Post on 15-Dec-2015
Dr. Afxendiou
Sachem North High School
Sui – Tang - Song
Political turmoil followed the fall of the Han during the "period of the Six Dynasties" (220-589 C.E.) and the empire's bureaucratic apparatus collapsed.
a foreign religion, Buddhism, replaced Confucianism as a primary force in cultural life
Wendi founder. Won popularity by lowering taxes and establishing granaries to ensure a stable, cheap food supplyGreatest accomplishment: the completion of the Grand Canal
The Grand Canal connected the Huang He and the Chang Jiang : was vital for trade. Connected the northern cities to the southern rice-producing region
Sui Dynasty 581-618
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfNR_jYIbUw
Due to the endless labor of peasants on state projects like the Grand Canal and the Great Wall, peasants revolted and killed the second Sui Emperor in 618
End of the Sui Dynasty
China: Tang and Song DynastiesTang Dynasty, 618-907Song Dynasty, 960-1127Both had major achievements which diffused
along trade routesBoth effected Japan, Korea, Vietnam,
Europe….. AND THE WORLD
extended the empire's reach to the borders of Afghanistan, stretched into Tibet, Vietnam, Manchuria, and Korea.
A restored scholar-gentry elite and reworked Confucian ideology helped the Tang to maintain imperial unity
extended the examination system, and civil service advancement patterns were regularized
Tang Dynasty
Confucian revival threatened Buddhism’s place in Chinese life
Many previous rulers had been strong Buddhist supporters
Mahayana Buddhism won wide mass acceptance during the era of war and turmoil
Elite Chinese accepted Chan Buddhism, or Zen, which stressed meditation and appreciation of natural and artistic beauty
Early Tang rulers continued to patronize Buddhism, especially Empress Wu (690-705). She endowed monasteries, commissioned colossal statues of Buddha, and sought to make Buddhism the state religion
Tang Dynasty and Buddhism
Confucians and Daoists opposed Buddhist growth, castigating it as an alien faith
Confucian scholar-administrators worked to convince the Tang that untaxed Buddhist monasteries posed an economic threat to the empire
persecution under Emperor Wuzong (841-847). Thousands of monasteries and shrines were destroyed; hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns had to return to secular life
Confucianism emerged as the enduring central ideology of Chinese civilization
Tang Dynasty and Buddhism
Tang Dynasty Achievements1. Block Printing
Letters carved on wooden boards, covered with ink, & printed on paper
Replaced word of mouth and handwritten books 868- first printed book was made in China -
(Buddhist teachings) Effect: ideas spread quickly because
books were printed quickly Printing technology spread to Japan,
Korea, Vietnam
Tang Dynasty Achievements2. Gunpowder
Used for fireworks/ celebrations/ parades
Effect: potential for new weapons of war
Trade flourished along the Silk Road
Tang Dynasty Achievements
Tang Dynasty revived and expanded civil service examinations
Those who pass became part of an elite group of scholar-officials
Tang Dynasty Achievements
Much smaller territory and militarily weaker than the Tang. Could not defeat northern nomads.
Confucian ideas and values dominated intellectual life
Song paid many northern peoples tribute, and maintained a large army to protect against invasion, thus draining state resources and burdening the peasantry
emphasis on scholar-gentry concerns contributed to military decline
Song Dynasty
neo-Confucianism- produced differing interpretations of Confucianism and Daoism, and aim was to prove the superiority of indigenous thought - cultivation of personal morality was the highest human goal
Hostility to foreign thought prevented the entry of innovations from other societies, while the stress on tradition stifled critical thinking within China.
emphasis on rank, obligation, deference, and performance of rituals reinforced class, gender, and age distinctions
authority of the patriarchal family head was strengthened
Song Dynasty and neo-Confucianism
The Song fled south after nomadic invasions and established a capital at Hangzhou in the Yangtze River basin.
The small southern Song dynasty ruled from 1127 to 1279.
Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty Achievements
1. Moveable type Separate letters carved into clay blocks and
baked covered with ink, & printed on paper
Effect: quicker way to print booksprinting technology diffused to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam
Paper and printing reached Europe by 1100
Song Dynasty Achievements
2. Gunpowder Used for warfare in Song Dynasty New weapons: grenades, bombs, canons,
flame throwers
Effect: China dominated Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam with superior weapons nature of warfare changed: “whoever has
guns wins”
Song Dynasty Achievements
3. Porcelain Pottery that is almost unbreakable Rose to high art form in Song
Effect: expensive art that was highly prized in Asia and Europe
- became a symbol of wealth, especially in Western Europe
Song Dynasty Achievements
4. Improved Agricultural Production • New type or rice can offer two harvests per
year• Increased food, increased population,
increased trade
Effect: more trade with Northern Chinaincreased population
Song Dynasty Achievements
5. Increased Ocean trade - Advances in sailing technology• Chinese merchants went directly to foreign
ports;• Chinese junks were among the best ships in
the world
Effect: more trade with Korea, Japan and even as far as the Middle East and East Africa
Song Dynasty Achievements
6. first paper money system• Credit vouchers, called flying money,
assisted transactions in distant markets
Effect: easier to conduct business
Women’s statusstatus of women was improving under the Tang and
early Song, but steadily declined during the late Song – empresses Wu and Wei, and royal concubine Yang
Guifei, exercised considerable powerindependence and legal rights of elite minority of
women worsened under the influence of Neo-Confucian thinkers
New laws favored males in inheritance and divorce, and females were excluded from the educational system.
The painful, mobility-restricting practice of foot binding exemplifies the lowly position imposed upon women in late Song times
Tang and Song, the big picture…Chinese achievements & belief systems
spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam along established trade routes
For centuries, China was the dominant culture in East Asia
Chinese achievements spread to European culture during the Middle Ages
Technological innovations: moveable type and gunpowder.
Advances in mathematics-arithmetic and algebra
Agriculture improvements: cultivation of rice (faster ripening rice) produced more food
Trade Flourished: Silk Road (until end of Tang Dynasty)
Increased Ocean Trade-advances in sailing technology
Golden Age of Poetry and Art
Achievements during Tang and Song Dynasty
Tang OnlyExpanded the Empire, had
woman emperor, adopted
Buddhism
Song OnlyRuled smaller
empire, developed
into a great sea power,
created paper money and movable
type
Both: Prospered through trade, improved agriculture, created great art and literature