Download Imperial China -- Qin to Ming Dynasties

February 3, 2017
In religion, India is the only millionaire……the One land
that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even
a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of
all the rest of the globe combined.
- Mark Twain
Todays Schedule
- Warm-up: Unit III Vocab Quiz
- East Asia Lecture and SAQ
- Complete Spice Chart (Tang and Song)
- Timed Writing: DBQ
HW:
- Prepare for Socratic Seminar (Annotate&Questions)
– Continue studying for Unit III Test
Warm-Up: Practice For Unit Test
• Take 5-8 Minutes studying for the
Unit III Vocabulary Terms Quiz
5 minutes
End
Warm-Up: Practice
For Unit Test
• Take 5-8 Minutes studying for the
Unit III Vocabulary Terms Quiz
Reunification
 For over 400 years when China was divided into
three separate states, the Wei in the north,
Wu in the south, and Shu in the west, the ideal
of Chinese unification was not.
 Chinese language, ideology, culture, and
administration had remained virtually intact.
 Unification was achieved under the Sui Dynasty
who provided the restoration of military power,
economic productivity, and administrative
integrity but massive public works led to the
disintegration of the Sui in a very short time.
The Rise of the Tang
 The leading general (Tang Taizong) of the Sui seized
control and established the new
Tang Dynasty in 618 C.E.
 When the Sui Dynasty fell the Tang continued some of
its policies and even expanded the empire.



Maintaining Transportation/Communication
Distributing land with equal-field principle
Relying on a bureaucracy of merit
 The state expanded into Mongolia, Central Asia,
Pakistan, and Iran. China also expanded into northern
Vietnam, Korea, and culturally into Japan.
Tang Dynasty, 618-907
 New technologies:
Printing  moveable print 
 Porcelain
 Gunpowder
 Chinese Poetry

 More cosmopolitan culture.


High Point or Golden Age
Buddhism became a major influence in culture
 Reestablished the safety of the
Silk Road.

Large population to man large armies
 Tea comes into China from Southeast
Asia.

Empress Wu Zetian, 624-705
 Empress Wu's rise to power was achieved through cruel
and calculating tactics
 The only female Empress in China’s history who
ruled alone.

Tang Dynasty interrupted; claimed 2nd Zhou
 Legitimized her rule, bu circulating a document
called the Great Cloud Sutra, which predicted that
a reincarnation of the Buddha would be a female
monarch


Construction of new irrigation
systems.
Buddhism was the favored state
religion.

Financed the building of many
Buddhist temples.
 BUT… She appointed cruel and sadistic
ministers to seek out her enemies.
Tang Decline
 9th CE – weakened central
government stopped governing
the economy.
 Maintained a civil service system by
recruiting scholar-officials through standardized
examinations

Weakened by internal rebellion
 Civil order was destroyed by the rise of regional
military governors known as jiedushi
 Invited Uighurs, Turkish nomads, to help
destroy rebels in the empire

They were successful but ended up destroying
the capital cities of Chang’an and Luoyang.
Song Dynasty 960-1279
 Following the Tang collapse, warlords ruled China until
the Song Dynasty reimposed centralized imperial rule.
 The Song gained control with a strong army after
winning many battles Song Taizu convinced his
generals to retire.

Adopted a strong Confucian government based on merit
 Civil servants would go onto to control all aspects of
Chinese society including the military and large sums
and salaries were levied to encourage others to
adapt.
Song [Sung] Dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.

First Dynasty in World History to:
 issue banknotes or true paper money nationally
 establish a permanent standing navy

Divided into two distinct periods:


Northern Song: established northern capital Bianjing
Southern Song: established maritime trade

Creation of an urban, merchant, middle class.

Increased emphasis on education & cheaper
availability of printed books.

Magnetic compass makes China a great sea
power! 
Song Peasant Family
Rice Cultivation Began Under the Song fm.
SE Asia
Song Rice Cultivation
Neo-Confucianism
Song Decline
 The Song approach to a more centralized imperial
government led to its eventual split and fall:

Financial and Military
 Financial: During the first half of the Song Dynasty,
Manchuria demanded and received large tribute payments of
silk and silver.
 Military: The Song Dynasty in time with the incursion from
the north would move its empire to Hangzhou and survived only
in southern China.
 The Southern Song would remain until 1279 when
the Mongol forces ended the dynasty and
incorporated southern China into their empire.
Chinese Dynasties
 Shang 1600-1100




BCE
Zhou 1100-256
Qin 221-206
Han 202 BCE - 220
CE
Three Kingdoms 22065

Shu, Wei, and Wu
 Sui 581-618
 Tang 618-907
 Song 960-1279
 Yuan 1279-1368
 Ming 1368-1644
 Manchu (Qing)
1644-1912
SAQ Questions
1.
Based on this chapter, how would you respond to the idea
that China was a self-contained or isolated civilization?
“The basic justification for the Chinese Imperial (civil service) Exams was that appointees to
civil service positions were not to be chosen through special or inherited privilege, but through
an individual's own abilities. For centuries, the might of China was established militarily, often
by emperors from humble origins who had toppled existing dynasties. However, once in control,
these emperors soon realized that the actual governance of China would require the
administrative services of thousands of bureaucrats. The civil service examination was thus a
means for creating such a body of men…”
“The examination system also helped to maintain cultural unity and agreement on basic values.
The fact that the content of the examinations were uniform (did not vary) meant that the local
scholars and ambitious would-be scholars across the whole of China were taught with the same
values. Even though only a small fraction (about 5 percent) of those who attempted the
examinations passed them and received titles, the studying and the hope of eventual success on
a another examination sustained the interest of those who took them. Those who failed to
pass—most of the candidates at any single examination—did not lose wealth or local social
standing; as dedicated believers in Confucian ideals, they served, without the benefit of state
appointments, as teachers, patrons (supporters)of the arts, and managers of local projects, such
as irrigation works, schools, or charitable foundations.”
2. (a) What was needed—in addition to a powerful Emperor—to
successfully rule China?
(b) Explain how civil service examinations helped China achieve
a Golden Age.
(c) Use documents above to help support your answer
Todays Schedule
- Warm-up & Mini-Quiz
- East Asia Lecture and SAQ
- Spice Chart for Tang and Song
- Review Unit III Study Guide
HW:
- Prepare for Socratic Seminar (Annotate&Questions)
- Study for Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow
– Continue studying for Unit III Test
Any student who didn’t do/did their Outlines wrong tomorrow is your
last chance to submit