EMPIRES IN EAST ASIA,
600-1350
Two Golden Ages of China: The Tang and the
Song
The Sui Dynasty
AD 589- 618
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The Han Empire (210 BC-Ad 220) like Roman Empire,
collapsed
Sui Dynasty unified China for first time in 400 years
Sui Dynasty, established by Wendi, lasts from 581- 618
Completing Grand Canal-expands trade
Forced labor, high taxes lead to revolt; Sui emperor
assassinated, 618
Tang and Song China
Golden Ages
 prosperity &
technological
innovation
Tang Dynasty
AD 618 - 907
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Emperor Taizong
Buddhism spread
Learning, arts flourished
Farm production
expanded
Technology improved
Invaders assimilated
Tang Rulers: Powerful Empire 618-907
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Emperor Tang Taizong
Brilliant emperor Tang
Taizong
•Wu Zhao—only
woman in China to
assume title of
emperor
Used Buddhism
expanded & unified
empire, strengthened
government
Tang Dynasty: Building an Empire
Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy
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Empress Wu Zhao
most extensive in Chinese history
Rebuilt Han bureaucracy
Upheld Confucian ideals
perfected civil service exams
Recruited Confucian scholars
Government officials had highest
status in society
Set up schools to prepare male
students for the exams
Developed flexible law code
Emperor Receives A Civil Service Candidate
Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy
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gave land to peasants;
(equal field system)
weakened power of
large land owners
some peasants gained
wealth
Increased government
revenues & power
Scholars became new
ruling elite
Emperors directly
controlled army
Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy
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Canals encouraged
internal trade &
transportation (military
& trade)
Grand Canal linked the
Huang He to the Yangzi
Food grown in the south
could be shipped to the
capital in the north
The Grand Canal
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longest
waterway
ever dug by
human
labor
Designed to
transport
military
1200 miles;
still used
today
Tang Dynasty Decline
AD 907
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Emperors lost territories
in Central Asia to Arabs
Corruption, high taxes,
drought, famine, &
rebellions
Mandate of Heaven
revoked
907, rebel leader
overthrew last Tang
emperor
50 years pass before
next dynasty
The Song Dynasty:
AD 960-1279
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Tai Zu founded after 50
years of civil war & reunited
much of China
Faced constant threats from
Mongolians & Manchurians
Forced to establish new
capital in south at Hangzhou
-south of Huang He -ruled
for another 150 years
Song Dynasty
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Bureaucrats selected
according to scores they
obtained on civil-service
exams -meritocracy
Zen Buddhism became
popular
Power of merchant class rose
–increased trade
New strains of rice allowed
double output
Tang & Song Golden Age
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Wealth
Culture
Foreign Trade
Paper Money
Porcelain
Technology of Tang & Song
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Gunpowder
Block printing
Movable type
More Advances
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small pox vaccine in the
10th century.
Spinning wheel
Arches
Gunpowder – combination of
saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal
block printing
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characters carved onto a
wooden block then inked and
pressed onto a sheet of paper
Sailing ship – the junk
mechanical clocks
Song Golden Age
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Wealth and culture dominated East Asia
Farming shifted from wheat fields of the north to rice paddies
of Yangzi in south
New strains of rice & Improved irrigation=two crops per year
Created surplus; allowed more people to pursue commerce,
learning or arts
Prosperity Under the Song
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Cities grew
Foreign trade flourished
Merchants from India, Persia,
& Arabia
Paper money
City Life During the Song Dynasty
Group of seated female
musicians, Tang dynasty
(618–906), late 7th century
Night-Shining White, Tang
dynasty (618–906), ca. 750
Chinese Society During Tang & Song
Emperor and aristocratic
families at the top
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Well-ordered
Highly stratified
Gentry
Peasantry-relied on
each other not
government
Merchants at the bottom
Song Dynasty: Women
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Higher status than later
periods
Girls are “small
happiness”
Footbinding custom
emerges
“Golden Lillies”
Song Dynasty: Arts & Literature
Wealthy people bought books, paintings, and other
art to decorate homes
Song Dynasty: Landscape Painting
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Reaches a high point
Artists would meditate for
days on a landscape,
capture mood, and then
paint from memory
Painting done with brushes
and ink on silk
Stress harmony of nature
Influence of Buddhism
declines
Influence of Daoism grows
Song Dynasty: Other Arts
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Indian Stupa becomes
Chinese pagoda
Buddha statue
Porcelain
Literature
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Poetry
Philosophy
Religion
History
Poetry
Li Bo
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Down the blue mountain in the evening,
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Moonlight was my homeward escort.
Looking back, I saw my path
Lie in levels of deep shadow....
I was passing the farm-house of a friend,
When his children called from a gate of thorn
And led me twining through jade bamboos
Where green vines caught and held my clothes.
And I was glad of a chance to rest
And glad of a chance to drink with my friend....
We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines;
And we finished our songs as the stars went down,
When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy,
Between us we forgot the world.
Human
emotions
Nature
Individuals
place in
universe
The Mongols
How did Genghis Khan conquer and create the
largest empire ever known?
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spanned Asian continent from Pacific Ocean to
modern-day Hungary in Europe
visionary leadership
superior organizational skills
swiftest & resilient cavalry
army of superb archers
Asian states were politically weak
Mongolian Artifacts
Mongolian ewer
Legacy of Genghis & Mongols
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Pax Mongolica
Divided into four main
branches
 Yuan Dynasty-China
 Chaghatay KhanateCentral Asia
 Golden Horde-southern
Russia extending into
Europe
 Ilkhanid Dynasty-Iran
Mongol Rule
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Transformed from nomadic tribal
people into rulers
Quickly learned how to administer
their vast empire
Some Mongols in top positions but
allowed former local officials to run
everyday affairs
Khanates connected through intricate
network that crisscrossed the continent
Horses made swift communication
possible, carrying written messages
through a relay system of stations
Letter sent by emperor in Beijingcarried by envoy wearing his paiza, or
passport, could reach the Ilkhanid
capital Tabriz, some 5,000 miles
away, in about a month
Legacy of Pax Mongolica
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“Pax Mongolica” = trade flourished
transfer & resettlement of artists & craftsmen along
main routes led to
New influences integrated w/ established local
artistic traditions
largest contiguous empire in world by 13th century
United Chinese, Islamic, Iranian, Central Asian &
nomadic cultures within an overarching Mongol
sensibility
The Mongols in China: Kublai Khan
1214-1294
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Grandson of Genghis Khan
Becomes emperor after 40
years of conflict w/ Song
Buddhism state religion
Welcomes foreigners
Hires Marco Polo for 17
years
Marco Polo
1254-1324
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17 years old when he went
with uncle & dad (merchants)
across Persia & Central Asia
reached China when he was
21
Kublai Khan hired him to
stay for 17 years
Returned to Venice when he
was 41 (1295)
Captured & imprisoned
Wrote Divisament dou Monde
about the wonders of China
Mongol/Yuan Rule
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Not oppressive
Allowed people to live
as before- paid tribute
Abolished civil-service
but then reinstated it
Turks & Persians run it
Mongol Rule
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Strict hierarchy
developed:
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Tax-free Mongols
Non-Chinese civil
Servants
Northern Chinese
Southern Chinese
Intelligentsia ignored
Mongol Religion
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Mongolian Shamanism Ceremony
Kublai Khan retained
shamanism
Chinese beliefs
unaffected by Yuan rule
Buddhist monasteries
increased
Pax Mongolia
1200-1300’s
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Mongol Passport
13th century
Mongols controlled The
Silk Road
Provided protection
Trade flourished
China Under Mongol Rule
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Subdued North &
South China
Kublai Khan ruled
from today’s
Beijing
China, Korea,
Tibet, Vietnam