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Ancient China Review -Part 2
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The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties
THE SUI DYNASTY
DISORDER AND REUNIFICATION
 China broke apart into several kingdoms after the fall of the Han dynasty.
 This time period, sometimes known as the Period of Disunion, ended
with the rise of the Sui dynasty in 589.
 Around this time, work was soon started on the Grand Canal, a system of
waterways linking northern and southern China.
THE TANG DYNASTY
 The Sui dynasty, which did not last long, was followed by the Tang
dynasty, which lasted nearly 300 years.
 This period was considered a golden age for China, with military
reform, new law codes, and advances in art.
THE SONG DYNASTY
 The Song dynasty followed the Tang dynasty after a short period of
disorder. The Song, like the Tang, ruled for about 300 years, and brought
about many great achievements.
CITIES AND TRADE
 Chinese cities grew and flourished as the trade centers of the Tang and
Song dynasties. Chang’an (chahng-AHN), with a population of more than
a million people, was by far the largest city in the world at the time.
 Several other cities, including Kaifeng, the Song capital, had about a
million people
 Traders used the Grand Canal, a series of waterways that linked major
cities, to ship goods and agricultural products throughout China.
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Foreign trade used both land routes and sea routes. China’s Pacific ports
were open to foreign traders. Chinese exports included tea, rice, spices,
and jade.
Especially prized by foreigners, however, were silk and porcelain.
The method of making silk was kept secret for centuries.
ARTS AND INVENTIONS
 The Tang dynasty produced some of China’s greatest artists and
writers, including the poets Li Bo and Du Fu, and the Buddhist painter Wu
Daozi (DOW-tzee).
 The Song dynasty produced Li Qingzhao (ching-ZHOW), perhaps China’s
greatest female poet.
 Artists of the Tang and Song dynasties created exquisite objects in clay,
particularly porcelain items with a pale green glaze called celadon (SELuh-duhn).
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The Tang and Song dynasties produced some of the most remarkable—
and important—inventions in human history.
The world’s oldest-known printed book, using woodblock printing, was
printed in China in 868. Later, during the Song dynasty, the Chinese
invented movable type for printing.
The Song dynasty also introduced the world’s first paper money.
Two other inventions include gunpowder and the compass.
Confucianism and Government
CONFUCIANISM
 Confucianism is the name given to the ideas of the Chinese philosopher
Confucius.
 Confucius’s teachings focused on ethics, or proper behavior, of
individuals and governments.
 He argued that society would function best if everyone followed two
principles, ren and li. Ren means concern for others, and li means
appropriate behavior.
 Order in society is maintained when people know their place and behave
appropriately.
 For a thousand years after his death, Confucius’s ideas went in and out of
favor several times.
 Early in the Song dynasty, however, a new version of Confucianism,
known as Neo-Confucianism, was adopted as official government policy.
 In addition to teaching proper behavior, Neo-Confucian scholars and
officials discussed spiritual questions like what made human beings do
bad things even if their basic nature was good.
SCHOLAR-OFFICIALS
 The Song dynasty took another major step that would affect the Chinese
imperial state for centuries to come.
 The Song improved the system by which people went to work for the
government. These workers formed a large bureaucracy by passing a
series of written civil service examinations.
 The tests covered both the traditional teachings of Confucius and related
ideas. Because the tests were extremely difficult, students spent years
preparing for them.
 Candidates had a strong incentive for studying hard.
 Passing the tests meant life as a scholar-official, whose benefits
included considerable respect and reduced penalties for breaking the law.
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The civil service examination system helped ensure that talented,
intelligent people became scholar-officials.
This system was a major factor in the stability of the Song government.
The Yuan and Ming Dynasties
THE MONGOL EMPIRE
 In 1206, a powerful Mongol leader known as Genghis Khan (jeng-uhs
KAHN) led huge armies through much of Asia and Eastern Europe.
 He first led his armies into northern China in 1211, then headed south.
 By the time of Genghis Khan’s death in 1227, all of northern China
was under Mongol control.
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Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan (KOObluh KAHN), completed the
conquest of China and declared himself emperor in 1279.
This began the Yuan dynasty, a period also known as the Mongol
Ascendancy.
Kublai Khan did not force the Chinese to accept Mongol customs,
but he did try to control them.
One way was by having the Chinese pay heavy taxes, which were used to
pay for building projects.
One such project was the building of a new capital, Dadu, near the
present-day city of Beijing.
Kublai Khan’s regime preserved much of the structure of the Song
dynasty, including the civil service and trade routes.
The Italian merchant Marco Polo, who traveled in China between 1271
and 1295, wrote of his travels and sparked Europeans’ interest in
China.
Two failed campaigns against Japan and expensive public works projects
weakened the Yuan dynasty.
Many Chinese groups rebelled, and Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368, (JOO yooahn-JAHNG) took control and founded the Ming dynasty.
THE MING DYNASTY
 The Ming dynasty lasted nearly 300 years, from 1368 to 1644. Ming China
proved to be one of the most stable and prosperous times in Chinese
history.
 Great Ming achievements include the remarkable ships and voyages of
Zheng He (juhng HUH), the Great Wall of China, and the Forbidden City
in Beijing.
 The Forbidden City was a massive palace of residences, temples, and
government buildings.
 Common people were not allowed to enter the Forbidden City.
CHINA UNDER THE MING
 Emperors during the Ming dynasty worked to eliminate foreign influences
from Chinese society. China entered a period of isolationism.
 Ironically, the consequences of this policy included a weakness that
allowed opportunistic Westerners to seize considerable power in some
parts of China as China’s imperial glory faded.