13.1Wu Zhao: the only woman to rule China in her own name, became empress in the 600’s, Tang Dynasty.
usurped: to illegally, or without justification claim power.
Han Dynasty: collapsed in 220 AD, 400 years of division would follow.
Sui Dynasty: brief dynasty, 589-618 AD, emperor Sui Wendi reunited North and South, failed to restore full glory.
Tang Dynasty: unified China, helped restore Han system of uniform government throughout China. Rebuild bureaucracy and expanded the civil service. Redistributed land, built canals. Fell to corruption, taxes, drought, famine, and rebellions. Collapsed 907 AD.
Li Yuan: first Tang Emperor, Sui dynasty general. Urged to lead a revolt by his son, Li Shimin. Crushed all rivals. Ruled for 8 years, compelled by his son to step down.
Li Shimin/Tang Taizong: succeeded his father, changed his name to Tang Taizong. Brilliant general, reformer, calligrapher, and most admired emperor.
tributary states: Chinese armies forced Vietnam, Tibet, and Korea to become tributary states. They remained independent, rulers acknowledged Chinese supremacy and sent regular payment to the Tang emperor.
land reform: Tang emperors broke up large agricultural holdings and redistributed land to peasants.
Song Dynasty: controlled less territory than Tang, united under a scholar. Came to power 960. Threatened by Mongol invasions, the empire remained South of the Huang He river. Despite military setbacks, the Song dominated the arts and culture of Asia.Chinese Court Structure: headed by the emperor, filled with aristocratic families, oversaw bureaucracy.
gentry: wealthy land-holding class, made up most of the scholar-officials in court as they could spend years studying for the civil-service exams. Often served as the emperors officials in other provinces. Peasant Life: threatened constantly by drought and famine, sold crafts to supplement their income. Remained mostly separate from the court, in self-sufficient villages, relying upon village elders to settle disputes. If local problem-solving failed only then was the emperor sought out. Could study and test for civil service exams.
merchant status: low class within Confucian thought as their riches came from the labor of others.
women as familial managers: managed family finances, and supervised servants.marriage roles: women were subordinate to men, when women married they left their family entirely.
footbinding: a practice that came from the noble class, enforces Confucian ideals of male/female relationships. Found its way into the lower classes, some peasants avoided it as it made women effectively unable to labor.
landscape painting: Song period championed this art, steeped in Daoist tradition.
pagoda: evolved from the Indian stupa, multistoried temple with eaves that curve up at the corners.
Buddha statues: often depicted as Chinese in appearance, leaving a world impression that Buddha was Chinese.
porcelain: shiny, hard pottery, coated in beautiful glazes, and used for art.
Li Bo: greatest Tang poet, a zestful lover of freedom, spent much of his life moving. Some 2000 poems written celebrating harmony with nature or lamenting the passage of time.
Du Fu: Li Bo’s friend, verses about the horrors of war, and condemned the lavishness of the court.
Li Qinzhao: woman poet, wrote about women left behind during war. Reflected a time when invasion threatened to bring the Tang Dynasty down.
