Post on 01-Apr-2015
China
• After the fall of the Han in 220 CE, kingdoms were at war with on another
• Armies carry infectious diseases
• As the Chinese attack barbarian peoples, they are infected with a pox called Barbarian pox
China Reunification
• From 220 – 589, China was disunited
• The Sui (581-618) reunified China and was highly influenced by Buddhism
• The Sui made a new capital at Chang’an
• They built the 1100 mile Grand Canal enhancing trade
Tang Dynasty
• Due to the Sui’s rapid growth; overextension led to the transition to the Tang (618-907)
• The Tang maintained the eastern boundaries of the Sui, but expanded westward
• They avoided over centralization by allowing local nobles, gentry, and religion to exercise power
Tang Dynasty
• Buddhism was favored by Tang rulers
• The religion prescribed a spiritual function for kings to bring humankind into the Buddhist realm
• Protecting spirits would aid the ruler in governing and protect the people under him
Tang Dynasty
• As the Tang expanded westward, it collected new ideas
• The Tang was considered cosmopolitan because it integrated religions, foods, sports, languages, and styles from all parts of Asia
Tang Dynasty
• The capital Chang’an served as the hub of communication
• The tributary system was a practice in which independent countries acknowledged the supremacy of the emperor by sending embassies to pay tribute
Tang Dynasty
• Roads, caravans, sea routes, and canals brought goods to Chang’an
• The Grand Canal was important since it had an enormous political and economic impact on Chinese development
Tang Dynasty
• The Tang were excellent shipbuilders
• They were large and moved grain along the canal
• Even though trade routes were beneficial, there were some negative effects: the bubonic plague
Tang Dynasty
• Central Asia’s influence on China was:
• The popularity of pants• Cotton replaced hemp
as the most popular textile
• The game of polo – in which women were allowed to participate
Tang Dynasty• Under the Tang,
China’s monopoly on silk disappeared
• Asia lost its monopoly of cotton and Tang China had begun to grow and spin its own
• This process of “import substitution” – the domestic sale of goods that have been previously imported
Tang Dynasty
• China still remained the producer of the finest silk
• The Tang dominated world trade and became the sole suppliers of porcelain
Tang Dynasty
• The most serious rival to the Tang were the Uigurs and Tibet
• After two centuries of Buddhist influence, the Tang family began to blame Buddhist clergy for political upheavals
Tang Dynasty
• The decline of the Tang resulted from:
• A complex tax collection system
• The defeat of the Tang at the Battle of Talas River
• The demoralization and under funding of the army
Tang Dynasty
• The Tang Empire ended in 907 and was replaced by a set of smaller states
Uigur Empire
• Group of Turkic speakers who controlled an empire in modern day Mongolia
• Famous merchants and scribes of the Silk Road
• Lasted on 50 years
Tibet
• A large and stable empire
• Chinese crossed Tibet on their pilgrimages to India
• In a government attempt to control monasteries, Tibetan Buddhist assassinated the king and took control of the royal family
• The new separate states that were the Tang are Liao, Jin, and Tanggut
• They consolidated a single elite culture
• The first state to emerge was the Liao Empire of the Kitans
• They inspired the name Cathay (what the West called them)
• Laid the foundation of the Mongol Empire
• Made the city of Beijing its capital
Technology
• The innovations of the Song were:
• Stern-mounted rudder
• High-quality steel
• gunpowder
Technology
• The development of movable type and printed material allowed for the dissemination of information and aided development of new agricultural lands
Song Dynasty • The Song Dynasty rose
in 960 and invented new technology
• Chinese transportation improved because of the compass
• The Song technological explosion was driven by an expanding economy and pressure from the Liao and Jin Empires
Song Dynasty• Song China had an
enormous military challenge
• In social hierarchy, the civil man outranked the military
• The Song instituted civil service examinations for government jobs to ensure it recruited the most talented men
Women
• Could not own property, but could manage in absence of husband
• Not allowed to remarry• Educated only to read
Confusion philosophy• The most dramatic
change was mandatory footbinding
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam• Agricultural nations
dominated by rice as a main staple
• Political ideologies varied, but were based on Confucianism
• Korea was originally shamanist, but
• Confucianism and Buddhism were transmitted to Japan by way of Korea
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
• After the fall of the Tang, the Koryo family took over Korea
• China history records early Japan in the 4th century
• The unification of Japan occurred when Korean warriors united the small countries of Japan under a central government
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
• Japan was influenced by China by:
• Japan mastered Chinese architecture
• Japan implemented Confucian style government
• Japan showed a strong interest in Buddhism
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
• The Japanese emperor seldom had any real political power
• The prime minister and religious leaders held power
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
• The rise of a warrior elite in Heian Japan (Kyoto) led to the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate , the first of 3 military regimes of Japan
• This new warrior class would later take the title samurai
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam• Vietnam (Champa
and Annam) established economic trade with the Tang
• Advanced farming, metalwork and ceramics
• Under Song China, Champa became a tributary state and provided China with quick growing rice
Women
• In Vietnam, the Trung Sisters, who lived in the 2nd century, led local farmers in a resistance against Han invaders
• They have been revered for almost 2000 years as national heroes
Women
• Murasaki Shikibu is the author of the famous Japanese novel The Tale of Genji and said about women:
• Women should have little education
• They should have general knowledge, but is bad if they are attached to a particular branch of learning