Tang and Song Dynasties Reunification and Renaissance in

Tang and Song Dynasties Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization

SUI ERA – 6 TH CENTURY CE • Marked return to strong dynastic control in China • Wendi seized son-in-law’s throne – Supported by neighboring nomadic commanders – Reunited core areas of China after three and a half centuries – Won widespread support

• Yangdi seized the throne by murdering his father – extended father’s conquests – Pushed back northern invaders – legal and educational reforms – weakness for luxury – unpopular wars – Assassinated by his own ministers in 618

TANG DYNASTY • Importance of Li Yuan: Founded Golden Age • Expanded Chinese territory: larger than Han • Rebuilt the bureaucracy – Revived the scholar-gentry – Confucian exams – Ideological basis for centralized government

Religion in Tang and Song Empires • Tang Dynasty and Buddhism – Buddhism had royal patronage and widespread conversion – Emperors began limiting the flow of land resources to monasteries – Buddhists were persecuted • Focus on Confucianism threatened old aristocratic families and Buddhism

Decline of the Tang • Empress Wei tried to establish a second dynasty – Overthrown by a palace revolt led by another prince • Emperor Xuanzong (713 -756) marked the peak of Tang dynasty – Initially supported political and economic reforms – His later actions increased economic distress, discontent, and military weakness

• Many provincial governors became independent rulers • 9 th century – Succession of revolts led by peasants • 907 – Last Tang emperor was forced to resign

Founding of the Song Dynasty • 960 – Strong military commander emerged to reunite China under a single dynasty – Emperor Taizu founded the Song, which lasted for three centuries • Never matches the Tang Dynasty in political or military strength – In part, this was because the Song changed Chinese systems to ensure that they wouldn’t fall like the Tang had

• Promoted interests of scholar-gentry – Civil service exams were fully routinized – Bureaucracy soon had too many well-paid officials with little to do • Revival of Confucian ideas and values (Neo-Confucianism) – Reinforced class, age, and gender distinctions – Hostility towards Buddhism – Stifled critical thinking and innovation

Song Decline • Nomadic groups carved out kingdoms on the northern border • Peasant taxation increased • Armies were large but commanders weren’t the best possible leaders • 1070 s and 1080 s – Introduced sweeping reforms in an effort to keep the empire from collapsing • Neo-Confucianists came to power and reversed the previous policies

• Northern nomads began taking more Song land – Songs had to flee to the south • Empire survived for another century and a half

Contributions of the Tang and Song • Construction – Canal building (Grand Canal) • Helped transport goods and collect taxes • 1200 miles long, 40 paces wide, with tree lined highways on each side

• Commercial Expansion – Conquests and canals promoted commercial expansion – Tang control in Asia helped reopen and protect the Silk Roads between China and Persia • Increased international contacts • China imported luxury products and exported manufactured goods – Chinese merchants began taking goods to others instead of waiting for the goods to

– There were market quarters in every city – Increase in forms of credit available – Use of paper money – Surge in urban growth

• Expanding agrarian production – People moved south to fertile river valleys – Supported by rulers of both dynasties – State created irrigation and embankment systems – New seeds and methods increased production • Aristocratic lands were divided up amongst free farmers

Family and Society during the Tang and Song Era • Position of women initially improved – Tang women could exercise considerable power at the highest levels of Chinese society • Patriarchal society encouraged by Confucius remained • Elaborate system of arranged marriages – Divorce was allowed by mutual consent • Position of women declined under the Song (neo-Confucians)

• Foot binding

Inventions and the Arts • New tools, production techniques, and weapons spread to other civilizations and fundamentally changed the course of human development • Inventions – Banks and paper money – Dams, dikes, and bridges – Explosive powder and weapons – Compasses – Abacus

• Arts – Scholar-gentry was responsible for most artistic and literary creativity – Confucian and Buddhist art and poetry were important – Tang – Short stories and poems – Song – Landscape paintings