EMPIRES IN EAST ASIA,600-1350

Two Golden Ages of China: The Tang and the Song

The Sui DynastyAD 589- 618

The Han Empire (210 BC-Ad 220) like Roman Empire, collapsed

Sui Dynasty unified China for first time in 400 years

Sui Dynasty, established by Wendi, lasts from 581- 618

Completing Grand Canal-expands trade Forced labor, high taxes lead to revolt; Sui

emperor assassinated, 618

Tang and Song China

Golden Ages prosperity &

technological innovation

Tang DynastyAD 618 - 907

Emperor Taizong Buddhism spread Learning, arts

flourished Farm production

expanded Technology

improved Invaders

assimilated

Tang Rulers: Powerful Empire 618-907

Brilliant emperor Tang Taizong

•Wu Zhao—only woman in China to assume title of emperor

Used Buddhism expanded &

unified empire, strengthened government

Emperor Tang Taizong

Tang Dynasty: Building an Empire

Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy

most extensive in Chinese history

Rebuilt Han bureaucracy Upheld Confucian ideals perfected civil service

exams Recruited Confucian

scholars Government officials had

highest status in society Set up schools to prepare

male students for the exams

Developed flexible law codeEmpress Wu Zhao

Emperor Receives A Civil Service Candidate

Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy

gave land to peasants; (equal field system)

weakened power of large land owners

some peasants gained wealth

Increased government revenues & power

Scholars became new ruling elite

Emperors directly controlled army

Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy

Canals encouraged internal trade & transportation (military & trade)

Grand Canal linked the Huang He to the Yangzi

Food grown in the south could be shipped to the capital in the north

The Grand Canal

longest waterway ever dug by human labor

Designed to transport military

1200 miles; still used today

Tang Dynasty Decline AD 907

Emperors lost territories in Central Asia to Arabs

Corruption, high taxes, drought, famine, & rebellions

Mandate of Heaven revoked

907, rebel leader overthrew last Tang emperor

50 years pass before next dynasty

The Song Dynasty:AD 960-1279

Tai Zu founded after 50 years of civil war & reunited much of China

Faced constant threats from Mongolians & Manchurians

Forced to establish new capital in south at Hangzhou -south of Huang He -ruled for another 150 years

Song Dynasty Bureaucrats selected

according to scores they obtained on civil-service exams -meritocracy

Zen Buddhism became popular

Power of merchant class rose –increased trade

New strains of rice allowed double output

Tang & Song Golden Age

Wealth Culture Foreign Trade Paper Money Porcelain

Technology of Tang & Song

Gunpowder Block printing Movable type

More Advances small pox vaccine

in the 10th century. Spinning wheel Arches Gunpowder –

combination of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal

block printing characters carved onto a

wooden block then inked and pressed onto a sheet of paper

Sailing ship – the junk

mechanical clocks

Song Golden Age

Wealth and culture dominated East Asia Farming shifted from wheat fields of the north to

rice paddies of Yangzi in south New strains of rice & Improved irrigation=two

crops per year Created surplus; allowed more people to pursue

commerce, learning or arts

Prosperity Under the Song

Cities grew Foreign trade flourished Merchants from India,

Persia, & Arabia Paper money

City Life During the Song Dynasty

Group of seated female musicians, Tang dynasty (618–906), late 7th century

Night-Shining White, Tang dynasty (618–906), ca. 750

Chinese Society During Tang & Song

Well-ordered Highly stratified Gentry Peasantry-relied on

each other not government

Merchants at the bottom

Emperor and aristocratic families at the top

Song Dynasty: Women

Higher status than later periods

Girls are “small happiness”

Footbinding custom emerges

“Golden Lillies”

Song Dynasty: Arts & LiteratureWealthy people bought books, paintings,

and other art to decorate homes

Song Dynasty: Landscape Painting

Reaches a high point Artists would meditate

for days on a landscape, capture mood, and then paint from memory

Painting done with brushes and ink on silk

Stress harmony of nature

Influence of Buddhism declines

Influence of Daoism grows

Song Dynasty: Other Arts

Indian Stupa becomes Chinese pagoda

Buddha statue

Porcelain

Literature

Poetry Philosophy Religion History

Poetry

Human emotions

Nature Individuals

place in universe

Down the blue mountain in the evening, Moonlight was my homeward escort. Looking back, I saw my path Lie in levels of deep shadow.... I was passing the farm-house of a friend, When his children called from a gate of thorn And led me twining through jade bamboos Where green vines caught and held my clothes. And I was glad of a chance to rest And glad of a chance to drink with my friend.... We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines; And we finished our songs as the stars went down, When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy, Between us we forgot the world.

Li Bo

The Mongols

How did Genghis Khan conquer and create the largest empire ever known?

spanned Asian continent from Pacific Ocean to modern-day Hungary in Europe

visionary leadership superior organizational skills swiftest & resilient cavalry army of superb archers Asian states were politically weak

Mongolian Artifacts

Mongolian ewer

Legacy of Genghis & Mongols

Pax Mongolica Divided into four main

branches Yuan Dynasty-China Chaghatay Khanate-

Central Asia Golden Horde-

southern Russia extending into Europe

Ilkhanid Dynasty-Iran

Mongol Rule

Transformed from nomadic tribal people into rulers

Quickly learned how to administer their vast empire

Some Mongols in top positions but allowed former local officials to run everyday affairs

Khanates connected through intricate network that crisscrossed the continent

Horses made swift communication possible, carrying written messages through a relay system of stations

Letter sent by emperor in Beijing- carried by envoy wearing his paiza, or passport, could reach the Ilkhanid capital Tabriz, some 5,000 miles away, in about a month

Legacy of Pax Mongolica

“Pax Mongolica” = trade flourished transfer & resettlement of artists &

craftsmen along main routes led to New influences integrated w/ established

local artistic traditions largest contiguous empire in world by 13th

century United Chinese, Islamic, Iranian, Central

Asian & nomadic cultures within an overarching Mongol sensibility

The Mongols in China: Kublai Khan1214-1294

Grandson of Genghis Khan

Becomes emperor after 40 years of conflict w/ Song

Buddhism state religion

Welcomes foreigners Hires Marco Polo for 17

years

Marco Polo1254-1324

17 years old when he went with uncle & dad (merchants) across Persia & Central Asia

reached China when he was 21

Kublai Khan hired him to stay for 17 years

Returned to Venice when he was 41 (1295)

Captured & imprisoned Wrote Divisament

dou Monde about the wonders of China

Mongol/Yuan Rule

Not oppressive Allowed people to

live as before- paid tribute

Abolished civil-service but then reinstated it

Turks & Persians run it

Mongol Rule

Strict hierarchy developed:

1. Tax-free Mongols2. Non-Chinese civil

Servants3. Northern Chinese4. Southern Chinese

Intelligentsia ignored

Mongol Religion

Kublai Khan retained shamanism

Chinese beliefs unaffected by Yuan rule

Buddhist monasteries increased

Mongolian Shamanism Ceremony

Pax Mongolia1200-1300’s

Mongols controlled The Silk Road

Provided protection Trade flourished

Mongol Passport

13th century

China Under Mongol Rule

Subdued North & South China

Kublai Khan ruled from today’s Beijing

China, Korea, Tibet, Vietnam