Sui -Tang – Song

1. Sui -Tang – Song

2. (Han)-Sui-Tang-Song • Block printing • Porcelain • Mechanical clock (water) • Movable Type • Gunpowder • Paper money • Magnetic compass • Rice (champas or wet rice) • bridges

3. Early Dynasties • Shang Dynasty1766-1122 • Zhou Dynasty1122-221 • Last 400yrs - warring states • Qin Dynasty 221 -206 BCE • Shi huangdi (1st emperor) • Legalist philosophy • First coinage, writing system, • Censorship • Lasts 15 years • China- in 2,000 years - 23 dynasties - 9 important ones

4. Han Dynasty • Classical period • Confucian based society (five relationships) • Merit system-bureaucrats (meritocracy) • Paper & porcelain invented • For 400 years after fall of Han - time of great troubles… • Buddhism becomes popular in this period – Why?

5. Post-Han China • Period of the Six Dynasties (220-589CE) • Bureaucracy collapsed • Buddhism gained strength, replacing Confucianism • Non-Chinese nomads rule much Chinese territory

6. Era of Division vs. Sui-Tang • Era of Division: • Small warring states • period of Buddhist dominance • loss of imperial centralization • loss of dominance of scholar-gentry in favor of militarized aristocracy • Sui-Tang: • return to centralized administration • unified empire • reconstruction of bureaucracy • reconstruction of Confucian scholar-gentry at expense of both Buddhists and aristocracy • restoration of Confucianism as central ideology of state

7. Sui Dynasty (589-618CE) • Sui dynasty established by Wendi • Lowered taxes • Established granaries – stable, cheap food supply • Yangdi replaced his father, Wendi • Brought scholar-gentry back into the administration • Built the Grand Canal • How do you think the canal impacted life in China? Economically? Politically? Socially? Militarily?

8. Tang Dynasty (618-918) • Tang • Increased boundaries • Heavy dependence on militarism

9. Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) • First emperor & minister (Wei Zheng)- model of good rule • Imperial power and moral restraint in theory - in practice hard to maintain • Trade & commerce grow • Printing develops • Arts- focus on landscape/nature • Gun powder • Woodblock printing • Capital city Chang’an (eternal peace) -walled city • Artistic / commercial & inventioncontinues in Song era

11. Empress Wu • Ruled for 50 years - 705 • Biggest challenge deal with scholar/gentry and old aristocrats • Economy remained strong! • Reform of land system • Civil exam system • Blow to noble class • Social mobility • Confucianism as official philosophy = cultural literacy uniting China • Buddhism – Wu spreads

12. Tang Xuanzong (The Profound Emperor) and Consort Yang

13. Xuanzong (Empress Wu’s grandson) Patron of arts Decline due to lack of morality? Other reasons for decline - Equal land system breaks down Poor attention to canal & irrigation systems Nomadic attacks Moral: China’s view (long lasting) Centralization = unity = peace (stability) VS. Decentralization = civil war Decline of Tang - Losing the Mandate of Heaven

14. Song Dynasty (969-1279CE) • Taizu reunited China under the Song • Failed to defeat border nomads – sets legacy of weakness • Politics • Not as strong politically or militarily as the Tang • Strong support of Confucian values • Neo-Confucianism – emphasis on high morality, hostility to foreign influence, stress on tradition (stifled innovation), authority of men • CHARACTERISTICS/ACHIEVEMENTS: • Scholar-gentry class dominates • abuses in civil service exam develop • Paper money • Arts & commerce • 11C Needle compass (3rd century - South pointer)

15. Song Dynasty 960-1279 CE • Northern Song (960-1127) Based in Kaifeng • Southern Song (1127-1279) Based in Hangzhou Move South due to barbarian pressure from the North

16. Status of Women • Tang Dynasty • More influence on family affairs • Wives/mothers-in-law = managed homes/servants • BUT – still subordinate in accordance to Confucian tradition • Song Dynasty -Less active in politics/public -Footbinding emerges – What impact do you think this had on women’s status? BUT – retained (kept) property rights

17. Footbinding: indicator of change of role of women

18. Regional and age differences in role of women • The emergence of a new ideal of the "willow-waisted woman," a stronger advocacy against widow remarriage, the presence of some bound feet in Southern Song all suggest a decline in status of women. • However, the control women gained over property, their ability to inherit, their control of family budgets, and of their children's education show that older women were not without authority.

19. Culture • Made refinements in the ideal of the universal man • combined the qualities of scholar, poet, painter, and statesman • Song intellectuals sought answers to all philosophical and political questions in the Confucian Classics. • This renewed interest in the Confucianism coincided with the decline of Buddhism • Seen as offering few practical guidelines for the solution of political and other mundane problems.

20. End of Song Dynasty/Beginning of Yuan Dynasty:Mongol Empire (1271 – 1368) • Heavy dependence on growth of civilian government at expense of military • By 1127, the Song court could not push back the Northern nomadic invaders • Surrounded by north ‘empires’ • Invasion of Mongols from North • What impact do you think foreign rule might have on China’s society?