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Tang & Song Dynasties
Directions: Read & annotate the articles focusing on the following questions:
How did the Tang & Song leaders gain & maintain legitimacy?
How was Confucianism used to unite the empire?
Answer the summary questions after you read.
Tang Dynasty: Imperial Unity and Cultural Achievement
The Tang Dynasty pushed the borders of China to Korea, Turkistan, Vietnam, and Persia and
provided relative stability within China for several centuries. The Tang also established many of
the cultural, literary, and artistic traditions that have come to define Chinese society. Poetry,
painting, and even calligraphy reached new heights in the first two centuries of Tang rule. That
was made possible, in part, because of the internal stability that China enjoyed under Tang rule.
Political Context
The Sui dynasty, which was in power only a short time (581–617), managed to unite northern and
southern China and set the stage for the Tang. Emperor Wendi, the founder of the Sui dynasty,
was an able if ruthless leader who wisely portrayed himself as Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist in
order to appease various factions. He also reorganized the giant government bureaucracy and
made it more centralized. To facilitate travel and secure the empire, Wendi also constructed the
Da Yunhe, or Grand Canal, a massive project that connected the Yellow River and Yangtze
River. While his three attempts to take Korea failed, Wendi's son, Yang Di, sent armies into
Vietnam, Chinese Turkistan, and Mongolia, helping both to expand Chinese territory and secure
China against its neighbors. However, the prosperity that Wendi established was undone by Yang
Di, whose expenditures, wars, and repressive rule led to revolt, and in time, his death in 618.
Yang Di's successor was Emperor Gao Zu, the founder of the Tang dynasty. In 626, Gao Zu was
forced to abdicate by his son, Taizong, who had killed two of his own brothers to solidify his
power base. Despite his initially violent reign, Taizong was an excellent ruler. He continued the
military programs of his forebearers, but he also further centralized and strengthened the
government. In addition, he founded schools that helped train young men in Confucian doctrine
and the literary traditions of China. Not only did those schools turn out able scholars, well versed
in China's rich literary tradition, but they also provided the government with future ministers.
Those officials, trained in the tenets of Confucianism, which stressed obedience and service,
proved loyal and hardworking. Taizong's rule saw a flourishing of artistic culture, enhanced by
the cultural training of the Tang officials and China's relatively peaceful conditions. Even when
rebellion and civil war wracked later Tang society, the high level of artistic achievement
displayed by Tang painters and poets became the standard against which future arts and letters
were judged.
Song dynasty
The Song Dynasty, also called the Sung dynasty, was a Chinese reign during the late 10th-13th
centuries that had a far-reaching impact economically, culturally, and socially. The period is
divided into two parts: the Northern Song and the Southern Song. Economically, commerce,
trade, and manufacturing grew exponentially; culturally, Confucianism witnessed new life as it
undergirded the growth of the Chinese middle class; and socially, a revision of the Chinese civil
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service examination widened government representation. The Song dynasty was the renaissance
of China.
In 960, Chinese military general Zhao Kuangyin, who had been the dominant military power
during the late Zhou dynasty, usurped the throne and began the Song dynasty. After taking over
the throne, Zhao Kuangyin became known as Emperor Taizu, and his rule was called the
Northern Song dynasty. Encroaching invaders in the north, including the Khitans, the Jurchens,
and later the Mongols, gave impetus to a heightened military buildup, and Taizu created a
professional army that was loyal to his dynasty. Taizu effectively nationalized the military by
creating a palace army that he rewarded with sizable military pensions. In addition to sheer
numerical dominance, technological innovations strengthened the forces, including the
manufacture of stronger steel arrow tips, allowing for devices that launched fire and thrown
bombs, and the use of gunpowder.
Taizu established the capital of the Song dynasty in the northern city of Kaifeng. However,
success in the north would prove to be short lived. The Jurchens took over the northern territory
of the Song dynasty ca. 1125, establishing the center of their newfound Jin dynasty at Kaifeng.
The Song dynasty represented a period of busy economic development, particularly in
manufacturing and commerce. The period included advancements in iron and steel production
used for agriculture and also for the construction of suspended bridges. Newfound innovations in
metallurgy resulted in a cohort of some of the most advanced shipbuilders in the world. The Song
dynasty was the first to create air-tight compartments and rudders beyond the stern of the ship,
and it also was able to navigate with a south-pointing compass. As cities began to expand,
commerce and trade advanced. Widespread coinage of money, aided by the development of new
waterways, proved to be a boon to Song trade.
The Song dynasty also made advancements in the education and the arts. Though invented much
earlier by the Chinese, wood blocking for printing became popular during the Song dynasty. As a
result, book printing became much easier and more widespread. The availability of inexpensive
texts increased literacy, thus creating a new middle class in China. Chinese glazed pottery and
advances in music, especially sung poetry, also made the Song dynasty a culturally rich time in
history.
The civil service system was revised during the Song dynasty. Exams were altered to remove
bias, and they incorporated lengthy sections on classic Confucian texts. Those changes resulted in
a more diverse body of civil service employees.
The Mongols, who had succeeded in toppling both the Jin dynasty and Liao dynasty in the north,
ended the Southern Song dynasty in 1279.
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Summary Question:
1. Buddhism continued to spread during the Tang & Song Dynasties, but the Tang &
Song emperors emphasized Confucianism. Why do you think they supported
Confucianism more than Buddhism?
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2. What do you think the strengths of the Song Dynasty were compared to the Mongols?
(The Mongols were pastoral nomads).
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3. Despite the strength of the Song, they were still defeated by the Mongols in the end.
Predict why you think the Mongols were able to defeat the Song.
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