AP World History

 End of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long period of disunity and civil war  Buddhism began to spread throughout China during this period  Introduced in the first century CE  Did not really begin to spread until after the Han empire collapsed  Tea was discovered in the south during this period  Porcelain was also developed during this time

 Restored the Chinese imperial structure  Confucian bureaucracy, etc.  Defeated external enemies  Accomplishments of the Sui Dynasty  Grand Canal (right)  Confucianism also began to regain popularity  Weakened by military spending and external invasions

 Expanded Confucian administrative system  Reformed examination system  Compiled the Tang Code in 624 CE  Liberal attitude towards all religions

 Only female empress in Chinese history  Removed the rightful heir to the throne in 690 CE  Recruited outstanding individuals to serve in her court  Buddhism was the favored state religion  Attempted to make it a state religion  Financed the building of many Buddhist temples

 Rapid increase in rice production  Techniques such as planting out seedlings rapidly increased yield  Champa rice from Vietnam  Terrace Farming  Population doubled  Urbanization  Power moved from north to south  Revived the Silk Roads  Contemporaries of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates

 Not politically powerful  Conquered by Mongols  Great advances were made in technology and culture  Used gunpowder as a weapon  Foreign trade expanded greatly due to junks  Rise of Neo-Confucianism

 Specialized Production  Government monopolies  Private business  Guilds  Silk, porcelain, iron, etc.  Expanding trade markets  Internal expansion caused by population growth  Grand Canal, paper money, etc.  External expansion caused by naval technology  Compass, junks, etc.

Song dynasty iron smelting process Yuan dynasty waterwheel and blast furnace

 Gunpowder  New porcelain techniques  Translucent porcelain  Invention of the moveable type printing press in 1045 CE  Introduction of paper money, called flying money was introduced  Metal was scarce in China

 First evidence of this practice shows up in about 950 CE  Not sure why this practice began  Widely practiced among both the rich and poor of China  Essentially made women subordinate to their husbands

 Yuan Dynasty came to an end in 1368  Attempt to eliminate Mongol cultural influence  Ming Government  Reestablished Confucian bureaucracy (again)  Moved capital to Beijing  Built the Forbidden City  Expanded into Central Asia and Manchuria

 New American crops expanded agriculture  Sweet potato, maize, peanuts  Led to rapid population growth  Went from 100 million in 1500 to 225 million by 1750  Population growth aided manufacturing by keeping wages low  Limited need for labor saving devices  Launched expeditions into the Indian Ocean  Zheng He voyages  Limited trade with Europeans to Macao & Canton  “the Silver Sink”

 Strengthened traditional Chinese values  Filial piety  Extended family system  Emphasized loyalty to family  Females remained subordinate  Footbinding continued  Female infanticide was not uncommon  Widows were discouraged from remarrying & widow suicide was often encouraged  Confucian-based social hierarchy

 Promoted Neo-Confucianism  Emphasized Chinese tradition  Literature  Monkey, the Water Margin, etc.  Pottery  the Great Wall