genji and the Kanto samurai fought "life and death and violence" and "unity", and forged a strong feudal master-slave relationship. The reputation of the Minamoto no Yoshi family increased, and more and more local lords and feudal lords in the Kanto area sent land to the Minamoto family and asked for protection, just like they did to the Fujiwara family in the past. The imperial court was frightened by this and even issued an order to ban it. The Genji Samurai Order, which was originally composed of only famous samurai from the Kinai region, has now grown into a powerful samurai order with influence in a wide area with "samurai pillars" like the Minamoto Yoshie as its core. Although the ministers and nobles had to admit the power of Genji in the face of reality, they still discriminated against the leader of the Genji Samurai Order because of his humble status and closed his door to the central political circles. The power of the Minamoto clan reached its peak when it reached the Minamoto no Yoshi family, and then went downhill. Although the Kanmu Taira clan lost the Kanto territory due to the Taira-Tadadshogun Rebellion, their base was transferred to Sumiga and Ise, one of the Kinki regions, starting from the time when Taira Taira Mori's son Taira Weiheng was credited with quelling the Taira Shomon Rebellion. (Jun Mie Prefecture), the place was called the "Ise Taira clan", and from the time of Weiheng's great-grandson Taira Masamori and Masamori's son Tadamori (1096 AD - 1153 AD), it began to integrate with the imperial government and entered the Central political circles.
The Taira regime
In addition to the conflicts between the imperial family and the Seki family, there were also conflicts between the Emperor (Father Emperor) and the Emperor and within the Fujiwara clan, and these conflicts also They are always entangled with the conflicts within each samurai group between the two emerging samurai groups, the Genji and the Taira. The development of this complicated and contradictory relationship finally led to two major melees, the "Baoyuan Rebellion" in the first year of Baoyuan (1156 AD) and the "Pingzhi Rebellion" in the first year of Pingzhi (1159 AD). During the "Hoyuan Rebellion", Emperor Sotoku (1123 AD) relied on the military strength of Minamoto Weiyi (1096 AD - 1156 AD), Minamoto Weichao (1139 AD - 1170 AD), his father and son, Taira Tamasa and others. —reigned 1141 AD), the faction of left minister Fujiwara Norikaga was supported by the military strength of Minamoto no Yoshitoshi's son Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 AD - 1160 AD) and Taira Tadamasa's nephew Taira Kiyomori (1118 AD - 1181 AD). Emperor Shirakawa was defeated by the faction of Sekihaku Fujiwara Tadamichi (1097 AD - 1164 AD), the brother of Fujiwara Yorinaga. This made the nobles realize that it was not only local rebellion, but also the confrontation between the central royal family and nobles, and they did not rely on the strength of the samurai. It cannot be solved either. After that, Taira Kiyomori was reused by Shirakawa-in and rose rapidly, which intensified the conflict between Taira Kiyomori and Minamoto Yoshitomo. In the "Heiji Rebellion" three years later, Taira Kiyomori finally defeated his opponent. Minamoto Yoritomo was killed while fleeing, but his 13-year-old son Minamoto Yoritomo (1147 AD - 1199 AD) survived. He was in trouble and was exiled to Izu (Shizuoka Prefecture).
The chaos of Baoyuan and Pingzhi paved the way for the Ping family to take power. In 1167 AD, Taira Kiyomori obtained the post of Taizheng Minister. His official residence was located in the Rokupora area of ??Kyoto, where he issued orders, so his regime was called the Rokupora regime in history. The Taira regime was the transitional form of power from the early feudal state of the emperor system ruled by large bureaucratic aristocratic feudal lords to the mid-term feudal state ruled by the military feudal lord group with small and medium-sized feudal lords as the social basis. Taira Kiyomori seized manors from nobles and temples, and obtained more than 500 manors centered on Kinai and Saigoku and more than half of the country's Chiyuki Province. He appointed his own retainers as the ministers of the kingdom, and appointed the submissive Taira clan. The samurai served as the "land" of some noble estates and ordered them to manage them. In addition, unlike the aristocratic regime that adopted a closed-door policy, the Taira regime adopted a policy of friendly relations with the Chinese Southern Song Dynasty regime and actively promoted Japan-China trade. In order to facilitate the large ships of the Southern Song Dynasty to sail into the Seto Inland Sea, construction was started on the Onto Strait, and a port was built in Fukuhara, Settsu, making it an important port for trade with China. In the 2nd year of Jiaying (1170 AD), Taira Kiyomori persuaded Emperor Goshirakawa to meet with the Southern Song Dynasty businessmen who were in Japan at that time. After the merchants of the Southern Song Dynasty returned to China, they immediately reported the actions of Ping Qingsheng to the governor of Mingzhou. Therefore, in the 2nd year of Cheng'an (1172 AD), China gave the Japanese court dishes and gifts in response to the request to expand the scale of trade. Therefore, Taira Kiyomori played a certain role in promoting the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
However, the innovations of the Taira regime were extremely limited, and what Taira Kiyomori pursued was mainly the extravagant aristocratic life and the interests of his clan. He did not change the original state institutions, but cleverly used the opposition between the emperor, the emperor, and the nobles to develop his own power. He did not formulate policies that were decisive for defending the interests of the emerging samurai feudal lords. Although the allocation of "land" to noble manors can be said to be the forerunner of the later "land system" of the Kamakura shogunate, the authority of this kind of land was very small and could not violate the will of the noble manor owner.
Taira Kiyomori's conservative policies caused the local samurai groups to quickly lose their trust in him. The Goshirakawain, the Shekoseki family, and the governors of Nanto (Nara) and North Ridge (Kyoto) suffered economic losses and political blows. Large temples such as Eizan, Kofukuji, Enryakuji, etc. naturally became more and more resentful towards Taira Kiyomori. Finally, in the first year of Jisei (1177 AD), a group of nobles under the instructions of the emperor conspired to overthrow Taira. 's incident. After the incident subsided, Taira Kiyomori intensified his reign of terror, but the forces opposing the Taira regime grew day by day.
The dispute between Minamoto and Taira and the demise of the Taira clan
In the 4th year of Jicheng (1180 AD), Minamoto Yorimasa (1105 AD - 1180 AD), who was in the central government at that time, first Raising troops, the son of Emperor Shirakawa later ordered the Genji of various countries to revolt in the name of Nioh (1151 AD - 1180 AD). Minamoto no Yoritomo, the pillar of the Minamoto clan, raised his troops in the exiled Izu. His cousin Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154 AD - 1184 AD) raised his troops in Shinno. Minamoto Yoritomo was defeated by the Taira army at Mount Ishibashi in Sagami and fled to An Fang, but soon led the Kanto and large samurai groups to defeat the Taira army in the Battle of Fujikawa in October of the same year. Warriors from Kinai and other countries also took the opportunity to rise up and fight to seize the dukedom and manor.
In February of the 5th year of Zhicheng (1181 AD), Ping Qingsheng died of illness amidst the sound of singing from all sides. The civil strife spread to Kyushu and Shikoku, almost all over the country. In July of the 2nd year of Shounaga (AD 1183), Minamoto Yoshinaka invaded Kyoto. Taira Munemori and Emperor Anto, who was only 6 years old, left the Western Kingdom in panic. Emperor Gotoba ascended the throne in Kyoto, and the two emperors of the East and West appeared. On July 28 of the same year, Minamoto Yoshinaka entered Kyoto. Emperor Go-Shirakawa provoked a fight between Minamoto Yoshinaka and Minamoto Yoritomo. Minamoto Yoritomo, who was working to consolidate his base in Kamakura, died in the 3rd year of Touhei (1184 AD). ) In January, he sent his younger brothers Minamoto no Yorino (1193 AD) and Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159 AD - 1189 AD) to lead the army to the west and destroy Yoshinaka in Awajin. In February, he defeated Taira no Minamoto in Harima. In February of the first year of Bunji (AD 1185), the Taira clan was defeated again at Sanki's Yashima. Finally, in March, the Taira clan's army was completely annihilated in the sea area of ????Nagatodanura, and Japan's Heian era ended.
The era before the Heian period was the Nara period. After the abolition of sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty in 894, Japan's unique national culture developed. In the first year of Tianying (781), Emperor Huanmu ascended the throne. Since then, the New Deal has been implemented, sweeping away the abuses of Buddhist politics and bringing the politics of laws and regulations to the forefront. This marks the arrival of a new era. The emperor moved the capital to Heian-kyo, which laid the foundation for Japan's capital in the next 1100 years. Japanese history generally attaches great importance to this capital move as a sign of dividing the times. Echoing the Nara period of the previous generation, the 400 years from then until the establishment of the Kamakura samurai regime were called the Heian period.
This period is regarded by the Japanese as a cultural high point. His most visible deed was the relocation of Japan's capital to Heian-kyo (now Kyoto).
The Fujiwara family participated in politics as a relative, and it lasted for more than two hundred years from 801 to 1068, when Emperor Sanjo ascended the throne. In name, Japan was centralized by the emperor, but most of the time it was headed by Fujiwara Kita. The control of the family is to control politics. It can be said to be a setback in Japanese political history. The Sheguan family controlled important positions in the court, and the legal system was ineffective. This deprived the emperor of power and indirectly led to the subsequent situation of samurai politics and the shogunate's exclusive power. The samurai class developed during the Heian period. Later in the era, the samurai class seized power from the nobles and established the shogunate.
From the time Emperor Gosanjo ascended the throne in 1068 until the Homoto Rebellion in 1156 during the reign of Emperor Sotoku, the Japanese emperor declared that he had regained real power. Since then, power has fallen into the hands of Taira Kiyomori. It was not until the Genpei War that the Taira family was defeated by the Genji family, and Minamoto Yoritomo took real power again. Since then, it has entered the Kamakura period.
Culture
Buddhism and Shinto
Because Buddhist sects such as Sanron Sect, Faxiang Sect, Huayan Sect, and Vinaya Sect were popular in the early Tang Dynasty in China, they were also popular in Japan during the Nara Period these sects. The Heian Period was equivalent to the Middle Tang Dynasty and the Late Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chinese Buddhism was popular in Tiantai Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism, so Japan was also popular in Tiantai Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism. Like the Tang Dynasty, the so-called Mountain Buddhism was born, that is, temples were built in deep mountains and jungles to practice spiritual retreat. . In the late Heian period, the Pure Land sect, which was based on the Infinite Life Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra and blessed individuals in the afterlife, became popular in Japan and advocated people such as Sora, Genshin, Ryōnin, and Genku. Peasants at the bottom of society have a miserable life. In order to get spiritual comfort, they rely on the afterlife. Pure Land Sect caters to the mood of the working people, so it develops rapidly. At the same time, the Pure Land Sect does not have flashy rituals and offerings, and claims that one can become a Buddha by chanting the Buddha's name, thus winning the trust of the public.
Kana and literature
Before the invention of kana, Japan had only language and no writing. After the introduction of Chinese characters, Japan adopted Chinese characters as the official national script and introduced Chinese culture through Chinese characters. Due to the development of Japanese culture, it is objectively required to have a character that can express the national language. Kana is Japan's own character that emerged with the evolution of history.
Architecture and Sculpture
Very few buildings from the early Heian period have survived, only the golden hall and the five-story pagoda of Muroji Temple (Nara). This temple is different from the Buddhist temples in Heian Kyo. The surrounding nature serves as the background and is laid out according to the terrain.
The building is extremely simple, but initially it reveals the simple and beautiful characteristics of Japanese architecture. Japanese architecture developed greatly in the late Heian period, with obvious Chinese characteristics after Japanese localization.
Painting and Music
Japanese painting was also influenced by the Tang and Five Dynasties during the early Heian period (794 AD - 894 AD). By the late Heian period (894 AD - 1192 AD) "Yamato-e" or "Japanese-e", which imitated Japanese customs and characters, emerged. Yamato-e is a painting that uses purely Japanese themes. In contrast, paintings that use people and scenery of the Tang Dynasty as the theme are called "Tang-e". Originally, those describing the four seasons were called "Four Seasons Painting" and those describing scenic spots were called "Mingsho Painting". Later, he further used Japanese songs as the theme and achieved the trinity of painting, writing and poetry.
Calligraphy and Tea Ceremony
The so-called calligraphy is Chinese calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy is learned from China. Japanese calligraphy is influenced by China and absorbs its essence. Kana had not been invented in Japan during the Nara period, so Japanese people wrote in running script and cursive script. Kana began to appear in the early Heian period. Although the upper class wrote in Chinese characters, it had a somewhat Japanese style.
The tea ceremony is a unique Japanese rule for making and drinking tea. It is generally believed to have originated from the Sui Dynasty of China and was used to cultivate the mind and learn etiquette. It is a kind of Japanese culture and is known as the "essence of Oriental spirit". Tea was introduced to Japan from China very early. Tea existed in Japan around the 6th century AD. However, at first it was only used for medicinal purposes and was limited to some nobles and monks. At the beginning of the Sekiheian period, Emperor Saga visited Omi Sofukuji Temple in April of the 6th year of Hirohito (815 AD), and most of the temple's monks, Eichu Sencha, offered it. In June of the same year, trial planting was carried out in Ginai, Omi, Tamba, and Harima. The practice of drinking tea became very popular in the late Heian period and continues to this day. The tea seeds brought back from China by Eisai (AD 1141-AD 1215) were trial-planted on Mount Kaizhen in Chikuzen (Fukuoka Prefecture), and later transplanted to Mount Sumio in Kinai Mountain Castle. Rong Xi also wrote 2 volumes of "Eating Tea and Preserving Health" (AD 1211). The Heian period was the period when tea ceremony was born. It was not until the Kamakura period that it gradually became popular among ordinary samurai and became a kind of knowledge for social etiquette.
Education and Academics
Before the Heian period, Japan had only official schools, with universities at the central level and Chinese studies at the local level. When Kukai was studying in the Tang Dynasty, he saw that every village in Chang'an had a private school, every county had a rural school, and the educational institutions were complete. He regretted that there were no private schools in Japan. So after returning to China, he founded the Variety Show Zhongzhi Institute in 828 to cultivate talents. A little before this, Hiroshi Waiki founded Kobun-in (early 9th century), and later Fujiwara Fuyoshi founded Kan-gakuin in 821 AD, Kachiko Tachibana founded Gakukan-in in 850 AD, and Yukihira Hara founded Shougakuin in 881 AD to give private lectures. The wind rises.
In the Heian period, the government organized dedicated personnel to write history books, and successively compiled "The Chronicle of Japan", "The Chronicle of Japan", "The Chronicle of Japan", "Records of Emperor Bontoku" and "Records of the Three Generations". These five These historical works in Chinese and the "Nihon Shoki" of the Nara period are collectively called "History of the Six Kingdoms".
In addition to the above chronicles, a classified history is also compiled. During the reign of Emperor Daigo, Sugawara Michizane was commissioned to compile the "History of the Republic of Japan", which compiled the history from "Nihon Shoki" to "Bundoku Shiroku" into 205 volumes according to factual categories, and was completed in 892 AD.
Clothing and Appliances
There were basically three types of women’s clothing during the Heian period: formal wear, formal wear, and underwear. As the name suggests, the formal attire is the attire worn during official ceremonies, the formal attire is what the female officials in the harem usually wear, and the undergarments are home clothes. Formal clothing is commonly known as Twelve Singles. Female officials and maids serving in the palace or noble houses wear twelve singles on weekdays because they have to receive guests. Twelve single clothes are added with skirts and scarves, and crowns and hairpins are worn on the heads to complete the formal attire. Underwear is a type of home clothes. The concubines and princesses in the harem usually only wear underwear. Female officials only have the opportunity to change into underwear when they go back to their own rooms to sleep at night, or when they go back to their parents' home due to illness. Regardless of whether it is a pair of singles or underwear, the innermost layer of the lower body is a hakama, not a long skirt.
External Relations
During the Heian period, Japan had very close exchanges with China. Confucianism was highly respected in Japan and Mahayana Buddhism developed.