The Story of Imperial China: the Tang and the Song Dynasties

Between 618 and 907 AD, Chinese art, architecture and poetry flourished. Countless caravans traveling up and down the Silk Road brought exotic goods from distant lands, and Chinese culture became the most cosmopolitan in the world. This was the era of the Tang Dynasty. And then there was also the Song Dynasty, who ruled from 960 to 1279 AD. Their remarkable achievements in art and science far surpassed those of contemporary Europe. These were the golden ages of China. Hi, my name is Sebastian. This is History in 7 Facts. The Tang didn't rule China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. When they fell in 220 AD, their empire crumbled into many kingdoms. During this period of division, Buddhism spread rapidly, despite attempts by Confucian officials to prohibit it. But it would reach its peak influence many centuries later. And it took hundreds of years until we saw again any kind of reunited China. It was the Sui Dynasty who actually did it in 589 AD, when its first emperor was one of the most important Chinese leaders in history, under whose reign the empire prospered at a level not seen since the era of the Han. He also built a new capital city, Daxing, on the grounds of Old Chang'an, a city that, alongside Constantinople and Baghdad, would grow to become one of the largest on the planet. His son, Yang Di, undertook an expensive construction program of canals and launched unsuccessful attacks on Korea. The canals would eventually stretch from Hangzhou to Beijing, and is known to this day as the Grand Canal, one of the greatest feats of human ingenuity. The Sui Dynasty, though, wasn't meant to be. Less than 40 years after their establishment, they were defeated by the Tang, which is where our story begins today. The Tang Dynasty period in China is generally considered the golden age of imperial Chinese power and culture. The dynasty was founded by Li Yuan, a frontier general, who revolted against the Sui Dynasty in 617 AD. He captured the capital Chang'an the following year, but it took him six more years to conquer the entire country. Taking the title of Emperor Gaozu, Li Yuan inaugurated a new dynasty that ruled China for the next three centuries. The successor of Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, was an intelligent and diligent ruler, and his reign brought a period of prosperity. Taizong improved the governance system established by his father and reformed the administration. State schools and universities were founded, and examinations were aimed to appoint the most talented candidates to the highest official positions. Taizong thus formed an efficient civil administration and consolidated his own position. Unlike officials from rival aristocratic families in China, career officials did not have their own power base to threaten the dynasty. Although Taizong promoted Confucianism and Taoism within his administration, he himself adopted Buddhism, a religion that's been brought from India in the 2nd century. In 629 AD, a monk, Xuanzang, set off to India to gather Buddhist texts. He travelled for almost two decades until he returned to China in 645. Taizong received him, perhaps curious to hear his impressions about the countries he had visited. Eventually, Taizong came to believe that Buddhism was the one religion that was superior to all the others. As a result, Buddhism continued to exert a great influence on Chinese society, reaching its maximum influence in China until its suppression in the late period of the dynasty. Tang rule was also an era of remarkable Chinese expansion. In 655, Taizong's armies defeated the Turks in the Battle of Issyk-Kul in present-day Kyrgyzstan and expanded China's influence to the border with Persia. Taizong also initiated expeditions against the Kingdom of Goguryeo in northern Korea, but he died before establishing China's dominance in that area. At its peak, around the year 750 AD, the Chinese Empire, under the rule of the Tang dynasty, was larger than the one ruled by the Han dynasty, with its borders extending beyond those of modern China in the west, south and east. The Tang also gave the first and only ruling empress in Chinese history, Wu Zetian, empress consort of Gao Zong, a ruthless leader, founder of her own dynasty, under whom China grew even more. After the reign of Wu Zetian and other ephemeral rulers, Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne in 712 AD. Xuanzong was an intelligent and diligent leader, and during the early part of his reign, the Tang dynasty experienced a renaissance. Significant reforms were implemented in administration. Large granaries were built to store rice. Military campaigns were carried out against the Turks, Tibetans and Khatans. A new network of frontier defense was established with permanent forces composed of professional soldiers, and contacts were established with ambassadors from distant countries, including the Middle East. All these measures created a wealthy, powerful and cosmopolitan state, and China entered a golden age. As the territory of China expanded even more, so did its cultural influence. Thousands of merchants, craftsmen and diplomats from distant lands settled in the capital, Chang'an, which by now became the largest city in the world. The city covered an area of 77 square kilometers, and within its walls, one million people lived, with another million living outside the walls. Connected by a network of roads and canals to the rest of the empire, Chang'an served as the endpoint of the Silk Road, and traders from across Asia sold their goods in its great markets. Horses, essential for combating the nomadic tribes in the north and east, were imported from the Tarim Basin, while glass cups were brought from Byzantium. China in return exported silk, ceramics, tea and paper. Foreign cultures were welcomed, and within the city walls, there were Taoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, Zoroastrian shrines and Islamic mosques. Xuanzong was also a great patron of the arts, and during his reign, painting and literature reached new levels of complexity. Two of China's greatest poets emerged during this period, Li Bai and Du Fu, known as the Immortal Poet and the Sage Poet, respectively. Li Bai cultivated a reputation as an eccentric poet, and many of his poems celebrate the joys offered by wine and women. On the other hand, Du Fu's poems addressed more serious moral and historical subjects. Landscape painting evolved thanks to the artist and poet Wang Wei, who depicted evocative winter scenes, while Wu Daozi developed a Chinese style of Buddhist sculpture. The court painter Han Gan was particularly known for his paintings of horses, a subject that continued to inspire later artists. But, as usual, all good things come to an end. In the 730s, Xuanzong began to lose control over his empire. Several aristocrats began to replace career officials. Among them was Li Linfu, who by 752 AD had essentially become a dictator. The emperor, who was then 72 years old, had ceased to play an active role in the governing of the country. He had fallen in love with Yang Guifei, the concubine of his son and a renowned beauty. After Xuanzong made her an imperial consort, she convinced him to promote her cousin, Yang Guozhang, to a high position at court. When Li Linfu died, Yang took his place. Among the career military officers appointed to command positions on the frontier was an officer named An Lushan. He became a favourite and possibly a lover of Yang Guifei. A rivalry arose between An Lushan and Yang Guozhang at court, which led the former to incite a rebellion in 755 AD. Because of this, the emperor was forced to flee Chang'an. The soldiers escorting him demanded the execution of his lover, whom they held responsible for all the emperor's troubles, and Xuanzong had no choice but to comply. Although An Lushan was ultimately defeated and the rebellion was suppressed, the Tang dynasty never regained its power and past glory. The Tang Golden Age was over. After Xuanzong, several emperors tried to restore order and prosperity but failed. At the same time, the wealth and influence of the Buddhists provoked strong criticism from Confucian scholars in the early 9th century. The anti-Buddhist sentiment of the ruling class reached its peak in 845 AD, when Emperor Wuzong ordered the destruction of 4,600 Buddhist monasteries and the confiscation of their lands. 250,000 monks were forced to reintegrate into society and Buddhism never regained its former influence in China. And things went from bad to worse. Powerful families evaded tax payments and the burden fell increasingly on those who were less capable of paying. So, in 847 AD, a major peasant uprising erupted. Huang Chao, the leader of the rebels, captured Chang'an and forced yet another emperor, Xuanzong, to flee. The emperor returned after the rebellion was suppressed, but he had lost his authority. Military governors seized power and in 907 AD, the Tang dynasty was overthrown, and once again, the empire fell apart. The Liao dynasty of the Khitan people came to control northern China, the first of five dynasties, while the south fragmented into the Ten Kingdoms. Then came the Song dynasty. Founded in 960 AD, they managed to reunite the north and the south. Zhao Guangyin, a general from the late Xu dynasty, the last of the northern five dynasties, usurped the throne in 960 AD and established the Song dynasty, taking the title Emperor Taizu. With a cunning intelligence and persuasive power, he reunified the fragmented states of China, except for the territory controlled by the Khitan Liao dynasty. Setting the capital at Kaifeng, Taizu reconstructed the successful administrative system of the Tang dynasty, albeit in a modified form. During the Song dynasty, Chinese culture regained some of its brilliance from the Tang period. Interest in literature and decorative arts was revived. Artists experimented with brush effects and paintings depicting landscapes, animals and birds were highly esteemed. Architecture was also renowned, especially for tall buildings, pagodas, palaces and temple roofs. Now, that's all great and interesting, but that's not all. The administrative and technological advances in the early part of the Song dynasty brought about a great economic prosperity. For instance, instead of transporting large sums of money in copper coins, merchants in Sichuan began using promissory notes, in which one party promises in writing to pay a determined sum of money to the other. These were so successful that the government issued the first banknotes in 1024. The country's infrastructure was also significantly improved under the Song. The construction of an integrated system of internal waterways expanded the commercial and communication networks. Large ships with four or six masts were built and the magnetic compass was used for the first time, making the Chinese even more skilled navigators. All these developments led to the growth of maritime trade with the rest of East Asia, as well as with India and the eastern coast of Africa. These technological and commercial advancements had a significant impact on population growth and the development of Chinese cities. New methods of rice cultivation increased food production and led to a doubling of the population. Large and small cities emerged along the main waterways and the southern coast attracted at least 10% of the population. Kaifeng became the largest city in the world and in the 12th century, the commercial exchanges in Kaifeng were nearly 50% larger than those in London in the early 18th century. On the educational front, the examination system established long ago by the Han dynasty was reimagined and expanded. Maximum number of candidates were set and measures were taken to prevent cheating and ensure anonymity. Over 140 candidates received the highest degree, jinshi, annually. In 1002, 14,500 men came to Kaifeng to take the imperial examinations. The system aimed to promote competent candidates regardless of their social class or wealth. Over 60% of the successful candidates for the jinshi degree came from families that had not held an administrative position for three generations. While revolutionary, the system was however far from perfect. It was still unlikely for candidates from poor families to pass the exams as they needed to be wealthy or literate to prepare for the examinations. From the beginning of the Song period, scholars and officials proposed reforms to address the challenges of the time. In 1068, Emperor Shenzong assigned Wang Ganshi, the most famous reformer in China, the task of addressing the country's problems. Wang Ganshi found that the main cause of the state's weakness was the lack of funds and he raised money by imposing a state monopoly on tea, confronting wealthy families who evaded taxes and offering interest-free loans to debt-ridden peasants. To reduce the costs of a standing army, he required each family to provide volunteers for the local militia. These reforms sparked vehement protests and Wang Ganshi was eventually dismissed. The controversy surrounding his actions though ultimately weakened the dynasty. The Song dynasty also had to deal with the threats posed by non-Chinese regimes in the north. A part of northern China was already under the control of the Liao dynasty. In 1115 AD, the Jurchens, a semi-nomadic people from Manchuria, established the Jin dynasty. Ten years later, they invaded the Chidan-Liao empire and, after two years, conquered Kaifeng. The Song court was forced to flee south, marking the end of the retrospectively named Northern Song dynasty. The Song emperors of the Southern Song dynasty established their capital in Hangzhou. Despite being militarily weak, the dynasty continued its economic development and social reforms. During this dynasty, new philosophical ideas emerged. Neo-Confucianists borrowed concepts from Taoism and Buddhism and their ideas were synthesized by the scholar Zhu Shi. He emphasized the Tao, the Way, a philosophical path that individuals could follow through self-education and the study of classical Confucian texts. The values of Neo-Confucianism were partly responsible for the deterioration of women's rights during the Song period. Widowed women were discouraged from remarrying and their property rights were diminished. Foot binding, the permanent deformation of a girl's feet to achieve an attractive shape, became a tradition during the Song period. The Song period is often considered the golden age of Chinese ceramic production. Chinese porcelain was first made in the 7th century, a thousand years before the secret of its production was discovered in Europe. True porcelain is made from Chinese kaolin, or clay, whose name comes from gaoling in Jingdezhen. Song porcelain was the most refined and was characterized by the elegant simplicity of its form and the purity of its color. The most famous Northern Song porcelains were produced near Dingzhou in northeastern China. After the fall of the Northern Song dynasty, the manufacturing center was transferred to Hangzhou. In the south, Jingdezhen was designated as the center for imperial porcelain production in 1004. It remains an important center for porcelain production to this day. Something else also emerged during the Song dynasty. A Taoist text from the 9th century warned that the mixture of charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur was dangerous. Those who combined them had caused explosions and set buildings on fire. By 919 AD, gunpowder was used in a flamethrower and by the end of the 10th century, simple bombs and grenades had started to appear. In 1044, the formula for gunpowder was first published 200 years before it appeared in Europe. With or without gunpowder, the fate of the Song dynasty was sealed. In the north, an unstoppable force was coming for them. In 1234, the Jin dynasty was destroyed by the Mongols and all of northern China came under their control. And then, for the next 50 years, the Song were almost continuously attacked and eventually, in 1279, their empire collapsed. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, took over. With his rule came some major changes. Kublai Khan divided the population into four classes. At the very top were the Mongols, followed by the peoples of central Asia, then the northern Chinese, who were conquered first, and finally, the newly conquered Chinese from the southern Song empire. This was the beginning of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, but I'll save the details for another episode. I hope this video was interesting enough to inspire you to look into it further on your own. If you liked it, leave a like and subscribe. Leave your comments downstairs, and you can also check out my Patreon page if you wanna support me. I do hope to see you next time. Bye.