Political Changes and Continuity in China in 600 CE-1000 CE During the

Period: 500 to Jan 1, 1000

China's Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties During a Period in the Middle Ages

Wendi's armies attacked and conquered the weak and divided Chen kingdom, which had long ruled much of the south. This shows a change because he reunited the traditional core areas of Chinese civilation for the first time in three and a half centuries. This fits under the political theme because the Sui dynasty and Wendi were the new rulers.

Yangdi kills his father, Wendi, to reach the throne. He extended his father's conquests and drove back the nomadic intruders who threatened the northern frontiers of the empire. This shows continuity because the Sui dynasty was still in power. This fits under the political theme because it involves who was ruling.

Yangdi led his subjects into a series of unsuccessful wars to bring Korea back under Chinese rule. This shows continuity because Korea continued to not be under Chinese rule. This fits under the political theme because it involves conflict and war.

Yangdi was assissinated by his own ministers. This shows a change because China would return to the state of political divison and social turmoil it had endured in the preceding centuries. This fits under the political theme because the Sui dynasty had finished its rule.

Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, emerged the victor after the death of Yangdi. He and his second son, Tang Taizong, led the basis for the golden age of the Tang. They conquered deep into central Asia. This shows change because the Tang dynasty was now ruling instead of the Sui. This fits under the political theme because it shows new leadership.

Empress Wu rose to power as the new Tang ruler. She tried to elevate Buddhism to the status of a state religion. This shows a change because no ruler before her had supported the Buddhist establishment to the extent she had. This fits under the political theme because it shows what Wu did under her leadership.

A new emperor, Xuanzong, marked the peak of Tang power and the high point of Chinese civilization under the dynasty. He took a strong interest in political and economic reforms. His interest in running the vast empire waned while he devoted himself to patronizing the arts. This shows a change because the emperors before him did not lose interest in running their empire. This fits under the political theme because it involves the Tang dynasty ruling.

One of Xuanzong's main military leaders, a general of nomadic origins named An Lushan, led a widely supported revolt with the aim of founding a new dynasty to supplant the Tang. This shows continuity because the revolt was crushed and the Tang dynasty preserved. This fits under the political theme because it involves a revolt.

Another new Tang ruler, Emperor Wuzong, started to openly persecute Buddhism. Thousands of monasteries and Buddhist shrines were destroyed. Hundreds of monks and nuns were forced to abandon their monastic orders and return to civilian lives. This shows change because it is a different practice than the previous rulers had who supported Buddhist establishment. This fits under the political theme because it shows what one emperor did while he was ruling.

The last emperor of the Tang dynasty was forced to resign. China appeared to be entering another phase of nomadic dominance, political division, and social strife. This shows change because China had not entered a phase like this since before the Tang era. This fits under the political theme because it involves a conflict and a new leadership arising.

A military commander emerged to reunite China under a single dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin routed all of his rivals except one and founded the Song dynasty that was to rule most of China for the next three centuries. This shows change because it is the start of a new dynasty ruling, the Song. This fits under the political theme because it involves a new rule and leadership in China.

Even though rule throughout China in 500 - 1000 CE during the Sui, Tang, and Song eras showed vast amounts of change in which dynasty held power and how they decided to rule, favoring or not favoring Buddhism, for example, it still showed continuity in which dynasty was ruling in certain time periods and who they had control over.