Transcript PPT Day 2 - Kugler History Website

Chap 15 Day 2
East Asia
Do Now: 1. How were the Tang and the
Song Dynasties similar?
(see previous notes)
Agricultural Economies of the Tang
and Song Dynasties
• Developed
Vietnamese fastripening rice, 2
crops per year
• Technology: iron
plows, use of draft
animals
• Soil fertilization,
improved irrigation
– Water wheels,
canals
• Terrace farming
Population Growth – WHY?
120
100
80
60
Millions
40
20
0
600
CE
1000
Result of increased
agricultural production
• Effective food
distribution system
• Transportation
networks built under
Tang and Song
dynasties
Urbanization
• Chang’an world’s most
populous city: 2 million
residents
– Southern Song capital
Hangzhou: over 1 million
Patriarchal Social Structures
• Increased emphasis on ancestor worship
– Elaborate grave rituals
– Extended family gatherings in honor of
deceased ancestors
– Religious or philosophical influences???
• Footbinding gains popularity
– Increased control by male family members
– How?
Footbindingsimilar to
today?
Technology and Industry
• Porcelain (“Chinaware”)
• Increase of iron production due to use of
coke, not coal, in furnaces
– Agricultural tools, weaponry
• Gunpowder invented
• Earlier printing techniques refined
– Moveable type by mid-11th century
– Yet complex Chinese ideographs make wood
block technique easier
• Naval technology
Emergence of a Market Economy
• Letters of credit developed to deal with
copper coin shortages
– Promissory notes, checks also used
• Development of independently produced
paper money
– Not as stable, riots when not honored
• Government claims monopoly on money
production in 11th century
China and the Hemispheric Economy
• Increasingly
cosmopolitan
nature of
Chinese cities
• Chinese silk
opens up trade
routes, but
increases local
demands for
imported luxury
goods
Cultural Change in Tang and Song
China
• Declining confidence in Confucianism after
collapse of Han dynasty
• Increasing popularity of Buddhism
• Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism,
Islam also appear – How similar? Different?
• Clientele primarily foreign merchant class
•
•
•
•
Dunhuang
Mahayana Buddhism
especially popular in
western China (Gansu
province), 600-1000
CE -Why spread?
Buddhist temples,
libraries
Economic success as
converts donate land
holdings
Increase popularity
through donations of
agricultural produce to
the poor
Summary
• The Chinese population underwent rapid
growth from 600 to 1200.
• What developments during this period
promoted that growth?
• Why would it be an economic advantage
to have such a large population?
• Why would it be a potential disadvantages
to have a large population?