2.  From the Tang era to the 18 th century, the Chinese economy was one of the world’s most advanced  China was a key source of manufactured goods and cultivated consumables (tea!)

3. During the Classical Era, the emperors of Han China created large empire & developed numerous innovations Civil service exams for gov’t employees based on Confucian teachings Silk-making technology that attracted trade from outside China The Silk Road trade route brought Chinese luxury goods to Europe & Asia and increased cultural diffusion

4. Like the Roman Empire, Classical China under the Han Dynasty entered an era of decline & eventually fell

5. After the Han Dynasty collapsed in 220 A.D., no emperor was strong enough to unify China Over the next 350 years, more than 30 local dynasties rose & fell

6. In 589, China was unified again & a strong central government was restored... During the Tang & Song Dynasties, China experienced an extended “golden age” & became the richest, most powerful, & most advanced country in the world

8.  Crucial for Chinese unity: rebuilding and expansion of imperial bureaucracy = well-educated officials to govern = offset the power of the aristocracy  From the Tang era onward, political power in China was shared by imperial families and bureaucrats of the civil service system

9.  Examination system greatly expanded = Chinese connected merit as measured by tested skills with authority and status Merit and ambition counted for something, but birth and family influence counted more

10.  You will be assigned a role in Chinese society  Complete each task as I ask you to:  Simon says…

12.  Women  homemaker and mother  Bearer of sons to continue patrilineal family line  Foot binding  Confucianism: peasant = good!  Valued skillful writing and painting; educated people practiced these arts

13.  Population moved southward to fertile valleys of Yangtze and other river systems  Peasants encouraged to move, given military support to protect and subdue non-Chinese  Estates of old aristocracy broken up and distributed more equitably among free peasants

14.  By imperial decree, curved roofs were reserved for people of high rank

15.  Chang’an, capital of Tang had over 2 million people  Larger than any other city at the time  The number of people living in large cities in China (as high as 10%) was far greater than any civilization until after the Industrial Revolution

16.  Text For the 1 st time in China’s history, emperors encouraged foreign trade Emperors did their best to try to protect the routes along the Silk Road Chinese merchants relied on ocean routes as well to trade with India & Arabia Increased trade led to the spread of Chinese culture (centralized gov’t, Confucianism, & writing) to Korea, Japan, & Southeast Asia

17. Increased trade helped spread Buddhism throughout China

18.  Buddhism flourished in the early centuries of the Tang  Empress Wu tried to make it the state religion  By mid-9 th century, there were approx. 50,000 monasteries and hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns

20.  By mid-9 th century state fears of Buddhist wealth and power turned into persecution  1000s of monasteries and shrines destroyed  100s of 1000s monks and nuns forced to return to civilian lives = subject to taxation, land parceled out = Chinese Buddhism weakened

21.  The Tang & Song dynasties were eras of major technological advancement:  The technologies helped make China the most advanced country in the world  Much of China’s technology spread to other people across trade routes

22. 1. Mechanical Clock

23. 2. Magnetic compass

24. 3. Gunpowder

25. 4. Printing Press

26. 5. Paper money

27. 6. Chinese writing

28. 7. Ship building

29. 9. Silk weaving

30. 10. Porcelain

31.  Most of the basic bridge types were pioneered in China  Banks  Abacus

32.  Neo-Confucianism  Emphasis on tradition and hostility to foreign influences eventually stifled innovation and critical thinking among elite

33.  Song didn’t match Tang in political or military strength

34.  The Song had to pay tribute to the Khitan kingdom so they wouldn’t invade  Khitans - Nomadic peoples of Northern China  Costly army to guard the northern borders  (nearly 1 million soldiers by mid-11 th century)

35.  Despite the wealth & culture during the Tang & Song Dynasties, the Chinese were briefly overthrown by the Mongols  From 1279 to 1368, foreign nomads called the Mongols ruled China

39.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnZEoO J-cxE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnZEoO J-cxE