Imperial China 11/29/21

Peer 1: Kylee

Sui and Tang Dynasties

The two dynasties that I choose to compare are the Tang and the Sui Dynasties. Both dynasties had a large impact on religion and boosting the economy. The Tang Dynasty was in power from 618 to 906 A.D., The Silk Road was a large part of Chinas history, the road was not a straight path through china but stopped in many cities and transported goods, ideas, and cultures. During the Tang Dynasty Buddhism and Islam spread through China with the help of the Silk Road. The difficult part of the Silk Road was the tight control that was placed on the travel as well as tolls were placed on goods and items that came through. Western travelers also used the Silk Road to get through China to live and sell goods, religious monks recorded the strict rules and regulations China put on the road with Chinese government stops throughout the Tang Dynasty. The strict controls ended when Mongols invaded China, they destroyed the tolls and government stops which made traveling along the Silk Road safer and easier. The Tang Dynasty was considered the center of culture and innovation, the cities gained large attraction which is why western travelers and monks came to China to live and sell. The Tang Dynasty increased the economy by influencing trade and flourishing religion. 

The Sui Dynasty was in power in the 6th century before the Tang Dynasty, they were only in power for 37 years and in this time, there was influence on the economy and religion. The impact was detailed and immense architecture like the capital cities and expanded trade routes by making an artificial waterway called the Grand canal that stretched 1,000 miles. The canal was like the Silk Road, but the Sui Dynasty used this waterway to expand trade, create easy transportation, and use for different military transport. The Sui Dynasty only lasted 37 years because of taxation and the use of forced labor on many projects throughout the dynasty like the reconstruction of the Great wall and the construction of the canal and the capital cities. While this dynasty only lasts a short time, it still influenced future generations like the Tang Dynasty that came into power the same year that the Sui Dynasty fell. 

A common ground between the two dynasties was the impact both had on religion specifically Buddhism. The Sui Dynasty influenced the growth of Buddhism throughout China because the Sui imperial family encouraged and accepted the religion. The Tang Dynasty had the Silk Road that religious monks used to spread faith, other ideas, and cultures throughout China. 

2, A. (2018, June 22). 581 - 618: Sui Dynasty. Retrieved from https://museocineseparma.org/en/scuole/le-dinastie-della-cina/111-581-618-sui-dynasty

Berger, E. C., Israel, G. L., Miller, C., Parkinson, B., Reeves, A., & Williams, N. (2016). World history: Cultures, states, and societies to 1500.

Hays, J. (n.d.). SILK ROAD DURING THE TANG DYNASTY (A.D. 618 - 907). Retrieved from https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/sub90/entry-5441.html

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Peer 2: Carmen Nelsch

If any Dynasty we know in history to be historically significant, the years of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) is one of the most popular to know due to its economic popularization and cultural growth. With the Dynasty starting with three men within the same family ruling, this was the time of the only female emperor China has had (unless we of course get the chance to experience the second). Empress Wu Zetian had many names like Empress Dowager or "huangdi or “Empress Regnant” (Chao-Fong, 2020). At age 14, she was noticed by Emperor Taizong and made as a "concubine but soon rose to become the real power behind the throne." (Maredith, 2021). In Zetian's life, she was given a well-rounded education and moved fast up the in the ranks. Due to her knowledge and power, she was not only able to surpass Taizong, Li Zhu (who was also named Gaozong after becoming the successor of Emperor Taizong), and but was able to demote even her son, Ruizong and "became emperor in her own right." (Meredith, 2021) 

Zetian was able to expand the Tang Dynasty's geographical control by expanding the borders into "Central Asia and recaptured the 4 garrisons of the Western Regions that had fallen to the Tibetan Empire in 670." (Chao-Fong, 2020) Her military tactics and knowledge that provided her soldiers a means of living gave her tons of popularity. Not only that she gained support by her people due to her secret spies. They were mainly for finding any information on any rebels that tried to go against her, which included family but she had them tell her any suggestions of public reforms that the people wanted and she did just that. "She used various edicts to provide acts of relief for the lower classes, including widening recruitment to government service to include commoners, and generous promotions and pay rises for the lower ranks." (Chao-Fong, 2020) 

It really was a prosperous time as well after Zetian's death when her Grandson took the throne. Xuanzong had build a powerful army of experienced men, "abolishing the death penalty..." (Meredith, 2021), and helped the Silk Road become secure for trade after his Grandmother, Wu, who had reopened it during the reign. Literacy had escalated as well because of the " improvements in woodblock printing..." (Meredith, 2021). Throughout this dynasty, Buddhism was practiced and the story of "The Journey To The West" was an inspired novel story of a monk, Xuanzang, who journeyed to India to bring back scared texts and was accompanied by Sun Wukong and three other disciples. "Tang China was also home to a great deal of other “foreign” religions including Nestorian Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam and Manichaeism." (Meredith, 2021) 

The Han Dynasty was not considered a time of prosperity. Because of the fall of the previous, Qin Dynasty and it's rise in taxes to build the Great Wall in the north. This cause a clash between regions within China. However, "their production output was the base for the tax revenue. During the first century of the Han Dynasty technological changes took place in agriculture." (Theobald, 2011) The work expanded northeast and northwest of China, which I think helped the expansion of the Han Dynasty. 

This was also a time when Iron replaced Bronze. "the goods [that were traded and consumed] were produced in state-run factories whose workforce was largely constituted from state-owned slaves." (Theobald, 2011) state-owned slaves was also a economic advantages during the Han Dynasty. 

Amongst the religious practices of this Dynasty, one of my favorite that I actually practice is the Dao or "Daoism". Unlike Confucianism that practiced ethnic philosophy, Daoism practices that "...focus on understanding the nature of reality, increasing their longevity, ordering life morally, practicing rulership, and regulating consciousness and diet." (Littlejohn, 2006) 

Bibliography:

Littlejohn, R. (2006, March 14). Daoist Philosophy . Internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from  https://iep.utm.edu/daoism/.

Theobald, U. (2011, October 30). Han Period Economy. Han Period Economy ( www.chinaknowledge.de ). Retrieved November 27, 2021, from  http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/han-econ.html.

Chao-Fong, L. (2020, January 22). 10 facts about Wu Zetian: The only Empress of China. History Hit. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from  https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-wu-zetian-the-only-empress-of-china/.

Meredith, A. (2021, September 13). Introduction to the tang dynasty: The Chinese Language Institute. CLI. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from  https://studycli.org/chinese-history/introduction-to-the-tang-dynasty/.

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Peer 3: Emily Ramsdale

China has seen many rulers and a wide variety of dynastic rules. Among the notable dynasties are the Zhou dynasty and the Qin dynasty. Although they occurred roughly 30 years apart the differences between these two eras is drastic. The Zhou dynasty was a long and relatively prosperous dynastic lasting roughly eight centuries. Many emperors ruled during this time period and a new political ordinance, known as the Mandate of Heaven reinforced the emperor's rule by aligning himself with god. Despite the presence of an all powerful emperor, China was not truly unified. The areas surrounding many cities remained in a feudal state. Although the Lords of the land in theory were loyal to the emperor, they still remained fairly independent. The Zhou Dynasty cultivated many philosophical schools of study and many well known religious and philosophical icons such as; Lao-Tzu, Confucius and Sun-Tzu. During this time period the Zhou Dynasty remained self sufficient, muh of the trade occurred amongst local cities and regional products being traded in the territory constituted most of the economy in the Zhou empire. The Zhou dynasty crumbled during the Warring States period in about 476 BC when all of the independent feudal groups started clashing and destroyed the Zhou dynasty from within. 

The next dynasty would not start for about twenty years after the Warring States period. In about 221 BC a brutal conqueror named Qin Shi Huang, who united the warring groups and unified China under the Qin Dynasty. As if taking a page from the previous year in China, the Qin Dynasty was ruled with an iron fist. Despite this barbaric ruling style, writing systems and currency were unified throughout the entire empire. The rapid and brutal expansion to the surrounding areas being conquered and absorbed into China led to new items to trade regionally amongst the empire. New canals and roadways interconnected these new areas to the rest of the Qin empire. The philosophical and religious movement that was so vibrant during the Zhou empire suffered substantially under the Qin empire. Qin Shi Huang burned many books and writings of important philosophical leaders and no longer had a peaceful empire that was conducive to intellectual or spiritual thoughts. A notable achievement of the Qin Dynasty was The Great Wall of China. A huge undertaking making a  statement to the surrounding areas that the Chinese Empire was thriving and seemingly unstoppable. 

Works Cited:

History.com Editors. 2018. “Qin Dynasty.” History. August 21, 2018.  https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/qin-dynasty .

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Zhou dynasty." Encyclopedia Britannica, May 12, 2020.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zhou-dynasty .

Mark, Joshua J.. " Qin Dynasty ." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 01, 2020.  https://www.worldhistory.org/Qin_Dynasty/ .

Mark, Joshua J.. " Zhou Dynasty ." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 01, 2020.  https://www.worldhistory.org/Zhou_Dynasty/.

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