o Overview
-> State institutions
-> Political legitimacy
-> Social hierarchies
o State institutions
-> Comparison, c.1200-1450: China and Japan kept emperors.
-> Song China used exams; European nobles inherited power.
-> Both relied on elites to govern and collect revenues.
-> Song officials served emperors; nobles limited kings.
-> Delhi sultans used military elites, not Confucian exams.
-> Japan's shoguns held power; emperors retained prestige.
o Political legitimacy
-> China and Europe both tied legitimacy to sacred order.
-> China used Heaven's mandate; kings sought Church backing.
-> Mali's rulers used Islam alongside local traditions.
-> Mexica rulers linked warfare to tribute and sacrifice.
-> European popes could challenge kings' religious authority.
o Social hierarchies
-> China and Europe both had landholding elite hierarchies.
-> China prized scholar-officials; Europe privileged nobles.
-> Indian caste ranked inherited status and occupations.
-> Unlike caste, exams offered some mobility in China.
-> China and India preserved patriarchal family authority.
-> Foot binding marked elite Chinese women, not Europeans.
o Overview
-> Economic structures
-> Environmental adaptation
-> Religious communities
o Economic structures
-> Comparison, c.1200-1450: farming sustained most states.
-> China and Europe both drew revenues from peasant labor.
-> Song markets grew; European manors relied on labor dues.
-> Mali taxed gold trade; Swahili ports taxed ocean trade.
-> Both gained wealth from commerce, but via different routes.
-> Mexica took tribute; Inca rulers mobilized mit'a labor.
o Environmental adaptation
-> China and the Andes both adapted farming to terrain.
-> Chinese wet-rice farming supported dense populations.
-> Andean terraces expanded farming to support Inca rule.
-> Monsoon winds aided Swahili shipping, not Mali's caravans.
-> Camels enabled desert trade that enriched Mali's rulers.
o Religious communities
-> Christianity and Islam both linked distant communities.
-> Church clergy guided Christians; ulama interpreted Islam.
-> Sufis spread Islam; Buddhist monks spread their teachings.
-> Both used religious networks beyond political borders.
-> Bhakti devotion challenged caste barriers, not all caste.
-> Hindu and Buddhist traditions persisted under new rulers.