The Human Web

Chapter 5 notes
China

During the Tang dynasty (618-907) Chinas connections with Asia

strengthened
-Chinese monks imported Buddhist texts
-foreign merchants brought western religion
Bazaar trading
Printing made religious texts more accessible
After 845 the emperor prohibited foreign faiths
Chinese coinage and paper currency (letter checks w/stamps) helped make
trade easier
During the Song dynasty (960-1279) the Chinese economy became more
commercialized
-taxes were collected in cash
-city growth
-artisan skills improved
-intense agriculture
-new crops: tea and cotton
Drinking caused water to be boiled which killed off most bacteria
This increased population well being and allowed for populations to inhabit
the wetter and warmer south
Washing cotton clothes helped with health also
Cheap and safe transport along chinas rivers and canals boosted trade
The Grand Canal connected the fertile plains of the Yangzi and Huang He
valleys after 611 was important to trade.
Specialization emerged
Govt officials had to pass written exams, created from Confucian texts
Fixed prices limited the mobilization of chinas resources
Officials during the Song dynasty had a hard time keeping up and army to
defend from the Steppe raiders
The Song dynasty were never able to fully control the northern most western
provinces
-Song survived in the South due to mobile warships
Mongol Kublai Khan conquered all of China by 1279
-This united China and Eurasia
-Chinese inventions spread (painting, printing, compass navigation,
gunpowder and high temp. ovens)
The Mongol Empire collapsed
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) gained control
-Maintained a large army to guard against Steppe raiders
-made Beijing the capital
-concentrated on keeping China safe from Steppe raiders

-isolationist