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Nov 10, 602
Xuanzang
Monk Xuanzang (602-664 C.E) was one among hundreds of Chinese pilgrims who made the dangerous and difficult journey to India to visit holy sites and learn about Buddhism in its homeland. He returned to China with copies of treatises that deepended the understanding of Buddhism. -
Nov 9, 604
Sui Yangdi
Reigned from (604-618 C.E) Yangdi took the throne after assassinating his father and his elder brother. He built great canals but also spent lavish amounts on royal palaces and ornamentations. -
Nov 9, 607
Grand Canal (Economic)
The Grand Canal is one of the world's largest waterworks projects before modern times. It greatly facilitated the north-south connection and exchange in waterway, which in turn brought wealth to the dynasty. -
Nov 9, 627
Tang Taizong
(reigned 627-649 C.E) Taizong was Tang dynasty's second emperor. He was both ambitious and ruthless; he murdered two of his brothers and pushed his father aside. He built the capital at Chang'an. He saw himself as a confucian ruler whom heeded interests of subjects. During his reign, banditry ended, price of rice remained low, taxes levied on peasants mounted to only 1/40 of annual harvest. -
Nov 10, 701
Li Bai
Li Bai (701-761) was perhaps the most popular poet of the Tang era. He took the social life of Chinese cities such as Hangzhou and others as one of his principal themes. He mostly wrote about light, pleasing verse celebrating life, friendship, and especially wine. Primary Source -
Nov 10, 1023
Paper money (Economic)
The Song dynasty was the first to issue true paper money. It did so at first cautiously, issuing small amounts, used in a limited area, and good for a specific time period. The notes would be redeemed after three year's service, to be replaced by new notes for a 3% service charge, an efficient way for the government to make money. Although paper money caused serious problems, it provided a powerful stimulus to the Chinese economy. -
Nov 11, 1127
Jurchen Invasion (Political)
After defeating the Liao Empire together with the Jurchens, the Jurchens started attacking Song and captured Song's capital, Kaifeng, After capturing Kaifeng, the Jurchens ended the Northern Song dynasty and founded the Jin Empire. -
Nov 10, 1130
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (1130-1200 C.E.) was one of the most important representative of Song neoconfucianism philosopher. He was a prolific writer who maintained a deep commitment to Confucian values, emphasizing proper personal behavior and social harmony. Among his writings was an influential treatise entitled "Family rituals" that provided detailed instructions for weddings, funerals, veneration of ancestors, and other family ceremonies. -
Nov 11, 1132
Navy (Political)
The Southern Song establised the first permanant navy in 1132 to defend China's water and land borders. According to history, each ship could carry up to 500 people. -
Nov 11, 1276
Mongol Invasion (Political)
In the hope to unify China, Kublai Khan led the mongols and invaded the Southern Song. The weak military forces of China was no match to the mongols. By 1279 the Yuan army had eradicated the last troops of the Southern Song and the last emperor of Song committed suicide by jumping into the sea. -
Song Taizu
(reigned 960-976 C.E) Taizu was the first emeperor of the Song dynasty. He began his career as a junior military officer serving a famous warlord. In 960 his troops proclaimed him emperor. He vastly expanded bureaucracy based on merit by creating more opportunities for individuals to seek a confucianeducation and take civil service examinations. -
Three Departments and Six Ministries system (Political)
Although the Three Departments and Six Ministries first took shape during the Han dynasty, it was officially established during the Sui. This system divided the governrnement into three different sectors (Zhongshu Sheng, Mengxia Sheng, and Shangshu Sheng), each responsible for different jobs. Under the Shangshu Sheng there are six ministries, each governing smaller departments called Si. -
Sui Wendi
(reigned from 581 - 604 C.E) Yangjian was the founder of Sui Dynasty in China and also the first Emperor of Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wendi used to be an official of Northern Zhou and his real name was Yang Jian. He was a clean-handed and diligent ruler as well as a great policymaker and practicer. -
Reformation of Fubing System (Political)
The Fubing system was a military system in which the central command was divided into 12 weis. In each wei, there was a commander-in-chief and two generals. The military units used across the country were called Zhechong Fu, each headed by a military director and a vice director. After the reforms, they could get their due farm land and engage in farming during peace times. -
Imperial Examination System (Political)
The imperial examination system or Keju was the method by which talented people were recognized and selected for future positions in civil service. It lasted for more than 1300 years. -
Wu Zhao
(reigned 690-705 C.E) Wu Zhao was a rare female ruler. She was the daughter of a scholar official. Tang Taizong's son Li Zhi was attracted to her because of her intelligence, wit, and beauty and when Li Zhi suffered a stroke, Wu Zhao took over the throne. Although it was against the confucian principles for a woman to hold political leadership, she still manage to hold power till the age of eighty. -
Military Expansion (Political)
After Tang's foundation, the powerful and dynamic Tang state began to flex its military muscles. In the north, Tang forces brought Manchuria under imperial authority and forced the Silla kingdom in Korea to acknowldge the Tang emperor as overlord. To the South, Tang armies conqured the northern part of Vietnam. To the west, they extended Tang authority as far as the Aral Sea and brought a portion of the high plateau of Tibet under Tang control. -
Bureaucracy of Merit (Political)
The Tang dynasty relied heavily on bureaucracy based on merit, as reflected by performance on imperial civil service examinations. Tang rulers recruited government officals from the ranks of candidates through the Confucian educational system and had mastered a sophisticated curriculumm concentrating on the classic works of Chinese literature and philosophy. -
Foot binding (Social)
Foot binding was widely spread during the Song era. Foot binding involved the tight wrapping of young girls' feet with strips of cloth that prevented natural growth of the bones and resulted in tiny, malformed, curved feet. Women with bound feet coudn't walk easily or naturally. Although foot binding never became universal, many welathy families and peasant families bound the feet of their daughters to enhance their attractiveness and gain increased control over their daughter's behavior. -
Ancestor worship (Social)
With increasing wealth and agricultural productivity, the Song China experieced a tightening of patriarchal social structures, which reflected a concern to preserve family fortunes through enhanced family solidarity. During the Song dynasty the veneration of family ancestors became much more elaborate. Instead of simply remembering ancestors and invoking their aid in rituals performed at home, decendants diligently sought the graves of their earliest traceable forefathers honor. -
Gunpowder (Economic)
During the Tang dynasty, Daoist alchemist discovered how to make gunpowder as they tested the properties of various experimental conctions while seeking elixirs to prolong life. They soon learned that it was unwise to mix charcoal, saltpeter, sulphur and arsenic, because the volatile compound often resulted in singed breards and even destroyed buildings. Military officals, however, recognized oppurtunity in the explosive mixture. By the eleventh century, they had fashioned primitive bombs. -
Fast-Ripening Rice (Economic )
In the early part of Song, a new variety of fast-ripening rice was introduced into China from Champa (Vietnam). Because the variety of rice was relatively more drought-resistant, it could be grown in places where older varieties had failed, especially on higher land and on terraces that climb hilly slopes, and it ripened even faster than the other early-ripening varieties already grown in China. This made double-cropping or even triple-cropping possible. -
Form of governance: monarchy (Political)
Like all ancient Chinese dynasties, the Tang Dynasty was a monarchy, ruled by an all-powerful emperor.The Tang dynasty government also used the three department and six ministries system that created policies and laws. -
Song Womens' rights (Social)
Women during the Song dynasty remained inferior to men but they had societal and legal rights, which allowed them to manage their household and establish businesses. They were given large dowries and legal rights when it came to acquiring property. They were also on equal footing with men when it came to inheritance and they educated their children during the early years of their lives. -
"Sui Wu Zhu" Coins (Economic)
Under the rule of Emperor Wendi, the "Wu Zhu" coins were coined. A "zhu" was a unit of measure equivalent to 100 millet seeds. -
Extending the Great Wall (Economic)
Four construction projects were completed during the reign of Emperor Wendi and two more Great Wall construction projects were instigated by Emperor Yangdi in 604. A labor force numbering many hundreds of thousands was gathered to work on the construction of the Great Wall. -
Sui Women's role (Social)
Women during the Sui remained submissive to men. They were mostly house wives and took care of their children at home. Though during the construction of the Grand Canal, some were forced to work. -
Agruiculture (Social)
During the Sui, farming was widely spread. People depended on rice as their main food. Because the new fast- ripening rice was not introduced to the dynasty yet, people only harvested for one season and the rice was highly susceptible to droughts. -
Equal field system / Juntian System (Economic)
The Equal field system governed the allocation of agriucultral land. Its purpose was to ensure an equitable distribution of land and to avoid the concentration of landed property that had caused social problems during the Han dynasty. This system was enforced throughout the country and became the most important fiscal institution of the central government.The system allotted land to individuals and their families according to the land's fertility and recipients' needs. -
Extensive communication networks (Economic)
Apart from the grand Canal, Tang rulers maintained an extensive communications network based on roads, horses, and sometimes human runners. Along the main routes, Tang officials maintained inns, postal stations, and stables, which provided rest and refreshment for travelers, couriers, and their mounts. Using couriers traveling by horse, the Tang court could communicate with the most distant cities in the empire in about eight days. -
Social Structure (Social)
During the Tang dynasty, there were basically eight social classes. The emperor and his family were usually the most powerful, then came the aristocracy, followed by the bureaucracy. The bureacracy was divided into two separate levels of honor the scholars and the functionaries. After the bureaucracy came the eunuchs (servants in palace), clergy, peasants, artisans and traders, then the slaves. -
Agricultural society (Social)
The Tang dynasty was an agricultural society..Peasants were mostly farmers. In the North, they grev barley, wheat, and hemp, while the Southern provinces of the Empire were the perfect place for rice farming. The hills and the rivers were used to create terraces filled with water. When a farmer died, his land was equally divided among all his sons. -
Spread of Buddhism: Relations (Social)
After many years of division, the Sui dynasty finally reunified through buddhism. As Emperor Wendi says, "all the people within the four seas may, without exception, develop enlightenment and together cultivate fortunate karma, bringing it to pass that present existences will lead to happy future lives, that the sustained creation of good causation will carry us one and all up to wondrous enlightenment". -
Tang Womens' rights (Social)
The Tang Dynasty became a historical turning point for women in China. It was during this time that women all over China found their voices and were (somewhat) released from being submission to men. Tang women were granted the same rights to, and opportunities for, education as men. The behavior of Tang women was obviously different too. They could drink wine to the limit, and sing loudly in taverns or even compete with men. -
Urbanization (Economic)
During the Song dynasty, China was the most urbanized land in the world. In the late thirteenth centur, Hangzhou, capital of the Southern Song dynasty, had more than one million residents. They supported hundreds of restaurants, noodle shops, taverns, teahouses, brothels, music halls, theaters, clubhouses, gardens, markets, craft shops, and specialty stores dealing in silk, gems, porcelain, lacquerware, and other goods. -
Period: to
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty was a shortlived dynasty established by Emperor Wendi where Lucoyang is it's capital. Yet, it still had a strong contralized governernment. Emperors during the Sui dynasty ordered construction of palaces and granaries, and extensive repairs on the defensive walls. -
Period: to
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty, under the ruling of the Tang Emperors, became the most powerful and prosperous in the world. In this glorious period, the economy, politics, culture and military strength reached a more advanced level. -
Period: to Nov 9, 1279
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty consisted of the Northern Song (960-1127) and the Southern Song (1127-1279). Although the Song dynasty never built a very powerful state, it survived for more than three centuries. The Song rulers placed great emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and the arts than on military affairs.
