1. Unit 6, Lesson 3 The Tang Dynasty of China:
To what extent did Tang Dynasty rule bring China a Golden Age?

2. The Tang Dynasty The Tang ruled Ancient China from 618 CE to 907 CE.
Some historians argue that the period of the Tang Dynasty was a Golden Age for China.
During Tang rule, there was relative peace and prosperity.
China was one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time.
China during the Tang Dynasty probably had the largest population in the world, as well as the largest city in the world.

3. Think back to the past unit when we learned about the Gupta Empire
Think back to the past unit when we learned about the Gupta Empire. We investigated the extent to which the Gupta Empire was a Golden Age for India.
Stop and Jot: What makes a Golden Age?
Turn and Talk to share the ideas you wrote for your Stop and Jot.

4. Golden Age (review from Unit 5)
A Golden Age is a period of great peace, prosperity, and happiness in a particular area.
Period = significant length of time
Peace = relatively free from war and violence
Prosperity = overall economic well-being for a society in general; many people in the society feel secure financially
Happiness = people generally feel good about their lives

5. Golden Age of the Gupta in India
The graphic organizer below is also from Unit 5,
Lesson 5 on the Gupta Empire.
Golden Age of the Gupta in India
Central rule and influence over larger area
Advances in science, math, art, and other areas
General period of peace and prosperity
If the Tang Dynasty was also a “Golden Age,” what predictions can you make about the Tang Dynasty? Turn and Talk.

6. The beginnings of the Tang Dynasty
Towards the final years of the Sui Dynasty ( CE), the rulers before the Tang, there was conflict and unrest throughout China.
The Emperor of the Sui had been very harsh, and this led to rebellion and chaos as many people resisted his rule.
An official from emperor’s court, Li Yuan, turned on the emperor and formed an army in 617 CE.
Li Yuan’s forces captured the capital city, Chang’an. Li Yuan put a new emperor on the throne, even though the old emperor was still alive in a different part of the empire. Li Yuan made himself prime minister.
When the ruling emperor was murdered by one of his associates in 618, Li Yuan proclaimed himself the new emperor and took on the title Tang for the new state.
Stop and Jot: Make a connection. Do these events remind you of past empires or leaders?

7. The Tang Dynasty existed at the same time as other important empires of Era 4, but didn’t last as long.
Turn and Talk: Based on what you know about past empires, make a prediction about what led to the fall of the Tang Dynasty.
Era 4
500 CE
600
700
800
900
1000 CE
Byzantine Empire 525 CE
525
Islam founded – 610 CE
610
Umayyad and Abassid Caliphates
Abassid
Umayyad
Tang Dynasty
618 CE CE

8.
Turn and Talk: Make another prediction… Which of the other empires shown on the map above do you think had the most contact and conflict with the Tang Dynasty?

9. This map to the left shows the extent of the Han Empire.
This map to the right shows the extent of the Tang Empire, some 400 years later.
Turn and Talk: Do you see a difference between the territory of the Han and Tang Dynasties? What changed or did not change? How might you explain this pattern?

10. Picture of a plateau

11. Population?
The capital of the Tang Dynasty was Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), and it is believed to have been the most populous city in the world at the time.
During the Tang Dynasty, the government carried out a census at different times (when the government counts households- people living together- and individual people).
According to a census from the 8th century (maybe around 750 CE), the population of China was just above 50 million people.
Some historians and demographers (people who study large populations) believe this census was not accurate, and that the population of China was probably closer to 80, or even 90, million people at that time.
Turn and Talk: What might be some of the reasons that this census was not very accurate?

12. 50 million?
80 million?
One reason it may have been hard to get an accurate count of the population during the Tang Dynasty is that there were large numbers of people who were migrants.
The word migrants refers to people who move around a lot within one country or area, usually because they are looking for work.
There were many migrant laborers in China who moved around working on different farms, and because they moved around, they were hard to count.

13. Advances of the Tang Golden Age – Carousel Activity
Step 1: Your teacher will give you a handout with a three-column chart on it (Student Handout 3). In small groups, you are going to think about the following categories related to the Tang Dynasty.
Technology
Culture
Leadership & Systems (government, transportation)
Interactions & Influence (dealing with other empires and societies)
Decline
In the middle column, make your best guess as to what advances might have been happening in each category.

14. Interactions & Influence
What was happening during the Tang Dynasty with respect to each of the categories below that made it a Golden Age for China?
Your conjecture, or best guess, about advances or changes in this category that helped create a Golden Age.
Notes from Carousel Activity readings... what actually happened, according to the readings? How does these changes show a Golden Age?
Technology
Includes anything related to new technologies, such as printing, military inventions, and food production  
Culture 
Includes religion, the arts, and lifeways
 Leadership & Systems
Includes anything related to leadership,
government, bureaucracy,
communications, and transportation
Interactions & Influence
Includes anything related to Tang interactions with other empires or kingdoms, as well as their influence on surrounding areas like Korea and Japan
Decline
Includes anything related to the reasons why this Golden Age ended and why the Tang lost power   

15. Step 2
Now you will work through a series of learning stations with your group in a carousel activity.
At each station you will focus on one of the categories. Read the handout, discuss it with your group, and then take notes in the appropriate space in the third column on the handout.
Remember that your focus is on what was happening in that category that made the Tang Dynasty a Golden Age.
The last row on the handout, however, asks you to think about the decline of the Tang Dynasty, so you will approach that category differently as you think about why the Tang lost power.

16. Art in the Golden Age of the Tang
You will now explore Tang art. After each slide, Turn and Talk using these questions to guide your conversation, and then Stop and Jot on the note tracker (Handout 3 – Art in the Golden Age of the Tang).
Describe what you see. What is the work of art and what does the caption say?
What you can infer (your best guess) from this work of art about Tang society?
Think about these questions as well, which you will answer once you have looked at each piece of art:
How can we learn about what was important to a society by studying their art?
Based on these works of art, what are our best guesses about what was important to people during the Tang Dynasty?
Note… maybe what we are really thinking about is what was important to artists, and/or to the people who paid artists for their work!

17. Spring Outing of the Tang Court, by Zhang Xuan (713－755 AD)
This painting shows members of the Tang Court, nobles or elites in the society, on some sort of recreational outing.

18. A golden bowl made during the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty (A.D )
Excavated at Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 1957
This figure depicts the typical clothing of a Tang Dynasty official; tall hat, wide-sleeved outer garment tied at the waist with a wide belt, and rectangular "kerchief" in front. A white inner gown hangs over his square shoes. He solemnly holds a tablet to his chest, preparing to provide a report to his superiors.

19. A Tang period gilt-silver jar, shaped in the style of a northern nomad's leather bag decorated with a horse dancing with a cup of wine in its mouth, as the horses of Emperor Xuanzong were trained to do.
A tomb guard (wushi yong), terracotta sculpture, Tang Dynasty, early-8th-century

20. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang  was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler, … and was credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power.

21. The Fall of the Tang Dynasty

22. Common features of the falls of empires in Era 3…. (from Unit 5)
The Fall of Rome, Han, and Gupta Empires
The Huns (outside invaders)
Inequality and corruption leading to unrest
Extensive Borders
Epidemics

23. Stop and Jot then Turn and Talk:
The Fall of Rome, Han, and Gupta Empires
Conflict with outside forces, defeat
Inequality and corruption leading to unrest and rebellion
Extensive Borders
Epidemics
How was the Tang Dynasty similar?
Which of these factors also affected the Tang?

24. The Tang Dynasty had lots of interaction with the societies on the edges of its empire. Both trade and conflict occurred as the Tang tried to expand their influence.
Turn and Talk: Quick review question… what types of products do you think were being traded in this area? What were the trade routes called?

25. Approximate zone of Tang control
Approximate zone of Abassid control
Both the Tang Dynasty and the Abassid Caliphate had relationships with smaller kingdoms on the edges of their areas of control. In order to gain influence, they sided with different kingdoms in their conflicts. The Tang and Abbassids ended up on opposite sides in a war between kingdoms near the Fergana Valley.

26. Approximate location of the Battle of the Talas River
The Tang army and the Abassid army, along with armies of their allies, met at a battle on the Talas River. Some historians argue that this battle changed the history of Asia in important ways.
Exit Pass: Make a prediction. How could a battle change the history of a large area? What might have happened, or NOT happened, because of this battle? (You will get some answers to this in the next lesson!)

27. Property of Oakland Schools
Authors: Stacie Woodward and Darin Stockdill
Editors: Amy Bloom Academic Review: Ian Moyer