Name: ____________________________________
Date: __________
Per : _____
Chapter 12: Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization:
The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties
AP World History I
 Overview
o With the fall of the ______________ Dynasty in 220 CE, China alternates between
periods of political unity and fragmentation
o Not as traumatic as the fall of Rome for ______________ Europe
o Between 589 and 906 CE, China enjoyed a political ______________ under the Sui and
Tang Dynasties.
o China will also be rocked by the advances of the ______________ armies in the 1200s.
 The Sui Dynasty
o The first strong ______________ to emerge after the fall of the ______________ was the
Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE).
o ______________ China
o Expanded China’s ______________ as a result of ______________ conquest
 Tang Dynasty
o Under the Tang (618-906 CE), China became ______________ than ever before.
o Rulers extend China’s influence to parts of Central Asia, ______________, Manchuria,
Tibet, and to the south, the ______________ Coast.
o Like the Han Dynasty, the ______________ forced many of its neighbors into a
______________ System, whereas ______________, Vietnam, Japan and others had to
make regular payments to avoid ______________.
o Tang economy was very strong due to advanced ______________ (roads, waterways,
canals)
o ______________ Canal: Begun in the Sui Dynasty to link the ______________ and
Yangzi Rivers.
o Increased trade stimulated the Tang ______________
o Silk industry made China exceptionally ______________
 Means of Trade/Exchange
o Indian ______________ Trade Network: China’s ______________ of the southern coast
allowed participation in the ______________ Ocean Trade Network.
o China also traded along the ______________ mile Silk Road with the Middle
_________.
 Culture in Tang China
o Tang rulers were ______________ patrons
o Emperor ______________ sponsored the creation of the Han Lin Academy of Letters, a
key institution of ______________
o The Tang exerted a strong artistic and religious influence over ______________ and
Japan.
o Tang monarchs expanded and reworked the imperial ______________
o Revived Scholar-gentry elite reworked ______________ ideology
 Tang Examination System
o Tang emperors patronized ______________ to train state officials and educate them in
Confucian classics.
o Examination system was greatly ______________.
o Patterns of advancement were ______________
o While most bureaucrats won their position through success in the ______________
Service Examination system, birth and family connections still played a role in securing
office.
 State and Religion
o ______________ thrived in the time before the Sui and Tang dynasties
o Many pre-Tang rulers from nomadic origins were devout ______________
o ______________ variant of Buddhism (Zen) stressed meditation and appreciation of
natural beauty. Zen had great appeal to Chinese ______________ classes.
Tang support of Confucianism threatened to undercut Buddhist success…however, Tang
Emperors and Empresses supported the ______________ establishment (Empress Wu r.
690-705 CE).
State and Religion
o Support of Buddhist aroused the envy of ______________ and ______________ rivals.
o Confucian leaders stress the economic impact of not ______________ Buddhist
monasteries, and losing out on labor because they couldn’t conscript peasants who
worked on monastic estates.
o Under Wuzong (r. 841-847) China openly ______________ Buddhists.
o Never again would Buddhism gain the strength it had in the early-Tang era…however, it
would ______________ in China
o Confucianism becomes dominant ______________ of Chinese civilization from the 9th to
early 20th century.
Tang Decline
o During the 800’s, a series of peasant ______________ and military disasters weakened
the Tang.
o In 906, the Tang Dynasty ______________ and several centuries of disunity will follow.
China after the Tang
o Following the Tang breakdown, China ______________ into separate states until the late
1200s.
o The largest and longest lasting was the ______________ Empire.
o Song empire will last until ______________.
o Until 1121, the primary threat to the Song was the ______________ empire to the north.
o The Song paid tribute to the Liao via silk and cash, but then destroyed them with the help
of ______________ tribes from the North (even farther north).
o However, the Jurchen then proclaimed their own Empire, the ______________, and
turned on the Song.
o The Song gave up territory and retreated to the South. The smaller Song state, the
Southern Song Dynasty, will survive until the ______________ Conquests of the 1270s.
Northern and Southern Song
Song Characteristics
o Culturally and ______________ impressive
o Steady ______________ growth
o World’s largest ______________ society
o Largest ______________ on earth at the time (population over 1 million)
o ______________ contacts lessened, but still active.
o More involvement with the ______________ coast and Southeast Asia.
o Port of ______________ (______________) became the world’s busiest and most
cosmopolitan trading centers.
o Large trading vessels, known as junks, cruised the eastern seas and Indian Ocean carrying
goods for ______________.
Song Culture and Religion
o With the exception of the ______________ Caliphate, Song China was of the most
scientifically and ______________ advanced societies in the world.
o Excellent ______________ and astronomers.
o Accurate ______________, compasses (used at sea in 1090).
o Su-Song’s ______________ clock was built in 1088 CE
 ______________ feet tall
 Time of ______________, day of month, positions of the ______________,
moon, planets, and major stars.
 First device in world history to use a chain-driven mechanism powered by
flowing ______________. 
o
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Chinese Inventions of the Song Era
o ______________
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o Paper ______________ (flying money)
o Made use of Block ______________ (adopted from the Koreans)
Religion
o Great revival of ______________ teachings, known as ______________ -Confucianism.
o Reinforced Chinese culture’s tendency toward ______________ and obedience.
o Put a premium on ______________ and cultured behavior
 Civil Service ______________ system 
Women in Chinese Society
o Neo-Confucianism was used to justify the greater ______________ of women.
o Earlier, a husband’s family had to produce a ______________ for a new bride, but during
this time period, it reversed…______________ were arranged for the groom’s benefit.
o Chinese subjugation of women was most obvious in ______________ -______________.
 Kept women’s feet tiny and ______________, but crippled them.
 Established in the 1200’s, and ______________ to the 1900’s. 
o Women of lower classes were freer than those in the upper classes, but still occupied a
______________ status to that of men.
o Women of all classes had property ______________ rights, and retained control of their
dowry after death or ______________ of husband.