Tang and Song Dynasty free essay sample

Each were accompanied by a Censorate, an agency that exercised surveillance over the rest of the government. They made sure that government officials stayed in line and completed their tasks. The legal system during this time period was much more detailed than anything before it, it included four basic forms criminal law, institutional regulations, administrative rules, and formulas of official documents. Finally, this dynasty was the first to set up a fairly equal testing system to select officers and allowed poor families and opportunity to become something higher through knowledge. The Tang system of government was the model upon which all subsequent dynasties based their own systems, and it was also used by other countries and kingdoms, such as those in Vietnam and Korea. Another factor for the success of the Tang Dynasty system of government was the emphasis on education. The Tang rulers felt that a well-educated public was not a threat to authority, but rather, a foundation of a stable, prosperous society. Another feature of the Tang Dynasty government was its obsessive record keeping and accounting of many aspects of life and commerce. This naturally created deep layers of accountability and certainty, which bolstered the strength of the government and society. † Song Dynasty: Ruled China for more than 300 years and was the era of good government. China’s bureaucracy was run by a class of scholar-officials because knowledgeable scholars who knew the people and how to deal with others were able to move up, and soon became the highest ranking. The government was also centralized and the system used in the Tang dynasty carried over; the bureaucracy of trained civil officers through education. â€Å"CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINA DURING THE SUI, TANG, and SONG DYNASTIES Politics amp; Government: ? The frontiers were stabilized amp; attempts at expansion were partially successful. ? Centralized government returned along with a bureaucracy of trained civil officers Economy ? Agricultural production improved amp; crop specialization intensified ? Champa Rice ? The use of a credit system and paper money improved commerce amp; trade. ? Imports included: luxury goods ? Exports included: manufactured goods ? Indian Ocean trade increased as Islamic and Jewish influence increased. Chinese trade ships, called junks, dominated eastern ocean trade. ? Silk Road trade increased† 4. How did the culture grow and change during your dynastic era. The culture heavily changed in the role and power of women over the two dynasties. During the Tang dynasty women had a less restricted lifestyle. They had been able to have a large social life with greater freedom of the classical times. Even female deity were widely wo rshiped. But the Song dynasty after becoming Confucianism and a large growth in the economy a very heavy change into patriarchy took place. Women were very strictly restricted from social life and very subdue to remain† behind† there husband and obediently obey, One way of the most wide spread and compelling part of the Song patriarchy was the practice of foot binding. Girls at a very young age begin this process wanting to make their feet smaller for beauty. Tight cloths are wrapped around the foot enabling it and the bone to extend outwards like normal. This practice was extremely painful but was looked at that time as beauty. Another cultural change was the position of women in the textile production. Many arts and crafts were made by rural women, like silk weaving. But because China has reduced its textiles productions, many women had to open restaurants in cities. But in elite families many were went to come concubines, or other degraded jobs. But the Song dynasty did give education to women because they believed this would help them raise their sons. And also a very big thing was women were able to control their own dowries and land they inherited from their families. The Tang amp; Han and the song are often referred to as the most prosperous periods of Chinese history. The Tang, like the Han, kept the trade routes open to the west and south and there was extensive trade with distant foreign countries and many foreign merchants settled in China. Song dynasty experienced a period of great technological development which can be explained in part by the military pressure that it felt from the north. This included the use of gunpowder weapons and flame throwers. The Song Dynasty is considered by many to be classical Chinas high point in science and technology, with innovative scholar-officials and the Neo-Confucian philosophy formulated by Zhu Xi. There were enormous literary works compiled during the Song Dynasty and culture and the arts flourished with paintings, festivals, and Buddhist influence. 5. How did China’s influence on the region grow during your dynastic era? It grew because it influenced other parts of Asia through its culture, centralized government, systems, and literature. The countries of Korea, Vietnam, and Japan all were influenced by China during this time period in some way. In Korea, because of the closeness to China have been coloniztized at some points but mainly were influenced by Buddhism. The Vietnamese also allied with the Tang dynasty to bring some political unity to the peninsula. Tribute missions have Korean rulers knowledge of Chinese court life and administrative techniques which they directly modeled, and even made a capital city very similar to china’s at that time. Trade increased giving many luxury good to be placed into the hands of Korean upper classmen and Confucian and Buddhist texts also. Korea was also heavily influenced by China in their treating of women. Women in Korea had much more freedom but after influence of Confucian ways they were restricted much. A Chinese style-examination system was put in place for government officials. And even their written language has Chinese influenced characters. Similar to Korea, Vietnam has also been heavily influenced moreover through adopting Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, administrative techniques, the examination system, and a number of literary arts. Because China has taken over and controlled much of the agricultural portion of Vietnam, many rebellions took place and ultimately Vietnam became its own independent state. But has still influenced its religion and government systems. Unlike both Korea and Vietnam, Japan was physically separate from China and all influence and adoption of Chinese culture was voluntary. Court rituals, and systems of court ranking were based on Chinese ways after they became somewhat unified. Chinese yet again influenced through Buddhism which grew through Japan. Along with a religion they influenced, their art, architecture, education, and medicine were also adopted. Their selective borrowing kept them and independent and unique state from the Chinese but yet large aspects were still taken in. Chinese technology and innovation was wide spread through the whole Eurasian area. Making salt through evaporation and papermaking were one of the largest an global innovations used from China to the middle east. Another invention that changed war for history is the making of gunpowder and air arms, which rapidly influenced and grew in Europe. Chinese textile, like Silk, metallurgical, and naval techniques was imitated all across Eurasia. This dynastic era provided huge advancements in technology and innovation which spread thorough the Silk Road throughout Eurasia. Good Things: Censorates watch over the government and checks whether it is performing for the people. Art and Literature Richest and population grew People started moving to cities Tang dynasty women were treated like men because of invasion and discredited Confucian Neo Confucianism Qin/Han: -traded with barbarians, they gave too much to the barbarians, they thought by trading that they were in control but the barbarians -Great Wall, many people to build, death, people live by the wall