Chapter 15 Bentley - LPSwp.lps.org/tlarson/files/2013/08/Chapter-15.pdf · 2013. 9. 16. · Porcelain (“Chinaware”) ! Increase of iron production due to use of coke, not coal,

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Chapter 15

The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia


The Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE)

n  Regional kingdoms succeed collapse of Han dynasty

n  Yang Jian consolidates control of all of China, initiates Sui Dynasty

n  Massive building projects q  Military labor q  Conscripted labor


The Grand Canal

n  Intended to promote trade between north and south China q  Most Chinese rivers flow west-east

n  Linked network of earlier canals q  2000k (1240 miles) q  Roads on either bank

n  Succeeded only by railroad traffic in 20th century


The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)

n  Wide discontent over conscripted labor in Sui dynasty

n  Military failures in Korea prompt rebellion n  Emperor assassinated in 618

q  Tang Dynasty initiated


Tang Taizong

n  Second emperor of Tang dynasty (r. 627-649 CE) n  Murdered two brothers, thrust father aside to take

throne n  Strong ruler

q  Built capital at Chang’an q  Law and order q  Taxes, prices low q  More effective implementation of earlier Sui

policies


Major achievements of Tang Dynasty

n  Transportation and communications q  Extensive postal, courier services

n  Equal-field System q  20% of land hereditary ownership q  80% redistributed according to formula

n  Family size, land fertility

q  Worked well until 8th century n  Corruption, loss of land to Buddhist monasteries


Bureaucracy of Merit

n  Imperial civil service examinations q  Confucian educational curriculum

n  Some bribery, nepotism n  But most advance through merit

q  Built loyalty to the dynasty q  System remains strong until early 20th century


Tang Military Expansion and Foreign Relations n  Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet n  One of the largest expansions of China in its

history n  Established tributary relationships

q  Gifts n  China as “Middle Kingdom”

q  The kowtow ritual


The Sui and Tang dynasties, 589-907 C.E.


Tang Decline

n  Governmental neglect: Emperor obsessed with music, favorite concubine

n  775 rebellion under An Lushan, former military commander

n  Captures Chang’an, but rebellion crushed by 763 n  Nomadic Uighur mercenaries invited to suppress

rebellion, sacked Chang’an and Luoyang n  Tang decline continues, rebellions in 9th century, last

emperor abdicates 907


Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)

n  Emphasis on administration, industry, education, the arts n  Military not emphasized n  Direction of first emperor, Song Taizu (r. 960-976 CE)

q  Former military leader q  Made emperor by troops q  Instituted policy of imperial favor for civil servants,

expanded meritocracy


The Song dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.


Song Weaknesses

n  Size of bureaucracy heavy drain on economy q  Two peasant rebellions in 12th c. q  Internal inertia prevents reform of bureaucracy

n  Civil service leadership of military q  Lacked military training q  Unable to contain nomadic attacks q  Jurchen conquer, force Song dynasty to Hangzhou, southern

China (Southern Song)


Agricultural Economies of the Tang and Song Dynasties n  Developed Vietnamese fast-ripening rice, 2 crops

per year n  Technology: iron plows, use of draft animals n  Soil fertilization, improved irrigation

q  Water wheels, canals n  Terrace farming


Population Growth

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

600CE

1000

Millions

n  Result of increased agricultural production

n  Effective food distribution system q  Transportation networks

built under Tang and Song dynasties


Urbanization

n  Chang’an world’s most populous city: 2 million residents q  Southern Song capital Hangzhou: over 1 million q  Several cities over 100,000


Patriarchal Social Structures

n  Increased emphasis on ancestor worship q  Elaborate grave rituals q  Extended family gatherings in honor of deceased

ancestors

n  Footbinding gains popularity q  Increased control by male family members


Footbinding


Technology and Industry

n  Porcelain (“Chinaware”) n  Increase of iron production due to use of coke, not coal,

in furnaces q  Agricultural tools, weaponry

n  Gunpowder invented n  Earlier printing techniques refined

q  Moveable type by mid-11th century q  Yet complex Chinese ideographs make wood block

technique easier n  Naval technology


Emergence of a Market Economy

n  “Flying cash:” letters of credit developed to deal with copper coin shortages q  Promissory notes, checks also used

n  Development of independently produced paper money q  Not as stable, riots when not honored

n  Government claims monopoly on money production in 11th century


China and the Hemispheric Economy

n  Increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Chinese cities

n  Chinese silk opens up trade routes, but increases local demands for imported luxury goods


Cultural Change in Tang and Song China n  Declining confidence in Confucianism after

collapse of Han dynasty n  Increasing popularity of Buddhism n  Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Islam

also appear n  Clientele primarily foreign merchant class


Dunhuang

n  Mahayana Buddhism especially popular in western China (Gansu province), 600-1000 CE

n  Buddhist temples, libraries n  Economic success as converts donate land holdings n  Increase popularity through donations of agricultural

produce to the poor


Conflicts with Chinese Culture

n  Buddhism: q  Text-based (Buddhist

teachings)

n  Emphasis on Metaphysics n  Ascetic ideal

q  Celibacy q  isolation

n  Confucianism: q  Text-based (Confucian

teachings) q  Daoism not text-based

n  Emphasis on ethics, politics

n  Family-centered q  Procreation q  Filial piety


Chan (Zen) Buddhism

n  Buddhists adapt ideology to Chinese climate q  Dharma translated as dao q  Nirvana translated as wuwei

n  Accommodated family lifestyle q  “one son in monastery for ten generations of salvation”

n  Limited empahsis on textual study, meditation instead


Persecution of Buddhists

n  Daoist/Confucian persecution supported in late Tang dynasty

n  840s begins systematic closure of Buddhist temples, expulsions q  Zoroastrians, Christians, Manicheans as well

n  Economic motive: seizure of large monastic landholdings


Neo-Confucianism

n  Song dynasty refrains from persecuting Buddhists, but favors Confucians

n  Neo-Confucians influenced by Buddhist thought n  Zhu Xi (1130-1200 CE) important synthesizer n  Popular to 20th century


China and Korea

n  Silla Dynasty: Tang armies withdraw, Korea recognizes Tang as emperor

n  Technically a vassal statue, but highly independent

n  Chinese influence on Korean culture pervasive


China and Vietnam

n  Vietnamese adaptation to Chinese culture, technology

n  But ongoing resentment at political domination n  Assert independence when Tang dynasty falls in

10th century


China and Early Japan

n  Chinese armies never invade Japan n  Yet Chinese culture pervasive n  Imitation of Tang administration

q  Establishment of new capital at Nara, hence “Nara Japan” (710-794 CE)

n  Adoption of Confucian, Buddhist teachings n  Yet retention of Shinto religion


Heian Japan (794-1185 CE)

n  Japanese emperor moves court to Heian (Kyoto) n  Yet emperor figurehead, real power in hands of

Fujiwara clan q  Pattern in Japanese history: weak emperor, power

behind the throne q  Helps explain longevity of the institution


Japanese Literature

n  Influence of Chinese kanji characters q  Classic curriculum dominated by Chinese

n  Development of hiragana, katakana syllabic alphabet n  Court life: The Tale of Genji

q  Written by woman with weak command of Chinese, becomes classic of early Japanese literature


Institution of the Shogun

n  Civil war between Taira and Minamoto clans in 12th century

n  Minamoto leader named shogun, 1185 CE n  Ruled from Kamakura, allowed imperial throne to

continue in Kyoto


Medieval Japan

n  Kamakura (1185-1333 CE) and Muromachi (1336-1573 CE) periods

n  Decentralized power in hands of warlords n  Military authority in hands of samurai n  Professional warriors

Documents

Chapter 15 Bentley - LPSwp.lps.org/tlarson/files/2013/08/Chapter-15.pdf · 2013. 9. 16. · Porcelain (“Chinaware”) ! Increase of iron production due to use of coke, not coal,