Asia & the Mongols

500 – 1600 AD

Sui China: 589 – 618

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

The Tang Dynasty: 618 – 907

• 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

Song Dynasty: 960 – 1279

• 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)

Ouch! and gross…

Science & Art

• Important: bridges, coal, compass, abacus, printing, gunpowder, flamethrowers, poisonous gas, rocket launchers?!?!

• Cool, but not so important: chairs (yawn), kites, and tea

• Art, music, & poetry flourished