Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Chapter 10
I. The Early Tang Empire
A. Tang Origins
-The Li family seized power from the Sui family in 618 and created a new yet
similar empire. (Kept many of the governing practices but had a decentralized
government by giving the local authorities more power) Tang was their created
dynastic name.
-The Tang rulers descended from Turkish Elites and they adopted parts of the
Turkish culture while incorporating them with Chinese culture and technology. The
Confusion civil service system was kept and Chinese military technology was
used. However many of the arts and other military weapons came from the Silk
Road and Turkish ancestors.
B. Buddhism and the Tang Empire
-The Mahayana sect of Buddhism was very popular in China. The Tang princes
used the large influence of the Buddhism religion to support themselves, including
paying the church for helping them fight wars. Though Buddhism and
Confucianism were very popular, local cultures and beliefs still existed and were
followed by a great number of people.
C. To Chang’an by Land and Sea
-Chang’an was made the capital city during the Sui rule, and the Tang decided to
keep it as the capital during their rule. Chang’an was a central hub for trade and
the Chinese society. It had a well-established road and water system, and while
not connecting to the Grand Canal (between the Yellow and the Yangzi river), it
served as a water highway in which people could travel.
-Chang’an’s population reached over one million people during the Tang rule, yet
most of those people lived outside the walls of the city. They lived in suburbs
where they had special duties such as maintaining tombs and maintaining the
Imperial Resort.
- There were special places where the travelers and traders stayed and slept.
During the nighttime, the main gates to the city were closed in order to keep crime
low.
-The city was much like a modern one, lined with stalls, vendors, mosques,
temples, inns, and restaurants.
-The Grand Canal system was so important that it had its own budget, ships, and
all future capitals were built within reach of it.
-Seafarers helped to design and build larger and more advanced ships that could
carry more supplies.
-The Grand Canal linked central China to Southern China and the Indian Ocean
trading system, and although it spread religions, cultures, and goods, it also
spread the Black Plague.
D. Trade and Cultural Exchange
-All of the trade and cultural diffusion that took place in the Tang dynasty helped to
spread ideas and art styles. New motifs and themes emerged in Chinese art and
pottery, and the entire clothing style changed. Instead of wearing the traditional
robes, the working class now wore pants made of cotton instead of hemp or silk.
- New stringed instruments and music reached China during the Tang dynasty.
-Imported foods such as spices and tea changed the Chinese diet.
-China still remained the dominant and superior source for silk. The Tang dynasty
encouraged more designs and patterns that were becoming more and more
complex.
A. Korea
-Korea was mostly covered in dense woodland until modern times. Silla took
control of the Korean area due to Tang support, and the Korean population had a
mostly Chinese culture. When the Tang dynasty fell, Korea fell under the rule of
Koryo.
B. Japan
- Japan is made up of a chain of islands: four main ones and several other small
ones stretching along China’s east coast.
-Japan’s closest connection to the Asian world was 100 miles away in Korea.
-Japan’s land was very mountainous and rocky, and only 11% of it was suitable
for cultivation.
-Japan’s government was a centralized government based off of Confucianism
and Chinese ideals. Also, Japan’s building style and writing system largely
resembled its Chinese counterpart.
-The Japanese did not follow China’s war-like attitude and their Emperor system
was different from the Chinese.