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Tang and Song Tang and Song ChinaChina

Era of Prosperity & Technological Era of Prosperity & Technological InnovationInnovation

Sui DynastySui Dynasty• Wendi – 1st emperor of Sui Dynasty– Completion of Grand Canal

Tang Dynasty A.D. 618-907• Tang Taizong– Reconquered lands– Influence over Korea

• Empress Wu Zhao – 1st female to have title of emperor

• Strengthened central gov’t• Expanded roads & canals• Promoted foreign trade & agriculture

Scholar-OfficialsScholar-Officials• Civil service examination system– Open to all men – Required education– Gentry

Religion in the Tang

Tang DeclineTang Decline• Imposed taxes to meet gov’t costs• Struggled to control empire• Tang capital burned & last emperor

killed

Song Dynasty Restores Song Dynasty Restores ChinaChina

• General Taizu reunited China – 1st Song emperor– Tried to buy peace with enemies–Manchurian people, the Jurchen,

conquered northern China

• New capital @ Hangzhou • Rapid economic growth

Agriculture• Improved cultivation of rice• More food to feed larger population

Science & Science & TechnologyTechnology• Movable type

• Gunpowder• Porcelain• Mechanical clock• Paper money• Magnetic compass for sailing

What impact do What impact do these technologies these technologies have on China?have on China?

Trade & Foreign Contact

• Trade flourished– Silk Roads

• Ocean trade– Trading colonies

• Chinese culture spread

• Adopted Buddhism, Islam, eastern Christianity

Religion in the Song

Art & Poetry• Poetry– Discussed life’s pleasures, praised

orderliness & Confucian values

• Daoist influence on art

Changes in Society • More social mobility• Gentry emerged (new upper class of scholar-

officials)– Status through education & civil service

• Urban middle class – merchants, shopkeepers, artisans, lower officials

• Lower class – laborers, soldiers, servants

Women’s Status• Status further declined• Foot-binding

Feudal JapanFeudal Japan

The name Japan comes from the Chinese words, “ri ben”, which means “origin

of the sun”

Geography of Japan• Group of islands• Mild climate, much rainfall• Not much farmland• Typhoons, earthquakes, tidal waves

How do you think their geography influences their lifestyle?

Early Japan• Hundreds of clans w/own gods &

goddesses• Varied beliefs & practices formed

Shinto religion (“way of the gods”)– Shinto based on respect for

nature, worship of ancestors

– Which other culture is this similar to?

– Believed in kami, divine spirits that dwelled in nature

Yamato Emperors• By the 400s, the Yamato clan

established itself as the leading clan– Yamato family claimed divinity– Yamato emperors lacked any real power

(figureheads)– Real power rested with the clan who ruled in

the emperor’s name

This dual structure became an enduring characteristic of Japanese gov’t

Japanese Culture• Korean travelers brought Chinese

ideas and customs to Japan– Religion of Buddhism

• Some Japanese did not want to completely give up Shintoism

• Shinto practices and rituals mixed with Buddhist beliefs

Japanese Culture• Japan sent missions to investigate

Chinese civilization• The Japanese adopted the Chinese

system of writing– Cooking, gardening, tea-making,

hairdressing

• Chinese ways were adapted to suit the needs of the Japanese

What course theme does this support?

The Heian Period• Emperor’s court moved its capital

to Heian, or modern Kyoto• Elaborate daily court life• Rules dictated every aspect of life

The Heian Period• Etiquette was extremely important• Noblewomen wore their hair down to

their ankles, blacked their teeth with cosmetics, and dyed their clothing to match the seasons

• Everyone wrote poetry, painted• Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of

Genji and Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book describe court life

Compare to European chivalry & literature

Decline of Central Power• Large landowners moved away from the

capital and set up private armies• As trade and travel became unsafe,

small farmers and landowners traded land to strong warlords in exchange for protection

• As a result, lords gained more and more power

• This marked the beginning of the feudal system in Japan

Samurai WarriorsLords surrounded themselves with

bodyguard of loyal warriors, known as samurai

Samurai lived according to the code known as Bushido

1)Courage2)Respect for gods3)Fairness and generosity towards weak

***Dying an honorable death was important

Underpinnings: Basic Steps in Self Defense

Underpinnings: Basic Steps in Self Defense

A COTTON BREECH CLOUTA COTTON BREECH CLOUT that extended up over the chest was the basic undergarment of a samurai’s costume

A SHORT SLEEVED KIMONOA SHORT SLEEVED KIMONO, or “armor robe,” was tied snugly at the waist with a special knot (lower right)

BILLOWING BILLOWING PANTALOONS,PANTALOONS,worn over the armor robe, fitted loosely in the legs to allow freedom of movement

STURDY STURDY SHINGUARDSSHINGUARDS of cloth or leather were reinforced with strips of iron to give protection from the front

AN EXQUISITE AN EXQUISITE BROCADEBROCADE, richly worked with a design of peonies, was one of the extravagant materials used in an armor robe that may have been made for a 14th Century imperial prince

Kamakura Shogunate• Conflict between powerful rival clans• Emperor gave Minamoto leader the title

of “shogun” (“supreme general of emperor’s army”)

Shogun = military dictator who controlled officials, judges, taxes, armies, roads, etc.

The emperor reigned in Kyoto, while the real center of power was at the shogun’s headquarters at Kamakura

The Kamakura Shogunate

Shoguns assigned military governors, or daimyo, to maintain peace and order

The Kamakura shoguns repelled two invasions by the Mongols

However, the shoguns began losing prestige and power due to financial strains

Samurai became more loyal to their local lords