Empress Wu only women to hold the title

• Empress Wu: only women to hold the title of emperor • • Foot Binding: the act or practice of tightly binding the feet of infant girls to keep the feet as small as possible .

� Sui Dynasty only had 2 emperors but set up a strong foundation for the great achievements of the next dynasty, Tang � The tang emperor who began these achievements was Tang Taizong � Empire expanded � China extended its influence into Korea and the ruler was empress Wu Zhao � She later would claim the title in China and would be the only to do so � Tang rulers strengthened the central government of China and expanded roads and canals

� To meet rising costs of government Tang imposed a huge tax on people � People were upset and they struggled with controlling their large empire

� After the fall of the Tang, warlords divided China into separate kingdoms � General named Taizu reunited China and proclaimed himself first Song emperor � Never regained control of western lands � They tried to buy peace from northern enemies but ultimately that failed

� Population doubled during Tang and Song dynasties � Movable type of printer that could arrange blocks of individual characters in a frame to make a page for printing � Gunpowder � Porcelain � Trade flourished

Although its first supporters used it as a status symbol to indicate their high social rank, foot binding gradually spread throughout the culture. By the 12 th century, even the poorest families practiced it. � When a girl was about three years of age, most of her toes would be fractured and her feet bound tightly with linen strips to impede their growth. The ideal was to create a 3 -inch "lotus foot" by limiting growth to just a few inches. The binding forced a girl's toes down toward the soles of her feet to form a concave shape. � The practice became so pervasive that a woman whose feet had not been bound would have difficulty finding a husband; most families demanded a woman with tiny feet when selecting a wife for their son. �