The Tang Dynasty : The Golden Age Of Ancient China

    The Sui Dynasty only had a lifespan of two main emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang. Emperor Wen was a great leader for this empire, but his son was an awful tyrant, and due to this, the empire failed.  Li Yuan, a governor of the Sui and also Emperor Yang’s cousin, rebelled and with the help of his sons and others, was able to overthrow the horrible ruler.  In the end, Li Yuan gained power and established the Tang Dynasty.  He became Emperor Gaozu of Tang in 618 AD. (Ancient China: Sui Dynasty)

The Tang and Song dynasties in China existed between 618 to 1279 CE. Throughout this period, there were many developments in art, poetry, and technology. China was highly influential all around the world. It became known as the Golden Age of China. With advances in technology and ideas that could improve the everyday life, a unified government, and a strong economic system, the Tang and Song dynasties became the Golden Age of China.

The definition of a Golden Age is a time of economic, political, technological, and social improvement and advance at a great level. The Tang and Song Dynasties are very important to the history of Chinese civilization. The Tang Era is the most well-known dynasty in Chinese history, mainly because the empire was the largest, richest and most sophisticated state in the world at the time. The Song Era had far-reaching impacts economically, culturally, and socially. During the Song Era, there was major development in urbanization. The Tang and Song Eras are commonly referred to as being the basis of a Golden Age of Chinese civilization because they were two major time periods in which stunning development in China took place.

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

The Sui dynasty was founded by Yang Jian. Jian was a member of a respected aristocratic family in northern China. (Duiker & Spielvogel, 2009) Yang Jian turned to Daoism and Buddhism to unify the empire. Jian founded monasteries for both

A. One of the most important public works projects taken on by the Sui dynasty was the grand canal. This canal was so important due to it facilitating trade between north and south China which then allowed rice and other crops to be available in the north.

From 618-907, the unprecedented leniency and tolerance of the Tang dynasty created a large hyper power, with alliances and trading and such. This empire left a lasting impression on the Chinese. “These and other factors converged to produce a dynasty more tolerant of foreign cultures, religions, and influences than any other in Chinese history.” Taizong was the first emperor of the tang dynasty and set the precedent for his successors. His main goal was to establish equality throughout the regions. He achieved this and became “the first Chinese ruler to establish dominion over the steppes.” As the Tang rule grew larger and larger, it engulfed areas like Manchuria, Vietnam, and parts of Iran. The way they chose to handle the commerce and diplomacy

There was many dynasties and empires to come about between 200 BCE and 600 CE. One specific dynasty was the Han dynasty. This dynasty was involved in the unification of China. This dynasty was formed by Lia Bang and lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, with an interruption phase from 9 CE to 23 CE.The Han dynasty was between decentralized and centralized. Han Wudi was the greatest emperor of this dynasty, who pursued centralization and expansion. There was constant attacks from Xiongnu nomads of C. Asia; however, Han Wudi briefly came to control Xiongnu. Wang Mang, the regent for a two year old emperor, took power himself. He tried to redistribute land, but the wealthier people that did not want to get some of their land taken away assassinated him. In the later Han dynasty, emperors manage with struggles to control resentment. Another succession to come about was the Roman empire. The Roman empire started out as a republic, but soon Julius Caesar Seized Rome in 49 B.C.E. Julius Caesar centralized control but was eventually assassinated in 44 B.C.E. After Julius came Octavian, who ran a monarchy that was disguised as a republic. Octavian continued expansion and integration of the empire. There was an extreme amount of poor people; in fact, one third of the population was in slavery. One of the only things that was attempted was giving them bread and circuses to distract them. There was no policy developed for them. The Roman empire went through many rulers. Although these

The Tang and Song Empires were two very powerful empires that ruled China after the Han and Sui Dynasties. The Han Dynasty left China fragmented for centuries, and the Sui Dynasty reunified China until the Turks from Inner Asia assassinated the son who ruled. The Tang filled the political vacuum in 618 with emperor Li Shimin (r. 626-649) who extended his power into westward Inner Asia. The Tang kept many Sui governing practices but avoided overcentralization with giving nobles, gentry, and religious establishments power. The Tang Empire fell after the An Lushan and Huang Chao rebellions that left the society homeless, a refugee, or a migrant worker. The empire fell in 907 after a warlord terminated their line. However, the Song Empire had arisen in 960 and paid tribute to the Liao, who controlled the north. The Song Empire aligned with the Jurchens, who ended up creating the Jin Empire, to destroy the Liao capital. The Song Empire was betrayed by the Jurchens and ended up having to pay tribute to them, which some historians refer to as the “Southern Song” period (1127-1279). The Song Empire declined in the year 1126. The Tang and the Song had a variety of economic, political, and social accomplishments, some that they shared, and some that they didn’t. Both the Tang and the Song increased the use of trade, had a change of size of their empires, and had major advancements in technology. Although, the Tang and the Song differed with the growth of Song’s population and its

Founded in 618 A.D. by former Sui general, Li Yuan, later known as Emperor Gaozu, the Tang dynasty started with a six year reunification battle for control. He established a state with a capital at Chang’an that retained most Sui practices such as the tribute system along with Civil Service examinations with additional embellishments. The Civil Service Exam was a major improvement from preceding dynasties since officials had to have a scholarly knowledge of Confucianism to work in governance opposed to the previous favoritism in electing positions. In addition, another powerful ruler, Empress Wu, improved the period as she was the only woman to ever rule China and did so in a manner that ruthlessly established her capability to rule, establishing a precedent for feminism to arise. Other notable achievements of this time include the construction of the Grand Canal, inventions of gunpowder as well as printing on wooden blocks, and most importantly territorial expansion. Along with territorial expansion came economic benefits to

A golden age is a specific time where peace, happiness and prosperity flourishes within a civilization. In China. This period was known as the Song Dynasty, which lasted from (920-1279). China’s Golden Age was followed by the Yuan Dynasty, which dated from the years (1271-1368). During this period the Song Dynasty was exciting to people. Agriculture flourished leading to the inventions of the moveable typewriter and magnetic compass, paper money, and even gunpowder. The Song Dynasty led to China’s most significant achievement, Neo-Confucianism. Despite the influential importance art and creativity had on the Chinese people, it did not perform as much of an important, helpful part to the Chinese people as Agriculture and Neo-Confucianism did.

The administration was organized into 10 political districts called “Dao” which was then later increased to 15. In each political district there were towns, villages, and families. The official system of the Tang administration involved the central official system and local official system. The central official system followed the Sui Dynasty's (581 - 618) three departments and six ministries system. The six major ministries included personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, and public works. Each were accompanied by a Censorate, an agency that exercised surveillance over the rest of the government. They made sure that government officials stayed in line

“The future depends on what we do in the present” - Gandhi. Have you ever wondered what life would be like if Karl Benzin hadn’t created the first car, or Thomas Edison hadn’t invented the light bulb? Things that we take for granted now, were once a dream, an idea, a plan. The inventors probably had little idea about the impact it would have on the future. 4,000 years ago people wouldn’t have even dreamed of things that we take for granted now. But many of the people back then had ideas and made decisions that affected the future of the world. Around 3,000 years ago in China, the 3rd of China’s dynasties occurred. This dynasty is called the Tang Dynasty and is often referred to as the Golden Age because of its great advancements. The Tang dynasty was the most impactful of China’s Dynasty because of the cultural advancements, economic growth, useful inventions, important studies, and government code changes that took place.

Out of all the significant people who pushed and maintained unification in China, Zhao Zheng spearheaded this unification. Zhao Zheng or Ying Zheng, popularly known as Shi huangdi, is the emperor who ruled Qin dynasty during 221-210 BCE. The unified empire of the Chinese that he established was the first united empire in China. But the empire collapsed in a minimum span of four years after he died (Shihuangdi | emperor of Qin dynasty. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://www.britannica.com/biography/Shihuangdi).

The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.