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Section 1: China under the Sui, Tang, and Sung Dynasties
In this section:
You will find out how Chinese civilization advanced during the Sui and Tang dynasties.
You will also learn about daily life for the Chinese people during the Sung dynasty.
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Pre Section review?
1. What are some of the main geographic features and how have these features impacted the political, social and economic setting of China?
2. What makes China a traditional economy?
3. What are the major belief systems in China? What are their main idea for each belief?
Focus Questions
1. What were the main accomplishments in Chinese culture during the Sui and Tang dynasties?
2. What developments during the Sung dynasty improved life for the Chinese people? Which made life worse?
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Vocabulary
Grand Canal: World's longest canal system, constructed during the Sui dynasty to link northern and southern China
Li Bo: Daoist poet from the period of the Tang Dynasty who wrote about life’s delights
Du Fu: Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty period who wrote about serious subjects such as the suffering and tragedy of human life
Empress Wu: The only woman to hold the Chinese throne in her own name; a supporter of Buddhism and a strong leader Zen: Sect of Buddhism that stresses meditation as a means of enlightenment
Diamond Sutra: World’s first known printed book, a Buddhist text produced in China in A.D. 868
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The Civilizations of East Asia
Section 1 Summary
After the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220CE , wave after wave of invaders swept into China. In the late 500s one group reunited China and established the Sui dynasty. Sui emperors built the Grand Canal, the world’s longest canal system, which linked northern and southern China for the first time.
The Sui dynasty, however, was defeated by invading Turks. In the early 600s rulers defeated the Turks and established the Tang dynasty. They extended China’s frontiers to the west. The Tang capital, Xi’an, became a center of government and culture. The Tang dynasty was another golden age for China, which became the most powerful and wealthy country in the world.
The Tang dynasty was also a high point in Chinese literature. Thousands of poets wrote nearly 49,000 known works. Among the best were Li Bo and Du Fu. Li Bo, a Daoist, wrote about life’s delights.
Du Fu, a devout follower of Confucius, wrote about the suffering and tragedy of human life. Du Fu called for an end to wars and uprisings.
Buddhism, brought to China by missionaries from India, reached its peak under the Tang dynasty. Empress Wu, who ruled from 690 to 705, was a strong leader and the only woman to hold the throne in her own name. She was an outspoken supporter of Buddhism.
Many different forms of Buddhism appeared. The most famous is known by its Japanese name, Zen. Zen Buddhism stressed meditation as a means to enlightenment. It was similar to Daoism, and in later years many Chinese adopted a mix of the two.
The growing wealth of Buddhist monasteries alarmed government officials. Tang government officials began persecuting Buddhists. They destroyed thousands of shrines and monasteries and forced 250,000 monks and nuns to return to ordinary life. Tang rulers restored Confucianism as the main religion.
The Tang dynasty declined under weak emperors. In the 900s nomads invaded and seized the throne. The Sung dynasty was established in 960. Although Chinese culture and art flourished, Sung emperors faced constant pressure from foreign invasion and civil wars. Mongols called the Qidan (CHI·DAHN) invaded from the north. The Sung emperors had to pay a huge tribute to the Qidan every year to avoid war.
Another Central Asian people, the Juchen, took over northern China in the 1100s. They established the Jin dynasty in the north with its capital at Beijing. Hangzhou (HANG·CHOW) was the capital of the Sung dynasty in the south. Despite these troubles, Chinese civilization flourished. Sung artists perfected the making of delicate porcelain vases and produced beautiful landscape paintings. The Sung improved the civil service system by ending cheating and corruption. Chinese gunpowder, invented earlier, was first used for warfare. The Chinese invented printing. The world’s first known printed book, a Buddhist text called the Diamond Sutra, was produced in 868.
http://totallyhistory.com/tang-dynasty-inventions/
By about 1050 China had a population of 100 million people. Most were peasants. Water-control projects allowed farmers to irrigate more fields and grow more rice. A new, quick-ripening rice allowed them to grow two crops each year. However, the Tang rulers increased taxes. Peasants who could not pay had to sell their farms. They became tenant farmers, paying high rents to landlords.
During the Sung dynasty, more Chinese than ever before lived in cities and towns. Wealthy Chinese lived in fine homes, but ordinary people lived in crowded apartments. Some were homeless and begged for food. The Sung government set up hospitals and orphanages, but poverty and overcrowding remained serious problems.
The status of women changed. The custom of footbinding spread among the wealthy. Girls’ feet were tied tightly so that their feet would not grow. The result was crippling. This custom showed that a man was so successful that his wife did not have to do housework.
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Answers to the Focus Questions
1. What were the main accomplishments in Chinese culture during the Sui and Tang dynasties?
Chinese culture flourished under the Sui and Tang dynasties. Sui emperors built the Grand Canal. The Tang dynasty was a high point in Chinese literature. Thousands of poets wrote nearly 49,000 known works. Buddhism and Confucianism both grew and expanded in China during this time.
2. What developments during the Sung dynasty improved life for the Chinese people? Which made life worse?
The development of trade and the arts during the Sung dynasty improved life for the Chinese people. The civil service system was made more fair. The invention of gunpowder and printing probably improved life. Water-control projects and the introduction of an improved type of rice helped farmers. However, increases in taxes made life worse for peasants, who often had to sell their farms. Population growth that led to poverty and overcrowding made life worse for the poor. The crippling practice of foot binding made life worse for women.
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