China:

Tang Empire (618-907)

Tang Origins: Territorial Expansion Avoided over-centralization Combined Turkic influence with Chinese Confucian traditions

Buddhism: Legitimized control of the kings (spiritual agents) -Buddhist – allies to kings -received tax exemptions, land, gifts. Buddhist : -Counseled aristocrats -Prayed for aspiring imperial princes -preached on behalf of princes Contributed money to imperial causes

Mahayana : Flexible beliefs -local deities combined into Mahayana pantheon Buddhists texts into local languages -Spread through Central and East Asia -Trade routes converged on capital

Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) – other cultures and peoples came to this city -Inland city, not near rivers, located in central

Chang’an – cosmopolitan city -One million residents – most living outside city walls -tributary system Foreigners lived in special compounds Urban residents lived in walled, gated residential cities

Roads and Canals

Grand Canal (built by Sui Dynasty) Located on east coast Connected Yellow River with Yangzi River Helped increase tributary system Facilitated trade and communication within China South China firmly established Islamic and Jewish merchants from western Asia came to China via Indian Ocean trade routes

Large Chinese commercial ships – Southeast Asia Bubonic plague also brought from western Asia to China – sea routes (Red Sea and Persian Gulf to Canton)

Cultural Exchange: Transmitted by Turkic peoples with Chinese culture -Polo, grape , tea, spices

Trade: China lost monopoly on silk, but began to produce own cotton, tea, and sugar

Tang roads, river transport, canals = tremendous growth in trade

More exports than imports during Tang Dynasty (Silk and porcelain)

Rivals for Power: 600-907

Uighurs (Turkic group) – empire in Central Asia Merchants and scribes – strong ties with Islam and China Developed own script Uighur empire lasted for about fifty years

Tibet – large empire – access to Southeast Asia, China, South Asia, and Central Asia Open to Indian, Islamic, Greek, (via ) cultures

Early Tang – China and Tibet relations originally friendly Tibetan king received Chinese princess Mahayana Buddhism brought to Tibet and combined with local religion

By late-660s, Tibet and China became military rivals -Tibet allied itself with Southwestern Kingdom of Nanchao against Tang

Ninth Century: Tibetan King attempted to eliminate Buddhism – failed

Tibet then entered a long period of monastic rule and isolation

Upheavals and Repression: 750-879

Late Ninth-Century

Tang Empire broke power of Buddhist monasteries and Confucian ideology reasserted

Reason: Buddhism seen as undermining family system and eroding tax base by accumulating tax-free land and attracting 100,000s of people to become monks and nuns

Also: Buddhism had been used to legitimize women’s role in participation of politics Example: Wu Zhao took control of government and made herself emperor with ideological and material support of Buddhism

When Buddhism became repressed, Confucian scholars concocted accounts that painted highly critical portraits of Wu Zhao and other influential Chinese people -Crackdown on Buddhism – brought destruction of many Buddhist cultural artifacts

End of Tang Empire: 879-907

As territory expanded, internal rebellions Tang looked upon powerful provincial military governors to maintain peace. In 908, Tang state ended and military governors established own kingdoms

None of smaller kingdoms able to integrate territory on scale of Tang Result: East Asia’s communication was cut off from the Islamic world and Europe