CHINESE DYNASTIES

Essential Question: Why were the Tang and Song Dynasties considered the “golden age” of China?

The Classical Era was a time when great civilizations (like Greece and Rome) existed and made enormous contributions to humanity During the Classical Era, the emperors of Han China created a large empire and developed numerous innovations

For example, the Chinese had civil service exams for government workers; the exams were based on the teachings of Confucius This is so workers received their jobs based on their strong ethics (doing the right thing)

The Chinese invented silk-making technology that attracted great interest in trade from people outside of China

TO EUROPE TO ASIA FROM CHINA The Silk Road trade route brought Chinese luxury goods to Europe and Asia and increased cultural diffusion (blending of cultures)

Much like the Roman Empire and the other Classical civilizations, Classical China under the Han Dynasty entered an era of decline and eventually fell

There were many similarities between Han China and Rome, especially with outside invaders bringing both empires down

After the Han Dynasty collapsed in the year 220, no emperor was strong enough to unify the Chinese people into one single territory under one ruler Over the next 350 years, China was divided into several small kingdoms; more than 30 local dynasties rose and fell A “dynasty” is a ruling family or group that rules during a certain era or time period

By the year 589, China was unified again and a strong central government was restored Bringing back the Confucian examination system allowed intelligent bureaucrats to help manage the massive Chinese empire

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, China experienced an extended “golden age” China became the richest, most powerful, and most advanced country in the world

For the first time in China’s history, emperors actually encouraged foreign trade (previously, they had tried to avoid trading with foreigners)

Emperors did their best to protect the trade routes along the Silk Road Chinese merchants relied on ocean routes as well to trade with India and Arabia

Increased trade led to the spread of Chinese culture (centralized government, Confucianism, and their writing system) to neighboring areas, like Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

The orange arrows show where Buddhism spread in Asia Increased trade helped spread Buddhism throughout China

Chinese Innovations The Tang and Song Dynasties were eras of major technological advancement and innovation INNOVATION: a good, a service, a product, a method, a technology, or an idea that is new and original These innovative technologies helped make China the most advanced country in the world (at the time) Much of China’s technological inventions spread to other people in Asia and Europe across trade routes (such as the Silk Road) ACTIVITY: look at the following ten inventions and write down what you think each one is

1. Mechanical Clock

2. Magnetic compass

3. Gunpowder

4. Printing Press

5. Paper money

6. Chinese writing

7. Ship building

8. Vaccination

9. Silk weaving

10. Porcelain

The End of the Golden Age Despite the wealth and power China had during the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Chinese were briefly overthrown 1279-1368, less that 100 years.

The End of the Golden Age From 1279 to 1368, a nomadic foreign tribe called the Mongols ruled over China

The Ming emperors encouraged overseas trade… In 1368, the Chinese overthrew the Mongols and took back the rule of their land; the new Chinese rulers established the Ming Dynasty The Ming emperors encouraged overseas trade…

…and began a series of voyages led by the Chinese fleet admiral, Zheng He http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sultan/media/expl_01q.html The purpose of these voyages was to explore and also be a show of force and power to China’s neighbors

With a fleet of over 100 ships (which became known as the “Treasure Fleet”) Zheng He led seven different voyages

From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He explored areas along the Indian Ocean and Africa, expanded trade, and collected tribute from foreigners

Christopher Columbus’ ship Zheng He had bigger and better ships than anyone else in the world at the time; Zheng traveled farther than any European explorers would for about a hundred years Zheng He’s ship Christopher Columbus’ ship

Chinese Isolation After the seventh voyage of the “Treasure Fleet” in 1433, Chinese leaders unexpectedly ended all exploration and retreated into a policy of isolationism (being separated from contact with other nations) Chinese scholar-officials complained that Zheng He’s voyages used valuable resources (money, people) that were needed at home to defend China’s borders China’s new official trade policy was to keep the influence of outsiders to a minimum

Chinese Isolation China’s geography and its government’s policies kept China quite isolated for the next 300 years

With their powerful fleet and vast riches, the Chinese could easily have been the people to have extended their influence and colonized the world…

…but instead, the Europeans (Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch) would be the ones to begin taking over other parts of the world

This policy of isolationism would come back to haunt China; as China remained relatively stagnant in terms of technological advancement for 300 years, the Europeans developed more powerful weapons

When the Europeans demanded trade with China in the 1800s, the Chinese were unable to resist them

 Christopher Jaskowiak Revamped and redone by Original version by Brooks Baggett