The Beginning of the
Tang Dynasty
Chapter 12 (1 of 3)
Postclassical China
(450 C.E. – 1450 C.E.)
(During this period, China ruled mostly by 2 dynasties)
Tang
Dynasty
(618 C.E. – 907 C.E.)
Song
Dynasty
(960 C.E.– 1279 C.E.)
Background: China Leading Up to Postclassical Period
Late 100s C.E.
Han Dynasty collapsed (had ruled China
through most of classical period)
220 C.E. – 589 C.E.
China experienced Era of Division
(China politically divided)
Era of Division (220 C.E. – 589 C.E.)
1.
Regional kingdoms fought
for control
2.
Nomadic groups attacked
and conquered much land
3.
Great Wall divided by
regional kingdoms and
became weak
4.
Landowning aristocracy held
great political power
5.
Non-Chinese nomads ruled
most of China, and foreign
idea like Buddhism grew
6.
Cities shrank, trade
decreased, and little new
technology
So Long Era of Division,
Welcome Sui Dynasty
Sui rose to
power in
580s, ending
400 year Era
of Division
Wendi
First emperor
of Sui Dynasty
Got support of nomadic military
commanders and conquer southern China
Yangdi
Murdered his father,
Wendi, to take power
Beat back nomadic
invaders to expand China’s
borders
Improved education,
restored exam system, and
promoted scholar-gentry
class (educated elites)
As scholar-gentry gained
power, aristocrats and
nomadic military
commanders lost power
Yangdi = Crazy
Yangdi became irrational and
overspent greatly on public works
Forced thousands of peasants to
work (built canal system)
Launched failed war against
Korea
Due to overspending and failed
war, many in empire revolted
Yangdi assassinated in 618,
ending the short-lived Sui Dynasty
Li Yuan
Became emperor of China after the assassination of Yangdi,
beginning the Tang Dynasty (618 C.E. -907 C.E.)
Tang Dynasty
Tang expanded China
by defeating nomadic
groups which had
long plagued China
Built frontier armies
by recruiting nomadic
peoples
Defeated nomads by
playing one group
against another
Completed repairs on
Great Wall that Sui
had started
Tang united north China (plains) and south
China (Yangtze River) for first time since Han
The Return of the Bureaucrats
Tang rebuild the
Chinese bureaucracy –
key to reviving China
Tang used scholargentry class as leaders,
and Confucian ideas
used
Rise to power of
scholar-gentry class
meant loss of power of
aristocratic families
Growing Importance of Examination System
Tang set up
academies to
train future
bureaucrats
More
scholargentry than
under Han
Tang expand
exam system
(determined
job)
Ministry of Rites established to
administer the exam. Exams were
open to all, but having family
connections helped. Government
jobs (bureaucracy) given based on
exam performance
Ministry
of Rites
Chinese Buddhism
By time the Tang took
over, Buddhism was
major force in China
2 Major Buddhist
Sects in China:
1) Pure Land
Buddhism
2) Chan Buddhism
(a.k.a. Zen
Buddhism)
Buddhism
flourishes early in
Tang Dynasty
under leadership
of Empress Wu
(690 C.E.- 705 C.E.)
By 850 C.E., China
had over 50,000
Buddhist
monasteries and
Buddhism was
major force in China
Chinese Buddhism Comes Under Attack
Tang promoted Confucian
teachings and Buddhists lost
power
Confucians upset with
growth of Buddhism and
begin to persecute Buddhists
Tang leaders convinced
Buddhism posed economic
threat (monasteries not
taxed)
Buddhism criticized as a
foreign religion
(from India)
Wuzong (841-847)
Chinese
emperor
who began
persecution
of Buddhists
Monasteries
closed and
monks had
to return to
civilian life
Buddhism survived in China, but lost all
political influence