Transcript The Sui Dynasty Sui Wendi united northern and southern China in

The Sui Dynasty
Sui Wendi united northern
and southern China in 589.
 First emperor of Sui Dynasty.
 Builds Grand Canal.
 Dynasty ends in 618.
 Overtaxed and overworked.

Tang Rulers Create a Powerful
Empire
Dynasty rules for nearly 300
years. 618-907.
 Tang Taizong reconquers
northern and western lands
lost during the Han.
 Wu Zhou only woman ruler.

Tang Taizong
Wu Zhou
Map of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Empire
Expand network of roads and
canals.
 Lowered taxes/ took land from
the wealthy.
 Revive civil service system.
 Build schools. Open to
everyone.

Tang Losses Power
Reimposed crushing taxes to
pay for military expansion.
 Peasants fled villages in
times of famine and roved
the countryside as bandits.
 Dynasty got too big to
control.

Battle of Talas River
Song Dynasty Restores China
The Song ruled China for over
300 years. 960-1279.
 Never regain northern and
western lands.
 Jurchen force the Song out of
the north.

Map of the Song Dynasty
Tang and Song Innovations
 Moveable type.
 Gunpowder.
 Porcelain.
 Mechanical clock.
 Magnetic compass.
 Paper money.
Porcelain
Magnetic
Compass
Agriculture
Imported a new strain of rice
from Vietnam.
 Government distributes
seedlings to farmers.
 Farmers harvest two crops
each year.

Trade and Foreign Contacts
Tang armies guarded the Silk
Roads.
 Ocean trade increase thanks
to the magnetic compass.
 Foreign traders, mainly Arabs
reside in Chinese cities.
 Went both ways.

Golden Age of Art
Produced poetry that praised
orderliness, Confucian
virtues,wars, and life's
pleasures.
 Painting represented beauty
in nature. Daoist thought.
 Black was the favorite color.

Changes in Chinese Society
Chinese society became
mobile.
 Aristocratic family power
fades.
 Genrty- well-to-do-people
increases.
 Scholars and their families.

Social Classes
 Gentry – Upper class.
 Middle Class- Merchants,
shopkeepers, artisans, minor
officials.
 Lower- Laborers, soldiers, and
servants.
 Peasants- Largest.
Status of Woman
Further decline during the
Tang and Song.
 To be subservient to men.
 The practice of foot binding
becomes popular.
 Lily foot.

Mongols on the Asian Steppe
Mongols prided themselves
on their skill of horseback,
their discipline, and
ruthlessness.
 These lands connected the
East and West.
 Home to dangerous nomads.

Eurasia
Steppe
Geography of the Steppe
Western steppe spans from
eastern Europe and Central
Asia.
 Home of the ancient invaders.
 Very little rain/extreme
temperature.
 Rainfall/ climate better in West

Nomadic Way of Life
Pastoralists -Herded
domestic animals. Depend
on these animals.
 Followed patterns.
 Wars were frequent over
land.
 Traveled in clans.

Yurts
Steppe Nomads/Settled
Societies
 Often engaged in peaceful
trade.
 Nomads prided themselves on
scarcity and hardship.
 Nomads invaded border
towns and villages.
Rise of Mongols
Mongol existed on the eastern
steppe in loosely organized
clans.
 Temujin, Genghis Khan,
sought to unify the Mongols
by defeating his enemies.
 Conquerors much of Asia.

Genghis Khan
Genghis the Conqueror
 Brilliant organizer- Followed
Chinese model.
 Gifted startegist – Dressed up
dummies, used spies, and
used tricks.
 Used cruelty- Scared people.
 Adopted new weapons.
Mongol Empire
Following his death of
Genghis Khan, his son
became great Khan.
 These successors expand the
Mongol Empire.
 Largest empire in history.

Mongol Empire
Rule Under the Mongols
Many areas the Mongols
invaded never recovered.
 Installed stability and law and
order. Pax Mongolica.
 Safe to travel throughout the
empire.
 May have spread the plague.

Kublai Khan Conquerors China