Tang and Song China
Tang
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Economic
Awendi won support by lowering taxes and
establishing graanaries
A large land woners and poor peasants
were taxed alike they were taxed a portion
of their crops to keep granaries filled
The surplus of crops were brought to the
market in times of food shortages to hold
down the price of people;s staple food
Economic propsedrity was strengthened by
Wendis Son Yangzi
Reoped and protected the Silk Trade routes
paper money
Despoit shops and forms of credit started
to develop as early forms of banking
Chang’an = trade and markets
Emperor xuanzong let the empire fall into
economic distress
Social
Beofre there had been no major confucius
activity
Educational reforms were intitated by
Yangdi in order to improve education
Educational reform was analogous to
imperial reform
TANG LAW CODE was established and
included sever punishments for those who
disobeyed or disrespected the hierarchical
sustem of elders
Those who assaulted parents would be put
to death
Ancestor worship
More children meant more protection
Foot binding orginiated in the Tang Dynasty
Politics
Song
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Economics
Bureaucracy flourished many beaucrats to
have high pay with little to do
Scholar gentry class very economically
secure
Urbanization the peasant stated to flee to
the south were agriculture was more
favored
Peasants would specialize in different forms
of cash crops like tea
Social
Confucianism had already been somewhat
revived
A stronger emphasis on the imporvement
of the scholar gentry
Scholar gentry pampered mpre other any
other class
Reform by Wang Anshi leads to scholar
gentry to switch to analyticsl thinking
The rich had more reserved rights to
possible social classifications but more low
to class adovcation
Neo-confucianism advocated for social
classes as rank gender age
The tang focused on breaking up the
aristocratic estates so the peasant class
would be able to take some land and power
back into their hands
Wealthly women in the late Sdong dynasaty
in large cities
Song society society was medelled upon
Confucianism which included proper moral
behaviors, and how rewards and
punishments were decided
Foot bingind was widely practiced in the
late Song Dynasty from the upper class
Shared
 Economy
 Chinese would trade overseas instead of
having other people come to tthem; traded
in ships called Junks
 Chinese cities would be filled with shops,
and stalls where products from farms and
trade are sold
 Fly money- paper money were people could
use to pay the appropriate office in the city;
better use for expanding commerce in
China
 Agriculture expanded and peasants grew
specialized crops
 Social
 Both the song and the Tang facored a
scholar gentry system in which the
educated were more favored as higher
class
 The both also shared hieracrhy between
the peasants, merchants
 Ambition and merit counted for soemthing
but the true way to social mobility upwards
comes from connection and family ties
 Men were not allowed to neglect their
wives even if he became rich during the
time of their marriage or if her parents had
passwed away this law was meant to
protect the women
 Foot binding – feet were bounded young at
5 or 6 years old reached marriageable age
 Footbinding is a symbol of male dominance
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Revived the bureaucracy
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Weakened the power of the old aristocracy
by empowering the scholar genry and
creating beaucract aristocracy.
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Interactions
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Formed nomadic military alliances to aid
expansions
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Emperor wuzong opens up prosecution on
Buddhism
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Technology
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Statues were carved from stone or cast in
bronze showing Chinese skills with
metalworking
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Canal building ex. Grand canal which linked
North China plain and the Yangtze River
basin.
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gunpowder
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later spreading to the lower classes
Politics
Elected offical were allowed to be
governors which prevented miltary leaders
from gaining too much power
Song dynasaty was weakened because they
were paranoid of regional executives
gaining too mcu power
Interactions
Laio dynasty from the Khitan peoples of
Manchuria rivals against the Song dynasty
Nomadic alliances with northern people of
the dynasty
Neo-confucianism emphasized tradition
and blocked outside influences
Technology
Explosive powerder fireworks, grenades,
boms
Baacus-a;;pwed tax cp;;ectoors to keep
track of profit and revenues
Block printing which printed with movable
type
Coal used for fuel