China Reunifies
I. After the fall of the Han Dynasty,
rival kingdoms fought for power
A. this is known as the “period of
disunion” (220-589)
1. many other groups invaded/settled all
over China
a. blended together to form
a new culture
b. new culture spread over a wide
geographic area
II. Sui Dynasty (589-618)
1. reunifies/ restores order
a. begins building the
Grand Canal linking
north and south
III. Tang Dynasty (618- 907)
A. expanded the empire into east and
central Asia
B. The “golden age”
1. Culture flourished
2. Capital: Chang’an (Xi’an)
a. largest city in the world
C. Empress Wu (625-705)
1. her sons were
not worthy to rule
2. brought stability
while ruling with
an “iron fist”
D. After the Tang:
China divided again
1. 907- 960:
Five Dynasties &
Ten Kingdoms
IV. Song Dynasty (960-1279)
A.Great advances in farming methods
1. wheat in the north & rice in the south
2. A faster ripening rice was discovered,
result: 2 to 3 times more rice produced
a. population increased
V. The Age of Buddhism (400-845)
A. began in India in 500bc
B. many began practicing during the
period of disunion after the fall of the Han
1. “suffering can end through cycle
of rebirth”
C. influenced art, literature, architecture
D. blended with Confucianism & Daoism
VI. Achievements of the Tang & Song
1. irrigation: the dragon backbone pump
2. city life: busy trading centers
A. Persians, Arabs, Koreans, & Europeans
3. trade grew along with cities
A. exported: tea, rice, spices, jade
B. Silk & porcelain
1. kept technology a secret to control trade
4. Other inventions:
Magnetic compass
Woodblock printing
Paper money
gunpowder
Write down as many details
about the following inventions
as you can…
…You will use the information for the next
project…
VII. Confucianism and Government
1. Confucius’ ideas influenced the
Song Dynasty
A. focused on two principles of ethics
1. ren: concern for others
2. li: proper behavior
2. Neo- Confucianism
A. Buddhist, Daoist, Confucius’ ideas
blended together
1. emphasized spiritual matters
a. why do good people do
bad things?
3. Scholar officials
A. educated government officials
1. civil service exams
a. those who passed became part
of bureaucracy for life
2.created a stable, efficient government
VIII. Yuan Dynasty
(1279-1368)
1. Mongol Empire
A. Genghis Khan
1. invaded from
north
2. bloody attacks
wiped out
many towns
& cities
B. Kublai Khan
1. Begins Yuan
Dynasty
A. foreign rule
B. largest empire
in world history
2. Marco Polo of Italy
A. visits Kublai, tells
Europeans of a
highly civilized
China
IX. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
A. Mongols defeated
B. Forbidden City is built
C. China’s fame expands overseas
1.The voyages of Zheng He proved how
powerful China had become
D. Great Wall rebuilt
1. to keep the northern
tribes out
The wall appears as a thin orange band
Great Wall facts:
•Built in the 15th century
during the Ming Dynasty
•16 to 26 feet high
(area shown here)
•entire wall is about
1,864 miles long
E. Ming mistake?
1. Emperor forbids foreign trade
a. policy of isolation
b. Was this a good policy?
Instructions:
create a timeline using
the dates from your notes
400
Han
Dynasty
220
“period of
disunion”
5 Dynasties
&
10 kingdoms
907
960
1279
Song
Dynasty
589
Age of Buddhism
618
Sui
Dynasty
907
Tang
Dynasty
1368
Yuan
Dynasty
845
1644
Ming Dynasty