Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization

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Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese
Civilization

• The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties

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China During the Era of Division ca. 560

• In the political divisions that came with the
  fall of the Han Dynasty, many of the advances of
  the Qin were lost.
• Many Chinese feared that this Era of Division
  would lead to the loss of a united Chinese
  culture.
• Nomadic invasions
• Internal battles among regional kingdoms
• Collapsed bureaucracy
• Scholar-gentry declined
• Landed aristocracy rose
• Trade and urban life declined
• Technology stagnated
• REMINDED MANY OF THE ERA OF THE WARRING STATES

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Wendi

• At first, the rise of the SUI appeared to be the
  rise of just another splinter state.
• WENDI- a north Chinese noble married his daughter
  to the ruler of the northern Zhou
• Wendi seized control from his son-in-law and
  claimed the title of emperor.
• Wen/Wendi made alliances with the nomads and
  conquered much of traditional China
  establishing the SUI
• Lowered taxes
• Established granaries

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Yangdi

• Yangdi son of Wen/Wendi strengthened the Sui
  political control and economic growth
• Brought back the examination process and began to
  raise the scholar-gentry at the expense of the
  nomads and aristocrats
• Yangdi forced the Chinese to build extravagant
  construction projects canals, palaces, forests,
  etc.
• Yangdi led unsuccessful campaigns to bring the
  Koreans under his control.
• Nomads, revolts, regional governors, bandits, etc
  things not going well
• 618 C.E. Yangdi strangled by a scarf
• Whats next chaos again?

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Sui Dynasty

• The re-establishment of a Chinese dynasty saved
  Chinese culture

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The Grand Canal to aid in the political and
economic development of China Yangdi had the
Great Canal completed
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Tang Dynasty

• Chaos because of the fall of the Sui was averted
  because of Yangdis official LI YUAN, THE DUKE
  OF TANG
• Of mixed Chinese and nomadic noble birth Li
  Yuan was urged to assume control by his family.
• Li Yuan and the Tang revived a powerful and
  glorious China.

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Tang Restoration of the Empire

• Conquered deep into Asia
• Rebuilt infrastructure
• Developed frontier armies many of whom were
  Turkic
• Korea over run and SILLA made a vassal kingdom
• Bureaucracy rebuilt the influence of Confucian
  scholars waxed while the influence of
  aristocratic families waned
• New capital at CHANGAN

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The Examination System

• Ministry of Rites administered the various
  examinations for work within the governmental
  bureaucracy
• Philosophical, legal, and literature classics
• Jinshi those who passed the most difficult
  exams those of Chinese literature

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Religion Under the Tang

• State patronage for Confucian schools threatened
  the power of the aristocrats and the Buddhist
  monks who had taken positions of power
• Many of the nomadic invaders were Buddhists
  Buddhism and its influence increased after the
  fall of the Han
• Pure Land Mahayana Buddhism popular in China
  believes that achieving Nirvana became more and
  more difficult to attain many lower classes in
  China adopted this form of Buddhism
• Chan/Zen Buddhism stress on meditation and the
  beauty of nature often accepted by the upper
  classes
• Empress Wu (r. 690-705) Tang ruler tried to
  elevate Buddhism to the rank of a state religion.
  Ordered huge Buddhas carved and pagodas built.

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Emperor Wuzong and persecution of the Buddhists

• The rising power and influence of the Buddhists
  caused resentment among the Confucian and Daoist
  leaders.
• The government did not tax the large Buddhist
  land holdings and could not use the peasant labor
  from the Buddhist estates.
• Fear of the Buddhists and their power led to
  persecutions of the Buddhists under Emperor
  WUZONG.
• Buddhist monasteries destroyed, monks and nuns
  forced to return to civilian lives taxes and
  forced peasant labor imposed upon the Buddhist
  lands.
• Confucianism rose again to be Chinas central
  ideology but Buddhism still affects Chinese
  art, language, law, etc.

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Xuanzong

• The peak of the Tang Dynasty was the reign of
  emperor Xuanzong.
• After initially being interested in politics and
  economics, Xuanzong devoted his attention to life
  in his palace and the arts.
• After his second wife died, thousands of
  concubines vied for his affections.
• Yang Guifei from the harem of an imperial
  prince- Xuanzong became infatuated with her.

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• Xuanzong raised Yang Guifei to the status of
  royal concubine.
• She used her power to place her family into
  positions of prominence. The Yangs caused great
  division within the Imperial court even leading
  to military rebellions.
• Revolts against the Tang were put down, but
  Xuanzong was forced to have Yang Guifei executed.
• To defeat the rebels, the Tang made deals with
  the nomadic peoples on the fringes of the empire.
  The nomad used internal Tang divisions to their
  advantage and weakened the dynasty.

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Rise of the Song

• When the Tang dynasty ended in 907, a period of
  decentralization developed.
• Zhao Kuangyin in 960 C.E. military leader of
  the last of the Five Dynasties subdued his
  subordinates and proclaimed himself emperor -
  SONG
• Liao dynasty northern nomadic Khitan peoples
  the Song were unable to subdue them.
• Sinified influenced by Chinese culture
• The Song had to pay tribute to Liao in order to
  keep them from attacking.

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The Song and a Partial Restoration of the Empire

• The military was weakened as the Song feared
  the rebellions faced by the Tang even with 1
  million soldiers the Song elite had disdain for
  the military.
• The Song completed the rise of the Confucian
  scholar gentry over the aristocrats and Buddhists

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Revival of Confucianism

• New academies and libraries led to re-examination
  of the classical texts there was a desire to
  prove that indigenous philosophies such as
  Confucianism and Daoism were superior to outside
  ideologies such as Buddhism.
• Zhu Xi philosopher who stressed the importance
  of applying philosophical principals to every day
  life
• Neo-Confucianism virtue could be obtained book
  learning and observation as well as being with
  good and moral people

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Xi Xia

• The weakness of the Song when faced with the
  Khitans in Liao was replicated elsewhere.
• Tangut tribes from Tibet established a kingdom
  named Xi Xia. The Tangut demanded tribute from
  the Song.
• Wang Anshi Song governmental minister used
  Legalism to try to save the weakening Song
  dynasty.
• Cheap loans
• Irrigation projects
• Landlords taxed
• Scholars taxed
• Mercenary forces
• Reorganized universities
• Wangs changes did not survive to the next emperor

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Jin

• The Song were unable to put down peasant
  rebellions or nomadic invasions.
• Jurchens 111r C.E. northern nomads overthrew
  the Liao and established the JIN empire.
• The Song were relegated to the south Southern
  Song.

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Commercial Prosperity

• Grand Canal
• Junks
• Flying Money credit vouchers used by traveling
  merchants paper money

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Hangzhou the most noble city and the best that
is in the world Marco Polo
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Social Life

• Agrarian Life
• Family Life powerful empresses, divorce laws,
  laws regulating treatment of wives demonstrated
  some power of women in society
• Male Dominance neo-Confucianism
• footbinding