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China In the Middle Ages China in the Middle Ages • Chinese dynasties of the Middle Ages – – – – T’ang S’ung Mongol - Yuan Ming Dynasty -series of members of a family who are distinguished for their success, wealth, and ruling. Tang Dynasty (618 – 906) Strong Government and Revival of Confucianism . T'ang rulers ended the four centuries of disunity and disorder that had followed the downfall of the Han Dynasty ). The T'ang Dynasty provided a strongly centralized state based on the principles of Confucianism. To recruit government officials, T'ang rulers stressed civil service examinations and provided schools to train scholars. Examinations and schools created a demand for books. Not surprisingly, the T'ang Period witnessed the invention of block printing, the printing of books from carved wooden blocks. T’ang ► Extent of the Empire. T'ang warriors expanded the Chinese Empire to its then greatest territorial extent: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ► ► ► almost all of China proper; parts of Indo-China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet; a vast region in central Asia. The Chinese came in contact with most Asian peoples and even with eastern Europeans. The Chinese developed a flourishing international commerce. They also transmitted their culture, most notably to the Japanese. T’and Great Cultural Era ► ► ► ► ► The T'ang emperors encouraged a revival of scholarship (education) and the arts. T'ang writers produced a great literary outpouring, especially of poetry. T'ang artists excelled in portrait and landscape paintings. They often decorated pottery, examples of which are highly prized in Western museums. In governmental stability, territorial extent, economic prosperity, and cultural progress, the T'ang Era rivaled the Han. Many Chinese consider the Tang Era their country's most brilliant period. SUNG DYNASTY (960—1279) A Maritime Nation. Out of the half century of political turmoil that followed the downfall of the T'ang emerged the Sung Dynasty. Sung rulers, surrounded by powerful warlike neighbors, never controlled all of China proper and, in their later period, retreated southward below the Yangtze River. Since land trade routes were in hostile hands, Sung China became a maritime nation. Its merchant ships sailed southward in the Pacific as far as Java and westward in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea as far as Africa. By the 11th century Chinese sailors were navigating by means of a mariner's compass. S’ung Dynasty Social and Economic Reforms. In the 11th century, under Chief Minister Wang An-shih, the Sung state imposed a program of reform that (a) centralized the control of finances, commerce, and transportation; (b) spread the tax burden more equitably among all classes; (c) employed hired hands, instead of conscript (forced) labor, on state projects; (d) provided government loans at low interest rates to needy farmers; and (e) stored food surpluses for distribution during periods of shortage. The reform program encountered upper class opposition and generated great fear of too much government. It was soon abandoned, S’ung Culture Continuation of Chinese Culture. In many respects the Sung Period continued along T'ang lines. (a) Sung rulers centralized government, promoted education, and retained the Confucian civil service examinations but added many practical questions. (b) Sung artists and writers maintained high standards in painting and literature. The Mongol Empire Genghis Khan (meaning "Universal Ruler"), a cruel and destructive military genius, founded the Mongol Empire. By the early 13th century, he had united his people, the nomadic tribes of Mongolia, into a powerful military force. Then, within a 25-year period, Genghis Khan conquered vast areas: Korea and northern China, central Asia, Persia and the Middle East, and part of European Russia. The great Khan's immediate successors extended Mongol power into central Europe: Hungary, Poland, and Austria. His grandson, Kublai Khan, subjugated Sung China. The unified Mongol Empire, the largest known up to that time, was short-lived. By the late 13th century, it had disintegrated into a number of independent states. The Mongol (Yuan)Dynasty in China (1279–1368) The Wars of Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the southern Sung state and reunited the Chinese Empire. However, his efforts to annex Indo-China, Burma, Java, and Japan failed. He sent two naval expeditions against Japan, but they were unsuccessful. A Period of Cultural Interchange. As part of the Mongol Empire, China entered upon a great cultural interchange with the rest of Asia and with Europe. At this time Europeans probably learned of China's gunpowder and printing. The Chinese imported the sorghum (cereal) plant, probably from India, adopted the Arab method of sugar refining, and used Persian techniques in ceramic arts. China's wealth and culture attracted many foreign travelers, including Persians, Arabs, and some Europeans. From western Europe came Catholic missionaries and Italian merchants, most notably Marco Polo. His book describing his visit to prosperous Cathay (China) aroused great European interest in the Far East. Decline Mongol Rule and Decline. Kublai Khan and his successors improved roads and canals, provided care for the orphaned and sick, and generally allowed religious tolerance. They called their Chinese dynasty the Yuan dynasty Although the Mongol emperors tried to rule in the Chinese tradition, the Chinese always regarded the Mongols as aliens. In the early 14th century, Mongol power in China declined rapidly. In 1368, after a series of rebellions, the Mongols were forced to withdraw from China. MING DYNASTY (1368–1644) Prosperity and Maritime Activity. The Ming Era experienced a high level of economic prosperity. Chinese architects erected city walls, temples, and palaces to beautify the southern capital, Nanking, and the northern capital, Peking. Chinese naval designers constructed great armadas, or fleets of ships. Between 1405 and 1431 seven expeditions carried Chinese people, goods, and culture to the lands of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Ming A Holding Period: Militarily and Culturally. The Ming did not attain the grandeur or brilliance of the Han or T'ang periods. Ming domains were smaller, and Ming warriors generally were on the defensive against Mongol land attacks and Japanese sea raids. Ming rulers retained the previous governmental organization, law codes, and civil service examinations. They made little effort to adjust to new conditions. Ming painters and writers imitated past works and preserved past thoughts but produced little that was original. Ming Dynasty Renewed Contacts with Europe. Contacts between China and Europe were renewed during the Ming Era and have continued unbroken to this day. Russian adventurers traversed the vast Siberian lands and contacted northern China. From western Europe came Roman Catholic missionaries. West European merchants, under the beginning of the Commercial Revolution , sailed halfway around the world to southern China. In 1514 the first Portuguese merchant ship arrived; Spanish, Dutch, and English ships followed. The west Europeans, confined to trade in the Canton area, introduced to China important New World plants: Indian corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and tobacco. Nevertheless, the total European impact upon Ming China remained small. Zheng He In the early 15th century, Ming Emperors became interested in expanding Chinese trade. One emperor sent a Muslim trader, Zheng He, on six expeditions between 1405 and 1433. Zheng He visited the areas of Sri Lanka, the Persian Gulf, and the east coast of Africa. His voyages spread Chinese influence throughout Asia and opened up new markets for Chinese goods. These voyages also brought back information about foreign lands to China. This information encouraged many Chinese to move to different areas. Not long after these voyages, the Chinese government ordered a stop to these trips. They felt they learned all they needed about other lands and didn’t want foreign ideas to influence China. Chinese Achievements in the Middle Ages 1. Art and Architecture. Chinese artists during the Middle Ages painted on walls, ceramics, and silk, using brush pens, ink, and watercolors. They depicted religious themes and nature studies, especially of landscapes. A favorite landscape scene portrayed majestic mountains and seas against which humans appeared insignificant. During the T'ang Period lived the man who is often considered China's outstanding painter, Wu Tao-hsiian. • Chinese architects planned cities and constructed impressive temples and vast palaces with beautiful gardens. 2. Engineering. Chinese engineers built roads, bridges, and city walls, dredged river channels, erected sea and river dikes, and expanded irrigation and canal systems. China's waterways, extending over hundreds of miles, were known as the Grand Canal. Chinese Achievements 3. Literature. Chinese writers, encouraged by the invention of printing, produced extensive literary works: poetry, drama, and prose. The prose dealt with such subjects as history, government, geography, architecture, medicine, commerce, and everyday life, as well as fiction. The Chinese prepared many dictionaries and encyclopedias. The T'ang Period claims two outstanding Chinese poets. (a)Li Po, a master of words, created an imaginary world of lyric beauty. (b) (b) Tu Fu, more of a realist, depicted human suffering. Chinese Contributions 4. Inventions. • (a) In the 6th century the Chinese invented gunpowder, which they first used for festive fireworks. – By the 12th century they were employing gunpowder for military purposes. • (b) In the 7th century the Chinese printed books from carved wooden blocks. China's earliest known printed books, from the T'ang and Sung eras, are beautiful works of art. – In the 11th century the Chinese evolved printing by movable type. • (c) In the 11th century Chinese navigators determined direction from the magnetic needle enclosed in a mariner's compass. • (d) Some sources credit the Chinese with developing an inoculation against smallpox. • These advances, however, did not result from the methodical application of scientific principles. – Despite their practical-mindedness, the Chinese did not develop theories of science and logical methods of scientific research.