1. The Golden Age of the Tang and Song Era Chapter 12 (3 of 3)

2. The Grand Canal Along with other canals, the Grand Canal linked north China (plains) and south China (Yangtze River basin), vital to economic growth Huge amount of people move to south China, where most of the food for the empire was grown By the time the Song took over in the 900s, the population of southern China was more than that of north China

3. Trade Grows Tang army conquered much of central Asia leading to the growth of trade and commerce Silk Roads reopened (China sent silk, porcelain, and paper in exchange for horses and Persian rugs and tapestries Trade with S.E. Asia also increased (China sent manufactured goods in exchange for luxury goods (aromatic woods and spices)

4. Junks = Chinese ships that was very advanced with sails, compasses, and even rockets for defense Along with Arab dhows, junks were the best ships in the world during the postclassical period

5. A New Kind of Money System Changes to the money system led to an increase in trade and commerce Banks (called deposit shops) were created so merchants could borrow money to fund business growth Paper money began to be used which made it easier to buy and sell products, especially from one town to another Flying money = credit vouchers, so merchants didn’t have to carry cash; less chance of being robbed, trade increased

6. Markets Grow Government supervised markets spring up in every city in China Though controlled by the government, local guilds existed in many cities (similar to western Europe)

7. China Had the Most Big Cities During Tang-Song era, many cities had over 100,000 people (most civilizations had a few at most) Changan, the capital, had over 2 million people, making it the largest city in the world at the time 10% of Chinese lived in cities, by far the largest percentage of any civilization in the world at the time

8. As Cities Grew, So Did Agriculture As Chinese population moved south during the postclassical era (to Yangtze River basin), agricultural expansion occurred Government helped agricultural growth by encouraging settlement of unfarmed land, and creating irrigation systems New types of seeds, better use of animal and human manure, new technology such as wheelbarrow, also helped

9. Aristocracy Further Weakened Tang government broke up aristocratic estates and gave land to peasants This was done to curb power of aristocrats (remember: scholar- gentry now had power) and to help peasants As a result, scholar-gentry becomes even more powerful (lived in homes with curved roofs, a status symbol in China)

10. Family Life Confucian teachings (which dominated the later Tang era and the Song era, taught traditional views (men head of family and respect for elders) Did You Know: The penalty for a child hitting a parents was beheading of the child

11. Women - At 1 st Okay But… In early Tang Dynasty, position of women improving (Buddhist ideas had influence over Confucianism) Still had arranged marriages (like India) with bride’s family paying dowry to husband’s family Difference was in China, the pair getting married were usually same age (Confucian idea of separation of generations), and often the pair were older than those married in India Example of rights women gained in early Tang era: 1.Had some political power (like Empress Wu) 2.Lots of activities open (ex: could play polo) 3.Divorce laws helped women somewhat 4.Women could take lovers with knowledge of husband

12. By Late Song Era, Women’s Status Bad Neo-Confucians began taking over (as Buddhists lost power) and subordinate position of women returned Laws favored men in inheritance, and women were excluded from education Women were expected to refrain from sex (especially before marriage), men were not Women are confined to the household and had no career opportunities Like in India, women no longer allowed to marry after husband died

13. Footbinding = Chinese women had toes curled back and bound to create smaller looking foot Bound feet were painful and limited a women’s mobility (a way to confine them to the home) Mothers had daughter’s feet bound b/c only way to find a good husband was with bound feet

14. Tang and Song Era Considered a Golden Age of Chinese Artistic and Scientific Advancement

15. Economy grew for several reasons, including new technology and innovations (irrigation projects, canal system, paper money, etc.)

16. At 1 st not for war (only fireworks)Later on it was used in war Gunpowder

17. More New Technology Compasses used for sea travel Abacus invented for doing mathematical calculations, helped merchants and also helped tax collection Movable type = allowed books and written records to be made more easily (big reason why literacy high in China compared to other pre- Industrial societies) Kites flown for the first time

18. Scholar-gentry replaced Buddhists as the ones creating new art and literature This resulted every day life and nature themes replacing religious themes

19. Li Bo Most famous poet of the Tang era, combined images of everyday life with philosophical thoughts (similar to Persian authors)

20. Song era art known for its landscape painting

21. Song Sung Blue – The Song Ends Here 1.Song fled south to avoid nomadic attacks (Jurchens) 2.Could not avoid the Mongols and Chinggis Khan (though for a while, Song able to survive by paying him tribute) 3.By 1279, Kubilai Khan conquered the Song and ended the dynasty 4.Mongols were very powerful, so although the Song defeated, Mongols able to keep China somewhat united, so it did not experience another Era of Division

22. Tang-Song Dynasty Pivotal to China’s History 1.Bureaucracy restored as scholar-gentry gained power over aristocrats, Buddhists, and nomads 2.Chinese civilization grew dramatically as south was united with the north 3.China’s economy became one of the strongest in the world, and would remain that way until the 1700s