China

1
Chinas Golden Age Dynastys
The Sui, the Tang and the Song (Sung)
2
What is a Golden Age?

• A time or period, in a specific culture or
  civilization
• of peace, harmony, stability, and prosperity
  (wikipedia)
• of great happiness, prosperity, and achievement
  (merriam-webster online dictionary)
• where enlightenment, achievement, and/or
  advancement is at its height (me )

3

• What other civilizations experienced a Golden
  Age? And what achievements or advancements are
  proof of this?
• What is the opposite of a Golden Age?

4
When was ChinasGOLDEN AGE?
Sui dynasty (A.D. 581-617)
Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220)
Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907)
Song (Sung) dynasty (960-1279)
5
Inventions

• ACTIVITY
• On the handout are descriptions of things
  invented in China during the Han, Sui, Tang and
  Song Dynastys.
• Read each one and try to figure out which
  invention or advancement is being described.

6
5
Han rulers strengthened the economy and
government of China.

• They made Confucianism the official belief of the
  state.
• They relied on well-educated scholars to run the
  government.
• They used a civil service exam to find the most
  qualified officials.

• They improved canals and roads.
• They set up granaries across the empire.
• They reorganized finances.
• They imposed a government monopoly on iron and
  salt.
• They opened up the Silk Road, a trade route
  linking China and the West.

7
The Han Golden Age
5
Han China made such tremendous advances in so
many fields, that the Chinese later called
themselves the people of Han.
8
Fall of the Han

• Perfect example of a fall within a dynastic
  cycle
• Ushered in the Era of the Three Kingdoms
• - Civil War (220-589)

9
Time of the Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms era began in 220 AD. After the
Han dynasty fell, three powerful states began a
war for power and control over China. The three
states were the Wu state, Wei state, and Shu-Han
state. The three main leaders during this war was
Cao Pi of the Wei State, Liu Bei of the Shu-han
state, and Sun Quan, the son of Sun Jian of the
Wu state. These three people were the kings of
their states.
10
Three Kingdoms

• Chinas Dark Ages?
• Sort of!
• Sinicization of non-Han Chinese groups
• Growing popularity of Buddhism
• Inventions (like gunpowder)
• Advances in medicine (surgery) and other areas

11
The Sui(A.D. 581-617)

• Ruthless and tyrannical (comparable to that of
  Qin)
• High tax burden and mandatory labor and
  conscription for
• Maintenance and extensions of the Great Wall
• Building of the Grand Canal
• Unsuccessful wars to conquer the rest of the
  Korean peninsula and Vietnam
• As a result Sui emperor assassinated and a
  leading noble took power and began the Tang
  dynasty
• But.

12
Grand Canal (completed in 610)
13
(No Transcript)
14
The Tang (A.D. 618-907)

• Considered by historians as the climax or height
  of Chinas Golden Age and even Chinese
  civilization!

Empress Wu
Diamond Sutra
15
Landscape Painting
16
The capital at Changan (Xian)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19

• Buddhism becomes a permanent entity of Chinese
  culture (sinicized)

Leshan Buddha
20
Major achievements in Literature and Art
-Diamond Sutra - Li Bo and Du Fu (Literature -
Poetry) (made possible by which invention? That
also made paper money possible!)
21
Activity

• Read excerpts from Li Bo and Du Fu.
• Compare/contrast the writings of Li Bo and Du Fu.
• What can their writings tell us about life in
  China during the Tang?
• What can a countrys Art tell a historian?

22
Collapse of the Tang

• Ah the perils of love!

Consort Yang
Emperor Xuanzong
23
The Song (960-1279)
24
Song

• Civilian rule (by scholars appointed by the
  Emperor and his scholar advisors) replaced
  military governors (even in the provinces)
• New classes developed
• -Gentry (landowning scholars)
• -Merchant class (educated business owners)
• As a result
• Economy grew
• Land and government were no longer the only means
  of attaining wealth and prestige
• Confucianism returned (known as
  Neo-Confucianism)!!! Why?
• (- there was a synthesis of Confucianism,
  Taoism, and Buddhism as a result in Civil Svc
  exam and culture too)
• Conclusion The Song dynasty fine-tuned the
  developments of the former dynasties!
• But.

25
Chinese Traditional Social Hierarchy
26
Fall of the Song

• What would be the price for such concentration on
  internal and domestic developments? And on
  education and scholarship?
• The barbarians in the north pushed the Song
  dynasty south to the Yangtze River
• The Mongols also were unifying under the
  leadership of the man pictured below and were
  tempted by the wealth of the Song

27
NEXT The Rise of the MongolsWrath of God