Term
| How did the Sui Dynasty start? |
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Definition
| Wendi (see Olwen's flashcards) took the throne after another struggle over who would be the leader. |
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Term
| Accomplishments of the Sui Dynasty |
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Definition
| Extended the empire across north China and conquered the Chen kingdom which had ruled much of the south. He reunited the traditional core areas of Chinese civilization for the FIRST TIME in three in a half centuries. Lowered taxes and established granaries throughout his domains-bins for storing grain were built in all of the large cities and in each village to ensure that there would be enough food in case of floods. Everyone was taxed to keep granaries filled. Yangdi-Wendi's son who murdered his father to take the throne. Extended his father's conquests and drove back nomads. Established a milder legal code and devoted resources to upgrading Confucian education. Restored the examination system for regulating entry in the bureaucracy. Fond of luxury and extravagant construction projects-peasants built palaces at the capital city LOYANG and canals to link the various parts of the empire. Led his angry subjects into a series of unsuccessful wars to bring Korea back under Chinese rule. |
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Term
| How did the Sui dynasty end? |
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Definition
| Failures/reverse suffered in central Asia at the hands of the Turkic nomads set motion revolts. Provincial governors declared themselves independent rulers, bandit gangs raided at will, and nomadic peoples again seized large sections of the north China plain. |
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Term
| How did the Tang empire start? |
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Definition
| Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, started the Tang dynasty with his military skills and political savvy. Started a successful rebellion and laid the basis for the golden age of the Tang. |
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Term
| The Tang Empire (Borders, people conquered, etc) |
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Definition
| Conquered into central Asia as far as Afghanistan. Extended to parts of Tibet in the west, Red River valley homeland of the Vietnamese in the south and Manchuria in the north. Included the Yangtze River basin and much of the south for the first time since the Han. |
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Term
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Definition
| Completed repairs begun by earlier dynasties and formed frontier armies that were partly composed of Turkic nomads. These armies gradually became the most potent military units in the empire. Sons of TURKIC tribal leaders were sent to the capital as hostages to ensure good behavior and were also exposed to Chinese learning in hope of complete assimilation to Chinese culture. Korea and Silla loyal to the Tang. |
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Term
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Definition
| The scholar gentry and the bureaucracy was rebuilt. The scholar gentry also offset the power of the aristocracy, which was reduced. Examination System greatly expanded, and pattern of advancement in civil service more regularized. Ministry of Rites administered different examinations to students from government schools or who were recommended by distinguished scholars. The highest offices could only be those who were able to pass exams on the philosophical or legal classes and more exams were given on Chinese literature. Those who passed given the title of JINSHI. (for more see pages 260-261) |
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Term
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Definition
| Zen Buddhism had great appeal (Buddhism was the main religion). The combination of royal patronage and wide-spread conversion at both the elite and mass levels made Buddhism a strong social, economic, and political force. Empress Wu-major supporter of Buddhism (statues of Buddha) |
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Term
| Anti-Buddhists (Tang/Song) |
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Definition
| Daoists and Confucianists were rivals and some attacked the religion "as an alien." Monastic lands and resources were not taxed-the Tang regime lost a lot of revenue. Under Wuzong, restrictions grew into open persecution of Buddhism, temples and shrines were destroyed, and thousands of monks and nuns were forced to abandon their monastic orders and return to normal lives. |
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Term
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Definition
| The assault on the Buddhist monastic order weakened the government. Empress Wei poisoned her husband (son of Empress Wu) and put her son in power but another prince stopped her. Xuanzong-emperor who marked the peak of Tang power and the high point of Chinese civilization under this dynasty. Strong interest in political and economic reforms-art, concubines, etc.). Xuanzong became infatuated with Yang Guifei from a harem. |
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Term
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Definition
| Xuanzong became too obsessed with Yuan and so he neglected state affairs resulting in economic stress, which fed discontent. An Lushan led a revolt, but the Tang was still preserved but at a high cost - many Yang family members were killed and Yang Guifei was executed. Xuanzong was incapable of being emperor because of his grief. Nomadic groups also gained entrance as they used political divisions within China to gain entry into and eventually assert control over large areas of the north China plain. |
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Term
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Definition
| Zhou Kuangyin was a well-known, honest general who also a scholarly man who collected books rather than booty while out campaigning. |
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Term
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Definition
| Although the empire was not as large as the Tang and the military was not as great, the Song greatly promoted the Confucian scholar-gentry. The examination system was more rigorous with three levels. Neo-Confucians revived Confucian teachings. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Song had to pay tribute to the Tangut tribes and their kingdom Xi Xia that was to the southwest of China. Wang Anshi was the chief minister of the Song Shenzong emperor who tried to ward off the collapse by introducing reforms. These were the basis of Legalist assumption and taxed the landlord and scholarly classes who often did not participate in military service. This increased revenue to establish a well-trained mercenary force to replace armies that had formerly been from untrained and unwilling peasants. However, when the emperor died, Wang's changes were overridden and economic conditions deteriorated. The Jurchens overthrew the Liao dynasty of the Khitans and established the Jin kingdom north of the Song empire. They annexed most of the Yellow River basin. The Song dynasty were forced south and formed the Southern Song dynasty. |
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