Chapter 15 Notes 22/10/2007 19:28:00

In 629, a Buddhist Xuanzang, breaking the law, slipped past the watch
towers in order to study Buddhist teachings better. Faced many obstacles,
was abandoned by Gobi but made way to Turpan and gain lots of gifts.
Finally made it to India in 630 and stayed for 12 years. Received heros
welcome back in China. Sui and Tang help with prosperity
The restoration of centralized imperial rule in China: After the Han,
several kingdoms tried to succeed but by late 6th century, Yang Jian, brought
China under imperial rule under the Sui, than the Tang and last the Song
• The Sui dynasty (589-618 C.E.)
o After the Han dynasty, turmoil lasted for more than 350 years
 Reunification by Yang Jian in 589
 Started when a Turkish ruler appointed him duke
of Sui in N. China. Ruler died in 580 and instilled
Mandate of Heaven upon himself
 Sent armies and by 589 controlled all of China
 The rule of the Sui
 Construction of palaces and granaries; repairing
the Great Wall
 Centralized government like Qin
 Military expeditions in central Asia and Korea
 High taxes and compulsory labor services
 The Grand Canal integrated economies of north and
south finished by Sui Yangdi by making rice from Yangzi
avalible to others in the north
 Series of artificial waterways that went from
Hangzhou to Chang’an
 The fall of the Sui
 High taxes and forced labor generated hostility
among the people
 Military reverses in Korea
 Rebellions broke out in north China beginning in
610
 Sui Yangdi was assassinated in 618, the end of
the dynasty
• The Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.)
o Tang Taizong (627-649)
 A rebel leader seized Chang'an and proclaimed a new
dynasty, the Tang
 Tang Taizong, the second Tang emperor; ruthless but
extremely competent
 Murdered 2 brother and pushed father aside
 Effective rule with splendid capital at Chang’an
 Confucian ruler with tax only 2.5% plus labor
 era of unusual stability and prosperity
o Extensive networks of transportation and communications
 Used Grand Canal and roads; seafood from 1Kkm away
o Equal-field system--land allotted according to needs
 To avoid Han like meltdown
 1/5 is inherited while the rest may be distributed
 Relatively well till end (bribes)
o Bureaucracy of merit through civil service exams
 Like Han, got workers from Confucian system
o Flexed military muscle by taking Korea, N. Vietnam, and Tibet
o Foreign relations
 Political theory: China was the Middle Kingdom, or the
center of civilization
 Other kingdoms would give gifts and perform
kowtow, ritual where kneel and touch foreheads
to the ground
 Tributary system became diplomatic policy
o Tang decline
  Casual and careless leadership led to dynastic crisis
 Rebellion of An Lushan in 755 weakened the dynasty
 The Uighurs became de facto rulers
 The equal-field system deteriorated and less tax money
 A large-scale peasant rebellion led by Huang Chao
lasted from 875 to 884
 Regional military commanders gained power and were
beyond control of the emperor
 The last Tang emperor abdicated his throne in 907
• The Song dynasty (960-1279 C.E.)
o Song Taizu (reigned 960-976 C.E.) was the founder
 Came from warlord in N.
 Persuaded generals to retire so no one would seek to
displace him
 Regarded all state officials as servants of government
 Rewarded handsomely
o Song weaknesses
 Financial problems: enormous bureaucracy and high
salary devoured surplus
 Military problems: civil bureaucrats in charge of military
forces
 External pressures: seminomadic Khitan and nomadic
Jurchen
 The Song moved to the south, ruled south China until
1279
The economic development of Tang and Song China: Although Song
didn’t have large army, had enough economical power to turn China to
powerhouse in Eurasia
• Agricultural development
o Fast-ripening rice increased food supplies
 o New agricultural techniques increased production
 Heavy iron plows and oxen/water buffaloes, manure
and better irrigation
o Population growth: 45 to 115 million between 600 and 1200
C.E.
o Urbanization – under Tang, Chang’an most populous city in
world with 2 million people and later Hanzhou of Song
 Li Bo (Chinese poet) wrote about pleasure of city life
o Commercialized agriculture; some regions depended on other
regions for food
o Patriarchal social structure
 Ancestor worship became more elaborate
 Foot binding gained popularity
• Technological and industrial development
o Porcelain (chinaware) diffused rapidly
 Lighter, thinner and more adaptable than pottery
o Metallurgy increased ten times from ninth to twelfth centuries
 Use coke instead of coal
 Part of military problem is that tech spread too fast
o Gunpowder was used in primitive weapons and diffused
through Eurasia (originated from Daoist)
o Printing developed from wood block to movable type
 Can make more pamphlets and books
o Naval technology: "south-pointing needle"--the magnetic
compass
 At first used Persian, Arabs and Indian but demand for
spices and products caused Chinese to venture out
• The emergence of a market economy: Increased agriculture caused
specialization which caused more imports/exports. Government
distributed all the food and the economy became very integrated
 o Financial instruments: "flying cash" (letters of credit) and
paper money, promissory notes, and checks
 Due to shortage of copper coins
o Paper money invented; can be redeemed for merchandise
 Sometimes cannot honor agreement and cause riots
 Government mandate only they can produce money
 Tight stimulus to the economy
o A cosmopolitan society: communities of foreign merchants in
large cities
o Economic surge in China promoted economic growth in the
eastern hemisphere; want for exotic stuff
Cultural change in Tang and Song China: Interactions with other people
encouraged cultural changes, Buddhism gained large hold in China
• Establishment of Buddhism
o Foreign religions: Nestorians, Manichaeans, Zoroastrians,
Muslim communities; attracted little interest
o Dunhuang, city on silk road, transmits Mahayana Buddhism to
China
 Sites became Buddhist missionary efforts, cave art
o Buddhism in China: As early as 200BCE, due to lost of Han
and credibility of Confucianism
 Attraction: moral standards, intellectual sophistication,
and salvation
 Monasteries became large landowners, helped the poor
and needy
 Also posed a challenge to Chinese cultural tradition
 Written text (Buddhist: Metaphysical, Confucian:
practical
 Didn’t pay taxes; foreign religion
o Buddhism and Daoism
 Chinese monks explained Buddhist concepts in Daoist
vocabulary
  Dharma as dao, and nirvana as wuwei
 Teaching: one son in monastery would benefit whole
family for ten generations; to validate family life
o Chan Buddhism; much like Dao mixed with Buddha
 Xuanzang (story at top) help establish Buddhisism
 A syncretic faith: Buddhism with Chinese characteristics
 Chan (or Zen in Japanese) was a popular Buddhist sect
o Hostility to Buddhism from the Daoists and Confucians
 Dao – less resource for them, Confucious – celibacy,
alien
o Persecution; it survived because of popularity
• Neo-Confucianism
o Buddhist influence on Confucianism
 Early Confucianism focused on practical issues of
politics and morality
 Confucians began to draw inspiration from Buddhism in
areas of logic and metaphysics
 Nature of soul, and individual relation with
cosmos; not examined by thinkers
o Zhu Xi (1130-1200 C.E.), the most prominent neo-Confucian
scholar
 Prolific writer; Family Rituals – more detailed
instructions to funerals, weddings etc.
o Neo-Confucians – 1. Illustrates deep influence of Buddha 2.
Neo-Confucianism enjoyed more influence in E. Asia
Chines influence in east Asia: Like Byzantine and dar al-Islam, influenced
neighbors. Techniques of government help shape Japan, Korea.
• Korea and Vietnam: Tang dynasty, two lands responded differently
o The Silla dynasty of Korea (669-935 C.E.)
 Tang armies conquered much of Korea; the Silla
dynasty organized resistance
 Korea entered into a tributary relationship with China;

Silla recognized Chinese as overlords
o China's influence in Korea
 Tributary embassies included Korean royal officials and
scholars who can observe workings of Chinese court
 The Silla kings built a new capital at Kumsong modeled
on the Tang capital
 Korean elite turned to neo-Confucianism; peasants
turned to Chan Buddhism
o Difference between Korea and China: aristocracy and royal
houses dominated Korea
o China and Vietnam: Won Nam Viet and absorb them
 Viet people adopted Chinese agriculture, schools, and
thought; Confucian text
 Tributary relationship with China
 Resented rule and launched many rebellions
 When Tang fell, Vietnam gained independence
o Difference between Vietnam and China
 Many Vietnamese retained their religious traditions
 Women played more prominent roles in Vietnam than in
China
o Chinese influence in Vietnam: bureaucracy and Buddhism
• Early Japan
o Nara Japan (710-794 C.E.): Chinese influence most
prominent
 The earliest inhabitants of Japan were nomadic peoples
from northeast Asia
 Ruled by several dozen states by the middle of the first
millennium C.E.
 Inspired by the Tang example, one clan claimed imperial
authority over others
 Introduced reforms to centralize Japanese politics
 Built a new capital (Nara) in 710 C.E., modeled on
Chang'an
 Adopted Confucianism and Buddhism, but maintained
their Shinto rites; Heian, Kamakura amd Muromachi
illustrates development of it’s own line
o Heian Japan (794-1185 C.E.)
 Moved to new capital, Heian (modern Kyoto), in 794
 Japanese emperors as ceremonial figureheads and
symbols of authority
 Effective power in the hands of the Fujiwara family
 Emperor did not rule, which explains the longevity of
the imperial house
 Chinese learning dominated Japanese education and
political thought: Most school, government even new
words to Japanese language
o The Tale of Genji was written by a woman, Murasaki Shikibu
 Girls don’t have formal Chinese education
 Relates experiences of imperial prince; meditation on
passing of time and sorrows time brings
o Decline of Heian Japan
 The equal-field system began to fail
 Aristocratic clans accumulated most land
 Taira and Minamoto, the two most powerful clans,
engaged in wars
 Clan leader of Minamoto claimed title shogun, military
governor; ruled in Kamakura
• Medieval Japan was a period of decentralization
o Historian refer Kamakura and Muromachi as medieval as it
falls between Tokugawa and Chinese influence
o Kamakura (1185-1333 C.E.) and Muromachi (1336-1573
C.E.) periods
 Provincial lords wielded effective power and authority
o The samurai
 Professional warriors of provincial lords
 Valued loyalty, military talent, and discipline
 Observed samurai code called bushido
 To preserve their honor, engaged in ritual suicide called
seppuku; hara-kiri
22/10/2007 19:28:00
22/10/2007 19:28:00