EMPIRES IN EAST ASIA, 600-1350
Jan 12, 2016
EMPIRES IN EAST ASIA,600-1350
Two Golden Ages of China: The Tang and the Song
The Sui DynastyAD 589- 618
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 DynastyAD 618 - 907
Emperor Taizong Buddhism spread Learning, arts
flourished Farm production
expanded Technology
improved Invaders
assimilated
Tang Rulers: Powerful Empire 618-907
Brilliant emperor Tang Taizong
•Wu Zhao—only woman in China to assume title of emperor
Used Buddhism expanded &
unified empire, strengthened government
Emperor Tang Taizong
Tang Dynasty: Building an Empire
Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy
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 codeEmpress Wu Zhao
Emperor Receives A Civil Service Candidate
Tang Dynasty: Government & Economy
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
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
longest waterway ever dug by human labor
Designed to transport military
1200 miles; still used today
Tang Dynasty Decline AD 907
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
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 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
Wealth Culture Foreign Trade Paper Money Porcelain
Technology of Tang & Song
Gunpowder Block printing Movable type
More Advances small pox vaccine
in the 10th century. Spinning wheel Arches Gunpowder –
combination of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal
block printing characters carved onto a
wooden block then inked and pressed onto a sheet of paper
Sailing ship – the junk
mechanical clocks
Song Golden Age
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
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
Well-ordered Highly stratified Gentry Peasantry-relied on
each other not government
Merchants at the bottom
Emperor and aristocratic families at the top
Song Dynasty: Women
Higher status than later periods
Girls are “small happiness”
Footbinding custom emerges
“Golden Lillies”
Song Dynasty: Arts & LiteratureWealthy people bought books, paintings,
and other art to decorate homes
Song Dynasty: Landscape Painting
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
Indian Stupa becomes Chinese pagoda
Buddha statue
Porcelain
Literature
Poetry Philosophy Religion History
Poetry
Human emotions
Nature Individuals
place in universe
Down the blue mountain in the evening, 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.
Li Bo
The Mongols
How did Genghis Khan conquer and create the largest empire ever known?
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
Pax Mongolica Divided into four main
branches Yuan Dynasty-China Chaghatay Khanate-
Central Asia Golden Horde-
southern Russia extending into Europe
Ilkhanid Dynasty-Iran
Mongol Rule
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 Beijing- carried 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
“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 Khan1214-1294
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 Polo1254-1324
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
Not oppressive Allowed people to
live as before- paid tribute
Abolished civil-service but then reinstated it
Turks & Persians run it
Mongol Rule
Strict hierarchy developed:
1. Tax-free Mongols2. Non-Chinese civil
Servants3. Northern Chinese4. Southern Chinese
Intelligentsia ignored
Mongol Religion
Kublai Khan retained shamanism
Chinese beliefs unaffected by Yuan rule
Buddhist monasteries increased
Mongolian Shamanism Ceremony
Pax Mongolia1200-1300’s
Mongols controlled The Silk Road
Provided protection Trade flourished
Mongol Passport
13th century
China Under Mongol Rule
Subdued North & South China
Kublai Khan ruled from today’s Beijing
China, Korea, Tibet, Vietnam