Transcript CHAPTER 10

10
The Flowering of Traditional
China
China after the Han (220-581)
 Division
and civil war
 Nomads from the Gobi Desert
 Effects of the Collapse of the Han on the Chinese
Psyche:
 Decline of Confucian principles
 Preference for philosophical Daoism
 Growth of Buddhism
China during the Tang & Song Dynasties
China Reunified: The Sui, the
Tang, and the Song
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The Sui (581-618)
 Yang Jian (Yang Chien)
• Turned to Daoism and Buddhism
• Builder as well as a conqueror
 Sui Yangdi (Sui Yang Ti)
• 1400 mile long Grand Canal
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Connects Yellow and Yangtze Rivers
Used to move commodities to the north
Used to move troops quickly
• Was assassinated in 618
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Grand canal at Wuxi
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China under the Tang
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Chang’an under the Sui and the
Tang
The Tang (618-907)
 Li Yuan
established a new dynasty after the
murder of the last Sui
 Tang Taizong (T’ang T’ai-tsung)
 Expansion
 Cultural growth – poetry and sculpture
 Spread of Buddhism
 Internal problems during the Tang dynasty
 Border problems and the end of the Tang
The Song (960-1279)
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Song Taizu (Sung T’ai-tsu)
Problems with nomads
Prosperity and cultural growth
Collapse
Mongols, 1279
Terraced rice paddies in southern China
Economic Revolution
 Population
doubled during
Song era
 Agricultural prosperity
 New variety of rice
 New cash crops – e.g.
tea, sugar
 Dikes, reservoirs, &
dams
 Water pumps
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Statues of traitors to Song dynasty in
Hangzhou
Political Structures
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Equal Opportunity in China: The Civil Service
Examination
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Grand Council had representatives from all three authorities:
Civil, military, and censorate
Civil Service Exam
Song examination system – based only on Confucianism
• Three levels
• Qualifying exams – accept teaching level position
• Second exam
• Final exam
• Problems with the civil service system
• Achievements of the civil service system
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Local Government
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District governed by a magistrate
Village governed by council of elders
Economy and Society
 Still
largely agricultural
 Tang reduced power of the nobility for short
period
 Equal field system
 Then tried to control through taxes
 Innovations in agriculture
 Urban economy saw significant increase in trade
and manufacturing
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Commercial growth
 Internal trade, facilitated by canals & paper $
 Overseas maritime trade facilitated by magnetic
compass & junks
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Growth in industry
 Esp. silk fabric, porcelain & paper
 Water powered mills & bellows
 Iron & steel
Ocean Trade and the Silk Road
 Guilds
began to appear
 Credit or “Flying money”
 Long distance trade overland and by sea
 Silk Road – hazardous
 Development of sea trade
 Innovations in ship building
 Products of trade
Society in Traditional China
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Growth and development of cities
Rise of the Gentry
Peasants and village life
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Village architecture
Family unit
Male superiority
Children expected to obey parents; position of daughters
Women
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New form of dowry – bride’s parents pay the groom’s family a
dowry
Introduction of bound feet
Women’s rights
Wu Zhao, (625?-706?), Empress Wu
Ideal woman’s foot
= 3” long!
FOOT
BINDING
Lotus Shoes
HOWCH?
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The grandmother and mother would wrap her daughter's or granddaughter's feet
around 5-7 years old. As the process went on over years, the girl would be in terrible
pain. The reason for the heels becoming so hard is because the girl would walk on
her heels during the process because her toes would be in such pain.
After years of this process, the bones would heal in the position of the binding, and
the girl would no longer feel pain. There were contests by parents to obtain the
daughters with the smallest feet. The smaller the feet were, the more beautiful she
was; thus the more likely she would be chosen as a bride of a nobleman. When the
liberation occurred, the women were told to unwrap their feet lest they be killed.
Some of the women's feet grew 1/2 - 1 inch after the unwrapping.
FOOT BINDING Q & A!
 When
did foot binding begin?
 Tang Dynasty (618-907) among upper class
 Why?
 It’s beautiful. Right?
• Another q: Would men find the deformed feet
attractive/erotic?
 Was
it always the same?
 No—It got much more debilitating (and
widespread) during the later Qing Dynasty.
(When was the Qing Dynasty?)
• Last one – 1636-1911
 The
ideal foot: approx. 7.5 cm!
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Mongolian Empire
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Asia Under the Mongols
Mongolian dinero
“Khan Khash”
Explosion in Central Asia: The
Mongol Empire
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Mongols succeeded the Song as rulers in 1279
Genghis Khan (Temuchin), elected Universal Ruler
New tactics for his warriors; compound bow
 Introduction of “Fire lance” by their enemies
 Mongols turn west toward Europe/Middle East
 Set up a capital at Karakorum
 Territory divided at his death into separate khnates
Peace in Asia
Growth of trade
Legal code for Mongols
Religious toleration
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The Golden Horde
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Khagan Ogedei dies . . .
succession
struggle ensues
Western Europe is spared
Destroyed Kiev
Moscow collected
tribute for the Khans
& dominated other
cities
Peasants reduced to
serfdom because of
crushing burden of
tribute
Impact on Islam?
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Baghdad (the Abbasid capital)
is destroyed
Muslim military strength
weakens
Focal points of Islamic
civilization devastated as
cities in Asia and
Mediterranean are destroyed
Muslims remained active in
world markets/ Arab role
reduced
Ottoman Turks dominant
Khubilai built a Chinese capital, took Chinese names, created a
Chinese dynasty (Yuan), and set up a Chinese adminstration
Yuan Social Order
Mongol women
had
property rights
& did not bind
their feet
1. Mongols
2. Central Asian Allies &
Muslims
3. Scholar gentry less
powerful as
exams discontinued
Mongols & Chinese Separate
1. Nomadic women in harem
2. Military separate
3. Chinese scholars forbidden
to learn Mongol script
4.No intermarriage
Merchants & artisans
gained status
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Models of traditional Chinese
single-mast sailing vessels
The Ming Dynasty
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Zhu Yuanzhang (Chu Yuan-chang) overthrew the Yuan
regime and founded the Ming dynasty (1369 – 1644)
Achievements of the Ming
The Voyages of Zhengha
 Reasons for voyages
 Results
An Inward Turn
 New focus on domestic issues and an end of voyages of
exploration
In Search of the Way
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Rise and Decline of Buddhism and Daoism
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Common people and the ruling class attracted to Buddhism and
Daoism
New sects in Buddhism
• Chan (Zen in Japan)
• Mind training and strict
• Pure Land
• White Lotus
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Problems faced by Buddhism and Daoism
• Official persecution
• Envy over wealthy monasteries
• Temples and monasteries destroyed
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Denial of Confucian teachings
Neo-Confucianism: The Investigation of Things
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Revival following decline of Buddhism and Daoism
Neo-Confucianism was to unite Buddhism and Daoism with
Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism and lack of advancement in some fields
The Apogee of Chinese Culture
 Literature
Paper and moveable type
 Ink rubbings and woodblock
 Poetry
 Popular culture
 The Chinese Novel
 Art
 Buddhism and Daoist painting and sculpture
 Ceramics
 Painting
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