AP WORLD Unit 1 Test

The Sui Dyansty

589-618 C.E.

Collapse of Han dynasty, succeeded by regional kingdoms

Yang Jian consolidated control of all of China, initiated Sui dynasty

Massive building projects: conscripted labor, military labor

The Grand Canal

Intended to promote trade between north and south China

Most Chinese rivers flow west-east, grand canal was south-north

Emperor Sui Yangdi (r. 604–618 C.E.)

Linked network of earlier canals

2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles)

Roads on either side

The Tang Dynasty

Wide discontent over conscripted labor under Sui dynasty

Rebellion prompted by military failures in Korea

Emperor Sui Yangdi assassinated in 618 C.E.

Tang dynasty initiated

Tang Taizhong

Second emperor of Tang dynasty (r. 627–649 C.E.)

Murdered two brothers, thrust father aside to take throne

Strong ruler

• Built capital at Chang’an

• Law and order

• Taxes, low prices

• More effective implementation of earlier Sui policies

Achievements of Tang Dynasty

Transportation and communications

• Extensive postal, courier services

Equal-field system

• 20% of land, hereditary ownership

• 80% redistributed according to formula

Family size, land fertility

Worked well until eighth century

• Corruption, loss of land to Buddhist monasteries

Bureaucracy of Merit

Imperial civil service examinations

• Confucian educational curriculum

Most candidates advanced through merit

• Educational opportunity widely available

• Built loyalty to the dynasty

• System remained strong until early twentieth century

Tang Military Expansion and Foreign Relations

Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet

One of the largest expansions of China in its

history

Established tributary relationships

• Gifts

China as “Middle Kingdom”

• Kowtow ritual

Tang Decline

Governmental neglect: emperor obsessed with

music, favorite concubine

Rebellion under An Lushan, former military

commander, 755 C.E.

• Chang’an captured, but rebellion crushed by 763 C.E.

Nomadic Uighur mercenaries, invited to suppress

rebellion, sacked Chang’an and Luoyang

Tang decline continued through series of

ninth-century rebellions; last emperor abdicated 907

C.E.

The Song Dynasty

(960-1279 C.E.)

Emphasis on administration, industry, education, the arts

• Military not emphasized

Under direction of first emperor, Song Taizu

(r. 960–976 C.E.)

• Former military leader

• Made emperor by troops

• Instituted policy of imperial favor for civil servants, expanded meritocracy

Song Weakness

Size of bureaucracy heavy drain on economy

• Two peasant rebellions in twelfth century

• Internal inertia prevented reform of bureaucracy

Civil service leadership of military

• Lacked military training

• Unable to contain nomadic attacks

• Nomadic Jurchen conquerors forced Song dynasty to Hangzhou, southern China (Southern Song dynasty)

The Economic Development of Tang and Song China

Developed Vietnamese fast-ripening rice, two crops per year

New agricultural techniques:

• Use of iron plows, draft animals

• Soil fertilization, improved irrigation, including use of waterwheels

• Cultivation in difficult terrain, including terraced

mountainsides

Population Growth

Result of increased agricultural production

Effective food distribution system

• Transportation networks built under Tang and Song dynasties

Urbanization

• Chang’an was world’s most populous city: two million residents

• Southern Song capital at Hangzhou: over one

million

Patriarchal Social Structures

Increased emphasis on ancestor worship

• Elaborate grave rituals

• Extended family gatherings in honor of deceased ancestors

Foot binding gained popularity

• Increased control by male family members

Wu Zhao (626–706 C.E.), the lady emperor

• Strengthened civil service system

Technology and Industry

Porcelain (chinaware)

Increase of iron production due to use of coke, not coal, in furnaces

• Agricultural tools, weaponry

Gunpowder invented

Earlier printing techniques refined

• Moveable type by mid-eleventh century

• Complex Chinese ideographs make wood block technique

easier

Naval technology

The Emergence of the Market Economy

Letters of credit developed to deal with copper coin shortages

• Promissory notes, checks also used

Development of independently produced paper money

• Not as stable; riots when not honored

Government claimed monopoly on money production in eleventh century

China and the Hemispheric Economy

Increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Chinese cities Chinese silk opened up trade routes, but this increased local demands for imported luxury goods

Cultural Change in Tang and Song China

Declining confidence in Confucianism after collapse of Han dynasty

Increasing popularity of Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Islam

also appear

Clientele primarily of foreign merchant class

Buddhism in China

Sizable Mahayana Buddhist community in Dunhuang, western China, 600–1000 C.E.

• Buddhist temples, libraries

Buddhism attracted interest for moral but also practical reasons

• Economic success as converts donated land holdings

• Increased popularity through donations of agricultural

produce to poor

Conflicts with Chinese Traditions (Buddhism)

Buddhism:

• Text-based (Buddhist teachings)

• Emphasis on Metaphysics

• Ascetic ideal

• Celibacy

• Isolation

Conflicts with Chinese Traditions (Confucianism)

Confucianism:

• Text-based (Confucian teachings)

• Daoism not text-based

• Emphasis on ethics, politics

• Family-centered

• Procreation

• Filial piety

Schools of Buddhism

Buddhists adapted ideology to Chinese climate

• Dharma translated as dao

• Nirvana translated as wuwei

Accommodated family lifestyle

• One son in monastery to bring salvation for ten

generations of kin

Chan school; Zen Buddhism

Pure Land school

Persecution of Buddhists

Daoist/Confucian persecution supported during late Tang dynasty

Systematic closure of Buddhist temples, expulsions begun in 840s

• Zoroastrians, Christians, Manichaeans as well

Economic motive: seizure of large monastic

landholdings

Neo-Confucianism

Song dynasty refrained from persecuting Buddhists, but favored Confucians

Neo-Confucians influenced by Buddhist thought

Philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200 C.E.)

Chinese Influence in Korea

Campaigns of imperial expansion brought Tang armies into Korea and Vietnam

Silla dynasty in Korea: Tang armies withdrew;

Korea recognized Tang as emperor

• Technically a vassal state, but highly independent

Chinese influence on Korean culture pervasive

Chinese Influence in Vietnam

Vietnamese adaptation to Chinese culture, technology

Ongoing resentment at political domination

Asserted independence when Tang dynasty fell in tenth century

Chinese traditions, Buddhism remained influential

Early Japan

Chinese armies never invaded Japan, yet Chinese culture pervasive

Imitation of Tang administration

• Establishment of new capital at Nara, hence “Nara Japan” (710–794 C.E.)

Adoption of Confucian, Buddhist teachings

• Retention of Shinto religion

Heian Japan

(794–1185 C.E.)

Japanese emperor moved court to Heian (modern Kyoto)

Emperor figurehead; real power in hands of Fujiwara family

• Pattern in Japanese history: weak emperor, power behind the throne

• Helps explain longevity of institution

The Tale of Genji

Japanese literature influenced by Chinese models and Chinese language

• Classic curriculum dominated by Chinese

• Adaptation of some Chinese characters into Japanese syllabic script

Aristocratic Japanese women made notable contributions

• The Tale of Genji, composed by Murasaki Shikibu

Decline of Heian Japan

Civil war between Taira and Minamoto clans in twelfth century

Minamoto leader named shogun, 1185 C.E.

Ruled from Kamakura, allowed imperial throne to continue in Kyoto

Medieval Japan

Kamakura (1185–1333 C.E.) and Muromachi (1336–1573 C.E.) periods

Decentralized power in hands of warlords

Military authority in hands of samurai

• Professional warriors