1. Ch. 12, Section 1: Two Golden Ages of China – The Tang and Song Dynasties

2. Essential Question:
Describe the political, economic, cultural, and technological achievements of the Tang and Song dynasties.

3. The Tang dynasty emerged in China in 618 and reunified China.
Li Yuan crushed rivals with his son, Li Shimin, and became the first Tang emperor.
Eight years later, Li Shimin took the throne as Tang Taizong who was China’s most admired emperor.
Tang Taizong became China’s most admired emperor. He was a brilliant general, a government reformer, a historian, and a master of calligraphy. 3

4. The Tang dynasty united China for the first time in 400 years.
Tang rulers built a sizable empire, forcing neighboring lands such as Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet to become tributary states – independent state that has to acknowledge the supremacy of another state and pay tribute to its ruler.
Empress Wu Zhao and other Tang rulers restored uniform government throughout the empire.
They revived civil service examinations and set up schools to prepare students for the exams. 4

5. TANG DYNASTY
Tang rulers instituted land reform (process by which large agricultural holdings were broken up and redistributed to peasants)to strengthen the central government and weaken large landholders.
This policy increased government revenues (money), since independent peasant farmers could afford to pay taxes.

6. SONG DYNASTY
A rebel general overthrew the last Tang emperor in In 960, the Song dynasty was founded and ruled China for 319 years.
It was forged by a general named Zhao Kuangyin.
The Song dynasty lasted for 319 years, but controlled less territory than the Tang.
It was a time of great wealth and cultural achievement for China.

7. The economy grew under the Song dynasty for many reasons.
Its emperors had an open border policy that encouraged foreign trade and imports.
Chinese cities prospered as centers of trade.
Farming methods improved and farmers produced two crops a year, creating a surplus.
Thousands of tons of grain were shipped along the Grand Canal linking the Huang and Chang rivers.

8. SONG DYNASTY
China was a very ordered society under both the Tang and the Song dynasties.
The two main social classes were the gentry (wealthy landholders), and the peasants.
The gentry valued learning and studied to pass the civil service exam.
The peasants worked the land and produced handicraft items.

9. Some merchants became wealthy in the market towns of China.
SONG DYNASTY
Some merchants became wealthy in the market towns of China.
However, they had lower social status than peasants did.
This was because of Confucian tradition. 9

10. SONG DYNASTY
Women often managed the servants and finances of the household, but they could not keep their dowry (the payment that a woman brings to a marriage).
The custom of foot binding emerged during the Song dynasty. This painful process stunted the size of a girl’s feet and greatly limited a woman’s ability to leave the home.
Families in China valued boys more than girls, and women had a subordinate position in society.

11. TANG & SONG CULTURE
Tang and Song artists created a rich tradition in painting, porcelain, and architecture.
The gentry developed skills in painting and calligraphy.
Art stressed balance and harmony with nature.
In architecture, the pagoda (multistoried temple with eaves that curve up at the corners) evolved.
Sculptors expressed Buddhist themes.

12. TANG & SONG CULTURE
Tang and Song writers produced prose and poetry as well as works on philosophy and history.
Poetry was the most respected form of literature among the gentry. Tang and Song poets often dealt with Buddhist themes or social issues.
The greatest Tang poet was Li Bo. He wrote 2,000 poems lamenting the passage of time and celebrating harmony with nature.

13. TANG & SONG CULTURE
Under the Tang and Song, China introduced important technological innovations.
Mechanical clock, 700s
Block printing, 700s
Gunpowder, 850s
Spinning wheel, 1000s
Movable type, 1040s
The Chinese invented the magnetic compass sometime between 700 and 1100.

14. Describe the political, economic, cultural, and technological achievements of the Tang and Song dynasties.
The Tang and Song dynasties brought unity and cultural achievement to China.
These dynasties each lasted about 300 years and created growth in the economy and order in society.

15. Objectives
Summarize how the Tang dynasty reunified China.
Explain how the Song dynasty grew rich and powerful despite military setbacks.
Understand how China created an ordered society.
Describe the cultural and technological achievements of the Tang and Song dynasties.

16. Terms and People
Tang dynasty – a dynasty that emerged in 618 and reunified China
Tang Taizong – China’s most admired emperor, who took the throne eight years after the Tang dynasty began
tributary state – independent state that has to acknowledge the supremacy of another state and pay tribute to its ruler

17. Terms and People (continued)
land reform – the process by which large agricultural holdings were broken up and redistributed to peasants
Song dynasty – a dynasty that began in 960 and ruled China for 319 years
gentry – wealthy landowning class
dowry – the payment that a woman brings to a marriage
pagoda – a multistoried temple with eaves that curve up at the corners