1. Civilizations that thrived during the medieval period.
Civilizations of Asia
Medieval China
Civilizations that thrived during the medieval period.

2. Medieval China’s three dynasties:
Sui Dynasty (580–618)
Tang Dynasty (618–906)
Song Dynasty (960–1127)
Medieval China’s three dynasties:

3. I. China Reunites a. The Sui (Swee) Dynasty Reunites China (581-618)
A Dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. After the Han Dynasty collapsed (rules for over 400years), China was broken up into several kingdoms. Despite this Buddhism, art and learning spreads.
a. The Sui (Swee) Dynasty Reunites China ( )
They unite N and S China for the first time in centuries.
General Wendi declared himself emperor & found the Dynasty. He massacred 59 royal princes to take over.
Yangdi (YANGH DEE) Wendi’s son took over, He expanded the territory.
He rebuilt the Great Wall.
He started the Great or Grand Canal built to link N China
to S China so grain could get to the North. It linked the
Yangtze River to the Yellow.

4. The Great Wall of China

5. The Great Wall of China is approximately 4,160miles long.

6. The Grand Canal A waterway that linked the Huang He (Yellow)River and
the Chang (Yangtze River)

7. Covers 1,000 miles and is still the longest canal ever built

8. Negative: Hardships for Chinese people building and taxes
For his projects. Led to a revolt that killed Yangtze. Sui
came to an end.
Positive: Reminded China of their glorious past. He allowed
people to follow their own beliefs. Rebirth of Confucius
beliefs.
Emperor Wendi

9. Yang Di, the last major Sui emperor
The Collapse of the Sui
Yang Di, the last major Sui emperor

10. b. Tang Dynasty-Golden Age Begins
The Tang Dynasty lasted 300 years ( )
Political & Cultural achievement
Population growth (Chang ‘an was the biggest city in the world- 1 million people. It had a tall wall for protection & was shaped like a rectangle)
Silk road- a chain of trade routes (not a single road) stretching from China to the Mediterranean Sea (Tea, Jade, Ivory, Ceramics, Silk)

11. Tang Dynasty

12. The Silk Road!!!
The Silk Road crossed China’s Gobi Desert into Western Asia and eventually into the Eastern Mediterranean Region, this series of trade routes (not a single Road) introduced China to the rest of the World. China was reaching a period of greatness known as the “Golden Age.”

13. Taizong (TY ZAWNG) Greatest ruler (626-649) of the Tang Dynasty
He killed his two brothers and all ten of his nephews to take over.
He was considered a fair and just ruler. Didn’t overburden the peasants with
taxes.
He was a successful general, scholar, historian, & calligraphy.
Later in life, he became tired of war & studied Confucius.
He reformed government according to Confucius ideas.
He gave land to peasants and treat all people w/ respect.
Tang Taizong

14. A Women Ruler: The Fall of the Tang: Empress Wu Hou (675 – 705)
Only women to rule China on her own.
Strengthened the Military
Added more officials to the government
Took over Korea
The Fall of the Tang:
In the Mid 700’s problems occur for the Tang.
Turks took control of the Silk Road and
drove the Tang out.
Economy was severely damaged.

15. The Song Dynasty c. Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Cultural achievements (Compass, Gunpowder, Smallpox Vaccine)
They had advances in government like the merit system (system of hiring people based on their abilities as opposed to Nepotism).
Many Buddhists vs. Neo-Confucianism emerged
Agriculture improved
-More rice grown
-Art (landscape paintings), music, poetry, trade
-printing books (Movable Type)

16. Improvements in Agriculture
New strains of rice and better irrigation methods helped peasants to grow more rice.
Allowed farmers to produce two crops a year instead of one.

17. The Arts and Trade During the Song dynasty,
artists created the earliest
known Chinese landscape
paintings.
They painted on silk and featured
peaceful scenes of water, rocks
and plants.

18. Chinese Art

19. The Arts and Trade
Rulers also prized graceful art objects like porcelain, a white and hard type of ceramic…
often called China.

20. The Arts and Trade
Silk (called the queen of fibers)
comes from the cocoons of caterpillars called silkworms.
The Chinese’s silk was the highest quality in the world.

21. Printing, Books, and Learning
Song inventions included a new way to print books.
The Chinese had carved the characters of each page onto a wood block. They would brush ink over the carving and lay a piece of paper on it to print the page.
Printers could make many copies of a book using these blocks, but carving the block for each page took a long time.

22. Can you read this...

23. More Books...
1045, Bi Sheng, developed a printing method that used movable type.
He made many separate characters out of clay and rearranged them to make each page.
During the Song dynasty books became less expensive and
more people including women learned how to read and write.

24. The Mongols Conquer China
d. A New Threat: Mongols in China until 1368
Mongols were nomads from the plains of Central Asia, North China. They were warriors and spent much time on horseback.
By 1200’s under the leadership of Genghis Khan they were a tough military Force.
The Mongols started an empire that included China and Korea in the east, Russia and Eastern Europe in the west and then extended to the southwest as far as the Persian gulf.
Genghis Khan had conquered all of Northern China by 1215.

25. The Mongol Empire

26. The Silk Road!!!
The Silk Road crossed China’s Gobi Desert into Western Asia and eventually into the Eastern Mediterranean Region, this series of trade routes (not a single Road) introduced China to the rest of the World. China was reaching a period of greatness known as the “Golden Age.”

27. The Golden Horde

28. Genghis Khan
Kublai Khan

29. Kublai Khan
But there was still the southern Song Empire which would continue to resist.
Genghis Khan left it to his grandson Kublai Khan to complete the conquest of China and to rule it all.
Kublai Khan came to power in 1259, within 20 years he
had defeated the last Song emperor.
Kublai Khan declared himself Emperor of China and named the new dynasty “Yuan”-which means “beginning,” because Kublai Khan intended that the Mongol rule of China would last for centuries.
Kublai Khan conquered the Southern part of China.

30. The Mongol’s were able to centralize the government in China
The Mongol’s were able to centralize the government in China. They did not allow the old Chinese ruling class to govern/rule
High government positions were reserved for Mongols’ and were even given to foreigners rather than to Chinese.
The Mongols also kept their own language and customs rather than adopting the Chinese culture, but they did allow for the practice of many religions.
Visitors from all lands were welcome to Kublai Khan’s court. A Christian from Europe, Marco Polo came from Venice, Italy.
Marco Polo’s writings helped to increase trade with Europe and China. China prospered only under Kublai Khan, but not under the later Khans, or emperors who followed him.
Batu Khan controlled the Russian Area.
Mongol rule ended with a peasant revolt.

31. e. Philosophy and Religion in China
1. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) was an ancient Chinese teacher.
Believed in:
Treat others with respect
Peace to China
Family before Community
Moral values and ethics (Right vs. Wrong)
Principles:
Use right relationships to produce social order
Respect family & older generations
Educate individuals and society
Act in morally correct ways
Beliefs put in the government:
Advancement through education
Ruler should be virtuous and kind
Subject loyal and obey the law
Children respect for parents and older generations
Neo-Confucianism
Morality is highest goal a person can reach
Morality achieved through education
Education through books, observation or interaction
w/ wise people

32. Fast Facts... Confucius came from a noble, but poor family.
Confucius’s education was self-taught.
Many historians believe that Confucius was China’s first professional teacher.
Confucius taught both the rich and the poor so long as they truly wanted to learn.
Confucius’s goal was order in society, at all levels. He believed that people behaving properly would bring order to society.
The teachings of Confucius are the most widely studied Chinese philosophies.

33. Confucius Quotes...
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
He who learns but does not think, is lost!
He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
Life is really simple,
but we insist on making it complicated.
I hear, I know.
I see, I remember.
I do, I understand.

34. 2. Buddhism
Based on Siddhartha Gautama (sihd DAHR tuh GOW tuh muh) known as the
“Enlightened one”.
Started in India
Beliefs:
Suffering is a part of life
Reason people suffer is that they are too attached to material possessions & selfish ideas
By living in a wise, moral, thoughtful way, people can eventually learn to escape suffering
It spread to Korea and Japan

35. The End of Medieval China
China prospered only under Kublai Khan, but not under the later Khans, or emperors who followed him.
In 1368, a Chinese peasant led an uprising that overthrew the foreign rulers and ended the Mongol rule of China.