1. During the “Three Dynasties” Sui, Tang, Song
China and the Silk Road
During the “Three Dynasties” Sui, Tang, Song

2. The Civil Service test
How do we chose government officials in America today?
Civil Service Examination
young men had to memorize old Confucius texts
Most failed
Meant that China always had a literate government

3. Chinese inventions of this time
Steel!!!
gunpowder
Cotton

5. Trade Along the Silk Road
Three religions spread along the routes:
Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam
Gunpowder, silk and paper, tea, rice, spices
Wool, carpets, gold, silver, gems
China
The rest of the World

6. Silk Silk is made from the strands of a Silkworm’s cocoon

7. Social Classes during the “Three Dynasties”
Most people still lived off the land in villages
Scholar-Gentry class rose
Upper class that controlled most of the land
Provided candidates for the civil service.

8. Women had very little power
When a girl married, her parents paid a dowry to the husband (poor families often sold their daughters)
FOOT BINDING: