WHAP – Mr. Duez - Unit 3: “AGE OF ACCELERATING CONNECTIONS” 500–1500
Chapter 9 East Asian Connections 300-1300 Notes, Part I
Fall of the Han; Sui, Tang, & Song Dynasties; Tribute System; Chinese Golden Age; Patriarchy; Kung Fu
CHINA: Middle Kingdom
Only empire to last 4,000 years
2 of the most important philosophies formed at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty
Both Qin & Han Dynasties are impacted, in truth these philosophies continue today.
China viewed themselves as:
“The Middle Kingdom”
Central w/barbarians outside of them.
The Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)
Liu Bang (LYOH BONG) peasant origins who became the emperor.
He came to be known as Han Gaozu: “Exalted Emperor of Han”
The Han Dynasty collapsed around 220 C.E.
1. Led to 300 years of political fragmentation
2. Nomadic incursion from north
3. Conditions discredited Confucianism in many eyes
4. Chinese migration southward to Yangzi River valley began
"The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.”
- Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, summarizes cycle of dynastical rise & fall in China.
Fought 200 years of declared wars against northern peoples. Classic Sedintary vs. Nomadic
Constant issue for Chinese Dynasties until 1911 & end of Dynastic System (Qing replaced by Republic)
The Great Wall
3,000+ Miles across China’s self-imposed northern border
Message to the nomads to the north, you stay up there & raise your horses & sheep. Chinese will grow grain (& later rice) to south & be “civilized”
A great cultural dividing line
Wall began under 1st emperor Qin
Often a brutal place
Nickname by some: “The Long Graveyard”
1/5 of the pop. (1 mil. people) worked on the Wall.
1/4 of those million people died during construction.
This led to an equally brutal uprising against the Qin
How did Chinese & nomadic neighbors
to north view each other?
How did the tribute system differ from the ideal Chinese understanding of its operation?
Tribute System: Chinese method of dealing with foreign lands & peoples that assumed the subordination of all non-Chinese authorities. Idea that China was:
“The Middle Kingdom” - ruler of Asia.
Network of trade & foreign relations between China & China's "tributaries" whose ideals in one form or another, for millennia, drove much of East Asian affairs.
Chinese suzerainty over East Asia, governed & enforced through the Imperial tributary system, not only deeply influenced the culture of the peripheral countries but also drew them into a China-centered, or "sino-centric", international order.
Shaped foreign policy & trade for over 2,000 years of Imperial China's dominance of the region.
How did the tribute system differ from the ideal Chinese understanding of its operation?
Tribute System: Disguised some realities that contradicted its assumptions. Frequently, China was confronting not separate & small-scale barbarian societies, but large & powerful nomadic empires able to deal with China on at least equal terms.
Xiongnu: Early nomadic confederacy.
Devastating Xiongnu raids into N. China persuaded Chinese emperor to negotiate arrangement that recognized nomadic state as political equal
China promised Xiongnu leader: Princess in marriage & annual supply of large quantities: grain, wine, & silk. (basically amounting to “protection $”)
In return, Xiongnu agreed to refrain from military incursions into China.
The Grand Canal: Began with Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty & completed under his son Emperor Yang of Sui
Map 9.1 Song Dynasty
�During post classical millennium, China interacted extensively with its neighbors. ��Tang dynasty extended Chinese control deep into Central Asia, while Song dynasty witnessed incursions by nomadic Jurchen people, who created Jin Empire which ruled parts of northern China.
Notice: Great Canal links both Yellow & Yangtze Rivers
Grand Canal Construction
Took 5 Million Workers 6 Years to complete
Spanned 12,000 miles; 24 lockes needed
Longest canal ever built to that point
Major cities along the canal became major markets; inter-regional trade boomed; Integrated north & south of China
An “engine of cultural development”
Poets, artists, writers all flourished
However, brutal labor & Emperor’s arrogance as he celebrated the completion combined to cause rebellion.
Sui Dynasty comes to an abrupt end.
but Golden Age of China was about to begin. An economic expansion leads to art & invention.
Sui Dynasty Falls “Golden Age” of Chinese Achievement begins w/Sui (589–618) reunified China. Sui rulers vastly extended the canal system. Like the Egyptians & the Nile River - the canal united the Chinese people.
But their ruthlessness & failure to conquer Korea alienated people, exhausted state’s resources. Yang Di alienated those who built canal.
Dynasty was overthrown, but state did not disintegrate
As Qin before, Sui emperor Yang Di felt wrath of Chinese rebellion.
How did Tang & Song dynasty China resemble classical Han dynasty period, & in what ways did China change?
Continued importance of the Confucian tradition in elite society.
Established patterns of Chinese life that lasted into 20th century.
Regarded as a “golden age” of arts & literature
Poetry, landscape painting, ceramics of high order
Birth of Neo-Confucianism (Confucian revival with added elements of Buddhism & Daoism)
How did Tang & Song dynasty China resemble classical Han dynasty period, & in what ways did China change?
Rapid population growth, 50 mil to 60 mil people during Tang, which was spurred in part by remarkable growth in agricultural production.
Economy of China became most highly commercialized in the world & became more active in long-distance trade than during the Han.
“Golden Age”
Sui Dynasty (589–618) reunified China
Tang (618–907) & Song (960–1279) built on Sui foundations
Why are the centuries of Tang & Song sometimes referred to as “golden age”?
Leisure is good.
Dusty affairs don’t entangle the mind.
I sit facing the tree outside the window
And watch its shadow change direction three times.
Action & work, in Chinese view of things, need to be balanced by self-reflection & leisure.
Why are the centuries of Tang & Song sometimes referred to as “golden age”?
World's 1st known movable type printing technology was invented & developed in China by printer Bi Sheng between the years 1041 & 1048.
Bi Sheng's system was made of Chinese porcelain, but fragile clay types were not practical for large-scale printing. In Sui moveable wooden blocks improved on this process. By China’s golden age, printing was practical & more efficient.
In what ways did women’s lives change during Tang & Song dynasties?
Song Era was NOT very “golden” for women
In the visual source, An Elite Night Party, women are depicted as entertainers & temptresses.
Some positive trends for women during Song Dynasty
Song: Reviving Confucianism & rapid economic growth seemed to tighten patriarchal restrictions on women & restore some of earlier Han dynasty images of female submission & passivity.
Song dynasty historian & scholar Sima Guang:
“The boy leads the girl, the girl follows the boy; the duty of husbands to be resolute and wives to be docile begins with this.”
Some positive trends for women during Song Dynasty
Although Song Dynasty returned to Confucian ways:
*To more effectively raise their sons & increase family’s fortune!
Tang: Impact of Northern Culture less restrictive:
Paintings & statues from time show aristocratic women riding horses, while Queen Mother of West, a Daoist deity, was widely worshipped by female Daoist priests & practitioners.
Foot Binding - Yikes!
Apparently beginning among dancers & courtesans; practice involved tight wrapping of young girls’ feet, usually breaking bones of foot & causing intense pain.
Tang dynasty: Foot binding spread widely among elite families & later became even more widespread in Chinese society.
Martial Arts: Arts of combat & self-defense
Martial Arts: significant part of Asian history & culture
Highly visible during Han
495: Zen Buddhist monastery began developing methods of physical training known today as kung fu
Shaolin Temple: Masters of the Art of Kung Fu
Chinese saying goes:
"All martial arts under heaven arose out of Shaolin."