1. AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINA AND HER DYNASTIES

2. Chinese Dynasties Postclassical era: Sui Tang Song Yuan Ming (these are the one’s we’ll study)

3. "The Dynasties Song" Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han Sui, Tang, Song Sui, Tang, Song Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic Mao Zedong Mao Zedong — Courtesy of the teachers on the College Board AP-World History Listserv This "dynasties song," sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques," can help students remember the major Chinese dynasties in chronological order.

4. Mandate of Heaven 天命 tien ming Social Contract giving emperor (son of heaven) the “right” to rule as a benevolent autocrat. First Zhou ruler came up with concept to justify the usurpation of Zhang power. Supreme ruler can earn or lose the Mandate to rule based upon his virtue or lack thereof. Ruler’s personal moral quality dictates the condition of the society ruled by him If he’s in tight with heaven, rain should fall on crops! If drought, it’s his job to relieve people’s suffering (tax burden) If he doesn’t, isn’t moral, people, in theory, have right to remove him Similar to Enlightened Absolutism of European monarchs.

5. Qin Dynasty (221- 206 BCE) First real unified kingdom in Chinese history Famous for Terracotta Army of the First Emperor (tomb) 8,000 clay warriors 10,000 bronze weapons First installation of the Great Wall to protect from Xiongnu in the north (nomadic peoples)

6. Han Dynasty (206BCE to 220 CE) Confucianism made orthodox Civil Service Exams implemented Comparable to Rome Taxation, conscription, infrastructure developed, influenced neighboring cultures (Han influence reached Korea and Vietnam) Continued/expanded construction of Great Wall (raiding Xiongnu) Silk Road well traveled during this time, under Han protection Chinese Histories written in this period

7. Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) Unifies China after period of disunity/ competing dynasties Centralized power (taking it away from local control) by appointing officials via competitive written exams Greatest Accomplishment: Grand Canal 1000 mile waterway links northern cities with southern, rice-producing regions, linking two great rivers, Yangtze and Yellow Rebuilt the Great Wall Downfall: overworked and overtaxed its people. Second and final Sui emperor assassinated by Li Yuan (Tang)

8. Tang Dynasty (618-907) Famous emperors: Founder Gaozu (Li Yuan) Tang Taizong (Li Shimin): Second Emperor Forged alliances with outsiders to push into Korea, Vietnam, Central Asia Empress Wu Zetian (Wu Zhao): China’s first and only Female emperor

9. Achievements of the Tang Dynasty Expansion of empire to restore northern and western lands Control over Korea (668) Strengthened central government Expansion of roads and canals Promotion of foreign trade Agricultural improvements Revival of civil service exam Fall of Tang: overtaxed people; overextended empire; Muslim victories in Central Asia; Chinese rebels sack Ch’ang-an in 907

10. Chang’an Impressive urban planning Eastern terminus of Silk Road Nexus for Merchants, pilgrims, students make it a cosmo- politan city 2 million residents!

11. Tang Cultural Flowering Poetry valued, tested in civil service exams and composed at social gatherings (Li Bo) Buddhism fully infused in Chinese life (origin stories, festivals) Monasteries play roles of schools, banks, warehouses for safekeeping); becoming largest landholders through gifts from wealthy Buddhism developing into two schools in China: Pure Land: appeals to laypeople. Simple act of calling on the Buddha Amitabha and his chief boddhisattva helper could lead to rebirth in his paradise Vs. Chan (Zen in Japan) more popular with educated elite. Emphasized “mind to mind transmission” via a teacher vs. scripture; enlightenment through meditation and monastic self-discipline.

12. Song Dynasty (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-1279) Restores unity: rival warlords divide China after fall of Tang Smaller empire, but stable and prosperous Manchurian people (Jurchen) conquered northern lands, established Jin Empire

13. Hallmarks of the Song Dynasty Tea and rice become “typically” Chinese (replacing wheat, millet and wine of Tang Dynasty) First population explosion Foot binding for women becomes widespread

14. Achievements of the Tang and Song Era “Golden Age” of China Science and Technology: Moveable type (printing) Gunpowder Porcelain Mechanical clock Paper money Magnetic compass—sailing Agriculture Import and cultivation of fast-ripening rice from Vietnam Flourishing trade (Silk Roads’ second major era) Development of sea trade with Korea, Japan, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Africa Golden Age of poetry and art

15. Heavy Snow on Mount Guan by Hsu Dao-Ning

16. Magpies and Hare by Tsui Bai

17. Thousand Li of River and Mountains by Wang Hsi-Meng

18. Classic Landscape

19. Chinese Societal Changes in Tang and Song Increasing social mobility Urbanization Formation of gentry class (upper) via rigorous civil service exam Decline of old aristocratic family power Urban middle class Laborers, soldiers, servants Peasants

20. Women in Tang and Song Dynasties Tang era women have more freedom, participate more in social life (Steppe nomads influence) Reversion in Song Dynasty to more patriarchal control Revival of Confucianism Economic growth Textile industry takes over traditional weaving work of rural women Upper class women in cities see biggest decline in status Concubines, courtesans, prostitutes on the rise as prosperity increases in elite families, reduces wives’ negotiating power Foot binding represents status, wealth, beauty

21. “Chinese Girl with Bound Feet”

22. What Is Foot binding? Picture Source: BBC The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything; http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1155872

23. X-rays of Bound Feet Credit: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

25. Why did women bind their feet? Standards of beauty Marriageable Status symbol Way to control women

26. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s tory.php?storyId=8966942 Zhou Guizhen, 86, says she regrets binding her feet. "But at the time, if you didn't bind your feet, no one would marry you," she says.

27. Lotus shoes for women with bound feet

28. Just how big is a lotus shoe?

29. The Chinese Xinhua News Agency announced, in 1998, that the last factory to manufacture shoes for bound-feet women in Harbin, China, had ended production. The End