Post on 16-Dec-2015
transcript
The Sui Era
• Northern Zhou dynasty conquered southern Chen in 589
• Wendi, a Zhou noble, united traditional China; won support by lowering taxes and establishing granaries
• Yangdi: murdered his father Wendi to gain throne; made meaningful reforms but angered peasants and was defeated in wars against nomads
• Li Yuan, Duke of Tang, took control of China after the Sui dynasty failed
• Beat back Turkic nomad invaders & repaired Great Wall
• Turks were integrated and neutralized: used as soldiers and intermarried
• During the Tang, Korea was conquered and China spread in many areas that resemble modern China
• Imperial bureaucracy, staffed by well-educated officials, grew during the Tang
• At the same time, the aristocrats’ power decreased• Emperors funded academies to teach effective
administrators• Highest offices could be obtained only by those who
passed strenuous exams• Corruption still took place: “Merit & ambition
counted for something, but birth & family often counted for a good deal more.” (269)
Tang Religion
• Buddhism flourished in pre-Tang China• Tang emperors supported Buddhism as well as
Confucianism• Confucian bureaucrats began convincing Tang emperors
that Buddhism was a threat to the empire. Why? (hint, MONEY!)
• In the 800s, many Buddhist monasteries were destroyed in China, and monks forced to return to civilian life
• Chinese Buddhism survived, but was weakened• Confucianism would be main Chinese ideology until
communism in the 20th century
• Tang Emperor Xuanzong’s love affair with Yang Guifei weakened Tang dynasty beyond repair
• Zhao Kuangyin establishes Song in 960• Though Zhao is a strong ruler, he is unable to
defeat northern Mongols and has to pay tribute so they will not attach China (continued for 300 years)
• Song kept military weak in order to quell possible rebellions by provinces
• Greatly favored scholar-gentry administrators and Confucianism and Daoism over Buddhism
• Emphasis on Confucianism caused China to, over time, be suspicious of foreign ideas and influence
• Costs of paying tribute bore heavily on Song peasants, and lack of focus on military weakened empire
• Reforms by Wang Anshi fail in 1080s, and Song is invaded
• The Song flee south to form Southern Song empire, but not nearly as successful
Golden Age of Tang & Song
• Grand Canal: built by Yangdi, allowed movement of people and goods between north & south China; took 1 million to build
• Junks: best ships in the world, had compasses & gunpowder propelled rockets!
• Changan: Tang capital, largest city in the world w/ 2 million pop.
• Hangzhou: Song capital, 1 million pop., even more impressive; visited by Marco Polo
• Status for upper-class women increased during Tang & early Song
• Overall, Confucian belief in male dominance meant worsening conditions for women
• Confucians stressed women’s role as homemaker & mother
• Footbinding: strangest thing you will learn about in AP World History (according to Mr. Anderson)