China

The Tang Dynasty is an important aspect of Chinese history.  Lasting from 618 AD to 907 AD, it received the nickname “The Golden Age of Ancient China” because it was a very prosperous time.  This powerful empire came into control when the reign of the Sui Dynasty before it ended.

During the Han period, poetry had started to flourish. The most popular form of poetry was fu, it is a mixture of rhyme and prose. At the time, poems were thought to be a more creative form of writing. Music and dancing was also a very important part of the Han culture. Many of the instruments required the user to pluck string. Many of the dancing contained many upper body movement and had many meanings to convey. Many forms of art also came out at the time. Many of which being wall painting, and embossed silk. Although artists were not high up in the social structure, they still were close to the

The Tang and Song dynasties in China existed between 618 to 1279 CE. Throughout this period, there were many developments in art, poetry, and technology. China was highly influential all around the world. It became known as the Golden Age of China. With advances in technology and ideas that could improve the everyday life, a unified government, and a strong economic system, the Tang and Song dynasties became the Golden Age of China.

The Qin Dynasty began in 221 BCE with the emperor being King Zheng. Even before the Qin ruled over all of China, it was a well established as a legalist state. The people of Qin were known to be very law-abiding, and the Qin economy was doing very well due to an increase of production in agriculture. King Zheng conquered the states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi, and became not only the first, and only, emperor of the Qin Dynasty, but the first emperor of all of

The definition of a Golden Age is a time of economic, political, technological, and social improvement and advance at a great level. The Tang and Song Dynasties are very important to the history of Chinese civilization. The Tang Era is the most well-known dynasty in Chinese history, mainly because the empire was the largest, richest and most sophisticated state in the world at the time. The Song Era had far-reaching impacts economically, culturally, and socially. During the Song Era, there was major development in urbanization. The Tang and Song Eras are commonly referred to as being the basis of a Golden Age of Chinese civilization because they were two major time periods in which stunning development in China took place.

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

Confucian scholars were expected to master the skills of poetry since it was the most respected form of Chinese literature. Chinese writers often focused on a broad topic such as life or the universe. Poetry never faded throughout these years, and new forms of popular literature began to emerge in the Ming dynasty. Stories began to be told by specific pieces of literature, and classical poetry continued to play a part in Chinese literature for many years.

The Song dynasty came in to power in 960 and ended in 1279. It consisted of the Northern Song and Southern Song. Northern Song was founded by Zhao Kaungyin, a military

The following are the Chinese dynasties in order from oldest to most recent: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The legendary dynasty is the Xia, which is believed to be around 2000 BC. The Shang (1700-1000BC) developed the first written Chinese language. The Zhou (1028-221BC) built the first roads, expanded trade contacts and trade routes, and also developed plows and irrigation systems. Trade at this time was expanding in China. The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) built the famous Great Wall of China as a defense mechanism and also united all of China under one central government. Next is the Han Dynasty (207BC-AD220), which did a lot for China in terms of trading. They developed the Great Silk Road, a trading route that stretched from China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sui Dynasty (589-618) united almost all of China. Followed in suit by the Tang Dynasty (618-917) discovered one of Chinas' leading exports, porcelain. During the Tang Dynasty, the first block-style printing press was invented. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) came next, which took over all of China and later took the southern rule after being conquered by the Jin. The Song Dynasty is responsible for developing Chinese cuisine as we know it today. During this time period the compass and gunpowder were also discovered. The Jin Dynasty (1127-1234) took rule over Northern China from the Song. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) brought a long period of peace to

From 618-907, the unprecedented leniency and tolerance of the Tang dynasty created a large hyper power, with alliances and trading and such. This empire left a lasting impression on the Chinese. “These and other factors converged to produce a dynasty more tolerant of foreign cultures, religions, and influences than any other in Chinese history.” Taizong was the first emperor of the tang dynasty and set the precedent for his successors. His main goal was to establish equality throughout the regions. He achieved this and became “the first Chinese ruler to establish dominion over the steppes.” As the Tang rule grew larger and larger, it engulfed areas like Manchuria, Vietnam, and parts of Iran. The way they chose to handle the commerce and diplomacy

The Tang and Song Empires were two very powerful empires that ruled China after the Han and Sui Dynasties. The Han Dynasty left China fragmented for centuries, and the Sui Dynasty reunified China until the Turks from Inner Asia assassinated the son who ruled. The Tang filled the political vacuum in 618 with emperor Li Shimin (r. 626-649) who extended his power into westward Inner Asia. The Tang kept many Sui governing practices but avoided overcentralization with giving nobles, gentry, and religious establishments power. The Tang Empire fell after the An Lushan and Huang Chao rebellions that left the society homeless, a refugee, or a migrant worker. The empire fell in 907 after a warlord terminated their line. However, the Song Empire had arisen in 960 and paid tribute to the Liao, who controlled the north. The Song Empire aligned with the Jurchens, who ended up creating the Jin Empire, to destroy the Liao capital. The Song Empire was betrayed by the Jurchens and ended up having to pay tribute to them, which some historians refer to as the “Southern Song” period (1127-1279). The Song Empire declined in the year 1126. The Tang and the Song had a variety of economic, political, and social accomplishments, some that they shared, and some that they didn’t. Both the Tang and the Song increased the use of trade, had a change of size of their empires, and had major advancements in technology. Although, the Tang and the Song differed with the growth of Song’s population and its

China created an empire extremely similar to the Roman empire discussed in Chapter 5. The only difference being, the Chinese empire was put together using several large armies, which forced their way into new territories. The Qin and Han rulers in China founded this empire. During 221 BCE the state of Qin helped unify China by defeating a main rival of the empire. After this, the king of Qin eventually began to rule all of China, being know as the "first emperor." To help all the states to become more unified he asked for all of the citizens to move into the capital, which created a bigger empire for him to rule. To make sure there wasn't any resistance from the citizens, he ordered officials to go out and retrieve them. Although Qin wanted

The first reason why the Tang dynasty is the most impactful is that many cultural advancements occurred which affected the future culture of China. For example, a form of novel was created called Chuan Qi. This type of novel had a complex storyline and often reflected real life. These novels later became the basis for future stories (“Tang Dynasty”). In other words, the novels created in the Tang dynasty influenced the structure of future stories. Another example of the Tang dynasty’s cultural impact is through poems and

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C. A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan

Sui Dynasty is a great time period for Buddhist art, because emperor Wen(Yang Jian) unified China