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Tang Dynasty 618-907 C.E
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Dynasty
Summary:
Second Classical Chinese Age
Very similar to the Han Dynasty
Confucianism again dominates govt leaders
Confucian Civil Service Exams used to hire
administrators for the Chinese government
locally, regionally and nationally
Extended its influence throughout East Asia
(Japan and Korea)
Re-built the new capital at Xi’an
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Expansion
• Powerful military state
• extended the boundaries of China
through Siberia
• Korea in the east
• Vietnam in the South.
• Made Silk Road safe again, well
into modern-day Afghanistan,
trade flourishes
Sui, Tang and Song China
Empress Wu 625-705 AD
• Only female ruler of
China
• Cruel but effective ruler
• Had to fight the
Confucian social belief
that women should
serve men
• Encouraged women to
be more vocal and
demand better
treatment from their
family
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Economy
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Reestablished the safety of the Silk
Road.
Silk Road trade with Middle East and
Constantinople
Inventions:
Printing press using moveable print
Porcelain used for dishes and
decorations
Gunpowder originally for fireworks but
eventually for weapons
Mechanical clocks
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Religion/Philosophy
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Initially tolerant of other
religions
Buddhism spreads
Later during the Tang,
Confucianism becomes more
aggressive in fighting
Buddhist influence in China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Social Life
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Trade brings people from all
over the world to China;
especially in cities
Cities have a great social
life with live music and
drama
Tang people loved poetry
and landscape painting
Confucian social hierarchy
dominates
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tea
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Tea comes into
China from
Southeast Asia
Tea and Horse
Trade Route to
Tibet increases tea
availability in China
Sui, Tang and Song China
Tang Xuanzong (The Profound Emperor) and
Consort Yang
Sui, Tang and Song China
Mistress Yang and
the An Lushan Rebellion 755-763
• Emperor fell in love with a young concubine named
Yang Guifei,
• The Emperor wasted money and time on Yang and
neglected his duties making others jealous and
harming China
• Yang told the Emperor to hire her friends to rule which
made situation worse
• One of these was a general named An Lushan, who
quickly accumulated power.
• An Lushan eventually decided that he would make a
pretty good emperor, and launched a rebellion.
• The emperor was forced to flee the capital, and on the
way, the palace guard strangled Tang and threw her
corpse in a ditch.
• the rebellion pretty much shattered centralized Tang
control, and for the remaining 150 years of the dynasty,
the country slowly disintegrated
Sui, Tang and Song China
An original Limerick
The Emperor Xuanzong
fell in love with a concubine named
Yang
But she had a man on the side
To take over the empire – he tried
Which led to the next dynasty named Song
Sui, Tang and Song China
Transition Period between
Tang and Song
• 907 - 960 saw the fragmentation of China
into five northern dynasties and ten southern
kingdoms until Song unified all of China
again
Sui, Tang and Song China