Download Early Chinese Empires

Early Chinese Empires
581-755CE
Ancient China
• Qin Dynasty
• Han Dynasty 206BCE - 220CE
– Founded by Emperor Gaozu
– Briefly interrupted by Xin Dynasty (Wang Mang)
– “Golden Age”
• Succeeded by Three Kingdoms 220-280CE
– Fell due to internal corruption and natural disasters
• Confucianism prevalent
• Fragmented for several centuries
• Reunited under Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty 581-615
• Father & son rulers
• Capital at Chang’an
• Built the 1,100 mile Grand Canal linking Yellow & Yangzi
Rivers
– Facilitate communication & trade with the south
– Also constructed irrigation systems in Yangzi valley
• Improved the Great Wall
• Military ambitions toward Korea, Vietnam, and Inner Asia
– Required organization & mustering resources
– Overextension compounded political dilemma stemming from
military defeat & assassination of second Sui emperor
• Defeated by Turks from Inner Asia
Tang Empire 618-907
• Li family took dynastic name Tang
• Descended from Turkik elites that built small states in
northern China after the Han
• Appreciated pastoral nomadic culture of Inner Asia &
Chinese traditions
• Li Shimin (r.626-649) extended power into Inner Asia
– Retained many Sui governing practices
– Avoided overcentralization by allowing local nobles, gentry,
officials, and religious establishments to exercise power
• Combined Chinese weapons with Inner Asian
horsemanship
Buddhism & Tang Empire
• Rulers followed Inner Asian precedents in political use of Buddhism
– Interpretations of doctrine accorded kings & emperors spiritual function of
welding humankind into a harmonious Buddhist society
– Protecting spirits were to help the ruler govern & prevent harm from coming to
his people
• Mahayana Buddhism prevalent
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Permitted absorption of local gods & goddesses
Encouraged translating scripture into local languages
Accepted religious practices not based on texts
Adaptable to different societies & classes of people
Invigorated travel, language learning, and cultural exchange
• Monasteries collaborated with princes
– Princes enlisted monastic leaders to pray for them, preach on their behalf, and
contribute wealth to the war chest
– Monasteries received tax exemptions, land privileges, and gifts in return
• Complexity of influence increased as Tang Empire expanded westward
– Many people visited Chang’an, taking away recent ideas and styles
– Regional cultures & identities remained strong
– Historians denote Tang China as being “cosmopolitan” due to its breadth &
diversity
Upheavals & Repression 750-859
• Increasing turmoil as result of conflict with Tibetans and
Turkic Uighurs
– Backlash against “foreigners” which included Buddhists according
to Confucians
– Tang elites saw Buddhism as undermining Confucian idea of the
family as the model for the state
– Also attacked for encouraging women in politics
• 840 – government moved to crush monasteries whose tax
exemptions allowed them to accumulate land, serfs, and
precious objects
– 4,600 temples destroyed within 5 years
– Some centers protected by local warlords
• Buddhism never recovered the influence of early Tang times
End of Tang Empire 897-907
• Campaigns of expansion in 7th century left empire dependent on local
military commanders & complex tax collection system
– Reverses led to demoralization & underfunding of military
• Rebellion on the frontier for 8 years
– Resulted in new powers for provincial military governors
– Thereby weakening central power
• Uprising between 879-881
– Led by Huang Chao, a member of the gentry
– Attracted poor farmers & tenants who had oppressive bosses or landlords
– New hatred of “barbarians” spurred murder of thousands of foreign residents in
Canton and Beijing
– Local warlords finally wiped out rebels
• Tang society didn’t find peace
– Refugees, migrant workers, and homeless people common sights
– Never regained power after Huang Chao’s rebellion
After the Tang
• Liao Empire
– Khitan People
– Nomadic peoples of the northeastern frontier
– Mahayana Buddhism
• Tanggut State
– Minyak People
– Inner Asian frontier in northwestern China
– Tibetan Buddhism
• Song Empire
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Central China
Chinese-speaking
Came into being in 960
Confucian
Song Empire 960-1279
• Divided into two distinct periods
– Northern Song
• Capital in Bianjing
• Controlled most of inner China
– Southern Song
• Period after Song lost control of northern China to the
Jin Dynasty
• Court retreated south of the Yangtze River
• Bolstered naval strength
• Developed new military technology, incl. gunpowder
• Fought with northern rivals for control of
mines for iron and coal
Song Achievements
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First government to nationally issue paper money
Establish permanent standing navy
First known use of gunpowder
First discernment of true north using a compass
Introduced use of fractions
Precise calendar
Junk – oceangoing ship
Movable-Type Printing Press – each character is
cast on separate piece of metal, replacing
woodblock printing & making printing cheaper
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Song
Society
Civil man outranked the military man
Private academies became influential in culture and politics
Neo-Confucianism – new approaches to understanding Confucian texts
Popular Buddhist sects also persisted
Meditation by Buddhists and Confucians
Examinations to fill civil service positions
– Hereditary class distinctions meant less than in Tang times
– Men from wealthy families still had advantage
– Shift from an aristocratic elite to a bureaucratic elite
• Population Growth
– Growth of merchant class
• Women subordinate, disenfranchised, and restricted
– Fashionable to be moderately literate
– Footbinding spread among elites
• Vibrant culture
– Spread of literature & knowledge
– Public festivals
– Lively entertainment quarters in cities
End of the Song Dynasty
• Kublai Khan led assaults against the Song through
the 1260s
• Officially declared the creation of the Yuan
Dynasty in 1271
– Defeated Song troops again in 1275
– Most Song territory captured by 1276
– Finally crushed Song resistance in 1279
• 8 year-old emperor committed suicide, along with Prime
Minister and 800 members of royal clan
• Rest of imperial family unharmed
Yuan Dynasty Basics
• Established by Kublai Khan
– Mongols had ruled northern China for decades, but
not in traditional Chinese dynasty style
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Isolated from other khanates
First foreign dynasty to rule all of China
Lasted until 1368
Considered both a successor to the Mongol
Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty
– Bore the Mandate of Heaven in Chinese histories
– Replaced by the Ming Dynasty
Primary Sources
• Analects for Women – Outlines roles and
expectations for women as inferred from
Confucian teachings
• Remonstrance Against New Laws – a scholar
and official’s opinion about new laws designed
to address declining tax revenue & increasing
government expenses
• Tang Law Code – Defines the Ten
Abominations in Tang society