...During the Tang/Song period, China was very successful in art, literature, and technology. The dynasties were at peace and was known as the Golden Age of China. It was referred to as the Golden Age of China because it was an era of major technological advancement. During the Tang dynasty, Chinese culture and ideas spread when the empire expanded to neighboring states (Korea, Vietnam, and Japan). The empire’s political system had a strong bureaucracy by hiring court officials by merit and by reintroducing the civil service exams. This allowed Chinese bureaucrats seeking government position to take in order to determine their role. As a result, the power of the aristocrats declined. In addition, the equal field system came into play and improved...
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...than 5 dynasties during the ancient era. After that, China went into the Imperial Era which included the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. The Sui Dynasty lasted for only 38 years and had only three emperors. The Equal-field system was initiated to reduce the rich-poor social gap and resulted in enhanced agricultural productivity; governmental power was centralized and the Three Departments and Six Ministries system officially instituted; coinage was standardized and re-unified; defense was improved, and The Great Wall was expanded. Buddhism was also spread and encouraged throughout the empire, uniting the varied people and cultures of China. Buddhism was popular during the Six Dynasties period that preceded the Sui dynasty. Buddhism gained prominence during the period, when central political control was limited, and also created a unifying cultural force that uplifted the people out of war and into the Sui Dynasty. The decline of the Sui Dynasty started from the second monarch, Emperor Yang, who was a typical tyrant. The expensive Military campaigns aroused widespread unrest. After returning from a failed campaign against Korea, the emperor was murdered in his palace. One of his generals declared the foundation of a new dynasty, known as the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The Tang Dynasty was the most glistening historic period in China's history. Under the ruling of the Tang Dynasty, China...
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...Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as "naval engineering". The construction of boats is a similar activity called boat building. China boasts a shipbuilding history as long as that of mankind. Spanning a time period of thousands of years, Chinese ships have evolved from rafts and canoes to wheel ships and today's steel vessels. The various ship models, structures, and propellers have vividly reflected the humankind's technological development and creativity, which is true with the famous ships in ancient China, such as the Lou Chuan (castle ships) of the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), the Big Dragon Boats of the Sui Dynasty(581-618), and the treasure boats used by Zheng He during his voyages to the West seas in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644). First Shipbuilding China had established a fairly mature shipbuilding industry as early as the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD). Possessing well-developed shipbuilding technology and expertise, the artisans of the time were...
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...centuries. It became unified in 581 with the founding of the new dynasties, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. During the time of these dynasties, many changes took place. There were changes in the political, social, and economic structures. The first changes took place during the Sui dynasty in 581. Additional changes took place during the Tang dynasty in 618, and the Song dynasty in 960. The Sui dynasty was founded by Yang Jian. Jian was a member of a respected aristocratic family in northern China. (Duiker & Spielvogel, 2009) Yang Jian turned to Daoism and Buddhism to unify the empire. Jian founded monasteries for both religions in the capital and assigned Buddhist monks as political advisers. A new political system was put in place; three departments and six ministries. Royal power was enhanced and the work division in the court became detailed. The traditional Jiupin Zhung Zheng (nine ranks of officials) Hierarchical system was replaced by the Imperial Examination system. ("Sui dynasty," ) The Grand Canal was constructed during the Sui dynasty; linking the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers. The Grand Canal served many purposes. For example, it made it possible to introduce the grain and other items from the rice-rich southern provinces to the heavily populated north. The agricultural acreage was increased largely which promoted the crop yield. Advances were made in ship-building technology. ("Sui dynasty," ) The Grand Canal also served as a speedy communication gateway...
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...success of china’s economic development as well as the negative externalities of the development and also the problem related to higher population. I have also learned about Chinese culture, language, the interesting dynasties (kingdoms) and the Chinese people’s way of life. However, the most interesting thing I learned about china was contribution from ancient Chinese science and technological inventions to the world. Since there are a lot of ancient Chinese inventions, in this essay I would like to give information about some of the very interesting and useful ten ancient Chinese inventions that I believe we cannot imagine without them today. 1. Toilet Paper Toilet paper was one of the very important Chinese inventions that we cannot imagine living our life without. Toilet paper was used in China for the first time in history during 6th century AD. In 589 AD a famous scholar Yan Zhitui wrote about the use of toilet paper and the word spread throughout China and toilet paper became popular in China. 2. Ice Cream Ice cream, our favourite treat is another surprising invention in ancient China. It became a new invention 3000 years ago when rich Chinese families started to treat their guests to sweet juices mixed with snow or ice. Marco Polo brought it to Europe and it became popular in the world. 3. Paper Paper is one of the major contributions to spread development of human civilisation in the world. China made the first proper paper during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-...
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...How Does China’s Reemergence Impact the Current World’s Dynamics? * Background China’s reemergence In retrospect, there were three glorious dynasties of Han, Tang and Ming in China. During that time China took the leading position in economics, politics, culture, military and diplomacy. But after Ming dynasty China lost its leading position for a long time. Since the reform and opening-up in 1978, China’s reemergence of economics impresses the world substantially. In 2010, China witnessed GDP of 5,878.3 billion US dollars, which is at the second place just following United States 1. During the last decade, China moved from the being the ninth-largest exporter to the largest in the world. According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2011-2012 report, China’s global competitiveness index scored 4.90 and ranked 26 out of 142. The group performance of the developing world is boosted by the strong dynamics of some of the largest economies including China. At the meantime, China’s military power is also strengthened. From 1989 to 2010 China's official military budget increased by double digits every year 2. Based on above positive and negative facts, China’s reemergence really impacts the world’s dynamics in various dimensions. In general these impacts can be divided into areas including goods, technology, people, capital and culture. * China’s reemergence impacts world’s dynamics in different aspects Goods According the percentage distribution of Merchandise...
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...welcome and attention of people. In recent years, people's preference to tea, resulting in tea consumption is constantly growing around the world. Many rumors said that tea was first discovered by the Chinese, it has been confirmed by banker. When viewing Chinese splendid tea culture, and can see the different historical period about tea art. Chinese drinking tea has a history of several thousand years, there are many kinds of tea, for example, green tea, black tea, oolong tea and scented tea, etc. Original Chinese tea is popular in Sichuan, then it spread to the east and south, the throughout the country. In emperor Shennong period, is the earliest discovered tea, but tea mainly flourished in the Tang dynasty. The formation of the Chinese tea culture, it is from the Tang dynasty. China’s contribution to the human in tea industry that is mainly depends on the first discovered and used tea this plant to develop into a unique tea art of the world. The origin and development of tea Tea was first discovered later, it’s just the custom form detoxification, then gradually developed to drink. Today, tea is not just a thirst quenching, wake up brain drinks, more important is through the tea, to get the spiritual need, show our life of faith, the pursuit of the lofty realm of life. Though just a legend that is emperor Shennong on the earliest discovered tea and used to. But the Chinese tea art...
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...Landon Thompson EALC 145 Professor Cheung 9 April 2010 Buddhism and Buddhist Characteristics of the Cave Chapels Along with Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism is among China’s most influential religions throughout its history. Buddhism taught the Chinese to believe in the Four Noble Truths and to follow the Eightfold Path to achieve nirvana, or a state of complete understanding with the world. Buddhism’s influences stretched to all regions of the country; it became influential enough that Emperors even commissioned cave chapels to be dedicated to Buddhism and the Buddha. The cave chapels of Yungang, Longmen, and Dunhuang, although each different, are the most famous of the cave chapels and best capture the different styles and characteristics that were used throughout that time period. The Yungang caves in the Shangxi province of China are a series of caves, mostly carved into the cliffs. The Five caves of Tanyao are the most famous caved chapels in the Yingang area. Although they are each unique in their own matter, the five caves collectively are dedicated to the five previous Tabgatch rulers (Thorpe 164). The Five Caves of Tanyao (Caves 16-20), reflect the faith in a phase of reliance on lavish imperial patronage. The history of Wei, or Weishu, records that Fa Guo, the Administrator of Monks, required monks to pay homage to the emperor, declaring "the person who has the ability to advocate Buddhist faith is our sovereign. I am not paying...
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...Running head: MAJOR CHANGES Major Political, Social, and Economical Changes: Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty Mariness Santana-Ramos Ashworth College From 589-1127 China went through major political, economic, and social changes during the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties. Despite all of the turmoil, each dynasty made their own substantially useful contributions during it’s time. For example, the Sui Dynasty contributed the Grand Canal, the Tang Dynasty revived confusionism, and the Sui Dynasty strengthened China’s government and economy. The Sui Dynasty lasted from 589-618. During this time general Yang Jian reigned as Emperor Wendi from 581-604. Before 581, Yang Jian had appointed himself to rule China in place of his infant grandson. Then in 581 he forced his own grandson out and claimed Heaven’s Mandate for himself. Thus, beginning the Sui Dynasty (Judge, E. H., 2012). Yang Jian conquered all of the weak states and by 589, and for the first time in centuries, one man ruled all of China. Yang Jian focused mainly on reunifying connections. He came up with a nationwide law code and revived the civil service system. He began the construction of the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was a huge waterway connecting the north and the south. It made transportation for military troops and grain much easier (Judge, E. H., 2012). The canal served as a major means of transport and in turn unified China. The Gran Canal served as the Sui Dynasty’s beneficial contribution...
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...When the Han dynasty fell in 220 C.E., chaos erupted, resulting in the development of the impression that a unified and prosperous China may never exist again. For the next four centuries after the fall, China was struck with warring clans, political murder, and foreign invasion, sparking a new period dubbed the Three Kingdoms. Contending to succeed Han to form a new dynasty, the three kingdoms waged wars against each other, ultimately earning this period its note as one of the bloodiest intervals in all of China’s history. In-fact, a population census in late eastern Han dynasty reported an approximate population of 56 million, while a population census taken during the early years of the Three Kingdoms era reported an approximate population...
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...canvas intricately embroidered with flowers and leaves. In front of the couch is a red wooden coffee table which beautifully accents the lightness of the colors of the room and the couch. The lights coming through the window were reflected by the precious vases made of china placed on the edges of the room. A small trace of steam is escaping through the spout of a white teapot sitting on the coffee table. Beside the teapot is a small cup filled with hot tea. The room she is in is so grand, maybe because she is of royal blood, or maybe because she is playing the harp for Chou Yu. I really don’t know as of the moment. However, it was mentioned that the poem was written during the T’ang dynasty. Those years were described as one of the greatest and most successful periods of China, second to Han dynasty. This fact influenced my mind when visualizing the setting of the poem. While reading the poem, the main picture that popped in my head was a woman in a bright room since the light...
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...Need a quick revision on your knowledge of 5000-years of Chinese history? I suggest picking up Adeline Yen Mah’s China: land of dragons and emperors. Having first read Adeline’s compelling autobiography Falling Leaves a while ago, I was surprised to see her publish a book on China’s history for children ( ‘big’ children like myself included:)). ‘I bring you gifts from China: treasures more enchanting than pearls, more precious than jade. Among these pages you will find tales of dragons and emperors, battles and love affairs….’ excerpt from ix And so begins a 234-page journey though each of China’s dynasties, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing. I especially liked the section where Adeline highlights the most famous person in a particular dynasty – useful for readers who remember have trouble fitting names to dynasties e.g. which dynasty was the famous historian Sima Qian (司马迁) from*? The book is also laced with handy information on things like the invention of matches, to the origins of the moon festival (中秋节). By the end of the book i was left wanting more. A future consideration might be for Adeline to turn this book into a full-length history text for students preparing to study China history. Well, to prove that the book is not just for children :) - my dad started reading the book a day after i finished, quite a feat considering that he hardly has time to finish the newspapers. SB rating 3.5/5 *(Ans: the Han...
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...The period of the dynasty that unified China, the Sui Dynasty began the year 580 C.E. and lasted until 618 C.E. I was founded by an officer of the Northern Zhou, Yang Chien (Emperor Wen Ti), and his son and successor, Emperor Yang Ti. As an emperor, Wen Ti in his early actions restored the Buddhists rights, their clergy, and ended suppression of Daoism. Emperor Wen Ti achieved the unification of China during the Sui era, also the central government was reformed, institute the conscription of community servants from all ethnic and social classes; and established a uniform legal code that regulated land, taxes, rewards and reprimand, with the exception of the military all arms were ban. Northern and Southern China reunited, forced labor of men and women was used to build the Grand Canal, which "extended north from Hangzhou across the Yangzi to Yangzhou and then northwest to the region of Louyang"( ZenZuu – TAHITITI, n.d.). The Great Wall of China was fortified by the northern borders two capitals were restructuring, and another capital was built-in Yangchow. Confucianism began to reclaim recognition; and the noble classes increase their participation in society. After Wen Ti collapse, his son and successor, Emperor Yang Ti assumes the throne, with the support of his mother, the gentry and the military. Yang Ti was the opposite of his father, and was considering like taking over the imperial supremacy, and his reign was of extravagant spending, threatening and forcing his subedits...
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...consolidation B. Very isolated C. Nomadic Invasions followed the Han dynasty D. There was a return to height during the Tang dynasty II. Rebuilding the Imperial Edifice in the Sui-Tang Eras A. Introduction 1. Sui dynasty centralized contro 2. During the Tang Dynasty, bureaucracy became better 3. Sui was 580 4. Power was secured threw marriage of the support given to nomadic leaders B. Sui Excesses and Collapse Question: Why did the Sui dynasty collapse? 1. Yangdi murdered his father and then widened his conquests 2. Yangdi came up with a less harsh legal code/system 3. The Sui dynasty collapsed partly because programs were hurting aristocrat...
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...The Golden Age Inquiry The Foreign, the Expansion, and the Military How is China Changing This is Golden Dynasty of China, time in which the court is seamlessly vacant to political corrupt. Many aspects within China also saw heightened sense of prosperity, among these include the economy, culture, and the military. Foreigners also were welcomed with open borders and social development saw diversity. The Flourishing Economy The extent of China's now increased trade can be seen from the as far as the South Eastern Asia points and it is thanks to the grand feat of the installment of the Grand Canal a gift from the Sui Dynasty that has facilitated the expansion of trade from not only the most interior positioned markets but to all settlements stationed along the route of the Canal. The Expansion and Growing Military Power The expansion of the Chinese military has be the forerunner for China's growth not only on a physical scale but a financial level as well. The Tang military has seen an interesting gain in vast amounts of territory Military prosperity has also ushered in more trade for China. The capital, Hangman has since developed into what can now be considered among one f the most metropolitan cities withing the world, at this time in history. With the opening and expansion of the borders international social sharing has paved the way for western culture to influence more Chinese traditions, and while this is worrying because many do not like to think of the loss of...
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