Essay On The Tang Dynasty

During the third century B.C.E, the Qin dynasty has risen to power on the Wei River in northwest China. Qin is also pronounced as “Chin”. The Qin where ruthless people in the late Zhou era. The emperor of the Qin dynasty believed in unifying China and practice Legalism. After the Qin defeated the Zhou’s they began to unify China. They started by conquering divided parts of China, like the civilized parts and the Yangzi River basin, and also new lands. The Qin emperor was the first Chinese emperor. He took the title emperor and he followed simple practice like commanded bordered states to build walls to protect themselves from raiders. He would later join all those northern walls together, making it into one wall that would extend 1400 miles

from the Pacific Ocean into Central Asia. This would be call the Great Wall of China and would become one of the world’s greatest monument , like the Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Taj Mahol of India and other world wonders.The Qin emperor unified China in many different strategic ways. He moved government officials closers to the Capital city to make sure things went accordingly. He allowed his Legalist Minister Li Si, to divide China into forty prefectures, those where broken down into subdivided countries. They also assigned officials by ability to manage those countries. He built roads, brought about a uniform weights and measures system. He also unified the Chinese writing system, by establishing standard ideographs. The emperor opposed all other practice, a major one was Confucianism. All of his effort to unify China was short term, but successful due to his radical behavior, but the strain on people via heavy taxes, the striping of noble titles and the unfairness of people that doesn’t practice Legalism, brought them to rebel against him. This rebellion put an end to the Qin dynasty. The Sui dynasty was created by a general of mixed Chinese-Turkic ancestry. His name was Sui Wendi, he began the Sui dynasty, after he gained power in 581. He unified China, restored the government and tax base. Kiwi built the Great Wall Kama constructed the Grand Canal, linking the Yellow and Yangtzi rivers. Also because of his Turkic background, peace was maintained between that tribe, by marriages. After the death of the first Sui emperor, the second Sui emperor didn’t survive long. The Sui dynasty in general was like the Qin dynasty in a sense that they succeed in unifying China, but didn’t last very long in there rein. The second emperor started to venture out into other politics and caused hostility between them. These along with natural disasters brought the dynasty to its end. “The court became bankrupt and demoralized.” The Tang dynasty was longer lasting than the Sui dynasty. The Tang took over the Sui capital and renamed it Chang’an. The Tang dynasty was spilt up into three government organization; Military Affairs, the Censor State and the Council of State, which all played valuable roles in the government. Land was shared equally amongst people and where taxed as such, women got less and aristocrats got more lands, but all land belong to emperor. Confucian was also practiced. One significant ruler in the Tang era was Wuthering Zhoa, the only female in Chinese history to hold the title of emperor.

The dynasty live on taxes, the capital had the largest population in the year 750. One of the reasons for the success of the dynasty is that it’s capital was a trade center for Central Asia. “A Chinese dynasty is like an accordion, first expanding into the territories of its neighbors and then contracting back to its densely populate core area”. The principal threats to the Tang state were from Tibetans in the west, Turks in the northwest and north, and Khitan Mongols in Manchuria. A four-tier policy was implemented to protect the borders and if failed an army would be sent. Other tier of defenses were the use of nomads against nomads, defense along the borders like walls and others. The Tang dynasty began to crumble with continuous rebellion, neglect of the government and natural disasters. Temcejin was the first and founder of the Mongols empire. He was a chief of the Mongols and had survival qualities. He united all Mongols tribes and earned the title Genghis. Also was elected as their great Khan (that means great ruler). The Mongols population wasn’t as large as places that they capture, but because of there knowledge in war tactics they were able to conquered very large

populations. They would arrange their armies in strategic forms to manipulate, conquer and destroy their enemies. What was intriguing about them was that they could pull their own weight, carry their own supplies, which save them money and unnecessary supplies that want needed. They had weapons that were even better and faster than English weapons. The Mongols also made efforts to know their enemies when they captured them. The Mongols also merged with other nomadic groups, which increase their size. China’s riches where targeted by the Mongols. The leader Genghis killed all his enemies.Mongol forces took Beijing after they disposed of the Tibetans and Manchu state. They kept control of China by separations and distribute power smartly, considering their population was extremely small compare to the Chinese. They made sure to keep the Chinese at a lower power and give them minimal control over anything of substantial power. So that they didn’t have influence on government or in court. By having the Chinese separated the Mongols had more control. This prevented them from rebelling. Mongols where focused on loot, until they where persuaded to tax the citizens. They also mixed cultural elements and took Beijing as its capital and built a wall city out of it. They took it because of its location and they kept ties with other Khanates. They took on a Chinese form of government and taxation. “Under the emperor was a central Secretarial, and beneath it were ten “Moving Secretariats”, which became the provinces of later dynasties. These highly centralized institutions and arbitrary style of Mongol decision making accelerated the trend toward absolutism that had started during the previous dynasty”. They made military service a monopoly of Mongols and their nomadic allies, and other things to maintain and rise to power in China and so on. By learning about their enemies, especially upon captured, the Mongols expand. They tolerated other culture and religions. Also diplomacy and trade within the greater Mongol Empire, that’s how they rise to power in China and had the largest empire in history. Some of the Song culture came from the Tang dynasty. Many inventions and improvements on already built intentions were made better. The Song culture and it’s achievements where deem the peak of the Chinese traditional culture. One of their biggest achievement to this date is gun powder. The dynasty was considered China’s greatest age of pottery porcelains. Nothing top their philosophy, poetry and painting in China when compared to other eras. Song pottery with its beautiful glazes and restrained, harmonious shapes, we’re unlike anything produced in the world before, and it made ceramics a major art from in East Asia. “Many historians came from the Song era. People like Sima Guang that wrote A Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. The greatest achievements of the Song were in philosophy, poetry and painting. Second only to the Zhou as a creative age in philosophy.” People like Zhu Xi’s that teachings became a new orthodoxy. A poet called Su Dungo, contributed to the Songs cultural greatness. The Song painting emphasized on landscaping which was unique and detailed, these made the Song dynasty culture great. Buddhism became most popular in China, but wasn’t originated there. It came from India to China during the Han dynasty via the silk road, and other parts of Asia. But before that Buddhism came from what is known as India today. Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince that felt something was missing from his life despite his vast wealth. In the time of King Ashoka of the Mauryas, Buddhism spread throughout India. However in India it didn’t last, as it turned into what’s known today as Hinduism. Though it reabsorbed largely into Hinduism, Buddhism spread over Asia, into two major currents of the religion. These were the “Way of the Elders” otherwise known as Theravada through southeast Asia and the islands that are today Indonesia. “Way of the Elders” teaching was closest to early Indian Buddhism “as it spread , it carried with it other strands of Indian culture as well”. Countries such as Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are predominant in Buddhism. It was also in Malaya, Sumatra, and Java before Islam. “The second major currents, known as the “Greater Vehicle” (Mahayana), spread through northwest India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, and the China, Tibet and Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea and Japan”. Patterns where different in each region and Buddhism was over taken by other religions in some countries. “Mahayana doctrines entered Tibet during the sixth century C.E. and became firmly established several centuries later ”. In some countries the religion is or more predominant than others. Mahayana Buddhism was it’s fullest development when it spread from China to Korea, Vietnam and Japan. The bodhisattva is a being that had gone all the way to nirvana, “ but held back in order to help others attain salvation”, this was one key doctrine in the current that was ideal. The Chan in China or Zenith in Japan section, stressed meditation and perhaps was closers to the teachings of the historical Buddha was another Mahayana doctrine. Around 618-907 in China was the Great Buddhist age, the Tang Dynasty, it was a time of creativity in religious art, sculpture and music. That was the peak in the time that Buddhism excel. After that it deteriorated, but continued to flourish in villages.