Aim: How should we remember the Tang and Song Dynasties of China, and Oceania

in Period 3?

Do Now:

NY State Standards 2Common Core Standards RS 5, 7, 9, WS 1, 4, 8

I Rise of the Tang! 618 – 907 CE

The Rise of the Tang Continued…A) The Tang Dynasty was founded in 618 by the Li family who took power after the assignation of the Sui dynasty emperor. B) The empire’s capital was located in the city of Chang’an. C) The Tang dynasty traded along the Silk Road and connected China to the cities of central Asia, the Middle East, the Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad, and even the Byzantine Dynasty in Constantinople. The Silk Road led to higher profits for merchants, better tax income for the empire, and a higher standard of living for the Chinese people. D) The Tang Dynasty had the first empress named Wu!E) Like the Han Dynasty, all government officials practiced and followed Confucianism. That means all government officials and teachers were men. All of the government officials took a civil service exam based on Confucianism, Chinese history and law.

II Achievements of the Tang DynastyA) The first discovery of gunpowder was an indirect result of the ancient Chinese alchemists’ search for a path to immortality (a goal of the Taoists). A Tang dynasty book (850 CE) included a warning against the mixing of chemicals that were similar to the basic ingredients that make up modern day gunpowder: "Some have heated together sulfur, realgar 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.” Gunpowder was first used for fireworks. The first military usage of gunpowder was in the late Tang. In 904 CE, Tang military engineers hurled ignited lumps of slow burning gunpowder mixtures in what was called "Flying Fire" using catapults.

Achievements of the Tang continued…B) Woodblock printing first appeared in China around 600, probably inspired by the much older use of bronze or stone seals to make impressions on clay and silk. Text to be printed was first written on a sheet of paper. The paper was then glued face-down to the wood block and, using a knife, the characters on the paper were carefully engraved on the wood. The surface of wood block was then inked and covered with a sheet of paper. By gently brushing the paper over the engraved characters, the text was printed. At first, woodblock printing was mainly used for printing books on agriculture and medicine, as well as for printing calendars, calligraphy, and auspicious charms. In 762 CE, the first commercially printed books were sold in the markets of Chang’an, the Tang capital. In 782, printed papers were available in the marketplace as receipts for business transactions and tax payments.

Achievements of the Tang Dynasty continued…

C) Invented the process of making porcelain. Porcelain is a type of pottery made from clay, that is glazed and “baked” at extremely high temperatures.

II Rise of the Song Dynasty 960 - 1279

Rise of the Song Dynasty Continued…A) In the year 960, Emperor Taizu conquered the area of the fallen Tang Empire and began the Song Dynasty era. The Song Dynasty era is divided into two time periods of referred to as the Northern Song era (960-1127) and the Southern Song era (1127-1279). Kaifeng was the capital of the northern Song Dynasty. However, when the Jin Empire conquered Kaifeng and the northeastern region, the Song Dynasty court relocated to Hangzhou. The Song Dynasty was able to rule over a relatively prosperous empire south of the Yangtze River, which lasted over 300 years.B) The cultivation of rice and development of commerce led to the doubling of the population! International trade was encouraged by Song Dynasty rulers, which led to the establishment of large commercial cities such as Hangzhou. Large merchant ships were sent to India, Arabia and other regions to trade in Chinese silk, tea and other manufactured products. As much as 200 million pounds of iron were produced each year for the creation of weapons and tools in iron foundries.

Hangzhou

III Achievements of the Song DynastyA) Paper currency was a by-product of Chinese block-printing. It started in the Tang but not until the Song did it become issued by the government. Paper currency was easier to carry, and the copper and iron could be saved for use in everyday objects. B) Su Song (1020-1101) designed and constructed a mechanical clock tower (almost 40 feet high) by adding a chain-driven mechanism to the existing water-powered clock. The clock told not only the time of day but also the day of the month, the phase of the moon, and the position of certain stars and planets in the sky. At the top was a mechanically rotated armillary sphere that showed the changing location of the planets and stars!

Achievements of the Song continued…C) Like the Gupta dynasty in India, the Song invented a vaccine for smallpox.

IV Chinese Foot BindingA) 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. 'Match-makers or mother-in-laws required their son's betrothed to have bound feet as a sign that she would be a good wife (she would be subservient and without complaint). C) It was finally outlawed in 1911!

V Oceania 600 CE – 1450 CEA) Polynesians colonized the central Society Islands between 1025 and 1120 CE and dispersed to New Zealand, Hawaiʻi and Rapa Nui (Easter and other locations between 1190 and 1290 CE.B) Easter Island “Rapa Nui”: (from Natgeo.com)1. A Polynesian society somehow navigated a fleet of wooden outrigger canoes to this tiny speck in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Here, in isolation some 2,300 miles west of South America and 1,100 miles from the nearest neighboring island!2. Rapa Nui’s moai statues are carved from stone blocks, average 13 feet tall and 14 tons! The effort to construct these monuments and move them around the island must have been considerable—but no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task. Most scholars suspect that the moai were created to honor ancestors, chiefs, or other important personages, However, no written and little oral history exists on the island, so it’s impossible to be certain.

Oceania Continued…3. It is generally thought that the Rapa Nui’s demise resulted from an environmental catastrophe of their own making. It’s also not clear how quickly the island ecosystem was wrecked—but a major factor appears to be the cutting of millions of giant palms to clear fields or make fires. It is possible that Polynesian rats, arriving with human settlers, may have eaten enough seeds to help to decimate the trees. Either way, loss of the trees exposed the island’s rich volcanic soils to serious erosion. When Europeans arrived in 1722, they found the island mostly barren and its inhabitants few.

Classwork Questions (Yes these will count as HW!) Heh heh heh By the

way, your teacher misses you.1. Fill in your period 3 civilization chart for the Tang and Song

dynasties, and Oceania.2. Describe any 4 achievements of the Tang and Song. Why are they

important?3. Describe the practice of foot binding. What does it tell you about

the role of women in Chinese society at this time? Do modern women undergo anything similar? If yes, explain. If no, then why not?

4. What are moai statues? Why do you think they were constructed?5. What do many geologists happened to the environment of Easter

Island? Is this similar to the decline of another civilization in history? Explain.

Key Vocabulary