1. The Resurgence of Empire in China
The Tang and Song

2. Sui Dynasty (581-618) United the Northern and Southern
regions of China for the first time in centuries

3. What else did the Sui accomplish?
Built the Grand Canal, connecting two major rivers and providing a vital trade route
As many as half the workers died in the process
Continued work on the Great Wall
Endless labor on state projects led to a rebellion

4. TangDynasty (618-907) Rise of the Tang
Li Yuan, a general in the Sui Army, seized the capital city of Chang’an and proclaimed himself the New Emperor
His Son, Li Shimin soon took over and assumed the name Tang Taizong, the Grand Emperor
Tang launched a program of internal renewal and external expansion that would make it one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history

6. Tang Dynasty Politics Three Keys to success
Maintenance of transportation and communication networks
Reliance on a bureaucracy based on merit, a meritocracy using the civil service exams
Revival of Han Confucianism: Created a foundation for stability and prosperity for the Chinese people

7. Tang Dynasty Economic System
Canals: Grand Canal connected Yellow River and Yangtze River. Allowed grains in south to be shipped to north.
Expanded Trade: Tang merchants traded with India, Persia, and the Middle East. Chinese became expert shipbuilders and a naval power.
This led to a huge influx of precious metal into China – a trend that would continue until the 19th century.

8. Buddhist Carvings along the Silk Route by Tang Artists.

9. Expansion of the Tang Dynasty
Territorially, the Tang Empire ranks among the largest in Chinese history

10. Because of the Grand Canal and other government projects for shipping grain and other goods, the Tang Dynasty had the strongest economy of the time period.
Even in its decline, Tang exports far outnumbered imports from South Asia, West Asia, Europe and Africa combined.

11. Tang Dynasty: Empress Wu
Wu Zhao became the first and only woman to be Emperor – supported Buddhism.
Began a campaign to elevate the position of women. Said that the ideal ruler was one who ruled like a mother does over her children.
Meritocracy - Civil Service exams- best people ran the government and were treated fairly.

12. Artistic, Technological and Industrial Developments
The Golden Age
Artistic, Technological and Industrial Developments
Gunpowder and Rockets
Porcelain - Chinaware
Landscape art
Moveable Type
Chinese junks

13. Decline of the Tang Dynasty
reasons for decline
Weak emperor (Wu’s grandson)
Crushing taxes that still didn’t cover projects
Poor attention to canal & irrigation systems
Struggled to control vast empire
Chinese rebels sacked capital in 907

14. Song Dynasty (960-1279) Political System:
saw the fragmentation of China into five northern dynasties and ten southern kingdoms
Song Taizu united much of the former Tang Dynasty
Moved capital to Huangzhou in the south
Centralized government, limited the military, and expanded the Bureaucracy, offered many political positions with generous salaries
Civil Service Exams
Used Neo-Confucianism as basis of political system
The Rainbow Bridge

15. Song Dynasty Advancements
Foreign trade flourished
Control of the Silk Road
Advances in sailing technology, meaning expanded sea trade
Innovations in poetry and art
Invention of movable type
Invention of gunpowder, porcelain, mechanical clock, and magnetic compass
Invented negative numbers
Farming advances
Paper Money

16. An imperial Confucius Temple in modern Hangzhou
The government began an expensive and massive project to restore Confucian temples around the empire – was responsibility of local population.
An imperial Confucius Temple in modern Hangzhou

17. Women’s status remained low (despite attempts at reform by several empresses).
The Song Period saw women at a very low social status compared to other dynasties
Evidence: Seclusion, lack of property rights, polygamy and use of concubines, exclusion from education, & FOOTBINDING.

18. “A girl's beauty and desirability were counted more by the size of her feet than by the beauty of her face. Matchmakers were not asked, 'Is she beautiful?' but 'How small are her feet?' A plain face is given by heaven but poorly bound feet are a sign of laziness.”

22. Footbinding
Footbinding is a tradition that evolved in the concept of "ideal image" including beauty, marriage and sex. It was considered charming, showed a sense of class, and was the symbol of chastity in most Chinese cultures. It was believed to promote health and fertility, although in the reality the tradition was painful and virtually crippling. It was a way to keep women in seclusion, which made them more dependent on others and less useful around the house.

23. Footbinding
The most popular and stylish type of foot binding shoes were known as "golden lotus“ or "lotus shoes". The term "golden lotus" emerged in the southern Tang dynasty around 920 AD where the emperor Li Yu ordered his favorite concubine, Fragrant Girl, to bind her feet with silk bands and dance on a golden lotus platform decorated with pearls and gems. Also this term is a synonym for bound feet. Most lotus shoes were beautifully embroidered and about three inches long ("lotus shoes"). The lotus shoes are known to be lovely and alluring to the male population in China.

24. Footbinding
When asked about the purpose of footbinding the overwhelming majority of women responded very plainly that without bound feet it was impossible to find a husband. A normal footed woman was commonly viewed as a freak of nature, and with unbound feet her pain overflowed into not 1,000, but 5,000 buckets of tears. She was considered lewd and unrefined, often subject to mockery and the brunt of village ridicule. At times in certain areas such women were so rare and unbelievable they were thought to exist only in myth. Women of the upper classes could never have imagined finding a husband of equal status without binding their feet, and if a normal footed woman of a lower class could not find a suitable mate among her economic peers, she could hope for no more than to be sold into slavery or service to those who did bind.
"If a girls’ feet are not bound, they go here and there with unfitting associates" stated a 17th century writer. The women of the wealthy villages are more involved with footbinding than the poor. It began in the late Tang Dynasty ( ) and gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty ( ). It lasted approximately one thousand years.

25. North & Southern Song

26. Decline of the Song Scholar-gentry class dominates
abuses in civil service exam develop
Heavy dependence on growth of civilian government at expense of military
By 1127, the Song court could not push back the Northern nomadic invaders
Surrounded by north ‘empires’ (Jurchin’)
Invasion of Mongols from North 1279
Start of Yuan (Mongol Dynasty)