• List the three dynasties in order– Sui– Tang– Song

• Who reunifies China after the fall of the Sui?– Li Yuan

• What was the most effective way for Confucianists to undermine Buddhism?– Economically

• Which ruler was corrupted by his concubine?– Xuanzong

• Who reunites China after the fall of the Tang?– Zhao Kuangyin– (Emperor Taizu)

• What early failure haunts the Song empire until its fall?– Inability to cope with northern nomads

• How did Neo-Confucians influence foreign policy?– Made China isolated

• Name the three key aspects of the bureaucracy– Scholar-gentry– Exam system– Confucianism

• What problems did Xuanzong’s neglect cause?– Resulted into economic distress• Fed the discontent of the people

– Chronic military weakness– Came to a head in 755 when a major military

leader, An Lushan, led a wide revolt attempting to found a new dynasty

• How was China reunited after the fall of the Tang– Last Tang emperor abdicated in 907– China appeared to be entering another period of:

• Nomadic dominance• Political division• Social strife

– A military commander, Zhao Kuangyin, was known as one of the most honest and able of generals of the Five Dynasties• A scholarly man who collected books• His subordinates and troops insisted that he proclaim himself emperor

– Next few years, Zhao (Emperor Taizu) routed all his rivals except one• Found the Song dynasty• Ruled for most of next three centuries

• Why was the weakness of the Song created on purpose? What were the examples of this?– Wanted to ward off conditions that destroyed the

Tang• Military was subordinate to the civilian admin of the s-g• Only civil officials could be governors

– Removed temptation to seize power

• Military commanders were rotated to prevent them from building up a power base

• What were the beliefs of the neo-Confucians?– Prominent thinker: Zhu Xi– Principles in everyday life– Highest goal-> cultivating personal morality

• Virtue through knowledge and observation of others• Contact with men of wisdom and high morality

– Could cultivate good human nature• Superior men could be made

– Emphasis on rank, obligation, deference, and traditional rituals• Reinforced class, age, and gender distinctions

– Upheld male dominance– Social harmony if everyone does what they should– History as best guide for navigating the future

– Its hostility to foreign philosophical systems made Chinese rulers less receptive to outside influence• Buddhism

– Grew at a time it was critical for them to be aware of developments beyond China

– Stifled innovation and critical thinking in the Chinese elite

• What two major aspects of the Song led to their downfall in the long run?– Lack of defeating enemies

• weakness in face of the Liao (Khitan)– Encouraged other nomads– By mid-11th century, Tangut tribes from Tiber establish the Xi Xia

kingdom to the SW of Liao

• Tribute given to the Liao was a drain on resources of the empire– Burden on peasantry

• Cost of the army had to maintain in the north also a drain– 1mil soldiers– Also a sign of productivity and organizational activity of China

– Emphasis on civil admin & s-g– Led to growing disdain among the elite for the military– Commanders not the most able

• Funds diverted from upgrading weapons or defenses– Sent to scholarly pursuits and courtly entertainments

• What changes contributed to the development of Chinese civilization? (Intro) When did the changes become more dramatic?– Shifts in population balance– New patterns of trade– Renewed urban expansion– Novel forms of artistic and literary expression– Series of tech breakthroughs– Became pronounced in the late Tang and the Song

(960-1279)

• What changes contributed to the development of Chinese civilization? (Intro) When did the changes become more dramatic?– Shifts in population balance– New patterns of trade– Renewed urban expansion– Novel forms of artistic and literary expression– Series of tech breakthroughs– Became pronounced in the late Tang and the Song

(960-1279)

• Why economic reasons were there for the Sui and Tang rulers to give so much attention to canals?– The Grand Canal -> link the original centers of

Chinese civ to the Yangtze river basin 500 miles south– Great rivers of China ran E to W

• Made it difficult to move ppl and goods N & S• Transport of millet and rice was expensive

– Great increase in population in the south in late Han and 6 dynasties -> needed to improve communication between N and S

– Yangtze basin became major food production area of the empire

• What economic innovations occur due to the increase in trade?– Deposit shops founded

• Early form of bank

– First paper money– Merchants deposited their profits in their hometown

• Given credit vouchers known as flying money• Could use this for reimbursement at the appropriate office in

the new city• Greatly reduced the danger of robbery

– 11th cent, gov’t started issuing paper money

• What technological developments improved agriculture? (6)– Introduction of new seeds (Champa rice)– Better use of manures– More thorough soil preparation and weeding– Multiple cropping – Improved water control techniques– Wheelbarrow eased tasks of farming

• What is the ultimate example of the suppression of women? Why?– Footbinding– Upper-class men had developed a taste for small feet for

women• Eventually spread to the peasantry

– Began binding feet as early as 5 or 6– Constant source of pain

• Limited mobility

– Made it easier to confine wives– Women could only engage in occupations that could be

done within the family compound• Lower classes were slower to adopt it for this reason

– Became vital to winning a husband

• What engineering developments occur?– Grand Canal– Building dikes and dams– Regulating flow water in irrigation systems– New ways to build bridges

• What important technological development changed warfare centuries later (Tang)?– Development of explosive powder– Originally used as fireworks– By late Song, used for grenades and bombs– Naphtha flamethrowers– Poisonous gases– Rocket launchers

• Which super important techs did the Song create?– Compasses first applied to sea navigation

• Used since late centuries bce

– Abacus introduced to help merchants count profits• Tax collectors keep track of revenues

– Mid-11th century, Bi Sheng creates printing with movable type• Great advance upon block typing• Allowed for a level of literacy unsurpassed in preindustrial

civilization

• What was the subject of Tang literature?– Buddhists->devotional objects and religious homilies– Confucian s-g->everyday life and delights of the natural world– Lit focused on:

• Lives of common people• Popular beliefs in witchcraft• Ill-fated romances• Detective stories

– Tang poetry moved from praising the emperor to celebrating the natural world

– Great poet of Tang, Li Bo

From whose home secretly flies the sound of a jade flute?It's lost amid the spring wind which fills Luoyang city.

In the middle of this nocturne I remember the snapped willow,What person would not start to think of home!

The River Chu cuts through the middle of heaven's gate,The green water flowing east reaches here then swirls.On either bank the blue hills face towards each other,The flatness of a lonely sail comes from by of the sun.

• What was the subject of Song art?– Interest in nature came to full fruition in the Song landscapes– Brushes and techs similar to those used in Chinese language– Symbolic paintings to teach moral lessons or explore

philosophical ideas• Stood for larger concepts

– Abstract quality• Created a highly personali vision of natural beauty

– Premium on subtlety and suggestion– Most accompanied by a poem that complemented the

subject matter