Tang+Dynasty2

**Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) **



**__S__** ocial **__P__** olitical **__R__** eligion **__I__** ntellectual **__T__** rade/Technology **__E__** conomic System The Tang Dynasty came into power after the who country fell into chaos due to the tyranny of Emperor Yang

**__Social__** During this time in early China, the society was centered around men. Women were regarded as no more than bond servants in China. At this time, male dominance was guaranteed and maintained by certain norms. The three cardinal guides (ruler guides subject, father guides son, and husband guides wife) and the five constant virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity) defined social behavior, and the three obediences (in ancient China a woman was required to obey her father before marriage, her husband during marriage, and her sons in widowhood) and four virtues (woman's fidelity, physical charm, propriety in speech and proficiency at needle work) guided the family order. In feudal China, women had no say at all as regards their marriage partner, being expected to comply unconditionally with their parents or brothers' arrangements. Women had neither the right to divorce their husbands, nor to remarry. Whether or not a woman outlived her husband, she was permitted to marry only once in her lifetime. On the other hand, a husband could lawfully abandon his wife if she committed one of the seven sins: being unfilial, barren, lascivious, jealous, succumbed to a repellent disease, meddling, or stealing**.**

**__Political__**
 * In this dictator struck dynasty, there were five main emperors that ruled during this time period (618 - 907).

__Tang Kao Tsu__ - Founder of Tang Dynasty (618 - 626) __Tang Taizong__ - Second son of Li Yuan, a bold and powerful emperor good at both military strategy and Chinese calligraphy, who was the leader of the Reign Zhenguan which started the period of the Tang Dynasty (627 - 649)

__Tang Gaozong__ - The 9th son of Tang Taizong; considered the weakest Emperor due to assistance from Empress Wu Zetian (650 - 683)

__Tang Zhongzong__ - He was on the throne for two months in 684 before Wu deposed him. After Wu was deposed in 705, he ruled for five years with Empress Wei's interfering court affairs. (684, 705 - 710) __Tang Ruizong__ -** The eighth son of Li Zhi. His first ruling period came after Wu deposed Li Xian (684 - 690)

**__Religion__** In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the policy towards religion was tolerant. There were mainly two religions - Buddhism and Daoism. Along with the rapidly developed Buddhism, some religions from foreign states such as Islam and Christianity, were spread to China which enriched the Tang's religions.

__**Buddhism**__**:** The teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Buddhism)**

__**Daoism**__**:** philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Daoism)**

**__Intellectual__**

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Stone collections from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) contributed a lot to the development of astronomy, medicine and printing techniques in Chinese History. A famous astronomer, Monk Yixing, was the first to successfully measure the length of the meridian line. Sun Simiao, also know as The King of Medicine, wrote a medical book called Qianjin Fang (Thousand Golden Prescriptions) which happened to be considered the treasure of traditional Chinese medicine. In 868, the Chinese translation of the Diamond Sutra was printed, nowadays reconized as the earliest engraved printing in the world. Another Intellectual achievement in the Tang Dynasty were the distinguished Tang poems. A large amount of poets appeared throughout the whole dynasty. Themes of the poems ranged from life at the frontiers, life in the peaceful fields, historic affairs and imaginative fancies. The literary level of the Tang poems reached a peak that had never been surpassed in the history of chinese literature.======

**__Trade/Technology__** In 868 the Chinese, the pioneers of printing techniques, used carved blocks to produce the worlds first printed book -- a buddhist called the Diamond Sutra. Other technological advances included the nautical compass, the suspension bridge, and the abacus. Chinese products were so advancd that the word for chinese became another word for superior in many asian languages. The silk trade in the Tang Dynasty had reached an unexpected high level by merchanting materials along the Silk Road. At this time, major trading centers Chang'an, Luoyang, Yutian, Kizil, and Turpan. The main trade route in the Tang Dynasty was the Silk Road. Transportation on this road consisted of camels mules and horses.

**__Economic System__** The economy of the Tang Dynasty limited the people to two choices: Beg for freedom and get slaughtered, or pay lots of their delicious food and trade some of their beautiful jewelry for freedom. The government of the Tang Dynasty greatly suppored trade such as goods lke jade, silks, spices, and tea. Not only did they trade with themselves, but they also traded with India. Thats how the economy interacted with everyone. The economy made all the money to pay for taxes and keep the cost of war down.

**__Rise and Fall of Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)<__**

**__Rise of Tang Dynasty__** At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the whole country fell into the tyranny of emperor Yang. Rebellious acts, that were arroused by pheasants, were showing up everywhere. Resenting Emperor Yang's ruling, the chief officer of Taiyuan - Li Yuan raised an army in Taiyuan from May 617. Li Yuan's army captured the capital city Chang'an and put a new monarch, Yang You, on the throne as Emperor Gong. In 618, after Emperor Yang was killed, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor and changed the state title to Tang.

**__Fall of Tang Dynasty__** The conflicts between the different cliques were a factor that caused a decline of Tang. The court officals of Tang were made up of two groups. One group was from the traditional noble class while the other group came from the civilian class. Due to the different class orgin and political status, these two groups formed their own parties. These parties usually held different political views and adopted different policies. In order to be superior to the other group, all these parties were entangled with power struggles. As a result, all these internal disputes broke down the power of the central regime. Huang Chao decided to take this for advantage and start an uprising. Emperor Xizong was enthroned and the people all lived in starvation due to the weak national economy.

**__Other Links__**

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/classical_imperial_china/tang.html

http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Tang/tang.html

**__Bibliography__**

Hanes III, William T., ed. World History. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1997.

"The Tang Dynasty." Travel China Guide. 27 Jan. 2009 .

"Tang Dynasty Women." Ancient China. 27 Jan. 2009 .