1. The Spread of Cultures in Asia Tara Madsen

2. New Dynasties in China Sui- 581-618 Tang- 618-907 Song- 960-1279 Yuan- 1279-1368 Ming- 1368-1644

3. Sui In 581 CE, the Sui Dynasty brought order to China… with the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, the Chinese people had endured more than 300 of civil war. The Sui rulers reunified the Empire… The largest lasting contribution of the Sui empire is that they built the Grand Canal that connected the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers… This Grand Canal made it easier to trade between North and South China.

4. Tang and Song Dynasties The Tang and Song Dynasties ruled during the Golden Ages of Chinese History. China was prosperous during these periods and extended its influence into new lands… these times were also periods of great cultural achievements. The leaders of the Tang Dynasty expanded the area of Chinese rule and influence in Asia. The Tang Empire extended from the Pacific Ocean to Tibet. Through trade, China’s influence later spread into Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia.

5. Tang and Song emperors tried to end corruption in the government. They resorted to ancient civil service exams to fill government posts. This kept powerful officials from appointing family members and ensured that all people working for the government were qualified. These dynasties brought prosperity to China… they limited the power of the wealthy landowners… trade and business also grew under their rule. During the Tang Dynasty is when the Chinese invented printing… they used woodblocks to print letters.

6. The Tang Dynasty weakened during peasant revolts and eventually fell leaving the position open for the Song clan to claim control. The song were unable to hold the Empire together and Mongols invaded taking over the empire.

7. Mongol Invaders: Yuan Dynasty Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols began to conquer China in 1215. After his death… the area he had conquered was divided into four different sections. In 1279, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson completely over threw the Song Dynasty and declared himself ruler of China. He allowed Chinese bureaucrats to remain in place at the local level, however, higher positions were filled by Mongols. China prospered under Khan’s rule, he rebuilt roads and revived trade… eventually the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by a Buddhist monk and a peasant army… they took the Empire and called themselves the Ming.

8. Ming Dynasty Ming Hong Wu was succeeded as emperor by his song Yong Le in 1398. Yong Le set out to restore China’s greatness… He has the Great Wall strengthened and he also built the Imperial City… this is a walled city within the capital city of Beijing. The Imperial City was built to send a message to outsiders about the emperor’s wealth and power. Like all other Dynasties, the Ming weakened and were eventually overthrown by the Manchus who lived north of the Great Wall… they set up their empire and named their Dynasty the Qing…

10. Japan Japan is an archipelago (chain of many islands)… most Japanese live on the four larges islands. People settled into Japan around 3000 BCE and lived in small clans (small groups)… most were farmers although there were a few wealthy aristocrats. By 500 CE, one clan, the Yamato, gained power over the other clans. From 500 CE until 1945, the Emperor was worshiped as a god.

11. Rule by Shogunate Civil war broke out in Japan and was ended by Minamoto Yoritomo… he kept the emperor as a figure head and took the title of Shogun. This new government was known as a Shogunate. Emperor = Empire Shogun = Shogunate

12. Shogunate Timeline Kamakura Shogunate: 1192-1333 Ashikaga Shogunate: 1333-1477 Civil Wars: 1467-1603 Tokugawa Shogunate: 1603-1868