China Reunites Chapter 12 Section 1

Rebuilding China’s Empire The Han dynasty ended in A.D. 220. For the next 300 years, China had no central government. It broke into 17 kingdoms, with war and poverty everywhere. Chinese warlords- military leaders who run a government- fought with each other.

Chinese Warlords

Nomads conquered parts of northern China. China also lost territory on the Korean peninsula. The Koreans decided to end Chinese rule in their country. They broke away and built their own separate civilization.

The Sui Dynasty China finally reunited in A.D. 581. General Wendi declared himself emperor. Wendi won battle after battle and finally reunited China. He founded the Sui dynasty.

Emperor Yangdi- Sui dynasty After Wendi died, his son Yangdi, took the throne. He rebuilt the Great Wall and built the Grand Canal. This waterway linked the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and the Huang He (Yellow) River. It helped China’s economy by becoming an important route for shipping.

Fall of the Sui Dyansty Yangdi’s rebuilding projects placed great hardships on the Chinese people. Farmers were forced to work on the Great Wall and the Grand Canal and they had to pay high taxes for the projects. The farmers finally revolted and killed Yangdi, which brought and end to the Sui dyansty.

The Tang Dynasty In A.D. 618 one of Yangdi’s generals took over and set up the Tang dynasty. It lasted for 300 years. The Tang capital was at Changan and became a magnificent city, with one million people living there.

Tang Dynasty China c. A.D. 700

Tang Dynasty The most powerful emperor was Taizong. He restored the civil service exams, gave land to the farmers, and brought order to the countryside.

Empress Wu- Tang dynasty In the late A.D. 600s, a woman named Wu ruled China. She was the only woman in history to rule the China on her own. She added more officials to the government and strengthen military forces.

Expansion of China Under the Tang dynasty, China regained much of its power in Asia. Tang armies pushed west into central Asia, invaded Tibet, and took control of the Silk Road. The forced Korean kingdoms to pay tribute. They moved south and took control of Vietnam.

Fall of the Tang Dynasty By the mid A.D. 700s, the Tang dynasty began to have problems. A new group of nomads, the Turks, drove Tang armies out of central Asia and took over the Silk Road. This hurt China’s economy. There were also revolts in Tibet and among the Chinese farmers. In A.D. 907 all of this disorder brought down the Tang dynasty.

China Reunites Cause and Effect What events led to the fall of the Tang dynasty? Turks taking control of the Silk Road; the loss of trade; revolts in Tibet and China

Song Dynasty A.D. 960- 1279

Song Dynasty In A.D. 960 one of the Tang generals declared himself emperor and set up the Song dynasty. This was a time of prosperity and cultural achievement.

Song China c. A.D. 1200

Problems in Song Dynasty Song rulers did not have enough soldiers to control the large empire. Tibet broke away, and nomads took over much of northern China. The capital was moved south to Hangzhou near the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) delta.

Hangzhou

Why did the Song dynasty move its capital to Hangzhou? Nomads took over much of northern China, so the Song dynasty moved south to protect its capital city.

Buddhism in China Tang rulers were not Buddhist, but allowed Buddhism to be practiced in China. Many Buddhists became monks and nuns. They lived in monasteries were they meditated and worshipped.

Buddhist monk and monastery

Buddhist Rock Temples

Buddhist Temples ran schools provide rooms and food for travelers monks served as bankers provided medical care

Chinese Buddhist Temple

Buddhism during the Tang dynasty Not all Chinese people accepted Buddhist teachings. Many thought the temples should not take donations. Others believed the monks and nuns weakened the respect for the family. Tang officials destroyed many Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Spread of Buddhism In the A.D. 300s, Chinese Buddhists brought their religion to Korea. After Korea became independent of China, Buddhism grew stronger. Buddhism later spread to the nearby islands of Japan and won many followers there.

Zhu Xi Founder of Neo-Confucianism

Neo Confucianism Many Chinese felt that Buddhist monks and nuns weakened the respect for family. New Confucianism was created, to reduce Buddhism’s popularity. Confucianism became more than a system of rules for being good. It became a religion with beliefs about the spiritual world.

Scholar-Officials The civil service exams provided a merit system on which people were accepted for what they can do and not personal wealth or contacts. The test were very difficult and only one in five passed the tests. Those who failed were usually given jobs helping officials or teaching others.

Scholar Officials Strict rules set the scholar officials apart from society. One rule was that they could not do any physical work. Hands were for painting or writing, not physical work.

China Reunites What made Buddhism so popular in China? It allowed people to escape suffering and seek peace and comfort.

China Reunites How was neo-Confucianism a response to Buddhism’s popularity, and what did it teach? It offset Buddhism’s popularity and taught that life in this world and in the afterlife is equally important.