1. Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties
Chapter 12: Pgs

2. Introduction Post Han: Era of Division 220-589: period of decline
Buddhism
Non-Chinese nomads ruled
Great Wall divided between kingdoms
Trade/city life declined
Technology stagnated
Search for magical cures/immortality
Rapid return to height under Tang

3. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
Sui Dynasty: 580 return to strong dynasty
Wendi: leader of northern elite family
Daughter married to emperor
Advisor to emperor before overthrow
Supported by neighboring nomads
Reconfirmed their titles
Lowered taxes/granaries
Hold excess food incase of floods/famines
Taxed crop to fill: 50 years of food
Well respected/time of prosperity
Kill by son in 604

4. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
Sui Excess/Collapse
Yangdi
Murdered father, extended borders, drove back nomads, mild legal code, restores examination system
Downfall
Programs hurt aristocratic families/nomadic leaders
Built palaces
Canal links
Game park: imports trees
Failed attempt to take Korea
Governors declare themselves independent
Yangdi assassinated by own minister: 618

5. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
Emergence of Tang
Li Yuan: Duke of Tang
Nomadic leaders forced to submit
Frontier armies
Sons of tribal leaders sent to capital: why?
Overrun Korea
Kingdom of Silla: tributary state
Rebuilding Bureaucracy
Loyal/well-educated officials
Offset power of aristocracy
Power to ruling families/bureaucrats
Ministries
Secretariat: drafted decrees, monitored officials
Executive ran ministries: day to day life

7. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
Importance of Examination System
Increase in bureaucrats
Ministry of Rites: several exams
Government schools
Honor to those who passed
Jinshi title/names announced throughout empire
Become dignitaries
Special social status
Clothing, exempt from corporal punishment, access to material comfort/pleasures
Bureaucracy: ran by established families
Merit/ambition important
Family/birth more important

8. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
State/Religion of Tang/Song
State: Confucianism
Threatened Buddhist monastic orders, aristocratic families
Previous nomadic rulers: Buddhist
Masses believed in Mahayana Buddhism: salvation
Chan/Zen Buddhism for elite
Stress on meditation
Appreciation of natural/artistic beauty
Empress Wu:
Concubine for father of husband
Poisoned husband
Tried to make Buddhism official religion
Massive monuments to Buddha

9. Rebuilding Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras
Anti-Buddhist Backlash
Daosits compete: magical/predictive powers
Economic challenge of Buddhists
Not taxed
Denied labor pool: can’t tax/conscript peasants on monasteries
Emperor Wuzong
Thousands of shrines destroyed
Monks/nuns forced to abandon monastic life
Lands divided among taxpaying landlords/peasants
Buddhism already left mark, remains popular

10. Tang Decline and the Rise of the Song
Fall of Tang
Empress Wei attempts to take throne for son by poison
Fails
Xuanzong
Initially wants political/economic reforms
Devotes self to arts/pleasures
Yang Guifei: women from harem of another prince
Famous ill-fated romance
Xuanzong focused only on her
Neglected economy, military weakness
Military leaders revolt: put down put has to kill Yang Guifei
Made alliances with nomadic leaders/regional commanders
Claim independence: lead to periods of revolts

11. Tang Decline and the Rise of the Song
Founding of Song
Zhao Kuangyin
Can’t overcome Liao dynasty
Plagues Song dynasty
Pay heavy tribute to north/north militarily dominant
Song Empire culturally superior
Song Politics
Doesn’t want same problems as Tang
Military controlled by bureaucrats
Different from Rome/West
Civil officials only governors, Military commanders rotated
Promote Confucian scholar-gentry
Salaries increased
Exams every three years
Led to too many officials

12. Tang Decline and the Rise of the Song
Revival of Confucian Thought
Neo-Confucians
Personal morality highest goal
Virtue attained through book learning
Personal observation
Contact with wise people
Hostile to foreign philosophies
Focus on tradition
Stifled thought of elite
Reinforced class, age, gender

13. Tang Decline and the Rise of the Song
Roots of Decline
Problems
Weakness against Liao encourages other nomads: Xi Xia
Tributes weakening economy
Cost of army: 1 million soldiers
Weak military leaders: focus is on civilian leaders
Focus not on fortifications, but scholarly pursuits
Wang Anshi: attempts to reform
Legalist perspective
Cheap loans, irrigation projects, taxed scholars, established mercenary force
Jurchens establish Jin kingdom: invade Song
Southern Song: lasts 150 years

14. Basis of a Golden Age Grand Canal: improve communications north-south
Population increase in the south
Commercial Expansion
Silk Road expanded/protected
Junks: comparable to dhows
Gov. supervises hours/marketing methods
Merchants form guilds
Credit increased
Flying money
Changan/Hangzhou: splendid cities

15. Basis of a Golden Age Expanding Agrarian Production/Life in Country
Encouraged peasant migrants to uncultivated land
Military garrisons in rural areas
State-regulated irrigation/canals
New seeds: Champa from Vietnam
Wheelbarrow
Break up land of aristocracy
Takes away power, promotes position of ordinary citizen
Architecture: curved roofs meant status

16. Basis of a Golden Age Family/Society
Women: showed signs of improving, but deteriorated
Marriages among same age
Importance of marriage alliances helped with dowry's
Upper class: yield considerable power initially
Divorce by mutual consent
More defense against husband’s negative behavior
Wealthy women could take lovers

17. Basis of a Golden Age Male Dominance
Neo-Confucianists put women back in place
Bearer of sons, patrilineal line
Advocated confining women: fidelity, chastity, virginity
Excluded from education for civil service
Footbinding: equal to veil/seclusion in Islam
Preference for small feet
Limited mobility
Not initially accepted by poor
Marriage goal: mothers had to bind daughters feet
Men: premarital sex, concubines, remarry after death, laws favor men for inheritance

18. Basis of a Golden Age Inventions New Ag. Tools Banks/paper money
Engineering feats: Grand canal
Bridges: arches, segmented, suspensions, trussed
Explosive powder
Grenades, flamethrowers, poisonous gases, rocket launchers
Checked nomadic invasion
Domestically
Drinking tea, coal for fuel, kite
Key inventions
Abacus, compass, printing-movable type

19. Basis of a Golden Age Scholarly Refinement/Artistic Accomplishment
Painted landscapes
Artistic generalists
Confucian influence
Landscapes, everyday life, not devotional objects
Paintings:
Symbolic: philosophical/taught lessons
Crane, pine tree: longevity
Bamboo: scholarly class
Abstract: subtlety/suggestion

20. Basis of a Golden Age Global Connections More market oriented
Tech improvements taken from surrounding areas
Production of luxury goods desired by wealthy around the world
Inventions utilized by rest of world
Until 18th century
Political/economic resources unmatched by rest of the world