Postclassical China AD…leading up to the Mongol takeover

Quick review of Chinese concepts  Confucianism  Buddhism  Mandate of Heaven  Dynastic Cycle  Filial piety  Ancestor worship How do all these cultural terms “fit together”?

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!  Review with me why Han fell: –Weak rulers –Too big! –Power of government declined –Nobles took more land –Peasant unrest –Nomadic raiders from the North (Xiongnu) –Capital of Lyoyang sacked (can anyone say, “Rome”?)

How long between dynasties?  Han dynasty falls apart in 221 CE…  …Sui dynasty doesn’t come to power until 581…  Are there governments during this time?

ANARCHY IN CHINA  Three Kingdoms –Shu Han 221 – 263 –Wei  Most powerful, eventually conquered Shu  Built an army of Chinese infantry and nomadic cavalry as mounted bowmen  These assimilated nomads later overthrew Wei and founded own dynasties –Wu 222 – 280  Jin Dynasty –Western Jin 265 – 316 and Eastern Jin 317 – 420  Only time during interregnum when China was united  Intermixture of nomads and Chinese accelerated –Sixteen Kingdoms 304 – 420  Southern and Northern Dynasties –Southern Dynasties  Liu Song 420 – 479  Southern Qi 479 – 502  Liang  Chen 557 ~589 –Northern Dynasties  Later [Northern] Wei 386 – 534  Eastern Wei  Western Wei 535 – 556  Northern Qi 550 – 577  Northern Zhou 557 ~581  Period Resembled Western European history after the collapse of the Romans –Disunity and civil war between nomads and Chinese warlords  Rival states, dynasties, each controlling a part of the old Han state  Aristocrats, provincial nobles held land and real influence  Many of the northern dynasties were nomadic, both Turkish and Mongol  Confucianism in decline, Buddhism in ascendancy due to its relationship with the nomads  Confucian trained bureaucrats still held much influence –Common Chinese subject to taxes, warfare, drafting into army, frequent invasions, bandits

SWAY-eet!!  Followed by 400 years of nothingness…..civil war and fear spread   Finally, in 581, the Sui (SWAY) Dynasty formed –Grand Canal (used forced labor) –Cruel…emperor Sui was murdered –Confucianism regained popularity

Fall of the Sui  High taxes  Rebellions  Military defeats

Oh so Tang!  (sounds like Tong)…like what you use to scoop salad  Formed by a rebel leader  Stabilize the economy!- give land to peasants  Reintroduced civil service exam

Tang Expansion  Westward!  Where conquest isn’t practical: tribute

TANG CHINA

Fall of the Tang  But very wasteful of empire funds   Revolts led to collapse in 907

TANG ART

Sing me a Song!  (sounds like “Soong”)  Great advances were made in the areas of technology and material production: –gunpowder as a weapon –steel –Chinese had the best ships in the world –the famous blue and white porcelain was created –Woodblock printing

Fall of the Song  Problems with Northern neighbors…Mongolian barbeque anyone?  By the late 1200s, the Mongols had taken over China and then some

THE SONG ARTISTIC WORLD

Common themes in postclassical China

Life after the fall of the Han  Still based on Confucius  Still a monarchy (Mandate of Heaven)  Still a large and strong economy  Still farmers (mostly)  NOT like Europe’s economy (no feudalism…the govt. fought against large landowners…but like feudalism in that few people ever left their village)  Where would you have rather lived? Feudal Europe, or in China? Why?

A MARKET ECONOMY  Merchants in Charge –Only period in China where merchants socially superior to aristocrats –Merchants attempted to intermarry with aristocrats, become landowners –Merchants attempted to have sons admitted as Confucian bureaucratsMost large cities had large merchant communities  Financial instruments –Banking and credit institution –“Flying money " were letters of credit –Paper money backed by state, treasury  A cosmopolitan society –Foreign merchants in large cities of China –Mostly Arab (Muslim), Indian, S.E. Asian –Chinese merchants journeyed throughout region  Economic surge in China –An economic revolution in China –Made China the wealthiest nation in the world at time –Promoted economic growth in the eastern hemisphere

TECHNOLOGY & INDUSTRY  Porcelain –High quality porcelain since the Tang, known as chinaware –Technology diffused to other societies, especially to Abbasid Arabia –Exported vast quantities to southeast Asia, India, Persia, and Africa  Metallurgy –Improvement: used coke instead of coal in furnaces to make iron, steel –Iron production increased tenfold between the early 9th and 12th century  Gunpowder –Discovered by Daoist alchemists during the Tang –Bamboo "fire lances," a kind of flame thrower, and primitive bombs –Gunpowder chemistry diffused throughout Eurasia  Printing –Became common during the Tang –From block-printing to movable type –Books became widespread  Naval technology –"South-pointing needle" - the magnetic compass –Double hulled junks with rudder, water-tight compartments

Marco? Polo!!  Marco Polo, an Italian merchant, visited Hangzhou in the 1200s, and was really impressed-called it “paradise”  How did Marco Polo lead to more trade in Europe?  Anyone for a game of chess?

I am amazing. Look at all the Places I’ve been! Marco Polo and his travels

Confucianism  Confucianism did not recognize the military as being part of the four official classes of occupations –So: the military consisted of either the poor, uneducated peasants, mercenaries or allies.  It emphasized self-cultivation as a path not only to self-fulfillment but to the formation of a virtuous and harmonious society and state.  How is this different than religion in Europe after the fall of Rome?

Buddhism  Came from India originally  Buddhism was widespread among both commoners and the elite  Criticized as a “foreign religion”

Summary of government structure  Monarch  Provinces  Districts  Villages  Confucian ideals held it all together

Foot Binding  Began by the 12 th century  It was done to women by women, with tools made by women  Seen as a sign of beauty and also as a status symbol, also used to impress men  Girls began foot binding when boys went to school, socialization  Separated men and women Like Yin and Yang  Confined women to the home

Other signs of patriarchy  Female infanticide  Selling girls to rich families