Landscape painting, based on Daoist’s emphasis of nature, common. Setting of standards of excellence in art and literature is why Tang dynasty is known as “China’s Golden Age.” Landscape painting, based on Daoist’s emphasis of nature, common. The development of paper and printing expanded the availability of books. Confucian scholars consumed literature at a tremendous rate. They were also major producers of literature throughout the Post-Classical Era. Chinese emphasis on schooling created a scholar gentry with the leisure time to devote to poetry. They were the world’s first “Renaissance men.”

Masculine identity came to be defined in terms of painting, calligraphy, scholarship, and poetry. The development of paper and printing expanded the availability of books. Confucian scholars consumed literature at a tremendous rate. They were also major producers of literature throughout the Post-Classical Era. Chinese emphasis on schooling created a scholar gentry with the leisure time to devote to poetry. They were the world’s first “Renaissance men.”

Discovered gunpowder (9th century). Spread along the Silk Road. Triggered the development of cannons in Europe. During the 9th century, Chinese researchers, trying to find elements that would lead to eternal life, discovered gunpowder. They soon learned to use gunpowder to produce fireworks and weapons. The first guns were made in the Song Dynasty. Over time, this invention spread along the Silk Road to Europe.

Government paid people for public projects. Economics Stopped labor tax. Government paid people for public projects. Increased money in circulation, promoting economic growth. The Song did away with the requirement that people labor for the government. Instead, they paid people to work on public projects. This increased the money in circulation, thereby promoting economic growth.

“Equal-field system” (8th century), gave all families land. Reform failed due to aristocracy bribing government officials to keep land. The Tang Empire reintroduced the “equal-field system” (8th century) which attempted to ensure that all Chinese families had a parcel of land to cultivate. The goal was to take control away from the landed aristocracy. The reforms lasted for about 100 years resulting in increased rural wealth. But the aristocracy used their wealth to bribe government officials and keep their land.

Champa rice; fast-ripening rice native to Vietnam, allowed farmers to grow two crops a year. Chinese population, during the Tang and Song dynasties, doubled (50 -120 million). Fast-ripening rice (champa rice) added to Chinese surpluses. The grain is native to northern Vietnam, which came to China during the Tang Dynasty. This allowed farmers in southern China to grow two crops a year.

Arab merchants from the Abbasid Empire revived the land and sea routes of the Silk Road. Trade brought diversity, including a thriving community of Arabs, in Hangzhou (city of over 1 million). After the collapse of the Roman and Han Empires, trade along the Silk Road decline greatly. However, by the 8th and 9th centuries, Arab merchants from the Abbasid Empire revived the land and sea routes of the Silk Road.

Created “paper money.” To manage the increasing trade, China developed a new financial system. Copper coins were too heavy to transport for trade, so the government a system of credit known as “flying cash.” Merchants could deposit “paper money” under their name in one location and withdraw the same amount at another location. Merchants and tax collectors used abacuses to calculate their transactions. This system became the model for the modern banking system. Later, Chinese governments would prohibit merchants and businesses from making paper money, reserving that right for themselves.

The transformation of southern China from a subsistence economy to an export-oriented economy was due to the Indian Ocean trade. Advances in naval technology allowed China to control trade in the South China Sea. 1. The Magnetic compass 2. Improved rudder 3. The Chinese junk was similar to the Asian dhow, had multiple sails and at least triple the size of typical Western European ships of the time. The hull of the junk was divided into compartments, making the ship stronger in rough voyages.

Social Chinese interaction with the northern nomads during the Tang dynasty resulted in the evolution of a mixed Chinese/Turkic culture in northern China.

Song Dynasty was most urban civilization in the world.

“Scholar gentry” lower class men educated in Confucian philosophy. Became most influential social class in China. At the top of the Han Dynasty social structure was the emperor. No subject was allowed to address the present emperor by name lest they take the risk of punishment. The most powerful relative of the emperor was the empress dowager or the wife of the previous emperor. Empress dowagers have the power to issue edicts and pardons as well as to appoint a new emperor in the case of the present emperor passing away without a designated heir.

Merchants were lowest class. Didn’t produce anything. Certain nobles were also present during different periods of the Han Dynasty. During the early Western Han, some military officers were designated as Kings and they ruled over semi-autonomous fiefs. Later on, only the emperor’s male relatives were given that designation.

Revival of Confucianism led to more restrictions on women’s lives. The emergence of foot binding during the Song dynasty suggests that Chinese women’s lives were more restricted than they had been in the Tang dynasty. A patriarchal society, Chinese men ruled and women assumed subordinate roles. This system was strengthened during the Song and Tang Dynasties. Young aristocratic girls had their feet wrapped so tightly that the bones did not grow naturally. Small feet were considered a sign of beauty. Foot binding was very painful and often made it difficult to walk. Many women had to use canes to get around. Because it restricted the woman’s movement, foot binding was not prevalent among rural peasants. Thus, it was a social status.

That concludes Song and Tang Dynasties.