Classical Imperial China: 7 th 13th c

Tang & Song China China Before the 7th Century Inventions: silk, ink, tea, paper, abacus, compass, rudder, etc Beliefs: mixture of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism Misc: Iron Weapons, Silk Road, Great Wall Government & Society 1st Unification = Qin Dynasty Dynastic Cycle Mandate of Heaven Warring States Period Sui Dynasty re-unifies North & South China Sui Empire: Precursor to the Tang Emperor Wendi (589) Reunification of North & South Capital = Xian Supported Buddhism Sets out to improve infrastructure lower classes = burden of taxes Built Grand Canal & refortifies Great Wall Granaries Calvary more efficient communication systems Murdered & succeed by Yangdi Grand Canal = Chinas Financial Backbone Rise of the Tang Reign of Emp Yangdi bankrupts imperial treasury failed wars of expansion massive public works projects extravagant lifestyle tyrannical rule & disloyalty = assassination Gives way to Li Yuan, Duke of Tang (566-635) regent >> Emperor Gaozu of Tang Dynasty completes Sui reunification Tang Civilization (7th 10th c) Expansion west = large land empire Turkish & northern Chinese roots Cultural high point literature, poetry, block printing Govt scholar class to check the power of aristocracy Cultural diffusion

influences Korea & Japan kow-towing Buddhism vs Taoism vs Confucianism Tremendous engineering, infrastructure & growth more efficient communication large urban centers population reaching over 10 million Tang Civilization cont. Military expansion & Protectorate System Afghanistan, Tibet, Vietnam, Korea & Manchuria professional & conscripted soldiers foreign recruitment (all levels) troop rotation military governors focus on the frontier boarders return of tributary system by foreign powers Equitable land distribution ended hereditary life plots govt redistribution of land Tang Bureaucracy Revival of govt bureaucracy divided China into 10 districts governed by govt inspectors civil service exam means to select govt officials based on merit & education scholar-gentry = Imperial Bureaucrats Confucian educated & loyal equitable access to positions countered landed aristocracy & local warlords Capitals Xian Southwest China Luoyang Northern China Six Canons of Tang handbook how to govern details crime & punishment Tang Bureaucracy Tang = Golden Age of China Political Change = peace & stability efficient bureaucracy (accurate census & taxation) internal security & expansion of borders ended ethnic civil unrest foreign contact & diplomacy= tribute states Social/Cultural life = a push for affluence promote Buddhism educational reform (Hanlin Academy) poetry, opera, painting & tea houses growing & expanding population Commerce = International Trade use of flying money

Tang Rulers Tang Taizong (7th C) = peace & prosperity benevolent & competent ruler Confucian in nature expansion & stabilization of borders Empress Wu-tse-Tien (7th 8th C) 1st Female Empress = 2ndZhou Dynasty reduced the influence of powerful aristocratic families Buddhism influenced Tang Xuanzong (8th C) apex of the Tang Cultural Golden Age brilliant monarch benevolence reduction of Buddhist influence Lady Yang affair = beginning of the end(???). Tang Decline During Xuanzongs reign palace power struggle = neglectful govt role of eunuchs & concubines Northern Invaders demand tribute Liao, Uighurs & Jin Nomads Foreign staffing of Chinese armies Rise of Jiedushi An Lushan Rebellion failed peasant food revolts weakens Tang dynasty Song reunification of Chinese population Legacy: Greater than the Han Dynasty (???) Song Dynasty: 10th 13th c Song Cultural Achievements Arts Landscape painting Calligraphy Porcelain Ceramics Poetry (Li Bo) Buddhism Chan Zen (Japan) Innovations Bi Sheng (1045) = movable type medicine (autopsy), science (gunpowder), astronomy (navigation) abacus for math metallurgy (iron & steel) warfare & agricultural tools infrastructure & engineering achievements Song Interpretation of the Imperial Civil Service Exam Han Yu (8th 9th c) cultural renaissance (guwen) scholar official who wrote Origin of the Way started Confucian reform movement Neo-confucianism:

return China to its patriarchal roots of benevolent rule & citizenship emphasis on rank, obligation, deference, respect & rituals meant to reinforce class, gender and age distinctions universal man or gentlemen scholar principals of morality to maintain order & thus harmony parallel of a strong family & China itself Expansion & enhancement of Imperial Civil Service Exam Primary tool for govt recruitment/staffing Desired to replace warlords w/ scholar gentry bureaucrats Social Characteristics of Song Dynasty Southern Song China featured diverse dialects & cultural practices Greater role for local societal elites tried to counter examination culture focus on education enforce social hierarchy & reinforce class, gender & age distinctions Footbinding Greater emphasis on social justice hospitals, orphanages, foundations, etc Song Economy Geography = localized specialization Agricultural expansion = pop growth state encouraged expansion technological innovations Industrial development ceramics & iron works Trade = local & international markets reopening of Silk Road exports = manufactured goods commercial credit & deposit shops facilitated long-distance trade checks & flying money seaborne trade & Chinese Junks Indian Ocean Trade Network Rise of merchant class privatization of govt functions Good-bye Song, Hello, Genghis & Friends Decline of Song national treasury is drained tribute to Northern & Western nomadic tribes Liao, Khitan, Jurchen bureaucratic costs to maintain the Empire invaders forces Song Imperial Court south of Yangtze River Yuan dynasty (1279) Kubilai Khan & Mongol invasion North conquest (1234) South conquest (1271)