AMSCO_Tang Dynasty p.180-183 PDF

# East Asia in the Post-Classical Period ## East Asia in the Post-Classical Period *All the birds have flown up and gone;* *A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.* *We never tire of looking at each other –* *Only the mountain and I.* -Li Bo, "Alone Looking at the Mountain" (date unknown) ## Poet L...

# East Asia in the Post-Classical Period ## East Asia in the Post-Classical Period *All the birds have flown up and gone;* *A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.* *We never tire of looking at each other –* *Only the mountain and I.* -Li Bo, "Alone Looking at the Mountain" (date unknown) ## Poet Li Bo Poet Li Bo (701–762 C.E.) was one of the most accomplished artists of the Tang era in China. Many of his poems, such as the one above, describe someone contemplating nature. Others focus on attending parties and other ways people enjoy life with friends. These themes, both positive and uplifting, seem to reflect the buoyancy of Post-Classical China. During the 600 years of the Tang and Song dynasties, China enjoyed great wealth, political stability, and fine artistic and intellectual achievements. These years were a golden era in Chinese history. During the Post-Classical period, China dominated East Asia. Its neighbors, including Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, developed vibrant and distinctive cultural traditions, but each also displayed China's influence. ## Political Structures in China After the collapse of the Han Dynasty in the third century C.E., China fell into a state of anarchy for nearly 400 years. People suffered from reduced trade and greater political turmoil until the short-lived Sui Dynasty (581–618 C.E.). ### Unity under the Sui Dynasty Emperor Sui Yangdi unified China through violence and repression. Successful military expeditions to the south expanded the reach of China's government. He also sent troops into Korea and Central Asia. Sui Yangdi ruled through harsh, dictatorial methods, which made dissent risky. ### Grand Canal The greatest accomplishment of the dynasty was the inception of the construction of the Grand Canal. This ambitious public works project involved thousands of conscripted peasants working for many years. The idea behind the canal was to provide a means of transporting rice and other crops from the food-rich Yangtze River valley in the south to populous northern China and the center of government of Luoyang. At the southern end of the Grand Canal was the city of Hangzhou, which expanded greatly during the Sui Dynasty because of the increased trade. It was during the Sui Dynasty that the city leaders had a defensive wall built around the city. The Sui used conscripts also to reinforce the "Long Wall” in the north begun by earlier dynasties. (The Long Wall would later become part of the Great Wall of China.) ### Downfall of the Sui The rule by the Sui lasted only 40 years. People complained about high taxes needed to pay for the expensive military escapades, the conscription of laborers for the building projects, and the emperor's dictatorial ways. The emperor was assassinated in 618, and the dynasty ended. ## Tang Dynasty The short Sui Dynasty prepared the way for the longer, more influential Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.). During this period, China enjoyed relative prosperity and stability. Rulers extended the territory of the Chinese Empire. At its height, the Tang Dynasty extended west to Central Asia, north to Manchuria, and south into modern-day Vietnam. ### Tributary System The Tang Dynasty dominated its neighbors. The Chinese viewed their country as the Middle Kingdom, a society around which the whole world revolved. At the very least, China was the center of a tributary system, an arrangement in which other states had to pay money or provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor. For example, the Silla Kingdom in Korea was not part of China, but it had to pay a large tribute to the emperor. The tributary system cemented China's economic and political power over several foreign countries, but it also created stability and stimulated trade for all parties involved. Tang emperors also expected representatives from tributary states to perform a ritual kowtow, a requirement in which anyone greeting the Chinese emperor must bow his or her head until it reached the floor. This act was a way to acknowledge China's superior status. ### Tang Accomplishments The Tang Dynasty had some notable achievements. Emperor Tang Taizong (ruled 627-649) further developed modes of transportation that had begun during the Sui Dynasty, such as roads and canals, as well as postal and messenger services. His government successfully reduced the dangers from bandits. Tang Taizong expanded the empire's bureaucracy, which developed into an important and ongoing feature of Chinese government. Candidates for the bureaucracy had to pass an extremely rigorous civil service examination. The exam system had a tremendous impact on Chinese culture. Since the examination was difficult, education became increasingly important in China, a development that fostered economic growth for many centuries. Further, serving in the bureaucracy was highly regarded. So, just as communities today might take pride in producing an Olympic athlete or a noted actor, communities in China took pride in their natives who won a good position working for the government. Though most bureaucrats earned their positions in government, some were appointed. Aristocratic families had greater access to high-level positions in the bureaucracy than did any other group. ### Spread of Buddhism In 629, a Chinese Buddhist monk named Xuanzang left China to go on a pilgrimage to India, the birthplace of Buddhism. He traveled west on the Silk Roads to Central Asia, then south and east to India, which he reached in 630. Along the way and in India he met many Buddhist monks and visited Buddhist shrines. In order to gain more insight into Buddhism, he studied for years in Buddhist monasteries and at Nalanda University in Bilar, India a famous center of Buddhist knowledge. After 17 years away, Xuanzang finally returned to China, where people greeted him as a celebrity. He brought back many Buddhist texts, which he spent the rest of his life translating into Chinese. These writings were highly instrumental in the growth of Buddhist scholarship in China. ### An Lushan By the eighth century, the Tang Empire already showed signs of weakness. Emperor Hsuan Tsung (ruled 712-756) was not devoted to administering the affairs of government and became distracted by his favorite concubine, Yang Guifei. A military leader named An Lushan orchestrated a rebellion involving about a hundred thousand soldiers, overthrowing Hsuan Tsung in 755. Finally, an army of Uighurs, an ethnic group living in Central Asia on land controlled by China, arrived from the west to restore power to the government and defeat the rebels. The rebellion did tremendous damage. The death toll from the fighting, combined with the starvation and disease associated with the conflict, reached the millions and maybe the tens of millions. It was probably one of the most devastating wars in human history. The Tang survived, but they never fully recovered their power. They had to pay an annual tribute to the Uighurs. The Tang Dynasty finally collapsed in 907. ## Song Dynasty The Song Dynasty began in 960 and lasted until 1279. Because nomadic pastoralists from Manchuria invaded its lands, captured the northern part, and set up their own empire (the Jin, with a capital in Beijing), the Song came to rule a smaller region than the Tang had. Nevertheless, China under the Song was quite prosperous, and the arts flourished. ### Bureaucracy and Meritocracy Under the Song, China's bureaucracy expanded, and the number of bureaucratic positions in government increased. Moreover, Emperor Song Taizu made special efforts to expand the educational opportunities to young men of the lower strata so they could pass the civil service exams. Though the poor were still extremely underrepresented in the ## Sui and Tang Empires A map with two labelled components: * **Sui dynasty** in red: including the Grand Canal along the eastern coast of China. * **Tang dynasty** in green: including the Great Wall running along the northern border of China. * Mongolia is to the north of China * Tibet is to the southwest of China * Southeast Asia is to the south of China * India is to the southwest of China * Bay of Bengal is to the southwest of China * The yellow river flows north-south in the country of China * The Yangtze river flows north-south in the country of China * Manchura is to the northeast of China * Yellow Sea is to the east of China * Korea is east of China and south of Manchura * Japan is to the east, and below the Sea of Japan * East China Sea is to the east of China * South China Sea is to the southeast of China **The map also includes a key**: * **Sui Dynasty** * **Grand Canal** * **Tang Dynasty** * **Great Wall of China** * **0** * **500 Miles** * **500 Kilometers** ## Song and Jin Empires A map with two labelled components: * **Jin Dynasty** in red: a large area running along the northern border of China * **Song Dynasty** in green: the remaining area to the south of Jin * The yellow river flows north-south in the country of China * The Chang'an is a large city in the north of China * The Chiang Jiang is a large river that runs north-south in the country of China * The Sea of Japan is to the east of the country of China * The Yellow Sea is to the east of the country of China * The East China Sea is to the east of the country of China * The South China Sea is to the southeast of the country of China **The map also includes a key**: * **Jin Dynasty** * **Song Dynasty** * **0** * **500 Miles** * **500 Kilometers** * **MONGOLS** * **TIBET** * **MANCHURIA** * **Zhongdu** * **KIAIFENG** * **Hangzhou** * **SOUTH CHINA SEA** * **EAST CHINA SEA** * **SEA OF JAPAN (East Sea)** * **YELLOW SEA** * **JAPAN** * **KOREA**