Postclassical China
Dynasty Song
Name a characteristic of each
Chinese dynasty we’ve studied thus
far
Changes & Continuities
Resembled Han:
Repetition of dynastic cycle
Professional bureaucracy, exam system
Confucianism key among elite
Dominance in greater East Asia
Changes:
Greater support of long-distance trade &
commercialization make China richest,
most urban society
Greater unification of N & S China
Issues of Significance
Buddhism & Neo-Confucianism
Commercialization of Chinese
economy
Spread & adaptation of Chinese
culture beyond borders
Buddhism & Neo-Confucianism
Under Han:
Confucianism, Daoism, & ancestor
worship popular
Between dynasties:
Confucianism suffers loss of credibility
Foreign religions & Buddhism
Sui, Tang, Song:
Confucianism revived in exam system
Buddhism promoted until late Tang
(supplanted by Neo-Confucianism), but
remained influential
Buddhism
Came via Silk Roads
Rich in texts
Preached about metaphysical
Monasteries
Social functions
Celibacy
Neo-Confucianism
Reaction to Buddhist persecution
Continued practical study of politics &
morality
Focused on social order
Neo?
Emphasis on tradition
Metaphysical investigation
Zhu Xi & Thomas Aquinas
Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
How did this dynasty govern China?
Remembered for harsh rule.
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
Although emperors themselves were
Buddhists, encouraged practice of
Buddhism, Confucianism, & Daoism.
Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
How did this dynasty affect daily life
in China?
Grand Canal promoted domestic
trade by connecting Yellow and
Yangzi rivers
Rebuilding of Great Wall provided
security from northern invaders.
Public works & central military unified
empire
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
How did this dynasty govern China?
Most geographically extensive empire
to date
Governments composed of
departments, each with its own area
Bureaucrats upheld Confucian ideals
by acting as artists and politicians
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
Confucianism, Buddhism, & Daoism
flourished
Buddhism repressed late
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
How did this dynasty affect daily life
in China?
Equal-field system limited power of
rural aristocracy
Scholar class became new ruling elite
Land reform gave some peasants a
chance to gain wealth
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
How did this dynasty govern China?
Barbarian nomads harass China’s
northern borders for 200 years
Song royal family forced south
Bureaucrats & civil-service exam
expand
Centralization reaches peak, but state is
weak
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
Neo-Confucianism, although
Buddhism remained popular in
background
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
How did this dynasty affect daily life
in China?
Power of merchant class rose as
large-scale trade thrived
Cambodian strain of rice allowed
Chinese farmers to double output
Technological advances produced
new products
Center of Chinese growth in south
Sui
Southern
Song
Tang
Song
Commerce & Technology
Economic Development of Tang &
Song
Technological and Industrial Development
Porcelain
Iron & Steel production
Gunpowder
Printing
Improved Ships and Navigation Tools
Commerce & Technology
The Emergence of a Market Economy
Invention of paper money
Cosmopolitan society
Question:
How did Chinese society change &
stay the same during the postclassical
period?
Compare & contrast the Tang & Song
dynasties.
In what ways did each successive
dynasty try to address the weakness
of the previous? What were the
results of these efforts?