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Postclassical China

Postclassical China. Dynasty Song. Name a characteristic of each Chinese dynasty we’ve studied thus far. Changes & Continuities. Resembled Han: Repetition of dynastic cycle Professional bureaucracy, exam system Confucianism key among elite Dominance in greater East Asia Changes:

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Postclassical China

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  1. Postclassical China

  2. Dynasty Song • Name a characteristic of each Chinese dynasty we’ve studied thus far

  3. Changes & Continuities • Resembled Han: • Repetition of dynastic cycle • Professional bureaucracy, exam system • Confucianism key among elite • Dominance in greater East Asia • Changes: • Greater support of long-distance trade & commercialization make China richest, most urban society • Greater unification of N & S China

  4. Issues of Significance • Buddhism & Neo-Confucianism • Commercialization of Chinese economy • Spread & adaptation of Chinese culture beyond borders

  5. Buddhism & Neo-Confucianism • Under Han: • Confucianism, Daoism, & ancestor worship popular • Between dynasties: • Confucianism suffers loss of credibility • Foreign religions & Buddhism • Sui, Tang, Song: • Confucianism revived in exam system • Buddhism promoted until late Tang (supplanted by Neo-Confucianism), but remained influential

  6. Buddhism • Came via Silk Roads • Rich in texts • Preached about metaphysical • Monasteries • Social functions • Celibacy

  7. Neo-Confucianism • Reaction to Buddhist persecution • Continued practical study of politics & morality • Focused on social order • Neo? • Emphasis on tradition • Metaphysical investigation • Zhu Xi & Thomas Aquinas

  8. Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.) How did this dynasty govern China? • Remembered for harsh rule. What belief systems did this dynasty encourage? Discourage? • Although emperors themselves were Buddhists, encouraged practice of Buddhism, Confucianism, & Daoism.

  9. Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.) How did this dynasty affect daily life in China? • Grand Canal promoted domestic trade by connecting Yellow and Yangzi rivers • Rebuilding of Great Wall provided security from northern invaders. • Public works & central military unified empire

  10. Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) How did this dynasty govern China? • Most geographically extensive empire to date • Governments composed of departments, each with its own area • Bureaucrats upheld Confucian ideals by acting as artists and politicians

  11. Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) What belief systems did this dynasty encourage? Discourage? • Confucianism, Buddhism, & Daoism flourished • Buddhism repressed late

  12. Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) How did this dynasty affect daily life in China? • Equal-field system limited power of rural aristocracy • Scholar class became new ruling elite • Land reform gave some peasants a chance to gain wealth

  13. Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) How did this dynasty govern China? • Barbarian nomads harass China’s northern borders for 200 years • Song royal family forced south • Bureaucrats & civil-service exam expand • Centralization reaches peak, but state is weak

  14. Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) What belief systems did this dynasty encourage? Discourage? • Neo-Confucianism, although Buddhism remained popular in background

  15. Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) How did this dynasty affect daily life in China? • Power of merchant class rose as large-scale trade thrived • Cambodian strain of rice allowed Chinese farmers to double output • Technological advances produced new products • Center of Chinese growth in south

  16. Tang Sui Southern Song Song

  17. Commerce & Technology • Economic Development of Tang & Song • Technological and Industrial Development • Porcelain • Iron & Steel production • Gunpowder • Printing • Improved Ships and Navigation Tools

  18. Commerce & Technology • The Emergence of a Market Economy • Invention of paper money • Cosmopolitan society

  19. Question: • How did Chinese society change & stay the same during the postclassical period? • Compare & contrast the Tang & Song dynasties. • In what ways did each successive dynasty try to address the weakness of the previous? What were the results of these efforts?

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