Download China`s Two Golden Ages, Tang and Song Chapter 12.1, 12.2

China’s Two Golden Ages,
Tang and Song
Chapter 12.1, 12.2
China
• Han Dynasty collapsed in 220 C.E.
–Didn’t have a strong emperor
• For over 350 years, struggle over
leadership
• Tang Dynasty:
–Ruled for 300 years, from 618-907 C.E.
–Important emperor: Tang Taizong
Tang Dynasty
• With Tang Taizong, the empire expanded (626649)
• The only woman emperor in China was Wu
Zhao, from 660-690.
• Promoted trade
• Tried to use the system of civil service
examinations for government, but generally
was ruled by wealthy men
Economy Grows
• Trained officials in Confucian philosophy
• New law code (set of rules)
• Land Reform: rulers broke up large pieces of
land and gave smaller pieces to poor peasants
– Increased taxes for government
• Lots of art, culture, writing during Tang and
Song Dynasties
Decline of the Tang
• Government was very expensive, so the Tang
emperors imposed heavy taxes in the 700s
C.E.
– Made many people very poor
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Could not control their empire: it was too big
Lost territory to Arab invaders
Drought, famine, rebellions
907 C.E: Chinese rebels burned the capital
down and murdered the last Tang emperor
The Song Dynasty:
960-1279 C. E.
• 960 C.E.: a general reunites China
• Trade, Education, Art, Agricultural
advancements
• Economic growth
– Population soared to over 100 million people
– Technological advances:
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Moveable type
Gunpowder
Clocks
Paper money
Magnetic compass
Negative numbers
Structured Society in China
• Education is valued, most government officials
came from the gentry class (wealthy
landowners)
• Pleasants were mostly self-sufficient, not
much interaction with the emperor
• Merchants were the lowest class, because
their livelihood comes from the work of other
people
Women in China
• Women had higher status, could run family
• But, society still valued boys over girls
– When women married, had to leave their own
family, did not get to keep her dowry and could
never remarry
• Foot binding as a sign of wealth, but also
crippled girls
• Forced women to stay home
Mongolian
Conquests
• Nomadic
– Follow herds of
animals, and weather
across the steppes of
Central Asia
• Interacted with settled
people a lot
– Traded peacefully
sometimes, but also
raided richer towns.
– Sometimes they
joined settled
communities
Genghis Khan
• Around 1200 C.E., united Mongolian tribes
• “Universal Ruler”
• Conquered huge amounts of land, massacred
many using different strategies
– Brilliant organizer
– Smart strategist
– Cruel—used fear to conquer
– Demanded loyalty
– Cultural Diffusion: used military technology from
Turks and others
Kublai Khan
• Grandson of Genghis Khan
• Established peace in empire
– Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace)
• Yuan Dynasty, 1280-1368 C.E.
– United China again
– Trade with foreigners
– Cultural Diffusion with Arabia, Africa, Europe
– Settled life
Marco Polo
• Italian merchant who traveled to the Yuan
Dynasty
• Lived 17 years with Kublai Khan, then wrote a
book of his experiences
• His writings caused Europe to be very
interested in China
End of Mongol Rule
• Yuan Dynasty fell after Kublai Khan died in
1294
• Most Chinese hated the Mongols and were
ready for a Chinese ruler again
• A peasant led a revolt against the Mongols
and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368
Ming Dynasty
• Productive economy
• New technology, art, porcelain
• Exploration:
– Zheng He, 1405, took 250 ships with 28,000 sailors
into the ocean, past India and into the Red Sea
• When He died, Ming ended exploration and
banned large ships—historians are not sure why
• Only 50 years later Columbus sailed across the
ocean