Inner and East Asia (600-1200)

Chapter 10
I. The Early Tang Empire

A. Tang Origins
-The Li family seized power from the Sui family in 618 and created a new yet
similar empire. (Kept many of the governing practices but had a decentralized
government by giving the local authorities more power) Tang was their created
dynastic name.
-The Tang rulers descended from Turkish Elites and they adopted parts of the
Turkish culture while incorporating them with Chinese culture and technology. The
Confusion civil service system was kept and Chinese military technology was
used. However many of the arts and other military weapons came from the Silk
Road and Turkish ancestors.
B. Buddhism and the Tang Empire
-The Mahayana sect of Buddhism was very popular in China. The Tang princes
used the large influence of the Buddhism religion to support themselves, including
paying the church for helping them fight wars. Though Buddhism and
Confucianism were very popular, local cultures and beliefs still existed and were
followed by a great number of people.
C. To Chang’an by Land and Sea
-Chang’an was made the capital city during the Sui rule, and the Tang decided to
keep it as the capital during their rule. Chang’an was a central hub for trade and
the Chinese society. It had a well-established road and water system, and while
not connecting to the Grand Canal (between the Yellow and the Yangzi river), it
served as a water highway in which people could travel.
-Chang’an’s population reached over one million people during the Tang rule, yet
most of those people lived outside the walls of the city. They lived in suburbs
where they had special duties such as maintaining tombs and maintaining the
Imperial Resort.
- There were special places where the travelers and traders stayed and slept.
During the nighttime, the main gates to the city were closed in order to keep crime
low.
-The city was much like a modern one, lined with stalls, vendors, mosques,
temples, inns, and restaurants.
-The Grand Canal system was so important that it had its own budget, ships, and
all future capitals were built within reach of it.
-Seafarers helped to design and build larger and more advanced ships that could
carry more supplies.
-The Grand Canal linked central China to Southern China and the Indian Ocean
trading system, and although it spread religions, cultures, and goods, it also
spread the Black Plague.
D. Trade and Cultural Exchange
-All of the trade and cultural diffusion that took place in the Tang dynasty helped to
spread ideas and art styles. New motifs and themes emerged in Chinese art and
pottery, and the entire clothing style changed. Instead of wearing the traditional
robes, the working class now wore pants made of cotton instead of hemp or silk.
- New stringed instruments and music reached China during the Tang dynasty.
-Imported foods such as spices and tea changed the Chinese diet.
 -China still remained the dominant and superior source for silk. The Tang dynasty
encouraged more designs and patterns that were becoming more and more
complex.

II. Rivals For Power in Inner Asia and China

A. The Uighur and Tibetan Empires

-After Li Shimin took control of the Tarim Basin and most of Inner Asia, the
Uighurs took over the control.
-The Uighurs were skilled merchants and scribes able to trade in many different
languages and with many different cultures.
-The Uighurs fell after within half a century of taking power. The Tibetans then
experienced cultural changes, learning Indian styles and ideas from Buddhist
pilgrims and also learning Chinese culture as well.
-The Tibetans excelled at war and allied with the Tang after marring a Tang
princess.
B. Upheavals and Repression
-The Tang elites started to regard Buddhism as evil and undermining Confusion
ideals. They especially regarded women in a lower status and was displeased
with Buddhist ideas of women’s worth.
-The government and officials started to blame common evils and barbaric
behavior on Buddhism. The Tang saw it as a threat to the throne as the Buddhist
temple and monks did not pay taxes and did not serve the army. They claimed
that eradicating the Buddhism “threat” would restore ancient values and peace.
Though local warlords protected some Buddhist temples, most of them were
destroyed and Buddhism never recovered in China.
C. The End of the Tang Empire
-The end of the Tang Empire was brought about because of internal strife. The
military campaigns that had expanded the empire so greatly left the empire
controlled by local warlords and the government became very decentralized. Also
internal power struggles and rebellion led to the Tang’s downfall.

IV. The Emergence of East Asia to 1200

A. The Liao and Jin Challenge

-The Lio Empire was a pastoral empire that had a strong military and was very
tolerant of other cultures.
-In 1125, the Jurchen destroyed the Lio capital and forced the song empired to
pay heavy taxes to avoid open warfare.
B. Song Industries
-The Song Empire was the closest thing to an industrial revolution
-The Chinese scholars made great advancements in math, science, engineering,
astronomy, and timekeeping.
-In 1088 Su Song created a giant clock that used water and to tell the time of day,
time of year, and celestial patterns.
-The advent of the compass was also introduced, improving ship navigation
-The Chinese also invented large ships called junks, as well as gunpowder.
C. Economy and Society in Song China
-Socially, a military man was held in a lower esteem than a civil man or servant.
-Many social standards were adopted from China’s two top religions, Buddhism
and Confucianism.
 -Civil servants obtained their positions from tests on Confucianism, though only
the wealthy had enough time and money to be educated on the subject of
Confucianism.
-The advent of moveable type created a widespread and cheap supply of books,
improving the countries literacy.
- Agriculture was a large Chinese industry and was increasing in size every year.
- Health was a problem as overcrowding in cities took hold and helped to spread
the plague.
-The idea of money credit was used more in the Song dynasty although it was
created during the Tang dynasty.
-The booming economy helped to oppress government monopolies and spur
economic prosperity.
-Due to the widespread oppression on Buddhism, women underwent a period of
subordination to men and great social inequality.

V. New Kingdom in East Asia

A. Korea
-Korea was mostly covered in dense woodland until modern times. Silla took
control of the Korean area due to Tang support, and the Korean population had a
mostly Chinese culture. When the Tang dynasty fell, Korea fell under the rule of
Koryo.
B. Japan
- Japan is made up of a chain of islands: four main ones and several other small
ones stretching along China’s east coast.
-Japan’s closest connection to the Asian world was 100 miles away in Korea.
-Japan’s land was very mountainous and rocky, and only 11% of it was suitable
for cultivation.
-Japan’s government was a centralized government based off of Confucianism
and Chinese ideals. Also, Japan’s building style and writing system largely
resembled its Chinese counterpart.
-The Japanese did not follow China’s war-like attitude and their Emperor system
was different from the Chinese.