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Sui Dynasty (A.D. 589-618)
How did this dynasty rise to power?
• In 589, Yang Jian conquered Chen kingdom
and unified China for the first time in 400
years
• Chien founded Sui Dynasty at Changan and
became emperor; was later called Wen Di
How did this dynasty govern China?
• Emperors Wen Di and Yang Di are
remembered for harsh rule
• Forced many peasants to fight in army or to
work on public works projects
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
• Wen Di, though himself a Buddhist,
encouraged practice of Buddhism,
Confucianism, and Daoism
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 raiders
Two ways this dynasty helped unite China
• Undertook extensive public works projects
• Extended military control over large stretches
of China
Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907)
How did this dynasty rise to power?
• In 618, Li Shi Min captured Changan and
Luoyang
• Li Shi Min made himself Emperor Dai Zong in
626
How did this dynasty govern China?
• Under Wu Zhao, China’s only empress, the
Tang ruled one of the most geographically
extensive empires in Chinese history
• Government composed of departments, each
with its own area
• Bureaucrats upheld Confucian ideals by acting
as artists and politicians
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
• Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism
flourished, though Buddhism was repressed
during the reign of Emperor Wu Zong
How did this dynasty affect daily life in
China?
• Equal-field system limited power or rural
aristocracy
• Scholar class became new ruling elite
• Land reform gave some peasants a chance to
gain wealth
Two ways this dynasty helped unite China
• Emperors directly controlled the army
• Equal-field system benefitted both
government and commoners
Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1279)
How did this dynasty rise to power?
• Tai Zu emerged after 50 years of civil war to
found Song dynasty at Kaifeng
How did this dynasty govern China?
• Mongolians and Manchurians harassed
China’s northern borders for 200 years
• Government officials came from southern
China because the north was under foreign
rule
• Bureaucrats selected according to scores they
obtained on a civil service exams
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
• Chan (Zen) Buddhism became popular in
China and East Asia
How did this dynasty affect daily life in
China?
• Power of the merchant class rose as large
scale trade thrived
• Cambodian strain of rice allowed Chinese
farmers to double output
• Technological advances produced new
products
Two ways this dynasty helped unite China
• Moved center of Chinese culture to Kaifeng
• Used meritocracy to make government
efficient and reliable
Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1260-1368)
How did this dynasty rise to power?
• Dynasty founded by Kublai Khan, grandson of
powerful Mongol leader Gengis Khan
• Kublai Khan fought Song for 40 years before
founding China’s only foreign-ruled dynasty
How did this dynasty govern China?
• Civil-service system maintained by staffed
Turks and Persians
• Strict hierarchy of social service classes
developed
1.Tax-free Mongols
2.Non-Chinese civil servants
3.Northern Chinese
4.Southern Chinese
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
• Kublai Khan retained shamanism
• Chinese belief systems largely unaffected by
Yuan rule
• Under Kublai Khan’s encouragement the
number of Buddhist monasteries increased
How did this dynasty affect daily life in
China?
• Yuan dynasty’s bloody wars of conquest led to
the destruction of farmland
• Kublai Khan maintained China’s roads and
canals, but later Yuan emperors let them
deteriorate
Two ways this dynasty helped unite China
• Retained civil service, but staffed it with
foreigners
• Allowed Chinese belief systems to coexist with
Mongol shamanism
Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644)
How did this dynasty rise to power?
• Chinese took advantage of chaos of late Yuan
rule to rebel against Mongols
• Rebel leader and founder of Ming Dynasty,
Hong Wu, named his dynasty “brilliant”
How did this dynasty govern China?
• Reintroduced the Civil-Service Exam
• Emperors extremely powerful, often ruled as
despots
• Briefs periods of overseas exploration
although later Ming emperors prohibited
foreign trade
What belief systems did this dynasty
encourage? Discourage?
• Rebirth of adherence to Confucianism
• Many Chinese combined belief in Daoism,
Confucianism, and Buddhism
How did this dynasty affect daily life in
China?
• Rebuilt bridges, canals, roads, temples,
shrines, and the walls of 500 cities
• Heavy taxation and careless government
produced peasant rebellion and civil war
Two ways this dynasty helped unite China
• Secured borders of China to prevent foreign
invasion
• Rebuilt bridges, canals, roads, temples and
shrines