4-2 Notes: Chinese Society

Tang rebuild China• Collapse of Han dynasty was

disastrous for Chinese economy

• 618 A.C.E. – Tang reforms – Tang give more land to farmers

• Farmers improved irrigation, new farming methods, and began to grow rice that grew well in poor soil

• Increase in food production supported large population growth

• Tang rulers also rebuilt roads and waterways to make travel easier

• Silk Road was under Tang control and trade flourished

• China began to grow famous for trading porcelain, a fine clay baked at high temperatures and formed into pots, vases etc.

Coal & Steel• At first, people burned

wood to heat homes and cook food, however, forests depleted

• Chinese discovered that coal could be used to heat things, coal mining industry booms

• Chinese used coal to heat furnaces – discovered that by mixing iron with carbon from coal, a new, stronger metal was formed – steel

• Chinese used steel to make armor, swords, helmets, as well as stoves, farm tools, drills, steel chains, nails, and even sewing needles

Paper & Printing• Paper invented during Han

dynasty – Tang dynasty boosts paper production (500,000 sheets a year just to assess taxes!)

• Everything copied by hand• 600 A.C.E. – Chinese begin

printing using carved blocks of wood, ink sheets, and a press to imprint images onto paper

• Chinese also invented paper currency (paper money)

• As the Chinese economy grew, demand for money grew as well

• 1024 A.C.E. - Chinese officials began to print paper money instead of creating copper coins

Other Chinese inventions• 1000s A.C.E. – Pi Sheng

invented movable type for printing (each character was separate piece which could be combined to create new sentences

• Gunpowder – A mixture of sulfur, coal, and potassium nitrate – Was developed first to propel fireworks, then as a weapon (fire lance)

• 1150 A.C.E. – Chinese sailors begin using the compass, a device used to measure directions in a frame of reference – Chinese sailors used the compass to find their way and sail to faraway places

Chinese Art, Literature, & Porcelain• Poetry popular in China – Li Bo

(nature) and Du Fu (serious poetry about intense suffering) were among the Tang dynasty’s most popular poets

• Painting of landscapes popular in Song dynasty China, but painters did not realistically portray the landscapes – tried to capture “the idea” of the countryside

• Chinese calligraphy also popular – calligraphy is the art of writing beautiful letters

• Porcelain was perfected during this time – Westerners often called porcelain “China” because of its origin

• Technology to make porcelain finally spread Europe in 1700s A.C.E.