Chinese Dynasties Notes
Objectives
 The student will
 Questions
demonstrate knowledge of
 What were the major
trading routes in the
civilizations and empires of
Eastern Hemisphere from
the Eastern Hemisphere
1000 to 1500 C.E.
and their interactions
 How did trade facilitate
through regional trade
the diffusion of goods and
patterns by:
ideas among different
 Locating major trade routes
 Identifying technological
advances and transfers
cultures?
Where we left off….
220 A.D. Han Dynasty collapses
China plunged into civil war
Not effected by “Dark Ages” of Europe
Farm production expanded
Buddhism spread
Despite countless invaders, Chinese cities
and culture survived
Over 30 local dynasties rose and fell
Major Chinese Dynasties
Sui (589-618 C.E.)
Tang (618-907 C.E.)
Song (960-1279 C.E.)
Southern Song (1127-1279 C.E.)
Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 C.E.)
Sui Dynasty
581 C.E. Sui Dynasty
created
Only lasted until 618
A.D.
Unified China under
emperor’s authority
again
Achievements
Completed the Grand
Canal
used forced labor
Eventually forced
labor led to revolts by
peasants and downfall
of the Sui dynasty
Grand Canal linked
Yellow River and
Yangtze River
Made shipping easier
Tang Dynasty
People revolted
against Sui Emperor
Due to forced labor
Tang Dynasty emerged
a few years later in
618 A.D.
Lasted for nearly 300
years
Early rulers instituted
reforms
Restored civil service
exams
Gave land to peasants
Broke up power of
wealthy land owners
Golden Ages of China
1st Emperor was Li Yuan
Became Emperor by
leading a revolt along
with his son during the Sui
dynasty
Crushes rival
Son eventually becomes
2nd Emperor
Takes name Tang Taizong
Became China’s most
admired Emperor
Tang Dynasty
Tang Taizong
Ruled from 627- 649 C.E.
Brilliant general
Reconquered northern and
western lands
Government restorer
Lowered taxes and gave
land to peasants
Reformed government
organization and law code
 Became models for East
Asia
Historian
Master of Calligraphy
Tang Dynasty- Achievements
 Conquered territories into
Central Asia
 Forced Vietnam, Tibet, and
Korea to become tributary
states
 System of canals for trade
and transportation
 Instituted land reform
 Redistributed land to
peasants
 Strengthened central
government
 Increased government
revenues
 Promoted foreign trade
 Expanded the Grand Canal  Improvements in
agriculture
Tang Dynasty- Bureaucracy
 In order to maintain their
large empire, Tang
emperors restored China’s
vast bureaucracy
 Revised and expanded civil
service system
 Opened new schools to train
students
 Exams open to all men
 Really only wealthy and
connected could afford them
 Created a remarkably
intelligent and capable
governing class
 Talent and education more
important than noble birth
in winning power
Empress Wu Zhao
Most women did not
have power
Empress Wu was the
exception
Became 2nd wife of
Tang Taizong
Strangled her own
daughter and blamed it
on emperors wife
Ruled for Taizong and
sons
She became empress in
690 C.E.
Age 65
Only Empress in
Chinese history
She was ruthless and a
strong leader
Ruled for 15 years
Decline of the Tang
Lost territories in
Central Asia to Arabs
Empire spread to thin
Bad emperors: Tang
Xuanzang
Devoted to commoner’s
daughter
Did everything to make
her happy no matter
cost
Downward cycle
Corruption
High taxes
Drought
Famine
Rebellions: led by
favorite general
907 A.D. rebel
overthrew last Tang
Emperor
Song Dynasty
 960 A.D. Song Taizu reunites
China
 Dynasty lasts 319 years
 From 960- 1279
 Smaller dynasty than Tang
 Threatened by invaders to
north
 Tried to pay tribute, it failed to
keep peace
 Southern Song ruled
additional 150 years
Song Dynasty
Golden Age
Economy expanded
Center of farming
shifted to rice paddies
Improved technology
allowed peasants to
produce two rice crops
a year
Created surpluses
More people pursued
commerce, learning,
and arts
Southern Song Events
1215 - Genghis Khan
invades northern
China
1260 - Kublai
becomes Great Khan
1275 - Marco Polo
reaches China
Chinese Dynasty Notes
Inventions of Tang and Song
Dynasties
Porcelain
Late 700s
Bone-hard, white ceramic
made of a special clay and
a mineral found only in
China
Became a valuable export
Is so associated with
Chinese culture that it is
now called “china”
Mechanical clock
700s
Clock in which
machinery regulated
the movements
Idea for mechanical
clock was carried by
traders to medieval
Europe
Printing
Block printing – 700s
Block printing – one block
on which a whole page is cut
Movable type - 1040
Movable type – individual
characters arranged in
frames, used repeatedly
Printing technology spread
to Korea and Japan
Movable type also developed
later in Europe
Gunpowder
800s
Explosive powder made
from mixture of saltpeter,
sulfur, and charcoal
First used for fireworks,
then weapons
Technology spread west
within 300 years
Paper money
1020s
Contributed to
development of
large-scale
Paper currency was
commercial
economy
issued by Song
in China
government to replace
strings of metal cash
used by merchants
Foreign Trade
Under both Tang and
Song dynasty trade flourished
Tang armies guarded silk
road
Merchants came from India,
Persia, and Arabia
China’s cities now center
of trade not just government
Magnetic compass (for navigation)
1100s
Floating magnetized
needle that always points
north-south, adapted by
sailors for use at sea
Helped China become
greatest sea power in the
world at the time
Technology quickly spread
west
Arts and Literature
Age of Artistic brilliance Wealth, education,
and urban culture
stimulated
high
level
Landscape painting
of artistic creativity
Daoist influence
Capture spiritual essence
Literature
of the natural world
Poetry: Buddhist,
Daoist, Social Issues
Other Arts
Buddhist themes
dominated sculpture and
architecture
Indian stupa = Chinese
pagoda
porcelain
Li Bo: greatest Tang
poet, 2000 poems on
harmony and nature
Du Fu: condemned war
and lavishness
Li Qingzhao: women
behind left behind for
wars, woman
Religion and Government
Buddhism
Brought into China in
1st century A.D.
Supported among
ruling classes
Support continued
into Tang Dynasty
Criticized for being a
foreign religion
Lost state support
Daoism
Supported by ruling
class
Neo-Confucianism
Starting at end of
Song Dynasty
Heart of state
government
Fulfillment comes with
participation, not
withdrawal from the
world
Divide world into
Served as Confucian
response to Buddhism
material world and
and Daoism
spiritual world
Teaches that the
Humans live in
material world, goal is
world is real, not an
to reach union with the
illusion
Supreme Ultimate
Reach union through
moral principles
Chinese Society
Three main social
classes
Gentry
Scholar-officials
Wealthy land-owning
class
Spent years studying for
civil service exam
Valued learning
Supported revival of
Confucian thought
Middle Class
Merchants, shopkeepers,
skilled artisans, and
minor officials
Peasants
Worked land
Some families also
produced handicrafts
Lived in small, selfsufficient villages
Relied on one another,
not government
Village leader, council
of elders
Could move up in
society through
education and
government service
Chinese Society
Women
Subservient to men
Status declined during
this time
Ran family affairs
When married, became
part of husband’s family
Footbinding
Symbol of nobility and
beauty
Continued into 20th
century
 Called “lily foot”
Objectives
 The student will
 Questions
demonstrate knowledge of
 What were the major
trading routes in the
civilizations and empires of
Eastern Hemisphere from
the Eastern Hemisphere
1000 to 1500 C.E.
and their interactions
 How did trade facilitate
through regional trade
the diffusion of goods and
patterns by:
ideas among different
 Locating major trade routes
 Identifying technological
advances and transfers
cultures?