unit 0 prologue 16-18

China 

After the Han Dynasty declined in the 3rd century, China suffered three centuries of turmoil and disunity. However, after that, China experienced several centuries of growth. 

Sui Dynasty China's period of troubles was ended by the short-lived Sui Dynasty (581-618). By reconstituting a centralized government, the Sui provided the foundation on which China again became prosperous. The dynasty's most dramatic accomplishment was the construction of the Grand Canal. Stretching over 1,000 miles, it connected the agricultural south to the population centers in the north. Besides fostering economic growth, the Grand Canal helped unify the varied ethnic and cultural groups of China. 

Tang Dynasty Building on the accomplishments of the Sui, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) extended China's boundaries north into Mongolia, west into Central Asia, and south into Vietnam. China's population grew significantly under the Tang. Learning to grow a fast-ripening variety of rice allowed peasants to produce more calories per acre, so the land could support more people. 

The Tang expanded the civil service exam and the empire's bureaucracy, which developed into an ongoing feature of the Chinese government. Under the Tang, the Chinese invented gunpowder and developed paper money, which facilitated trade. Political stability and steady demand for China's silk, porcelain, and other goods ushered in a second golden age of the Silk Roads. 

The Chinese had long viewed their country as the "Middle Kingdom," possibly because they believed they were at the center of cultural advances in the world. Based on this viewpoint, they developed the tributary system, the idea that surrounding kingdoms should make payment, or tribute, to the Chinese and officially submit to their rule in exchange for trading privileges. 

The strength of the Tang eventually declined. A combination of internal peasant uprisings and invasions from the west and north led to the downfall of the dynasty. 

Song Dynasty After the Tang collapsed, a new dynasty, the Song Dynasty (960-1279), was able to restore order. Under the Song, China continued its golden age. Chinese meritocracy allowed for more upward mobility than any other hiring system of its time. China became the leading manufacturer in the world, producing iron, steel, silk, and porcelain, and it had the largest cities in the world. Neo-Confucianism, a melding of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophies that had begun under the Tang, became popular. It was during this time that paper money and the magnetic compass was exported from East Asia to other parts of the world. 

Japan 

Between about 800 and 1200, Japan had its own golden age of achievements in painting and literature. Though influenced by China, Japan always had a separate and distinctive culture. However, by the end of this period, powerful clans of land-owning nobles were eroding the emperor's power. As government became more decentralized, warfare between these clans increased. A strong political and social hierarchy developed over the control of land and included hierarchical obligations. At the top was the shogun, a military general, followed by powerful landlords called daimyos. Each daimyo had a force of warriors called samurais who pledged loyalty to serve him. Below the samurai were the peasants, followed by merchants. 

Culturally, Japan's official religion was Shinto, a set of beliefs centered on the veneration of ancestors and nature spirits. However, missionaries from China and Korea brought Buddhism to the country, and it became popular at this time. Many Japanese adopted Buddhism yet keep their Shinto beliefs. 

Africa 

In most of sub-Saharan Africa between 600 and 1200, people often lived in small self-governing chiefdoms in which many people were related. These kin- based communities often cooperated with one another and sometimes formed larger political units. While cultures were as diverse as the geography of the continent, similarities existed. Some similarities resulted from the migrations of Bantu-speaking people out of a region in west central Africa between c. 1000 B.C.E. and c. 1500 C.E. These migrating people spread a language, farming techniques, and knowledge of how to work with iron. 

PROLOGUE Ivii 

By 1000 C.E., complex agricultural practices such as irrigation and the allocation of land for people to cultivate demanded the development of more complex forms of government. With a stronger government came more control over production and distribution of surplus products. This government regulation, combined with the introduction of the camel and use of the camel saddle, led to long-distance trade across the Sahara. Muslim merchants greatly increased trade, which benefited the kingdom of Ghana (c. 700-c. 1240). The trans-Saharan trade route allowed Ghana to become very wealthy. The rulers of Ghana protected these trade routes and taxed the gold and salt that continually entered or exited their trading centers. 

The development of trade also affected the religion of the people of West Africa. As Muslim merchants from North Africa traded in the region, they spread Islam. The region became part of Dar al-Islam. The legacy of this period can be seen today in the large number of Muslims in some countries. In Nigeria, about 50 percent of the population identifies as Muslim. In Mali, over 90 percent do. 

On the east coast of Africa, merchants linked into the Indian Ocean trading network. Through it, Africans and people from the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia were all connected. African merchants exported gold, ivory, and enslaved people. They imported porcelain, silk, and spices. 

While governments were generally small and local in most of Africa, outside of West Africa, one large kingdom arose in the southeast part of the continent, Great Zimbabwe. It dominated the region between the 12th and 15th centuries. The reasons Great Zimbabwe declined are not clear, though one reason was probably the reduced output of gold mines in the region. 

South Asia and Southeast Asia 

After the fall of the Gupta empire in 550, South Asia was riddled by disunity and fighting. Despite this decentralization, Hinduism and the caste system kept southern India unified and relatively stable. Northern India, however, suffered a series of invasions and weak confederations. One of those invasions brought Islam to the region in 711. 

Despite a period of divisions and conflict, South Asian trade flourished. As people better understood the pattern of the monsoon winds, India's location made it the hub of Indian Ocean trade. Silks and porcelain from East Asia, spices from southeast Asia, horses from the Middle East, and enslaved people and ivory from Africa were all traded in India. 

Religion and trade dominated South Asia's influence on Southeast Asia. Buddhists and Hindus used trade networks to spread their religions' teachings. Islam also significantly influenced Southeast Asia at this time. Muslim merchants, though often not consciously missionaries, spread their faith by settling in new regions with their families. Islam soon became the dominant religion in the Spice Islands and the Malay peninsula.