

When and how have you used mnemonic devices in the past? Think of a few examples and be ready to share.

 

Also, take out your class notes!

Today’s LEQs: What came after the Han Dynasty? What changed and continued? What were the primary causes and consequences of expanded trade and communication during this time period?

 With the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE, China fell into a period of disunity  Not as traumatic (or permanent) as the fall of Rome for Western Europe  Uncertainty and disorder provided fertile ground for Buddhism, which gained large numbers of converts  Between 589-618 CE, China reunified under the Sui Dynasty  Utilized legalism to restore order

   Focus on building projects: rebuilding the Great Wall to protect from nomadic invasions Building 1,200 mile long Grand Canal – linked Yellow and Yangzi rivers Created on huge economic zone in North and South China (which grew drought resistant Champa rice diffused from modern Vietnam)

   Restored Confucian exam system & bureaucracy Utilized labor taxes to forcibly extract work from peasants Emperor assassinated by his own ministers in 618 CE; Looked like China would spiral chaos again, but wait…

   Military man restored order and became new emperor, claiming the Mandate of Heaven China became larger than ever before:  Rulers extend China’s influence to parts of Central Asia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Tibet, etc.

 Like the Han Dynasty, the Tang forced many of its neighbors into a Tribute System, in which other rulers acknowledged the superiority of China in exchange for a formal relationship and trade  Silk Roads trade was controlled

Activity: Two Sentence Summary – Compare the Tribute System in THEORY vs. Tribute System in PRACTICE (Use pages 387-389)

 Tang economy was very strong due to advanced infrastructure (roads, waterways, canals) and trade   Grand Canal: continued to stimulate trade Silk industry made China exceptionally wealthy (although no longer a monopoly – secret got out some time between Han and Sui Dyansties)

    Tang rulers were cultural patrons – Golden Age of China (comparable to Europe’s Renaissance) The Tang exerted a strong artistic and religious influence over Korea and Japan Tang monarchs expanded and reworked the imperial bureaucracy  Revived scholar-gentry elite  Bureaucracy reached from imperial palace down to district level  Bureaucracy was divided into 6 ministries: war, justic, public works, etc.

Jigsaw Activity: China’s Influence – A Two Way Street?

  On a maximum of five sentence strips, explain how China influenced your assigned region and/or how the outside world influenced China

Korea

,

Vietnam

,

Japan

,

Nomads to the North

,

Eurasia

,

“Outside World” influences China

  In your notes,

respond to this quote with evidence and support

from Tuesday’s group activity. You may want to refer back to the pictures you took of your classmates’ summaries. Be ready to share!

“If Chinese economic growth and technological achievements significantly shaped the Eurasian world of the third-wave era, that pattern of interaction was surly not a one-way street, for China too was changed by its engagement with a wider world.”

   Confucian exam system was back, but Buddhism’s hold was strong Many Tang rulers had strong Northern nomadic roots and were devout Buddhists  Mahayana (Buddha = a god); Chan (Zen) variant of Buddhism stressed meditation and appreciation of natural beauty. Both spread into Japan and Korea as well Empress Wu patronized Buddhism (China’s only empress!)

  Support of Buddhism aroused the envy of Confucian and Daoist rivals  Attacked religion as alien and barbaric  Confucian leaders emphasized economic loss ▪ ▪ Monasteries not taxed Couldn’t conscript peasants working on monastic estates for labor tax  845 CE – Emperor began persecution of Buddhists; destroyed monasteries, shrines, and forced monks and nuns to return to civilian lives Weakening centralized control after attacks on Buddhism; Tang Dynasty declined by 906CE

 

In 960 a new military commander reunited China Military focus on subduing strong northern nomadic pastoralists beyond the Great Wall

 Culturally and economically impressive  Steady population growth  Urbanization – largest cities on earth at that time!

 Commercial Revolution (paper money, banking, and credit)  Port of Canton (Guangzhou) became world’s busiest trade center  Tried to redistribute land more equitably among the peasantry (unsuccessfully)

         Compasses Paper Gunpowder Paper Money Banks “Flying Money” = credit Restaurants Moveable Type (600 years before Europe!) Junk Ship



Confucianism restored: Neo-

Confucianism

 Sought to prove the superiority of Chinese thought systems over foreign ones (Buddhism)  In reality, it blended in Buddhist and Daoist ideas (sneaky, sneaky!)

   Well educated men expected to excel in many fields – spent evenings writing songs and poems Art celebrated the beauty of the natural world and often included poetry Enjoying art was an event!

  Tang Dynasty Buddhism raised the status of women during that Dynasty Nomadic pastoralist influence also allowed women more freedom

     Used to justify subordination of women; reinforced virginity for unmarried women, fidelity for wives, and chastity for widows Men, however, could have pre-marital sex and take on concubines without scandal Neo-Confucians attacked Buddhists for promoting independence for women in monasteries as nuns Women excluded from education Chinese subjugation of women was most obvious in foot-binding (lasts right up until early 20 th century)