1. Aim: What was the greatest achievement of the Tang & Song?
Do Now: The Chinese invented gunpowder. Would the world be better off it had never been invented? Write an answer  turn & talk

2. Don’t Forget the Previous Chinese Dynasties!
Dynasty
Known For…
Shang Dynasty (1766 BCE – 1122 BCE)
First form of writing on oracle bones. Polytheistic.
Zhou Dynasty (1122 BCE – 221 BCE)
Iron weapons and tools. Confucianism spread.
Qin Dynasty (221 BCE – 206 BCE)
Harsh policy of Legalism. Great Wall of China began.
Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE)
Civil service exam based on Confucianism (the state philosophy). Acupuncture, invention of paper. Trade on the Silk Road.
Sui Dynasty (589 CE – 618 CE)
The Grand Canal was built to increase trade.

3. Civil Service Exam
Since the Han Dynasty, civil service exams tested their takers' knowledge of history, literature and Confucian writings. It allowed test takers to gain a job in the government. This continued in the Tang & Song.

5. I Rise of the Tang! 618 – 907 CE
A) Invented gunpowder, a mixture of saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. It was first used to make fireworks. It was first used for the military in 919 CE.
A Tang dynasty book (850 CE) included a warning about mixing gunpowder: "Some have heated together sulfur, and saltpeter with honey; smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burnt down.”

6. Achievements of the Tang Dynasty continued…
B) Block Printing & Movable Type: Pre-cut characters that were combined to form a page. C) Invented the process of making porcelain. Porcelain is a type of pottery made from clay, that is glazed and “baked” at high temperatures. Chinese porcelain was traded along the Silk Road. It became so popular in Europe that the finest porcelain became known as “China”!

7. Daming Palace, Tang Dynasty Chang’an China

8. II Decline of the Tang
The Tang declined due to government corruption, assassination of emperors, and peasant revolts.  the rise of the Song Dynasty!

9. III Song Dynasty
A) Large merchant ships were sent to India, Arabia and other regions to trade in Chinese silk, tea and other manufactured products.

10. Song Dynasty Continued…
B) Invented the world’s first paper currency (money). Paper currency was a by-product of Chinese block-printing. It helped business as it is easier to carry.
Under the Song Dynasty, block printed playing cards became popular!

11. Song Dynasty Continued…
C) Invented the mechanical clock: used wheels, shafts & pins, turning at a steady rate to tell exact time.

12. Song Dynasty continued…
D) Invented a vaccine for smallpox.
Smallpox is an airborne, contagious disease. Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980.
– World Health Organization
Which other civilization invented a smallpox vaccination?

13. Hangzhou, a Song Dynasty City

14. IV Decline of the Song
The Song dynasty allied with the Mongols against their enemies, the Jin. The Mongols helped them to conquer the Jin, but then turned on the Song. The leader of the Mongols, Kublai Khan, conquered all of China and began his own dynasty, the Yuan dynasty.

15. V Foot Binding
A) Foot binding was a cultural practice that began during the Tang Dynasty. B) Wealthy girls would have their feet bound to make a small, lily shaped foot. It was a status symbol. Women with bound feet were disfigured & could not work in the fields. C) Confucianism was the dominant philosophy in the Tang and Song Dynasties; women were supposed to be subservient to their husbands.

16. Summary Questions
Which achievement of the Tang Dynasty do you believe was the most important? Why?
Which achievement of the Song Dynasty do you believe was the most important? Why?
Why did some girls in China have their feet bound? What does this tell you about Chinese society and women at this time?
What were the reasons for the decline of the Tang & Song?

17. Key Vocabulary Foot binding Mechanical Clock Porcelain Song Dynasty
Smallpox Vaccine
Tang Dynasty