• 2/19 Focus:
– During the Tang and Song Dynasties, China
was unified, government was efficient, and
society was stable
• Do Now:
– What did the Mandate of Heaven explain?
Chinese Empires
The Tang and Song Dynasties
The Han Dynasty
• Had ruled China
from 206 BC-220
AD
• Dynasty
collapsed and
military leaders
divided China into
rival kingdoms
The Period of Disunion
• Disorder and warfare in China
• Nomads invade Northern China and form
their own kingdoms
– Some adopted parts of Chinese culture
• Many Chinese in North fled to the
South
– Culture of North and South blended
– Flowering in the arts and philosophy occurs
The Sui Dynasty
• Northern ruler Wendi unites China in 589
– Ended period of disunion
– Worked to centralize government
– Restored legal codes
The Sui Dynasty
• Built the Grand Canal
– Connected northern
and southern China
• Increased trade
• Allowed food from
farms in the south to
be sent to cities in the
north
– Forced millions of
peasants to work on
canal
• Many workers died
• Forced labor on public
works projects angered
peasants
•
The Sui Dynasty
• Discontent with Sui
rulers led to the
decline of the
dynasty in 618
– Wendi’s son Emperor
Yang Di is
assassinated
The Tang Dynasty
• Tang ruled China from 618-907 AD
– Started by Tang Taizong in 618
• Extended the empire into Tibet, Manchuria, Korea,
and Vietnam
– Tributary states
• Were independent but had to send tribute to
China
The Tang Dynasty
• Expansion and
contact with
Japan led to
increased
foreign trade
and economic
prosperity
Tang Government
• Established a strong
central government
– Government workers
were required to pass
civil service exams
– Schools were built to
prepare civil service
workers
– Established a flexible
legal code
– Ideals of Confucianism
reflected in
government
The Age of Buddhism
• Buddhism had grown
during the period of
disunion
• Early Tang rulers
supported Buddhism in
China
– Constructed Buddhist
temples
– Buddhist missionaries
spread Buddhism
across Asia
•
The Age of Buddhism
• Later Tang rulers saw Buddhism as a
threat and began to attack it
– Burned Buddhist texts and destroyed
temples
• Weakened Buddhism in China but it
would survive
– Blended with Taoism and Confucianism
Closure
• What was the impact of the
construction of the Grand Canal on
China?
• How did the Tang create an efficient
government?
• 2/20 Focus:
– During the Tang and Song Dynasties,
farming and trade flourished
– China made great advances in art,
literature, architecture, and technology
under the rule of the Tang and Song
• Do Now:
– What Chinese philosophy was reflected in
the Tang government?
Tang Land Reforms
• Land was taken from large landowners
and redistributed to the peasants
– Landowners had less power
– increased revenues to the government
from taxes on peasants
Decline of Tang Dynasty
• Reasons for decline in the late 750’s
– Military defeats in central Asia
– Tax revolts by peasants
– Nomadic invasions
The Song Dynasty
• China entered into a period of disorder
after the collapse of the Tang
– Lasted for 53 years
– “The Period of the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms”
• The Song Dynasty reunited China in 960
AD.
– Ruled for 3OO years
Tang and Song Social Order
• Established a
strict social order
– Gentry
• Wealthy
landowners
• Some become civil
servants
– Peasants
• farmers
– Merchants
•
•
Status of Women Under the
Tang and Song
• Women were
considered inferior to
men
• Foot binding
– Goal was to create small
feet (“lotus”) by
restricting the growth
of the foot
• 3-4 inches long
• Done between ages 3 -11
•
•
•
Tang and Song Achievements
• Expanded Trade
– Traded with India,
Persia, and the
Middle East along
the silk road
– Became expert
shipbuilders and
became a naval
power
• The Chinese Junk
Tang and Song Achievements
• Made improvements
in farming which
increased food
productive
• Fast ripening rice
could be harvested
2-3 times a year
• New methods of
farming
– Lead to population
increases and
increased trade
•
Tang and Song Golden Age
• China entered a golden
age during both the Tang
and Song dynasties
Tang and Song Golden Age
• Architecture
– Pagodas
Tang and Song Golden Age
• Art
– Landscape
painting
– use of
calligraphy
• Artistic
handwriting
Tang and Song Golden Age
• Technological
Innovations
– Moveable
type and
block
printing
– Paper Money
– Porcelain
– Gunpowder
– Magnetic
Compass
•
Closure
• What was the impact of improved
farming techniques on China?
• Identify two advances that were made
during the Tang and Song golden age