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The Achievements of the Tang and Song Dynasties
The Achievements of the Tang and Song Dynasties
The Achievements of the Tang and Song Dynasties
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The Tang dynasty was not always booming. The beginnings of the dynasty were actually pretty rough, and could be considered to be more on the recovery side of the spectrum. This was largely due to the fall of the Sui Dynasty and along with it, Emperor Yang. There was a void that needed to be filled post fall, or the empire would crumble into economic distress. To the times surprise, the Tang Dynasty took economic success to a whole other level. The Tang’s economy thrived up until 625 (major drought) and then another big hit was the Huang Chao uprising in the 800’s. During their economic prime, under the reign of Kaiyuan and Zhen Guan, the dynasty’s economy was very unique to the economies of past dynasties that had come about, and unlike anything seen in the west at the time. The Dynasty had several sets of skills instead of one that really made the economy prosper and with the introduction of new forms of currency; the Tang Dynasty was set to forever leave its mark in history economically.
Trade during the Tang Dynasty is probably the most well-known and studied of dynasties in China. Their trade and commerce was able to increase swiftly because of the newly implemented systems and ways of trade. Some of the big ones being: coinage/baking/minting, handicraft, bronzing, agriculture, and of course advanced
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commerce. Starting off with the agricultural boom it faced, it could be assumed that the greatest trade items would be crop related/food. Many times it was, but there were other products shipped around such as salt, tea, and medicine. The Tang economy and the Silk Road go hand in hand.
It’s been hypothesized that while the Silk Road had been around for centuries, it did not truly come to its peak until the creation of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, the greatest amount of trade occurred and the Chinese economy had reached its climax. With all of this trading, it gave them a much greater advantage than their counterparts in let’s say, Europe or the Middle East at the time. Not just items were being traded, but ideas as well. Various developments were made in things such as woodblock printing, timekeeping, mechanical engineering, medicine, structural engineering, cartography, and
alchemy. The Song dynasty was built on the falling apart of the Tang Dynasty. Trade was still booming in the Song dynasty, especially foreign trade in Southern Song. Then, the government of the Song dynasty constructed things like merchant ships and improved harbor facilities. The government built a navy to protect the merchant shipping as well. Paddle-wheel ships were built, they were faster than regular boats in the rivers. They carried gunpowder bombs that could blow up enemy boats. Ultimately, the Song dynasty was given the basics by the Tang Dynasty. From there, they grew to be more technological, and scientifically advanced. The dynamism present in in the Tang and Song dynasty were before their time. The Tang and Song dynasties were so advanced because they didn't think about war, they tried to make peace. This extra time resulted in inventions and technology to far exceed everyone else neighboring around them.
To begin, around 4000 B.C.E., China’s biggest seller was Silk. In fact, that’s mostly why the Silk Road was built! Everyone wanted some of China’s beautiful silk. In India, everyone traveled for spices as Christopher Columbus...attempted. But that was in the 1400’s. Around 50 C.E., the Kushan Empire started to take over these countries and the road after the Han Empire was overthrown. In the Background Essay, it says “Starting in 50 CE, another Asian Empire took shape and began profiting
Ancient china was a dynasty, a dynasty is a family that rules a civilization for years. I am choosing to compare the shang and tang dynasties in the period of decline. First off the similarities, my first similarity is that both ignored the needs of the poor. you might be asking why is the poor so important? Well without the poor they would have a very bad economy and a bad economy causes chaos and eventually leads to a rebellion by the chinese citizens. Another similarity between the shang and the tang is that they both had a very bad economy is because of the poor not being taken care of because in china there were mostly poor and merchants so since the poor being most of the population they lost a lot of the people. Now the differences,
As told by the roman historian Cassius Dio, Silk was used in Caesar’s celebration. (doc. 1). When Dio talks about the silk he calls it a “device of barbarian luxury.” This proves that a well educated roman was oblivious to the advancements that the Chinese had made, including The Great Wall and Grand Canal. Not to mention that the Chinese have existed thousands of years prior to the Roman civilization. Secondly Sima Qian who wrote The Records Of the Grand Historian clearly hints that Zhang Qian may have started the Silk Road. According to the document, Zhang Qian travels several thousand li (1 Li is equivalent to a bit more than one third of a mile.) Zhang brings back crops such as wheat and rice, and even find out about wine and grapes. Zhang was the first person to bring a clear account of present day Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, claiming it was people settled on the
During the Tang and Song dynasty, many excellent achievements have been accomplished which are still being preserved and used widely over centuries. Their citizens were excelled in many fields with several of new and practical inventions which all directly affected the citizens’ lives.
The Mongols conquered and then united China. This created peace among the country and led to other great things. One of these great things is the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a long trading route that was created when China was united as they had started
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
However the Han dynasty was a catalyst for extensive cultural developments despite some consolidation of pre-existing morals, due to the restoration of freedom of expression. Philosophy gradually evolved and considerably influenced the mentality of the Chinese. Art and literature flourished, significantly affecting artistic styles that would continue to be produced throughout Imperial China. Industrial technology improved and largely impacted on domestic and agricultural life. The formation of the Silk Road led to enduring cultural integration and understanding. From the Han dynasty emerged a culture that continues to impact on the lifestyles of the Chinese
As in terms of economics, China grew prosperous through trade, military expansion, invention of tools and other means of convenience and through the market economy. From the Han Dynasty China began to build again. The Sui Dynasty constructed the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was an artificial canal that extended 1,240 miles. It enabled merchants and farmers to travel by water, selling an abundance of rice and other crops. This canal was extremely expensive but throughout the years paid itself off by providing travel routes north and south of China. The Sui Dynasty also built palaces, granarie...
The Qing Dynasty was able to take care of the 3 million people who lived within its borders. The people grew crops such as rice, spun silk, farmed tea roses, and make fine porcelain. The Qing Dynasty was the lone power in the Far East. That changed during the late 19th century, when imperialism spread to Asia. The great powers of Europe took interest in primarily Southeast Asia. After the colonization of Southeast Asia, the powers began taking interest in trading with China. They sailed to the trading port of Canton (present day Hong Kong) and offered manufactured goods for tea, silk, and porcelain. The Qing Dynasty accepted and trading began.
At the time of the Han Dynasty, general trade began over the Silk Road, which was a network of trails that stretched 4,000 miles from China extending to the Roman Empire. At the time the Chinese were unique in their knowledge of how to raise silkworms and weave silk. Chinese silk was extremely expensive. In fact it was worth its weight as gold in Rome! Europeans also preferred other Asian luxury goods including but not limited to exotic sp...
China was without a doubt one of the most innovative countries by reason of their many advances made throughout the Shang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Numerous accomplishments were archived by this empire. Their form of government was based on Dynasties, which are series of rulers from the same family. Different dynasties brought out different successes, such as the famous Great wall, which was a 13,170 miles fortress built around around 206 A.C. by millions of people. This structure was ordered to build by China’s first emperor, Qin, in the interest of protecting the Empire from invaders. Another extraordinary Chinese invention was paper. This universal utensil was created in the 2nd century B.C. by Cai Lun. The creating of this material
The Tang dynasty was founded in 618, and lasted until 907. The emperor was supreme and government officials were chosen by examination. A census was taken to simplify tax collection and to draft citizens to perform labor for the empire. This was a period of great land expansion. (Halsall, 1998) The emperor also had a great love of the arts, and the Tang became known as the golden age of literature and art. Block printing was invented and made writing more available. (Unknown, 2003) Shipbuilding and firearms development were also refined during the era. Art was heavily influenced by Buddhism, especially rock sculpture. One major problem that arose was the heavy burden of taxation. Many were unable to meet their heavy tax burden. To escape this, many placed themselves under the protection of great landlords who were exempt from taxes, or became bandits. (Halsall, 1998)
The dynasty only continued for a short time after a major economic hit. A new ruler wanted to be liked by his people, so the ruler, Wang Mang, gave any extra land from the wealthy to the peasants. The problematic economy was made worse when a flood occurred. Another factor of the Hans decline, and fall, was their financial trouble. This was also an issue for the Roman Empire and United States. After the Roman Empire first began to descend, economic problems arose. This only made the fall more troubling. Today, the tremendous debt the United States acquires is a large reason for its decline. This major similarity between the declines of the three events are stark repetition. With weak rulers who succumb to the struggles of the economy they are bound to face, there is little chance to keep from a
Through the Silk Road, Chinese goods such as silk and porcelain were transported to places such as Persia in exchange for foreign exotic goods . Furthermore, the Silk Road supported the influx of culture and religion to further enforce Taizong’s embracing attitude of a cosmopolitan society. The Silk Road was also a major factor in introducing Buddhism to China, as during the seventh century, Xuan Zhuang used it to travel to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures . The capital of the Tang, and the beginning of the Silk Road, Chang’an, was the most populous and diverse city in both religion and culture in the world at the time , hosting Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and high ranking officials and citizens from many countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East . Under Taizong’s guidance, China created close foreign relations with many foreign nations, and the Silk Road became a major component of trade and revenue for China’s economy. Correspondingly, his capital city of Chang’an became the greatest city in the
The great Chinese civilization of that period, the Ydan dynasty, formed by Kublai Khan in 1271 is credited with sending many of China's innovations to the Western world via Marco Polo. Its cuisine, silk, spices, gun powder, rockets and other weapons of war are among the most famous.