Asia & the Mongols

500 – 1600 AD

Sui China: 589 – 618

The Sui Era

• Northern Zhou dynasty conquered southern Chen in 589

• Wendi, a Zhou noble, united traditional China; won support by lowering taxes and establishing granaries

• Yangdi: murdered his father Wendi to gain throne; made meaningful reforms but angered peasants and was defeated in wars against nomads

The Tang Dynasty: 618 – 907

• Li Yuan, Duke of Tang, took control of China after the Sui dynasty failed

• Beat back Turkic nomad invaders & repaired Great Wall

• Turks were integrated and neutralized: used as soldiers and intermarried

• During the Tang, Korea was conquered and China spread in many areas that resemble modern China

• Imperial bureaucracy, staffed by well-educated officials, grew during the Tang

• At the same time, the aristocrats’ power decreased• Emperors funded academies to teach effective

administrators• Highest offices could be obtained only by those who

passed strenuous exams• Corruption still took place: “Merit & ambition

counted for something, but birth & family often counted for a good deal more.” (269)

Tang Religion

• Buddhism flourished in pre-Tang China• Tang emperors supported Buddhism as well as

Confucianism• Confucian bureaucrats began convincing Tang emperors

that Buddhism was a threat to the empire. Why? (hint, MONEY!)

• In the 800s, many Buddhist monasteries were destroyed in China, and monks forced to return to civilian life

• Chinese Buddhism survived, but was weakened• Confucianism would be main Chinese ideology until

communism in the 20th century

Song Dynasty: 960 – 1279

• Tang Emperor Xuanzong’s love affair with Yang Guifei weakened Tang dynasty beyond repair

• Zhao Kuangyin establishes Song in 960• Though Zhao is a strong ruler, he is unable to

defeat northern Mongols and has to pay tribute so they will not attach China (continued for 300 years)

• Song kept military weak in order to quell possible rebellions by provinces

• Greatly favored scholar-gentry administrators and Confucianism and Daoism over Buddhism

• Emphasis on Confucianism caused China to, over time, be suspicious of foreign ideas and influence

• Costs of paying tribute bore heavily on Song peasants, and lack of focus on military weakened empire

• Reforms by Wang Anshi fail in 1080s, and Song is invaded

• The Song flee south to form Southern Song empire, but not nearly as successful

Golden Age of Tang & Song

• Grand Canal: built by Yangdi, allowed movement of people and goods between north & south China; took 1 million to build

• Junks: best ships in the world, had compasses & gunpowder propelled rockets!

• Changan: Tang capital, largest city in the world w/ 2 million pop.

• Hangzhou: Song capital, 1 million pop., even more impressive; visited by Marco Polo

• Status for upper-class women increased during Tang & early Song

• Overall, Confucian belief in male dominance meant worsening conditions for women

• Confucians stressed women’s role as homemaker & mother

• Footbinding: strangest thing you will learn about in AP World History (according to Mr. Anderson)

Ouch! and gross…

Science & Art

• Important: bridges, coal, compass, abacus, printing, gunpowder, flamethrowers, poisonous gas, rocket launchers?!?!

• Cool, but not so important: chairs (yawn), kites, and tea

• Art, music, & poetry flourished