Golden Ages in China

Character What makes a person have “good character”? Character Trait – a unique quality or characteristic What makes a person “who they are” What character traits do good leaders have? (Justinian) Is it possible to “teach” good character?

Character Traits Honesty Integrity Kindness Honor Responsibility Determination

Confucius Ancient Chinese teacher and philosopher Believed if all people treated each other with respect, society would be peaceful. Leaders of the Tang Dynasty followed his teachings

Confucius’ Teachings Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others

Tang Dynasty Dynasty lasted from 618 - 907 Tang Taizong 626-649 a.d. Followed teachings of Confucius and empire expanded Fighting from within the empire brought the empire down (just like the previous empires we spoke about) Order was restored by the Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty Ruled from 960 – 1279 Also followed Confucius teachings Tang and Song Dynasty’s were China’s Golden Ages Great political. Military, and cultural achievements

Merit System One of the most important reasons that China had a Golden Age Best person for the job Before Tang Dynasty officials came from wealthy families and kept positions for life Performance did not matter, bad officials remained in power

Merit System Hiring people based on their ability to do the job improved the government and the peoples faith in their leaders

Trade Chinese leaders built a large, profitable trade empire Goods were highly prized in Asia and Europe A system of roads and canals helped make trade easier

Trade Goods Silk, Porcelain, Tea Silk was the biggest item Only the Chinese knew how to make silk People were willing to pay high prices for Chinese silk Porcelain – also called “China” – used to make pottery, plates, cups, artwork – high value in Europe

Trade Goods Tea – Originally used as a medicine Largest trade export in China Shipped to Japan and Europe Became the most common drink in the world (England)

Trade Routes The Silk Road A series of roads/trails stretching across China towards Europe Over 4,000 miles long, it ended at Constantinople Very difficult and dangerous route crossing mountains and deserts

Trade Routes Grand Canal Large amounts of farm goods (grain) were produced for sale Used rivers to move goods The Grand Canal connected Northern and Southern China – increased amount of trade Over 1,000 miles long – took humdreds of years to build

Advancements Printing Began printing in the 500’s a.d. Used wood blocks with characters carved into them – still took a long time to print 1045 – Bi Sheng developed moveable type Made separate characters that can be reused

Advancements Chinese alphabet had too many characters to be effective Printing helped spread knowledge and increased literacy