The Resurgence of Empire

in East Asia

The Sui Dynasty (589-618 C.E.)

Regional kingdoms succeed collapse of Han

dynasty
Yang Jian consolidates control of all of China,
initiates Sui dynasty
Massive building projects

Military labor
Conscripted labor

The Grand Canal

Intended to promote trade between north and

south China

Most Chinese rivers flow west-east

Linked network of earlier canals

2000 kilometers (1240 miles)

Roads on either bank

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)

Wide discontent over conscripted labor in Sui

dynasty
Military failures in Korea prompt rebellion
Emperor assassinated in 618 C.E.

Tang dynasty initiated

Tang Taizong

Second emperor of Tang dynasty (r. 627-649

C.E.)
Murdered two brothers, thrust father aside to take
throne
Strong ruler

Built capital at Changan

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

Equal-field system

20% of land, hereditary ownership

80% redistributed according to formula

Family size, land fertility

Worked well until eighth century

Corruption, loss of land to Buddhist monasteries

Bureaucracy of Merit

Imperial civil service examinations

Confucian educational curriculum

Most advance through merit

Educational opportunity widely available

Built loyalty to the dynasty
System remains strong until early twentieth century

Tang Military Expansion and Foreign

Relations

Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet

One of the largest expansions of China in its
history
Established tributary relationships

Gifts

China as Middle Kingdom

The kowtow ritual

The Sui and Tang Dynasties, 589-907 C.E.

2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tang Decline

Governmental neglect: emperor obsessed with

music, favorite concubine
775 C.E. rebellion under An Lushan, former
military commander
Captures Changan, but rebellion crushed by 763
Nomadic Uighur mercenaries invited to suppress
rebellion, sacked Changan and Luoyang
Tang decline continues, rebellions in ninth century,
last emperor abdicates 907

Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)

Emphasis on administration, industry, education,

the arts
Military not emphasized
Direction of first emperor, Song Taizu (r. 960-976
C.E.)

Former military leader

Made emperor by troops
Instituted policy of imperial favor for civil servants,
expanded meritocracy

The Song Dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.

Song Weaknesses

Size of bureaucracy heavy drain on economy

Two peasant rebellions in twelfth century

Internal inertia prevents reform of bureaucracy

Civil service leadership of military

Lacked military training

Unable to contain nomadic attacks
Jurchen conquer, force Song dynasty to Hangzhou,
southern China (Southern Song)

Agricultural Economies of the Tang

and Song Dynasties

Developed Vietnamese fast-ripening rice, two

crops per year
Technology: iron plows, use of draft animals
Soil fertilization, improved irrigation

Water wheels, canals

Terrace farming

Population Growth

Result of increased
agricultural production
Effective food
distribution system

Transportation
networks built under
Tang and Song
dynasties

Urbanization

Changan worlds most populous city: two million

residents

Southern Song capital Hangzhou: over one million

Patriarchal Social Structures

Increased emphasis on ancestor worship

Foot binding gains popularity

Elaborate grave rituals

Extended family gatherings in honor of deceased
ancestors
Increased control by male family members

Wu Zhao (626-706 C.E.)

Foot Binding

2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Technology and Industry

Porcelain (chinaware)
Increase of iron production due to use of coke, not
coal, in furnaces

Gunpowder invented
Earlier printing techniques refined

Agricultural tools, weaponry

Moveable type by mid-eleventh century

Yet complex Chinese ideographs make wood block
technique easier

Naval technology

Emergence of a Market Economy

Letters of credit developed to deal with copper

coin shortages

Development of independently produced paper

money

Promissory notes, checks also used

Not as stable, riots when not honored

Government claims monopoly on money

production in eleventh 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 in

western China (Gansu province), 600-1000 C.E.
Buddhist temples, libraries
Economic success as converts donate land
holdings
Increased 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

Schools of Buddhism

Buddhists adapt ideology to Chinese climate

Accommodated family lifestyle

Dharma translated as dao

Nirvana translated as wuwei
One son in monastery for ten generations of
salvation

Chan school; Zen Buddhism

Pure Land school

Persecution of Buddhists

Daoist/Confucian persecution supported in late

Tang dynasty
840s begins systematic closure of Buddhist
temples, expulsions

Zoroastrians, Christians, Manichaeans as well

Economic motive: seizure of large monastic

landholdings

Neo-Confucianism

Song dynasty refrains from persecuting

Buddhists, but favors Confucians
Neo-Confucians influenced by Buddhist thought
Philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200 C.E.)

China and Korea

Silla Dynasty: Tang armies withdraw, Korea

recognizes Tang as emperor
Technically a vassal state, 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
tenth 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 C.E.)

Adoption of Confucian, Buddhist teachings

Yet retention of Shinto religion

Heian Japan (794-1185 C.E.)

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

Japanese Literature

Influence of Chinese kanji characters

Classic curriculum dominated by Chinese

The Tale of Genji

Institution of the Shogun

Civil war between Taira and Minamoto clans in

twelfth century
Minamoto leader named shogun, 1185 C.E.
Ruled from Kamakura, allowed imperial throne to
continue in Kyoto

Medieval Japan

Kamakura (1185-1333 C.E.) and Muromachi

(1336-1573 C.E.) periods
Decentralized power in hands of warlords
Military authority in hands of samurai

Professional warriors

Borderlands of postclassical China:

Korea, Vietnam, and Japan