China

The ups and downs of the various Dynasties

589 to 1644 C.E.

The Sui Dynasty589-618 C.E.

Yan Jian conquered the Chen Kingdom and unified China

He founded the Sui Dynasty, became emperor and changed his name to Wen Di.

Wen Di and his son Yang Di were harsh rulers

Forced peasants who were in debt to join in the army or work on public works projects

Wen Di was a Buddhist but he encouraged the practice of all three teaching, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

The Sui are remembered for building the 600 mile Grand Canal that connect the Yanzi and Yellow rivers.

They also rebuilt the Great Wall of China• Due to the extensive public works and military conflict

the Sui Dynasty controled large stretches of China for 29 years

The Tang Dynasty618-907 C.E.

Li Shi Min captured the two major cities of the Sui Dynasty, Changan and Luoyang

He then made himself emperor and took on the name Dai Zong

The Tang ruled one of the geographically largest empires in Chinese history

They developed a government with various departments

Civil servant and artists followed Confucianism

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism flourished. Later Buddhism was repressed because it was viewed as a foreign religion

Reduced the power of the upper class by creating the equal field system where the land was re-divided among the able men of the country. Peasants were able to gain wealth, power and influence

Scholars became the ruling elite

• Because the Emperors had the direct control and allegiance of the army, along with the land reforms, the Tang were able to maintain power for 89 years.

The Song Dynasty960-1279

After the collapse of the Tang dynasty and the years of civil war that followed, Tai Zu came to power in Kaifeng and established the Song Dynasty

The northern borders were constantly threatened by the Mongolians and the Manchurians. Finally a people called the Jurchen forced the Song family to relocate south to Hangzhou

The diet and products of the south became more important (this is when rice grew in importance)

The civil servants came from the south and were employed based on their merit (based upon exam scores and how well they did their jobs)

The Song introduced a new version of Buddhism called Chan. It would be called Zen in Japan

Because of the emphasis on the trade of tea, coal, porcelain and silk, and the taxes it created, the merchant class rose in importance

A new strain of rice was adoptedPrinting was invented while copper, paper

money, expensive art objects were created

The Yuan Dynasty1260-1368

In 1279 Kulbai Kahn, grandson of Genghis Khan conquered the Song Dynasty

This established the only foreign rule of China

The Yuan kept the civil service system with it’s departments, but it employed Turks and Persians

They created a strict hierarchy:• .Mongols who lived tax free

• .Non-Chinese civil servants

• .Northern Chinese

• Southern Chinese

Kublai Khan practiced Shamanism, yet the Chinese belief system was left alone

He also encouraged the establishment of Buddhist monasteries

Many Chinese suffered and died as a result of poor treatment and the destruction of farmland

The canals and roads were only maintained for a few years and then they deteriorated

The Ming Dynasty1368-1644

The Chinese rose up against the Mongols when there power was waning.

Hong Wu was the peasant who led the revolt

The civil service exam was reintroduced and the Chinese once again served in the government

The emperors were very powerful They were very involved in the government

and often had a secret police force protecting their interests

They encouraged overseas exploration only to later revert to isolationism

Confucianism was re-born and many Chinese combined the practice of all three teachings

Canals, bridges, temples, roads, shrines, and protective walls were all rebuilt.

Civil war broke out due to over taxation and poor governmening