Post-Classical China

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Post-Classical China

• Mr. Millhouse
• AP World History
• Hebron High School

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Three Kingdoms

• End of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long
  period of disunity and civil war
• Buddhism began to spread throughout China during
  this period
• Introduced in the first century CE
• Did not really begin to spread until after the
  Han empire collapsed
• Tea was discovered in the south during this
  period
• Porcelain was also developed during this time

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Sui Dynasty (580-618 CE)

• Restored the Chinese imperial structure
• Confucian bureaucracy, etc.
• Defeated external enemies
• Accomplishments of the Sui Dynasty
• Grand Canal (right)
• Confucianism also began to regain popularity
• Weakened by military spending and external
  invasions

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Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)

• Expanded Confucian administrative system
• Reformed examination system
• Compiled the Tang Code in 624 CE
• Liberal attitude towards all religions

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Empress Wu (624-705)

• Only female empress in Chinese history
• Removed the rightful heir to the throne in 690 CE
• Recruited outstanding individuals to serve in
  her court
• Buddhism was the favored statereligion
• Attempted to make it a state religion
• Financed the building of many Buddhist temples

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Tang Developments

• Rapid increase in rice production
• Techniques such as planting out seedlings rapidly
  increased yield
• Champa rice from Vietnam
• Terrace Farming
• Population doubled
• Urbanization
• Power moved from north to south
• Revived the Silk Roads
• Contemporaries of the Umayyad and Abbasid
  Caliphates

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Song Dynasty (960-1279)

• Not politically powerful
• Conquered by Mongols
• Great advances were made in technology and
  culture
• Used gunpowder as a weapon
• Foreign trade expanded greatly due to junks
• Rise of Neo-Confucianism

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Song Pre-Industrial Era

• Specialized Production
• Government monopolies
• Private business
• Guilds
• Silk, porcelain, iron, etc.
• Expanding trade markets
• Internal expansion caused by population growth
• Grand Canal, paper money, etc.
• External expansion caused by naval technology
• Compass, junks, etc.

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Iron Smelting in Song Dynasty
Yuan dynasty waterwheel and blast furnace
Song dynasty iron smelting process
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Tang-Song Accomplishments

• Gunpowder
• New porcelain techniques
• Translucent porcelain
• Invention of the moveable type printing press in
  1045 CE
• Introduction of paper money, called flying money
  was introduced
• Metal was scarce in China

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Footbinding

• First evidence of this practice shows up in about
  950 CE
• Not sure why this practice began
• Widely practiced among both the rich and poor of
  China
• Essentially made women subordinate to their
  husbands

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Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

• Yuan Dynasty came to an end in 1368
• Attempt to eliminate Mongol cultural influence
• Ming Government
• Reestablished Confucian bureaucracy (again)
• Moved capital to Beijing
• Built the Forbidden City
• Expanded into Central Asiaand Manchuria

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Forbidden City
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Ming Economy

• New American crops expanded agriculture
• Sweet potato, maize, peanuts
• Led to rapid population growth
• Went from 100 million in 1500 to 225 million by
  1750
• Population growth aided manufacturing by keeping
  wages low
• Limited need for labor saving devices
• Launched expeditions into the Indian Ocean
• Zheng He voyages
• Limited trade with Europeans to Macao Canton
• the Silver Sink

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Zheng He vs. Columbus
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Ming Society

• Strengthened traditional Chinese values
• Filial piety
• Extended family system
• Emphasized loyalty to family
• Females remained subordinate
• Footbinding continued
• Female infanticide was not uncommon
• Widows were discouraged from remarrying widow
  suicide was often encouraged
• Confucian-based social hierarchy

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Ming Culture

• Promoted Neo-Confucianism
• Emphasized Chinese tradition
• Literature
• Monkey, the Water Margin, etc.
• Pottery
• the Great Wall