the sui dynasty (589-618) regional kingdoms succeed collapse of han dynasty (220-589...
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The Sui Dynasty (589-618)
• Regional kingdoms succeed collapse of Han dynasty (220-589 Decentralized/Dark Age)
• Buddhist Emperor – Wendi Sui
• Wendi Sui consolidates control of China, initiates Sui Dynasty
• Wendi won popular support by lowering taxes and establishing a cheap food supply.
• Brought back scholar-gentry and imperial exam
Sui’s Fall
• Yangdi, Wendi’s son, succeeded his father to the Throne.
• Attempted to conquer Korea (failed)• Defeated by central Asian Nomads (Turkic) • Massive building projects:
– Military labor -Grand Canal!!!– Conscripted labor -Great Wall reconstruction
(6 million workers!)
The Grand Canal
• Intended to promote trade between north and south China– Most Chinese rivers flow west-east
• Linked network of earlier canals– 1240 miles– Roads on either bank
• Succeeded only by railroad traffic in 20th century• Longest canal or artificial river in the world
today!
The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)
• Wide discontent over conscripted labor in Sui dynasty
• Military failures in Korea prompt rebellion
• Emperor assassinated in 618– Tang Dynasty initiated
.The Sui and Tang dynasties, 589-907 CE
Tang Taizong
• Second emperor of Tang dynasty (r. 627-649 CE)
• Murdered two brothers, thrust father aside to take throne
• Strong ruler– Built capital at Chang’an– Law and order– Taxes, prices low– More effective implementation of
earlier Sui policies
Major Achievements of Tang Dynasty
• Transportation and communications– Extensive postal, courier services
• Became the golden age of literature in China
• Emperor Xuanzong’s splendor in Chang’an
• Welcoming of foreign faiths (not conversion)
• Equal-field System– 20% of land hereditary ownership– 80% redistributed according to formula
• Family size, land fertility
– Worked well until 8th century• Corruption, loss of land to Buddhist monasteries, aristocratic
land accumulation
Bureaucracy of Merit
• Imperial civil service examinations– Confucian educational curriculum
• Some bribery, nepotism• But most advance through merit
– Built loyalty to the dynasty– System remains strong until early 20th century
Tang Military Expansion and Foreign Relations
• Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet
• One of the largest expansions of China in its history
• Paid Central Asian Nomads to defend boarder (repair G.Wall)
• Established tributary relationships– Gifts
• China as “Middle Kingdom”– The kowtow ritual
Tang Decline
• Governmental neglect: Emperor obsessed with music, favorite concubine
• Anti-Buddhist Backlash (by Conf. & Daoists)• Loss of tax revenues and inability to feed people
in times of famine (Gov’t weakness)• Nomadic Turkish Uighur (WEE-goor)
mercenaries invited to suppress rebellion, sacked Chang’an and Luoyang as payment
• Nomadic raids and invasions continued• Tang decline continues, rebellions in 9th century,
last emperor abdicates 907
The Song Dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.
Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)[Never matched Tang military or political strength]
• Emphasis on administration, industry, education, the arts
• Military not emphasized
• Direction of first emperor, Song Taizu (r. 960-976 CE)– Former military leader– Made emperor by troops– Instituted policy of imperial favor for civil
servants, expanded meritocracy
Song Strengths• Population increase approached 100 mil.• Rice production doubled due to opening new lands
to cultivation in the south (Grand Canal)• Improved tool use and fertilizers; new rice strains
from Vietnam• Tax relief for farmers and credit to open new farms• Early song Emperors appoint bureaucrats based
on merit• Excel at Manufacturing (gunpowder, bombs,
moveable type print, water-power mills, iron, steel); more per capita manufacturing than anyone else!
Song Weaknesses
• Lack of military might (“Fight with other means”)• Size of bureaucracy heavy drain on economy
– Two peasant rebellions in 12th c.– Internal inertia prevents reform of bureaucracy
• Civil service leadership of military– Lacked military training– Unable to contain nomadic attacks– Jurchen (a Tungusic people (Siberian) who inhabited
the region of Manchuria) conquer, founding the Jin Empire, forcing Song dynasty to Hangzhou, southern China (Southern Song)
The Song Dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.
Agricultural Economies of the Tang and Song Dynasties
• Developed Vietnamese fast-ripening rice, 2 crops per year
• Technology: iron plows, use of draft animals (North - Oxen, South – Water Buffaloes)
• Soil fertilization, improved irrigation– Water wheels, canals
• Terrace farming
Population Growth
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
600CE
1000
Millions
• Result of increased agricultural production
• Effective food distribution system– Transportation
networks built under Tang and Song dynasties
Strict Social Hierarchy
PeasantsPeasants: Majority population who were predominantly
farmers living in small villages
MerchantsMerchants: Could acquire wealth but always held low social status
due to their wealth coming from the work of others. Could own land and
educate sons to enter the Gentry
GentryGentry: Wealthy landowners, focused on Confucian ideals, focus on civil service
Urbanization
• Chang’an (currently Xi'an) world’s most populous city: 2 million residents– Southern Song capital
Hangzhou: over 1 million
Patriarchal Social Structures
• Increased emphasis on ancestor worship– Elaborate grave rituals– Extended family gatherings in honor of
deceased ancestors
• Footbinding gains popularity– Increased control by male family members
Footbinding
Technology and Industry
• Porcelain (“Chinaware”)• Increase of iron production due to use of coke,
not coal, in furnaces– Agricultural tools, weaponry
• Gunpowder invented • Earlier printing techniques refined
– Moveable type by mid-11th century– Yet complex Chinese ideographs make wood block
technique easier• Naval technology
– compass
A typical junk ship from the Song Dynasty
Emergence of a Market Economy
• Letters of credit developed to deal with copper coin shortages– Promissory notes, checks also used
• Development of independently produced paper money– Not as stable, riots when not honored
• Government claims monopoly on money production in 11th century
China and the Hemispheric Economy
• Increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Chinese cities
• Chinese silk opens up trade routes, but increases local demands for imported luxury goods
Cultural Change in Tang and Song China
• Declining confidence in Confucianism after collapse of Han dynasty
• Increasing popularity of Buddhism• Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism,
Islam also appear• Clientele primarily foreign merchant class
Dunhuang
• Mahayana Buddhism especially popular at Dunhuang in western China (Gansu province), 600-1000 CE– Cave temples
• Buddhist temples, libraries• Economic success as converts donate
land holdings• Increase popularity through donations of
agricultural produce to the poor
Conflicts with Chinese Culture• Buddhism:
– Text-based (Buddhist teachings)
• Emphasis on Metaphysics
• Ascetic ideal– Celibacy– Isolation
• Confucianism:– Text-based
(Confucian teachings)– Daoism not text-
based
• Emphasis on ethics, politics
• Family-centered– Procreation– Filial piety
Chan (Zen) Buddhism• Buddhists adapt ideology to Chinese
climate– Dharma translated as dao– Nirvana translated as wuwei
• Accommodated family lifestyle– “one son in monastery for ten generations of
salvation”
• Limited emphasis on textual study, meditation instead
Persecution of Buddhists• Daoist/Confucian persecution supported in
late Tang dynasty• 840s begins systematic closure of
Buddhist temples, expulsions– Zoroastrians, Christians, Manicheans as well
• Economic motive: seizure of large monastic landholdings
• Limits growth but does not eradicate faiths
Neo-Confucianism
• Song dynasty refrains from persecuting Buddhists, but favors Confucians
• Neo-Confucians influenced by Buddhist thought– Syncretic blend of both faiths
China and Korea
• Silla Dynasty: Tang armies withdraw, Korea recognizes Tang as emperor
• Technically a vassal statue, but highly independent
• Chinese influence on Korean culture pervasive
China and Vietnam
• Vietnamese adaptation to Chinese culture, technology
• But ongoing resentment at political domination
• Assert independence when Tang dynasty falls in 10th century
China and Early Japan
• Chinese armies never invade Japan• Yet Chinese culture pervasive • Imitation of Tang administration
– Establishment of new capital at Nara, hence “Nara Japan” (710-794 CE)
• Adoption of Confucian, Buddhist teachings• Yet retention of Shinto religion
Global Tectonic PlatesGlobal Tectonic PlatesJapan -- On the “Fire RimJapan -- On the “Fire Rim
of the Pacific”of the Pacific”
Terrace Terrace RiceRice FarmingFarming
Yamato Period: 300-710Yamato Period: 300-710Yamato Period: 300-710Yamato Period: 300-710
“Great Kings” era“Great Kings” era
Began promoting the Began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture:adoption of Chinese culture:
a Confucianism.Confucianism.a Language (Language (kanjikanji characters). characters).a Buddhist sects.Buddhist sects.a Chinese art & architecture.Chinese art & architecture.a Government structure.Government structure.
Began promoting the Began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture:adoption of Chinese culture:
a Confucianism.Confucianism.a Language (Language (kanjikanji characters). characters).a Buddhist sects.Buddhist sects.a Chinese art & architecture.Chinese art & architecture.a Government structure.Government structure.
Heian Japan (794-1185 CE)
• Japanese emperor moves court to Heian (Kyoto)
• Yet emperor figurehead, real power in hands of Fujiwara clan– Pattern in Japanese history: weak emperor,
power behind the throne– Helps explain longevity of the institution
Heian Period: Cultural Heian Period: Cultural BorrowingBorrowing
Heian Period: Cultural Heian Period: Cultural BorrowingBorrowing
1.1.Chinese writing.Chinese writing.
2.2.Chinese artistic styles.Chinese artistic styles.
3.3.Zen Buddhism Zen Buddhism
4.4.BUT, not the Chinese BUT, not the Chinese civil civil service system! service system!
1.1.Chinese writing.Chinese writing.
2.2.Chinese artistic styles.Chinese artistic styles.
3.3.Zen Buddhism Zen Buddhism
4.4.BUT, not the Chinese BUT, not the Chinese civil civil service system! service system!
Japanese Literature
• Influence of Chinese kanji characters– Classic curriculum dominated by Chinese
• The Tale of Genji– One of rare Japanese language works of
fiction written by a woman.
Institution of the Shogun
• Civil war between Taira and Minamoto clans in 12th century
• Minamoto leader named shogun, 1185 CE
• Ruled from Kamakura, allowed imperial throne to continue in Kyoto
Medieval Japan
• Kamakura (1185-1333 CE) and Muromachi (1336-1573 CE) periods
• Decentralized power in hands of warlords
• Military authority in hands of samurai
• Professional warriors
FeudaFeudal l
SocietSocietyy
FeudaFeudal l
SocietSocietyy
The emperor The emperor reigned, but reigned, but
did not always did not always rule!rule!
FeudalismFeudalismFeudalismFeudalismA political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty, the holding of land, and military service.
Japan:Japan:
A political, economic, and social system based on loyalty, the holding
of land, and military service.
Japan:Japan: Shogun
Daimyo Daimyo
Samurai Samurai Samurai
Peasant PeasantPeasantPeasant
Land
Land
Protection
Loyalty
Loyalty
Food
Code of Code of BushidoBushidoCode of Code of BushidoBushido
* Fidelity
* Politeness
* Virility
* Simplicity
* Fidelity
* Politeness
* Virility
* Simplicity
Seppuku: Seppuku: Ritual SuicideRitual Suicide
Seppuku: Seppuku: Ritual SuicideRitual Suicide
Kaishaku – his “seconds”
Kaishaku – his “seconds”
It is honorable to die in this way.
It is honorable to die in this way.
Full Samurai AttireFull Samurai AttireFull Samurai AttireFull Samurai Attire
Samurai SwordSamurai SwordSamurai SwordSamurai Sword
European KnightEuropean Knight Samurai WarriorSamurai Warrior
vs.vs.
Medieval WarriorsMedieval Warriors
Knight’s ArmorKnight’s Armor Samurai ArmorSamurai Armor
vs.vs.
Medieval WarriorsMedieval Warriors
Zen BuddhismZen Buddhisma A Japanese variation of theMahayana form of Buddhism, which came from India through China.
a It reinforced the Bushido values of mental and self-discipline.
Osaka CastleOsaka Castle
Caernorfon Castle, Wales
Caernorfon Castle, Wales
Hyper-Nationalism
Hyper-Nationalism
ShintoShintoShintoShinto
PolytheismPolytheism
AncestorWorshipAncestorWorship
The Worldof the kami
The Worldof the kami
Minimizesin &guilt
Minimizesin &guilt
Great
CreatorGreat
Creator
Torii Gate, Miyajima Island
Torii Gate, Miyajima Island
Torii Gate in WinterTorii Gate in Winter
A Tunnel of Torii GatesInari Mt., Kyoto
A Tunnel of Torii GatesInari Mt., Kyoto
Kabuki TheaterKabuki Theater
An interior of a Kabuki theater.An interior of a Kabuki theater.
Chanoyu : Tea Ceremony
Chanoyu : Tea Ceremony
Origami : The Art of Japanese Paper
Folding
Origami : The Art of Japanese Paper
Folding
Calligraphy Calligraphy
Haiku : 17-syllable poem
Haiku : 17-syllable poem
Matsuo BashoMatsuo Basho, Master of , Master of HaikuHaiku
Spring departs.Spring departs.Birds cryBirds cryFishes' eyes are Fishes' eyes are filled with tears.filled with tears.
Japanese Garden for Meditation
Japanese Garden for Meditation
Japanese Zen GardenJapanese Zen Garden
Japanese Sand Garden
Japanese Sand Garden