Medieval China Sui Tang Song Dynasties Looking Back
Medieval China Sui, Tang, & Song Dynasties
Looking Back & Looking Forward • Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han (Ancient-Classical China) • With the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE, China alternates between periods of political unity and fragmentation. – Not as traumatic (or permanent) as the fall of Rome for Western Europe • Between 589 and 906 CE, China enjoyed a political revival under the Sui and Tang Dynasties. • China will also be rocked by the advances of the Mongol armies in the 1200 s.
The Sui Dynasty • Period btwn. Fall of the Han & rise of Sui is 6 Dynasties period or 3 Kingdoms period. • The first strong dynasty to emerge after the fall of the Han was the Sui Dynasty (589 -618 CE). • Reunified China • Expanded China’s borders as a result of military conquest
Sui- Wendi • Wendi seized the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Although he was Chinese, he secured his power base by winning support of nomadic military commanders. • Lowered taxes and est. granaries. • Wendi’s son Yangdi murdered him & seized the throne.
Sui- Yangdi • Upgraded Confucian edu. • Restored the civil service exam. BUT • Forcibly conscripted peasants to build sumptuous palaces. • Led a series of unsuccessful military campaigns to gain Korea. • Was assassinated by his own ministers in 618. Looked like China would spiral into chaos again, but wait….
Tang Dynasty • Dissolution of imperial order was averted by one of Yangdi’s military officials, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang. Thus begins the next dynasty. • Under the Tang (618 -906 CE), China became larger than ever before. – Rulers extend China’s influence to parts of Central Asia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Tibet, and to the south, the Pacific Coast. • Like the Han Dynasty, the Tang forced many of its neighbors into a Tributary System, whereas Korea, Vietnam, Japan and others had to make regular payments to avoid punishment.
I am Li Yuan. I love the citrusy taste of Tang so much, I named my dynasty after it! Yummmm.
Tang Dynasty
Tang (& Song) Dynasty • Tang economy was very strong due to advanced infrastructure (roads, waterways, canals) and trade. – Grand Canal: Begun in the Sui Dynasty to link the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers. • Increased trade stimulated the Tang economy – Silk industry made China exceptionally wealthy – Horses, Persians rugs, and tapestries came to China along Silk Road. Silk, textiles, porcelain, & paper were exported from China to the Islamic world via the 5, 000 mile Silk Road.
Trade & Commercial Expansion • In addition to overland trade, maritime trade expanded during Tang & Song era. Indian Ocean Trade Network: China’s control of the southern coast allowed participation in the Indian Ocean Trade Network. • Along with Arab dhows, Chinese junks were the best ships in the world at this time. Were equipped with gunpowder propelled rockets.
Dhow + Junk = Caravel
Trade, Commerce, & Urbanization Guild system Deposit shops = early form of bank. 1 st use of paper money occurred during the Tang Dynasty. Merchants deposited their profits in their hometown deposit shops. They were then given credit vouchers called “flying money, ” which they could redeem in their city of destination. • Urban centers grew steadily. The number of people living in large cities in China (10%) was greater than that found in any civilization until the Industrial Revolution. • •
Culture & Politics in Tang China • Tang rulers were cultural patrons- Golden Age of China – Emperor Xuanzong sponsored the creation of the Han Lin Academy of Letters, a key institution of learning • The Tang exerted a strong artistic and religious influence over Korea and Japan. • Tang monarchs expanded and reworked the imperial bureaucracy – Revived Scholar-gentry elite & reworked Confucian ideology – Diminished power of aristocratic families. – Bureaucracy reached from imperial palace down to subprefecture, or district level. – Executive dept was divided into 6 ministries- war, justice, public works, etc.
Tang Examination System • Tang emperors patronized academies to train state officials and educate them in Confucian classics. – Examination system was greatly expanded under Tang & Song. Administered by Ministry of Rites. – Highest offices could only be gained by those who were able to pass exams on the philosophical or legal classics, and Chinese lit. • While many bureaucrats won their position through success in the Civil Service Examination system, birth and family connections still played a major role in securing office.
State and Religion • Buddhism thrived in the time before the Sui and Tang dynasties – Many pre-Tang rulers from nomadic origins were devout Buddhists • Mahayana (Pure Land). Chan variant of Buddhism (Zen) stressed meditation and appreciation of natural beauty. Zen had great appeal to Chinese educated classes. • Some early Tang Emperors and Empresses patronized Buddhism (Empress Wu r. 690 -705 CE) while also promoting education in Confucian classics.
State and Religion • Empress Wu tried to elevate Buddhism to status of state religion. • Commissioned colossal statues of the Buddha. 2 -3 stories high. • Some carved in rocks near Loyang, others in pagoda temples she commissioned.
State and Religion • Support of Buddhism aroused the envy of Confucian and Daoist rivals. – Confucian leaders stress the economic impact of not taxing Buddhist monasteries, and losing out on labor because they couldn’t conscript peasants who worked on monastic estates. – Some attacked the religion as alien & barbaric. – Emperor Wuzong (r. 841 -847) began the outright persecution of Buddhists. Destroyed monasteries, shrines, and forced monks and nuns to return to civilian lives.
Tang Decline • Weakening imperial control after attacks on Buddhism. Political intrigue would plague the remainder of the dynasty. • Empress Wei poisoned her hubby (the son of Empress Wu), and placed her son on the throne, but her attempt to seize power was thwarted by another prince, who led a palace revolt & seized the throne. • Xuanzong became the last great Tang emperor, but his doomed love affair with Yang Guifei would lead to the empire’s collapse. • See the movie- trailer for Lady Yang
Tang Decline • During the 800’s, a series of peasant rebellions and military disasters weakened the Tang, & the heartbroken Yang Guifei was incapable of maintaining order.
China after the Tang • By the end of the 8 th c, little remained of the Tang Empire. By 907, the last Tang emperor was forced to resign and China appeared to be entering another phase of nomadic dominance. • But in 960 military commander Zhao Kuangyin emerged to reunite China under a single dynasty. • He was one of the most honest & able generals of the 5 dynasty period after the fall of the Tang. Though a fierce warrior, he collected books rather than booty on military campaigns. • Zhao’s subordinates insisted that he proclaim himself emperor. • Zhao, renamed Emperor Taizu, founded the Song dynasty, which ruled China for the next 3 centuries • Until 1121, the primary threat to the Song was the Liao empire to the north.
Books NOT Booty!
Song Politics • Song never matched the Tang in terms of political or military strength. • Military weakened- commanders were rotated to prevent building up a power base in the areas they were stationed. • Promoted the interests of the Confucian scholar-gentry. • Civil service exams given every 3 years at district, provincial, and imperial levels.
Song Decline • Funds for defense spending were re-allocated to cover the scholarly pursuits and entertainments of the imperial court. • Though Song armies were large, their commanders were rarely well trained. • Neglect of military would be the source of their undoing. An unprepared military was no match for the threat from beyond the empire’s northern borders. • The Song gradually lost territory and retreated to the South. The smaller Song state, the Southern Song Dynasty, will survive until the Mongol Conquests of the 1270 s.
Song Econ & Society • Culturally and economically impressive – Steady population growth – Contd urbanization – Largest cities on earth at the time (population over 1 million) – Trade contacts lessened, but still active. – Port of Canton (Guangzhou) became the world’s busiest and most cosmopolitan trading centers. – Contd Tang agrarian expansion. State-regulated irrigation. Encouraged peasant migration to uncultivated areas. – Broke up estates of the old aristocracy and distributed land more equitably among the peasantry. – Bolstered the position of peasants- balanced social order.
Song Technology & Innovation • With the exception of the Abbasid Caliphate, Song China was of the most scientifically and technically advanced societies in the world at that time. – Excellent mathematicians and astronomers. – Compasses: Had been around since last c. BCE, but used for the first time in maritime navigation in 1090. – Su-Song’s celestial clock was built in 1088 CE • 80 feet tall • Time of day, day of month, positions of the sun, moon, planets, and major stars. • First device in world history to use a chain-driven mechanism powered by flowing water.
Song Technology & Innovation • Gunpowder: at 1 st had little impact on warfare. For centuries, the Chinese used it mainly for fireworks. Used in grenades by the late Song dynasty. • Paper Currency, banking (flying money) • Abacus: ancestor of the modern calculator. Invented to help merchants to count profits and tax collectors keep track of revenues. • Bi Sheng invented movable type in the mid 11 th c. Advance over block printing that had been invented in the Han. • Moveable type and paper (Han invention), advanced the production of written records. Printing made it possible for Song China to attain a level of literacy above that of any preindustrial civ.
Song Art & Lit • A well-educated man was expected to excel in many fields. After a day of work at the Ministry of Public Works, an accomplished official was expected to spend his evenings composing songs and poems. • Confucian scholar-gentry supplanted Buddhists as the main producers of art and lit. • Art became more secular and celebrated the beauty of the natural world. • Poetry was the main art form of the Tang (Li Bo), and landscape painting for the Song. • Song landscapes were painted on scrolls that could be read as the viewer unfolded them. And you’re going to make one!
Religion • Great revival of Confucius’ teachings, known as Neo. Confucianism. – Sought to prove the superiority of indigenous thought systems over foreign ones (Buddhism). – Its hostility toward outside influences would eventually stifle innovation. – Reinforced Chinese culture’s tendency toward hierarchy, patriarchy, and obedience. – Thought that social harmony was preserved by keeping people in their proper place. – Put a premium on education and cultured behavior.
Women in Chinese Society • Neo-Confucianism was used to justify the greater subordination of women. Reinforced virginity for young brides, fidelity for wives, and chastity for widows. • Men, however, could have pre-marital sex, and take concubines without scandal. • Neo-Confucians attacked Buddhists for promoting monastic careers for women. • Empress Wu, Wei, and Yang Guifei were exceptions. Conditions worsened under the Song. • Women excluded from education. • Chinese subjugation of women was most obvious in foot-binding. Counterpart of the veil and the harem in the Islamic world. – May have started with a Tang emperor who had a developed a fetish for tiny dancer feet. – Upper-class men developed a taste for small feet, and successful marriage negotiations often hinged on male demands for small feet.
Women in Chinese Society • Families began binding girl’s feet @ age 5. • Toes turned under and bound with silk which was tightened as she grew. • By the time she reached marriageable age, a girl’s foot had been transformed into the “lotus petal” form. • One woman's story of foot binding
Resources • Adas, M. , Gilbert, M. J. , Schwartz, S. B. , & Stearns, P. N. (2007). World civilizations: The global experience. (5 th ed. ). New York: Pearson Education. • Neater, B. (2009). www. bneater. com • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 ou. A 5 x. C 87 j 8 • http: //www. npr. org/templates/story. php? stor y. Id=8966942
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