Chapter

7
Part 2
China Builds an
Empire
 Sui Dynasty
•  After the fall of the Han Dynasty, China experienced 350 years of fighting and
instability.

•  The Sui Dynasty reunified China, and restored order.

•  In 581 C.E. Yang Jian, a general from the army of Zhou, gained power by killing
the heirs to the Zhou throne (59 royal princes).

•  In 589 C.E., Yang Jian conquered southern China and reunified China.

•  Yang Jian declared himself the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty, and became
known as Wendi.

•  The Sui Dynasty rebuilt parts of the Great Wall and built the Grand Canal to link
the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.

•  Wendi and his successors raised taxes to pay for the projects, and the people
revolted end the Sui Dynasty after only 37 years.

WATCH History Channel Engineering an Empire: Grand Canal

 Tang Dynasty
•  The Tang Dynasty started in 618 C.E., and ruled for nearly 300 years.

•  Taizong helped his father, Gaozu, to start the Tang Dynasty.

•  Taizong became ruler of the Tang Dynasty by killing his 2 brothers

and all 10 of his brother’s sons (nephews).

•  Although Taizong used violence, many Chinese thought he was a fair

and just leader because he lowered taxes and took some lands from
the rich to give to poor peasants.

•  In 690 C.E., Empress Wu Zhao became ruler of the Tang Dynasty. She
ruled until 705 C.E., when she was more than 80 years old.

•  Wu Zhao’s greatest achievements was to conquer Korea.

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 Chinese Government (Tang and Song)
•  A bureaucracy is a government that is divided into departments (such
as taxes, agriculture, or the military).

•  The Tang needed educated people to work in the bureaucracy, and to

get the government jobs people had to pass an exam.

•  The Tang rulers created new laws. Laws that would be used in China
from about 624 C.E. until the late 1200s during the Tang and Song
Dynasties.

•  The Song Dynasty ruled from 960 to 1279 C.E.

•  During the Song dynasty the exam system was improved, and more
schools were set up.

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WATCH Beijing Smog A Tale of Two Cities
 Agriculture, Commerce, and Technology
•  During the Tang and Song Dynasties China became the wealthiest and
most developed nation in the world.

•  At around 1,000 C.E., Chinese farmers began to plant a new type of rice
from Southeast Asia they could harvest 2 or 3 times per year instead of 1.

•  Farmers sold the surplus rice to merchants, who shipped it around the
world.

•  With enough food fewer people had to be farmers, and more people
became merchants.

•  The development of the magnetic compass improved travel.

•  China built large ships powered by both oars and sails, known as junk
ships to travel around the world.

•  As trade increased, the Tang and Song governments printed paper
money.
WATCH Scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
 The Mongol Empire
•  At around 1206 C.E., a strong leader named Temujin united the
Mongol tribes to become khan, or ruler of the Mongols.

•  Temujin changed his name to Genghis Khan, which means “universal

leader.”

•  By 1221 C.E., the Mongols conquered most of Central Asia, including

northern China, but the Song Dynasty still controlled southern China
(areas south of the Yellow River).

•  When Genghis Khan died in 1227, the Mongol Empire was divided into
4 large parts called khanates.

•  Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan ruled over the northern part of
China controlled by the Mongols.

•  In 1279, the Mongols led by Kublai Khan defeated the Song Dynasty to
conqueror all of China, and would rule China until 1368 C.E.

•  Mongol rule of China is known as the Yuan Dynasty.

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 Mongol Government
•  Mongol controlled all of Central Asia in what is known as
the Mongol Ascendancy.

•  Kublai Khan built the capital of Beijing in traditional

Chinese style.

•  Kublai Khan ended the exam system for choosing

government officials. Important government jobs were
given to Mongols or trusted foreigners.

•  Confucian scholars educated Kublai Khan’s sons, and

other Mongol nobility.

•  Kublai Khan ruled China for 15 years, and increased

interaction with the rest of the world.

•  Kublai Khan died in 1294 due to health problems.

WATCH Mongolia Tourism Video

 Ming Dynasty
•  After the death of Kublai Khan, Mongol rule declined.

•  In 1368, an army led by Zhu Yuannzhang (Joo Yoo-ahn-jang)

overthrew the Mongols, and started the Ming Dynasty in China.

•  Zhu Yuanzhang changed his name to Hongwu.

•  The Ming Dynasty gained support from the people of China

because the Ming:
1)  Encouraged Confucianism,
2)  Brought back the exam system,
3)  Rebuilt roads and canals,
4)  Extended the Great Wall of China,
5)  Lowered taxes, and
6)  Gave land to poor farmers.

•  Hongwu had tens of thousands of people arrested for treason

and executed.

WATCH Lonely Planet Forbidden City

 Ming Dynasty (Part 2)
•  In 1398 C.E. when Hongwu died there was a struggle within
the Ming Dynasty to become the next emperor of China.

•  In 1403, Hongwu’s son named Yongle defeated the other

family members to become the next emperor of the Ming
Dynasty.

•  Yongle had the Forbidden Palace built in the capital city of

Beijing.

•  After 300 years the Ming Dynasty declined in power because

of weak rulers, high taxes, and poor harvests.

•  In 1644 C.E., a group of people from Manchuria in northeast

China known as Manchus defeated the Ming to start the Qing
Dynasty.

•  The Qing Dynasty ruled until 1911.

WATCH The Last Emperor movie trailer