Tang Dynasty

Rise
The Han dynasty has fallen. There was no central political authority at that time. China faced
regular invasions from nomads. It was in this background that the Tang dynasty came into
being. The Tang dynasty not only restored power and unity but also extended the imperial
frontiers. The height of the Tang power was during the first half of the eighth century.

Cultural Peak •

The success of the Tang dynasty can also be attributed to the setbacks other contemporary
powers experienced. Wars in Mongolia weakened the power and authority of the Turks who had
controlled the region for almost one and a half centuries. Some of the local potentates from that
region now became the allies of the Tang emperor.

Parts of Manchuria were annexed, Korea was made a tributary state (though for a brief period
only) and northern Indochina was once again brought under direct Chinese control. Chinese
authority under the Tang dynasty was recognised in large parts of central Asia, Caspian Sea,
borders of Afghanistan and India. In fact some local ruling princes in the Indus Valley region also
accepted the Chinese suzerainty.

Undoubtedly, the contemporary powers like Mongols, Turks and Huns also acknowledged Tang
China as their ally.

Fall:-
The Tang hegemony over central Asia did not last long and with the expansion of Islam in the
seventh century, China was again exposed to the new phase of invasions and aggression.

By 750 CE when the Tang power was weakened, the political influence of Islam could be felt till
the western frontier of China.

Tang rulers also extended their influence in Tibet. Tibetan rulers were so powerful and
prestigious in the seventh century that they entered into matrimonial relations with the Indian
and Chinese royal families. Tibetans, benefiting from their highland location and political alliance
with the Turks and Arabs periodically invaded Chinese territories.

By the end of the ninth century political disorder again made its entry in China.
The northern and western frontiers were lost, internal rebellions started, there was corruption
and decline in the administrative machinery.

SONG DYNASTY
Rise
In the early tenth century after the decline of the Tang dynasty China saw uneven distribution of
political power in the hands of the military dictators. The Song dynasty was established by a
military general who assumed imperial powers.

The Song dynasty survived for around three centuries (960-1279 CE). Sung rulers reestablished
the ancient administrative structure based on a centralized bureaucracy.
They recruited provincial landed gentry to strengthen their hold over administration. Wealthy
landowners were entrusted with the task of maintaining local law and order, collecting taxes,
and other such duties.

FALL
The Sung Empire was not as vast as the Tang empire. Fortifications were not maintained,
territories in the north and northwest were lost to the nomadic and semi nomadic tribes.

One of the kingdoms ruled by the northern group of nomads was known as Khitan. They also
collected tributes from the Song emperors.

By the first half of the twelfth century, the Khitan state was displaced by another nomadic group
known as Juchen. They occupied Manchuria, Mongolia, and greater parts of Northern China.

Thus by 1141 CE, the Song dynasty had control only over the Yangtze valley and some parts in
the south. This indicated the declining fortune of the dynasty at the hands of the nomadic
invaders.

The Song rulers established their capital at

MANGOLS
The invasions by the Mongols, a nomadic tribe, brought the final collapse of the Song Dynasty.
Entire China experienced foreign occupation for the first time in its history. Series of successful
military campaigns led to the establishment of the Mongol Asiatic Empire.

In the early thirteenth century, a Mongol conqueror named Genghis Khan overthrew the
kingdoms in North China.

The Song ruler of China made a tactical mistake by sending troops to support the Mongols
against the Juchen rulers in North China. Then he attacked the Mongols who avenged by
ravaging the entire empire. The conquest of southern China was completed by Genghis Khan's
grandson Kublai Khan.

Kublai Khan became the master of the entire China. The Mongol empire did not last for long.
The vast size extending from China Sea to eastern Europe, with great religious and ideological
differences contributed to its downfall.

Genghis Khan managed to win areas having strong cultural differences but his successors could
not successfully administer this empire with a diversity of ideological identities.

EFFECTS
The rise of the Mongol (or Yuan) Dynasty posed a serious threat to the Chinese Civilisation.
Mongol rule was more like a military occupation imposed upon traditional Chinese institutions.

There were humiliating restrictions imposed at places. Local Chinese were forbidden to carry
arms or even retaliate if injured by a Mongol.

The Mongols were known for their cruelty, they left behind ruined cities with heaps of corpses as
warnings to those who resisted them.

The erstwhile imperial civil-service examinations were suspended and non-Chinese were
appointed at most reputed post.

In the fourteenth century, when the Mongol held weakened and there was unrest from. The
people in the examination system were reinstated.Prime positions were still held by the Mongols
and Central Asians.

Mongol rule deprived the Chinese of administrative roles, and they resorted to other forms of
arts like performances of plays and other popular means of entertainment.

Peasant holdings were often taken, many peasants lost their lands and were rendered as
labourers working for the construction of palaces, irrigation projects, roads, transportation
systems, etc.

Overland commerce improved because of the unification of northern and southern China. Also
the Mongols improved overland routes connecting their territories in Central Asia and even parts
of Persia for trade with other regions

This extensive trade drained China of its precious metals and led to inflation of the currency.

Rural China was under great strain, people were starving and reduced to slavery
MING DYNASTY
In the Fourteenth century, the Mongol power collapsed in China. Peking, the capital, was
captured in 1368 and the Ming dynasty was established.

The Song and the Tang patterns of governance were adopted. Expansion of the frontier was
promoted. Ming China was a vast empire including Manchuria, Mongolia, Indochina, Burma and
the southwest region around Tibet.

The Ming rulers were threatened by Timur of Turkestan (the new master of Mongol territories in
Central Asia) but survived because of his death in 1405 CE.

Ming rule benefited from the rapidly expanding Chinese navigation prowess. The mariner's
compass was used since the eleventh century, when large trading ships were constructed.

Chinese ships traveled to far off places such as the East Indies, Malay Peninsula, Ceylon, India
and Arabia. These ships returned home not only with merchandise and profits but also with
valuable geographical information.

Ming rulers limited China's overseas trade to countries which acknowledged Ming China's
suzerainty. In 137I CE, the government disallowed Chinese people to travel overseas . These
were the results of the fear of foreigners holding ground in the Chinese coastal cities and
threatening the authority of the Ming state.

The result was a crucial loss of revenue. It is ironic that in times when European countries were
sailing across In search of new lands, the Chinese state preferred to remain in isolation.

Notes
Arman
2020BAP1104