1. Inner and East Asia, 600 – 1200

2. I. The Early Tang Empire, 618 - 715
A. Tang Origins
Sui Dynasty (581 – 618)
Emperor Li Shimin
Extension of autonomy, Confucian examinations
Turkic culture/military
B. Buddhism and the Tang Empire
Presence of Buddhism, responsibility of king
Mahayana Buddhism dominant – facilitated cultural exchange
Early Tang dependence on Buddhist monasteries
Capital at Chang’an
Cosmopolitan - diversity, contacts with Inner Asia

3. C. To Chang’an by Land and Sea
Roads, Grand Canal
Tributary system
Layout of Chang’an
Compass design, ocean vessels
Plague of Justinian
D. Trade and Cultural Exchange
Cultural impact from Inner Asia/Islam
Clothing
Stringed instruments, food and wine
1000 CE exports exceeded imports – balance of trade
Silks, porcelain
Increased trade along Silk Road/Indian Ocean – traders use credit/finance networks

4. What are the most important similarities and differences between the Han and the Tang culturally and economically?

5. II. Rivals for Power in Inner Asia and China, 600 – 907
The Uighur and Tibetan Empire
Turks migrated from Mongolia westward
8th century – Uighurs controlled Tarim Basin/Inner Asia
Cosmopolitan – merchants, scribes, art, religion
Fell quickly
Chinese pilgrims traveled through Tibet
Alphabet, art/architecture, medicine, math, farming
643 – Tang princess Kongjo married Tibetan king – brought Mahayana Buddhism, increased contact between Tibet and Tang
Tibetan military strengths
Late 600s – Tang and Tibet competing from control over Inner Asia
Tibet reached into Chinese provinces
800 – Tibetan king wanted to do away with monasteries but assassinated by monks – further isolation

6. B. Upheavals and Repression, 750 – 879
New fears of Buddhism undermining Confucianism, Han Yu
Emperor Wu Zhao – favored Buddhism/Daoism, reviled by Confucian writers
Buddhists severed ties to this world
Edict of 845 – Tang destroyed thousands of temples, government gained new sources of revenue
Fall of Buddhism in Tang China
C. The End of the Tang Empire, 879 – 907
Empire dependent on local military rulers/complex tax system
755 – Rebellion led by General An Lushan, rise of military governors
Prosperity but political disintegration and cultural decay
879 – 881 – Huang Chao (gentry) led greatest uprising Hatred of foreigners
Warlords – mass migrations to the south

7. What internal and external factors contributed to the decline and fall of the Tang?

8. III. The Emergence of East Asia to 1200
Three new states: origins, beliefs
The Liao and Jin Challenge
Liao Empire of Khitan (916 – 1121) – Siberia to Central Asia
Pastoral traditions, importance of Buddhism to emperor
Siege machines, horsemen
1005 – Song tribute to the Liao
Alliance with Jurchens of northeast Asia
Destruction of Liao capital in 1115
“Southern Song” (1127 – 1279) – Song make payments to Jin to avoid warfare
B. Song Industries
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION???
Indian/West Asian mathematicians/astronomers – fractions/calendars
1088 – Su Song and giant celestial clock
Advances in magnetic compass
Junk ships – rudder, watertight bulkheads…copied in Persian Gulf
HUGE ARMY (1.25 million men) – half the territory of the Tang
Use of steel/iron – sources in the north
Government monopoly by 11th c. – producing as much cast iron as 18th c. Great Britain
Mass production
1100s - Gunpowder - impact

9. C. Economy and Society in Song China
Neo – Confucianism, Zhu Xi, ideal human – the sage
Chan Buddhism (Zen in Japan) – mental discipline
Rigorous examinations for bureaucratic offices
Social implications of scoring well/poorly on exams
Printing – woodblock to moveable type
Mass printing of books, exam materials, instructions on cultivation
Agriculture south of the Yangzi River, plow/rakes, control of malaria
Migration to the south, displacement of native people
1100 – population in Chinese territories over 100 million
Large cities
Problems in cities – waste management, water supply, etc.
City of Hangzhou
Credit – “flying money”
Government issued paper money - inflation
Cost of military expenditures
Sold rights to collect taxes
New social hierarchy based on new sources of wealth – MODERN – growth of middle class and private capitalism seen in 18th c. Europe
Women’s rights/education
Development of footbinding – status symbol

10. Compare and contrast the Song Dynasty to medieval Europe economically, culturally, and politically.

11. IV. New Kingdoms in East Asia
Expanding Confucian world view targeted the south
Cultivation of rice needed structured society
Korea, Japan and Vietnam all centralized power during the Tang period – saw Buddhism and Confucianism as compatible
Korea
Mountains, little agricultural land
Early 500s - kingdom of Silla (south); power of landowners, Koguryo kingdom in north, after 688 Silla ruled but needed support of Tang
After early 900s (fall of Tang) house of Koryo united peninsula – alliance with the Song
Koryo kings supported Buddhism – woodblock printing from 700s
Process of woodblock printing, advances – moveable type

12. B. Japan
Geography
Earliest records from China
Mid 600s Yamato followed Tang government
Architecture, Buddhism, Confucianism, laws
No walls, no Mandate of Heaven
Unchanging Tenno dynasty, role of prime minister and Shinto
794-Kyoto
Fujiwara family – cultural development, Confucianism
Power of warriors, civil war
Education of women – The Tale of Genji
Kamakura Shogunate – Buddhism, rise of samurai
C. Vietnam
Red River and Mekong, irrigation systems
“Annam” – Confucian bureaucratic training, Mahayana Buddhism
936 – Dai Viet – good relations with Song
Rivalry with Champa (south) – foreign influences
Champa and voluntary tribute – Champa rice
Confucian hierarchy – differences in treatment of women

13. How did China impact Japan, Korea, and Vietnam and vice versa?