HIST2321 IDST2372

1
The Resurgence of Empire In East Asia (12)

•  The Restoration of Centralized Imperial Rule in
  China  

The Sui and Tang Dynasties, 589-907 C.E.
2
Centralized Imperial Rule in China

• The Sui Dynasty
• Consolidation of the Dynasty
• Massive Building projects The Grand Canal
• Intended to promote trade between north south
  China
• Most Chinese rivers flow west-east
• Linked network of earlier canals
• 2000k (1240 miles)
• Roads on either bank
• Succeeded only by railroad traffic in 20th
  century

3
The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Centralized Imperial Rule in China
• The Tang Dynasty
• Tang Taizong 2nd Emperor of Tang dynasty
  (r. 627-649 CE)
• Murders 2 brothers, thrusts father aside, takes
  throne
• Strong ruler
• Builds capital at Changan
• Law order
• Taxes, prices low
• More effective implementation of earlier Sui
  policies

Tang Dynasty founder
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia (15)

• Centralized Imperial Rule in China Tang
  Taizong

Two of six reliefs commissioned by Emperor
T'ai-tsung, founder of the T'ang Dynasty, for his
mausoleum.
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia (15)

• Centralized Imperial Rule in China Tang
  Taizong

Two of six reliefs commissioned by Emperor
T'ai-tsung, founder of the T'ang Dynasty, for his
mausoleum Xian, China University of
Pennsylvania
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The Major Achievements of the Tang

• Transportation communications
• Extensive postal, courier services
• Equal-field System
• 20 of land hereditary ownership
• 80 redistributed according to formula
• Family size, land fertility
• Worked well until 8th century
• Corruption, loss of land
• to Buddhist monasteries

Statuette of Confucian Scholar
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The Major Achievements of the Tang

• Imperial civil service examinations
• Confucian educational curriculum
• Some bribery, nepotism
• But most advance through merit
• Built loyalty to the dynasty
• System remains strong until early 20th
  century
• Tang Foreign Relations
• Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet
• One of the largest expansions of China in
  its history
• Established tributary relationships
• Gifts
• China as Middle Kingdom
• The kowtow ritual

Tang Horse
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• The Poet Du Fu on Tang Dynasty Wars
• We have learned that to have a son is bad luck
  
• It is very much better to have a daughter
  
• Who can marry and live in the house of a
  neighbor,
• While under the sod we bury our
  boys - Du Fu (712-770 C.E.)

9
Tang Decline

• Governmental neglect Emperor obsessed with
  music, favorite concubine
• An Lushan, 775 rebellion, former military
  commander
• Captures Changan, but rebellion crushed by 763
• Nomadic Uighur mercenaries invited to suppress
  rebellion, sacked Changan and Luoyang
• Tang decline continues, rebellions in 9th
  century, last emperor abdicates 907

10
Tang Decline
Tang Dynasty's territory before An Lushan
Rebellion, 755
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The Restoration of Centralized Imperial Rule in
China

• The Song Dynasty
• Song Taizu (r. 960-976 CE)
• Former military leader
• Made emperor by troops
• Instituted policy of imperial favor for civil
  servants
• expanded meritocracy

The Song Dynasty, 960-1279 C.E.
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The Song Dynasty

• Dynastic Weakness
• Size of bureaucracy heavy drain on economy
• Two peasant rebellions in 12th c.
• Internal inertia prevents reform of bureaucracy
• Civil service leadership of military
• Lacked military training
• Unable to contain nomadic attacks
• Jurchen conquer, force Song dynasty to Hangzhou,
  southern China (Southern Song)

The Song Dynasty, Bodhisattva
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The Economic Development of Tang Song

• Agricultural Development
• Fast-Ripening Vietnamese Rice, 2 crops per year
• Technology iron plows, use of draft animals
• Soil fertilization, improved irrigation
• Water wheels, canals
• Terrace farming

Buddhist wall painting
14
Population Growth

• Result of increased agricultural production
• Effective food distribution system
• Transportation networks built under Tang and Song
  dynasties

15
Tang Song Social Change

• Urbanization
• Changan worlds most populous city 2 million
  residents
• Southern Song capital Hangzhou over 1 million
• Patriarchal Social Structures
• Increased emphasis on ancestor worship
• Elaborate grave rituals
• Extended family gatherings in honor of deceased
  ancestors
• Foot-binding gains popularity
• Increased control by male family members
• Display wealth social standing

16
Technology Industry

• Porcelain (Chinaware)
• Increase of iron production due to use of coke,
  not coal, in furnaces
• Agricultural tools, weaponry
• Gunpowder invented
• Earlier printing techniques refined
• Moveable type by mid-11th century
• Yet complex Chinese ideographs make wood
  block technique easier
• Naval technology

Chinese Procelain Shanghai Museum
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Emergence of a Market Hemispheric Economy

• Letters of credit deal with copper coin shortages
• Promissory notes, checks also used
• Development of independently produced paper money
• Not as stable, riots when not honored
• Government claims monopoly on money production in
  11th century
• Increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Chinese
  cities
• Chinese silk opens up trade routes
  increases local demands for imported luxury
  goods

18
The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Sources From The Past
• The Arab Merchant Suleiman on Business
  Practices in Tang China
• The Chinese conduct commercial transactions and
  business affairs with equity. When someone lends
  money to another person, he writes up a note
  documenting the loan - The Voyages of
  Suleiman

19
Cultural Change in Tang Song China

• Declining confidence in Confucianism after
  collapse of Han dynasty
• Increasing popularity of Buddhism
• Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Islam
  also appear
• Clientele primarily foreign merchant class

20
The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Cultural Change in Tang Song
• The Establishment of Buddhism
• Foreign Relations in China
• Dunhuang
• Buddhism in China
• Buddhism and Daoism
• Chan Buddhism
• Hostility to Buddhism
• Persecution

Dunhuang Cave Entrance
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The Establishment of Buddhism

• Dunhuang, cave established 600 to 1000 ce
• Mahayana Buddhism especially popular in western
  China (Gansu province), 600-1000 CE
• Buddhist temples, libraries
• Economic success as converts donate land holdings
• Increase popularity through donations of
  agricultural produce to the poor
• Chan (Zen) Buddhism
• Buddhists adapt ideology to Chinese climate
• Dharma translated as dao
• Nirvana translated as wuwei
• Accommodated family lifestyle
• one son in monastery for ten generations of
  salvation
• Limited emphasis on textual study, meditation
  instead
• Late Tang Daoist/Confucian persecution of
  Buddhism
• 840s begins systematic closure of Buddhist
  temples, expulsions, yet survival

22
Conflicts within Chinese Culture

• Confucianism
• Text-based (Confucian teachings)
• Daoism not text-based
• Emphasis on ethics, politics
• Family-centered
• Procreation
• Filial piety

• Buddhism
• Text-based (Buddhist teachings)
• Emphasis on Metaphysics
• Ascetic ideal
• Celibacy
• isolation

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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Cultural Change in Tang Song China
• Neo-Confucianism
• Confucians Buddhism
• Neo-Confucian Influence
• Adapted Buddhist themes
• Officially recognized creed until 20th c
• Shaped Korea, Vietnam, Japan

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Song Dynasty 1200 CE
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Chinese Influence in East Asia
• Korea Vietnam
• The Silla Dynasty Tang armies withdraw, Korea
  recognizes Tang as emperor
• Technically a vassal statue, but highly
  independent
• Chinese influence on Korean culture pervasive
• China Vietnam
• Vietnamese adaptation to Chinese culture,
  technology
• Resentment at political domination
• Assert independence with Tang dynasty 10th c.
  collapse

25
China and Early Japan

• Chinese armies never invade Japan
• Chinese culture pervasive
• Imitation of Tang administration
• Establishment of new capital at Nara, hence
  Nara Japan (710-794 CE)
• Adoption of Confucian, Buddhist teachings
• retention of Shinto religion
• Heian Japan (794-1185 CE)

Chinese concubine, Yang Kwei-fei , most popular
Chinese poem in Heian Japan
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Japan

• Influence of Chinese kanji characters
• Classic curriculum dominated by Chinese
• Institution of the Shogun
• Taira Minamoto clan 12th century Civil war
• Minamoto leader named
• shogun, 1185 CE
• Rules from Kamakura,
• allows imperial throne
• to continue in Nara (Kyoto)

Minamoto
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Japan

• Medieval Japan
• Kamakura (1185-1333 CE) Muromachi (1336-1573
  CE) periods
• Decentralized power in
• hands of warlords
• Military authority in hands
• of samurai
• Professional warriors

Temple in Nara Japan
Samurai Cuirass Armor Helmut
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia

• Early Japan
• Nara Japan
• Heian Japan
• Japanese Literature
• The Tale of Genji
• Decline of Heian Japan

Scene from Tale of Genjii
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The Resurgence of Empire in East Asia
Todai Buddhist Temple Japan, 745-752 CE
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Key Words Terms (12)

• An Lu-shan Revolt
• Champa rice
• Examinations system
• footbinding
• mechanical celestial clock
• magnetic compass
• Astrolabe
• movable type
• Gunpowder
• Samurai
• Bushido
• Murasaki Shikibu

• Grand Canal
• Yangzi River
• Tang Taizong
• Xuanznag
• Uigurs
• Grand Canal
• polo
• nomadism
• Empress Wu
• Li Po
• Equal-field system
• Uighurs