CHINA REUNIFIED
In 581 the Sui dynasty succeeded in unifying China for the first time in hundreds
of years. Over the next several centuries, with only a brief period of disorder in the
900s, a series of three dynasties would bring progress and stability to China. During
this period, China would invent block printing and gunpowder, participate in increased
foreign trade, and reinstitute a merit based system of civil service.
Three Dynasties
The Han dynasty is considered to have set the standard for the Chinese
dynasties that followed. In fact, the Chinese word for someone who is Chinese means
“a man of Han.”
The Sui Dynasty
The Han dynasty came to an end in 220, and China fell into chaos. For the next
three hundred years, the Chinese suffered through disorder and civil war. Then, in 581,
a new Chinese empire was set up under a dynasty known as the Sui (SWAY). The Sui
dynasty (581–618) did not last long, but it managed to unify China once again under
the emperor’s authority. Sui Yangdi, the second emperor of the dynasty, completed the
Grand Canal, built to link the two great rivers of China, the Huang He (Yellow River)
and the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River). Both rivers flowed from west to east. The new
canal linked north and south, making it easier to ship rice from the south to the north.
Sui Yangdi was a cruel ruler. He used forced labor to build the Grand Canal, which he
used to keep an eye on his empire. This practice, together with high taxes, his
extravagant and luxurious lifestyle, and military failures, caused a rebellion. The
emperor was murdered, and his dynasty came to an end.
The Tang Dynasty
A new dynasty, the Tang (TAHNG), soon emerged. It would last for nearly three
hundred years, from 618 until 907. The early Tang rulers began their reigns by
instituting reforms, as rulers often did in the early days of new dynasties. They tried to
create a more stable economy by giving land to the peasants and breaking up the
power of the owners of the large estates. They also restored the civil service
examination from earlier times to serve as the chief method of recruiting officials for
the civilian bureaucracy. The civil service examination tested a student’s grasp of
Confucian principles. Young men who were preparing to take the examination
memorized all of the Confucian classics. During their studies, they had little free time
for recreation and were forbidden to take part in any strenuous physical activities. They
were taught never to use their hands except for painting or writing. Even after many
years of education, only about one in five students managed to pass the examination
and receive a position in the civil service. Tang rulers worked hard to restore the power
of China in East Asia. They brought peace to northwestern China and expanded their
control to the borders of Tibet, an area north of the Himalaya. China claimed to be the
greatest power in East Asia. Neighboring states, including Korea, offered tribute to
China. The Chinese imperial court also set up trade and diplomatic relations with the
states of Southeast Asia. Like the Han, however, the Tang sowed the seeds of their
own destruction. Tang rulers were unable to prevent plotting and government
corruption. One emperor was especially unfortunate. Emperor Tang Xuanzang
(SHWAHN• DZAHNG) is remembered for his devotion to a commoner’s daughter,
Yang Gul Fei. To entertain her, he kept hundreds of dancers and musicians at court.
He also ordered riders to travel thousands of miles to bring her fresh fruit. Finally,
the emperor’s favorite general led a bloody revolt. The army demanded that someone
be held accountable for the war and strife in the country. For this reason, the emperor
invited his true love to hang herself from a nearby tree, although it is said that for the
rest of his life, the emperor “washed his face every day with a fountain of tears.” During
the eighth century, the Tang dynasty weakened and became prey to rebellions. Tang
rulers hired Uighurs (WEE•gurz), a northern tribal group of Turkic-speaking people, to
fight for the dynasty. Continued unrest, however, led to the collapse of Tang rule in
907.
The Song Dynasty
In 960 a new dynasty known as the Song (SUNG) rose to power. The Song ruled
during a period of economic prosperity and cultural achievement, from 960 to 1279.
From the start, however, the Song also experienced problems, especially from
northern neighbors. These groups crossed into northern China and occupied large
parts of Chinese territory. Because of this threat, Song rulers were forced to move the
imperial court farther south to Hangzhou (HAHNG•JOH), on the coast just south of the
Chang Jiang River delta. The Song also lost control over Tibet. The Song dynasty
could never overcome the challenge from the north. During the 1200s, the Mongols—
a nomadic people from the Gobi—carried out wars of conquest and built a vast empire.
Within 70 years, they controlled all of China. The Song had formed a definitive alliance
with the Mongols. As we shall see, however, the Mongols overthrew the Song and
created a new Mongol dynasty in China.
Government and Economy
The era from the beginning of the Sui dynasty to the end of the Song dynasty
lasted nearly 700 years. During that period, a mature political system based on
principles first put into practice during the Qin and Han dynasties gradually emerged
in China. As in the Han era, China was a monarchy that employed a relatively large
bureaucracy. Confucian ideals were still the cement that held the system together.
During the long period between the Sui and Song dynasties, the Chinese economy
grew in size and complexity. Agriculture flourished, and manufacturing and trade grew
dramatically. China was still primarily a farming society. In the long period of civil war,
aristocratic families had taken control of most of the land, and the majority of peasants
had become serfs or slaves. The Song government, however, worked to weaken the
power of the large landholders and help poor peasants obtain their own land. These
reform efforts and improved farming techniques led to an abundance of food. In
Chinese cities, technological developments added new products and stimulated trade.
During the Tang dynasty, for example, the Chinese began to make steel by mixing cast
iron and wrought iron in a blast furnace, which was heated by the burning of coal. The
steel was then used to make swords and sickles. The introduction of cotton made it
possible to make new kinds of clothes. Another Chinese innovation, gunpowder, was
created during the Tang dynasty It was used to make explosives and a primitive
flamethrower called a fire-lance. The fire-lance could spit out a mixture of flame and
projectiles that could travel 40 yards. Long-distance trade had declined between the
300s and 500s as a result of the collapse of both the Han dynasty and the Roman
Empire. Trade began to revive under the Tang dynasty and the unification of much of
Southwest Asia under the Arabs. The Silk Road was renewed and thrived as caravans
carried goods between China and the regions of Southwest Asia and South Asia.
Trade with regions near China also increased during the Tang and Song dynasties.
The Chinese exported tea, silk, and porcelain to the countries beyond the South China
Sea. In return, they received exotic woods, precious stones, and various tropical
goods. As a result of trade, Changan (modern-day Xi’an), with a population estimated
at two million, became the wealthiest city in the world during the Tang era.
Chinese Society
Economic changes had an impact on Chinese society. For wealthier city dwellers,
the Tang and Song eras were an age of prosperity. There was probably no better
example than the Song capital of Hangzhou. In the late 1200s, the Italian merchant
Marco Polo described the city to European readers as one of the largest and wealthiest
cities on Earth. “So many pleasures may be found,” he said, “that one fancies himself
to be in Paradise.” For rich Chinese during this period, life offered many pleasures.
There were new forms of entertainment, such as playing cards and chess (brought
from India). The paddlewheel boat and horseback riding (made possible by the
introduction of the stirrup) made travel easier. The invention of block printing in the
eighth century provided new ways to communicate. The vast majority of the Chinese
people still lived off the land in villages. Most peasants never left their villages except
for an occasional visit to a nearby market town. Changes were taking place in the
countryside, however. Before, there had been a great gulf between wealthy
landowners and poor peasants. A more complex mixture of landowners, free peasants,
sharecroppers, and landless laborers now emerged. Most significant was the rise of
the landed gentry. This group controlled much of the land and at the same time
produced most of the candidates for the civil service. The scholar-gentry, as this class
was known, replaced the old, landed aristocracy as the political and economic elite of
Chinese society.
Few Chinese women had any power. An exception was Wu Zhao (WOO JOW),
known as Empress Wu. The concubine of the second Tang emperor, she then became
empress of China and ruled for half a century. As in other parts of the world, female
children were considered less desirable than male children. In times of famine, female
infants might be killed if there was not enough food to feed the whole family. When a
girl married, she became part of her husband’s family. In addition, a girl’s parents were
expected to provide a dowry—money, goods, or property—to her husband when she
married. Poor families often sold their daughters to wealthy villagers.
