Korea

Korea was one of the many countries impacted by China. For example, the Koryo rulers modeled thier government after China's. Students studied Confucius texts and professors focused on Chinese history more than Korea's.  Buddhism was brought to Korea and was a huge hit. There were mnay temples. Monks taught Buddhism to the aristocracy. The Chinese writing was imposed on the Korean language. Koreans adopted Chinese artistic styles, such as pottery. Korea became famous its celadon, which is a bluish-green glazed pottery. They also learned rice cultivation and paper-making. The Koreans took many of the Chinese inventions and improved upon them. For example, Korea learned wood-block printing and metal printing from the Chinese. However they improved on the use of metal type by sticking the letters with honey during the printing process.  The result was finer printing and longer-lasting typeset pieces.

                    Chinese Porcelain                                                  Korean Celadon

Vietnam and Khmer

Indo-China, or more commonly known as Vietnam was yet another influenced country. Vietnam had been under Chinese rule for a long time. The rulers required them to speak Chinese and dress like Chinese. For example, the men had to grow their hair long and braid it. They also forced them to follow Confucianism and Taoism. Finally, the Vietnamese regained control of their country, but still used Chinese ideas. The Vietnamese kings tried to bring order to their unruly kingdom through Confucianism. The government was a bureaucracy, complete with a civil service examination, just like the Chinese. Even cultural impacts could be seen. The Ao Dai, along gown with a slit on both sides worn over cotton or silk trousers, derives from the Chinese Qipao. It is still worn by high school girls and some working women in Vietnam today. Vietnamese pottery and ceramics, calligraphy, and traditional architecture were influenced by Chinese rule. For example, they built stone palaces in cities like the ones in Beijing. Even Vietnamese martial arts is influenced by the Chinese style. The Khmer Empire, now known as Cambodia, was not very influenced by the Chinese. They did learn rice farming from the Chinese. Other than that, Khmer was mainly influenced by India.

        Traditional Qipao (Chinese)                                                      Traditional Ao Dai (Vietnamese)