1. Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties

2. Sui Dynasty -Achievements
Used strict control and military conquest to reunite China
Repaired and lengthened the Great Wall
Many died while building the wall, and buried among the bricks: giving it the nickname
“The world’s longest cemetery”

3. Achievements – Sui Dynasty
Built the Grand Canal, which connected the Yellow River in the north and the Yangzi River in the south
Farmers and merchants in the south (rice) used the canal to connect to the North

4. Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE: Golden Age of culture
China was the richest most powerful country in the world

5. Tang Dynasty-Government: Aristocracy
Used civil service exams but…..
The aristocrats (gentry) – the wealthy landowning class –
got most jobs
Civil Service Exams
favored aristocrats

6. Tang Dynasty-Government
Only dynasty to have a female emperor: Empress Wu Zhao
Equal-Field System

7. Tang Dynasty-Military
One of the biggest empires in Chinese history
Stretched from inner Mongolia in the north, to Vietnam in the south to Korea in the east, to Kashmir in the west

8. Tang Dynasty-Economics
Reopened the silk road- a system for trade, travel, communication, exchange of ideas
From China to the West: silk, porcelain, jade, tea, paper, printing, farming methods, weapons
From the West to China: glass, rugs, horses, silver, medicine, spices,
Christianity, Islam

9. Tang Dynasty-Economics
Equal Field System- redistributed land
Citizens were classified into ranks and land was given equally to members of various ranks
Citizens paid taxes on how much land they received
Government benefited from increased number of taxpayers, limited power of rural aristocrats, and loyalty of peasants who got land
Benefited commoners and peasants by giving them a chance to gain wealth

10. Tang Dynasty-Religion
Buddhism very popular in beginning but Tang leaders based their government on Confucian ideals and feared the growing power of Buddhists
Repressed Buddhism
He burned texts, took lands from Buddhist temples, destroyed many temples and turned others into schools.

11. Tang Dynasty-Culture Chinese culture flourished during this period
Tang artists and poets were influenced by Daoism and stressed the beauty, power, harmony, and peace of nature
Li Bo and Du Fu- very famous Chinese poets and Wu Daozi- famous artist lived at this time
Made amazing objects in clay
Even government officials painted, wrote, studied poetry, and made pottery

12. Song Dynasty CE
Song China was limited to provinces south of the Great Wall

13. Song Dynasty -Government
Strengthened the system of meritocracy
Started ruling according to Confucian beliefs:
1. Scholarly class of civil servants
2.Stablility and harmony in social order can only result from respecting hierarchies
People joined the bureaucracy by passing civil service examinations-this ensured only intelligent and talented people became civil servants

14. Song Dynasty-Government
Tests very difficult - though rare, people from lower classes could become officials
Only 2-10% of test takers would reach the final test and receive a position in govt.
If you passed you became a scholar official- an educated member of the government
Scholar officials were considered elite members of society and were highly respected and admired for their knowledge and ethics

15. Song Dynasty-FARMING Chinese farming excelled
New Irrigation techniques, Dug underground wells, Dragon Backbone pump-light portable pump that allowed farmers to scoop up water and pour it into a canal
Discovery of fast ripening rice= 2 or 3 harvests a year
Began growing tea, cotton

16. Song Dynasty-Economy
Merchants also became wealthy by selling the surplus crops to cities and neighboring areas such as Korea, Japan, Persia, Arab world and East Africa
Invented paper money-first time in history merchants didn’t have to carry bags of coins
Power of merchant
class and importance
of cities rose