Postclassical China
Dynasty Song
Name a characteristic of each
Chinese dynasty we’ve studied thus
far
Shang?
Zhou?
Qin?
Han?
Postclassical East Asia
Chinese dynasties
Sui
Tang
Song
& influence on:
Korea
Vietnam
Japan
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
New Buddhist influence
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
Greater religious emphasis
Buddhism & Neo-Confucianism
1. Why did Buddhism initially become
popular in China?
2. Why was there a backlash against
Buddhism?
3. What does the timing of this backlash say
about progress of postclassical China?
4. What was the position of Buddhism
following the repression?
Women in Chinese Society
Grab a red “World Civilizations” document
reader from the shelf.
On pg.153-155, read the primary doc on
women. Then answer:
1.
2.
3.
•
What roles for men and women are portrayed
in the story?
What lessons is the Chinese reader supposed
to learn from the story?
What does this story reveal about Chinese
social structure more generally?
If you finish…look at the pictures on pg.
62, 63, 65
Chinese Golden Age
Project
Bellringer
Sui is to _____;
as Tang is to _____.
Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
Governing?
Analogous to Qin
Sui vs. Qin
What similarities do the Sui & Qin
share?
Give an example from the Sui dynasty to
support each similarity.
Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
Governing?
Analogous to Qin
Short-lived
Harsh rule
Completed infrastructure projects
Gained power through warrior nobility
Began restoration of civil service
exams
Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
Re-united China
Grand Canal:
Further unites N & S China
Promoted domestic trade connecting
Yellow & Yangtze Rivers
The Chinese Renaissance
Tang-Song Era
Chinese Golden Age
What was it?
What caused it?
Question:
In what ways did the Tang try to
address the weakness of the Sui?
What were the results of these efforts?
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Governing?
Attempt to balance 2 powerful forces
Military strength
Civilian bureaucracy
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Governing?
Military strength
Military family, devoted horsemen
Emphasized cavalry & horse breeding
Colonies of soldier-farmers along Silk Road
Large territory expanded Chinese rule
conquered Korea in 668, northern Vietnam,
expanded culture in Japan
westward against Turkish tribes in Central
Asia (influence in Afghanistan, Persia)
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Governing?
Civilian bureaucracy
Perfected civil service exams
Created a monetary system of copper
coins & silk ribbons
Wrote a set of laws w/ planned
revision every two decades
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
Agricultural growth & land reform
Limit power of rural aristocracy
Gave some peasants a chance to gain
wealth
Equal-field system
Granted equal amounts of land to each adult
male in return for taxes
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
Trade thrived
Internal prosperity
Cities largest & most populous in world
Ch'ang-an, capital: population = 2,000,000
Brought foreign influence into China
Foreign fashions, music, cuisine, art from
Central Asia, India, Persia, & Byzantium
Judaism, Nestorian Christianity
Flying Money
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
Trade thrived, but…
Either under government monopolies
(e.g., tea, salt, wine)
Or as "tribute" from foreign lands and
reciprocal "gifts" going back out
Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
Reasons for Decline?
Scholar class became entrenched
Weak / young emperors manipulated
2. Granted scholars estates to promote
bureaucratic jobs
1.
•
Took land from peasants & increased tax
burden
Less focus on military
3.
•
Defeat in 751 to Arabs on Silk Road
•
Made Islam rather than Buddhism the dominant
religion in Central Asia
Question:
In what ways did the Song try to
address the weakness of the Tang?
What were the results of these efforts?
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Governing?
Weakened military influence in favor of
bureaucratic gentry
Civil-service exam expanded & number of
bureaucrats increased
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Governing?
Confucian bureaucrats in charge of the
military
Hostile toward the military
Tended to be pacifist
Downplayed status of soldiers, military skills,
& athletics
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
Political unity stimulated prosperity
Growth centered in maritime south
Independent merchant class grew in
power
2. Technological advances meant new
trade
3. Trade yielded exchange &
cosmopolitan society
1.
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
1. Independent merchant class grew in
power
•
Non-governmental commerce widespread
But…
• Commerce not respectable
•
•
When someone accumulated wealth, bought land
rather than invest in manufacturing
Remained somewhat dependent favors of
bureaucrats
•
Paid share of $$$ from enterprise to government
operations & personal gifts
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
2.Technological advances meant new
trade
Porcelain
Iron production
Gunpowder
Printing
Improved ships & navigation tools
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Impact on Daily Life?
3. Trade yielded exchange &
cosmopolitan society
Revenues 3x that of Tang era
New rice strain (Champa) allowed
Chinese farmers to double output
Urbanization
– Five cities of 1,000,000
– Foreign trader establish durable neighborhoods
Paper money
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Reasons for Decline?
2 phrase decline:
1. First, retreat to south
2. Then, total collapse
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Reasons for Retreat to South?
Weak military
Little attention given to arts of warfare
Met defense needs through expensive
mercenary nomads
Central Asian nomads harassed
China’s northern borders for 200 yrs
Song royal family forced south
Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
Reasons for Total Collapse?
Fiscal difficulties
Population growth outstripped economic
growth
Bloated central bureaucracy: expensive
Also, factions opposed reform, putting
individual economic interests ahead of the
common good
Inflation from paper money & raised
taxes
Rebellion
Sui
Tang
Tang
Song
Song
Southern
Song
Tang vs. Song
So… Chinese Renaissance?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connections to past traditions
Role of & beliefs of philosophy
Ideals of man & education
Religious interactions
Changes in class structure
Technological & artistic advancement
Chinese Renaissance
 Revival & reestablishment of Confucianism with
Greco-Roman classics
 Confucian ideal of scholar-gentry with concept of
Renaissance Man
 Buddhist and Neo-Confucian backlash with Roman
Catholicism & Protestant reform
 Urbanization & increased global trade & exploration
 Growth of merchants class with growth of
European middle class
 Explosion of technology and artistic creativity,
including art, literature, etc.
 Increase in societal literacy due to moveable type
printing