Imperial Palace at the Forbidden City

CChina hina MMiddle iddle AAgesges

A.D. 581Wendi founds Suidynasty

A.D. 868Chinese print world’sfirst book

1206Genghis Khanunites theMongols

1405Zheng He be-gins overseas voyage

A.D. 600 A.D. 900 1200 1500

in thein the

A.D. 600 A.D. 900 1200 1500

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405

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Chapter PreviewLike the Arabs, the Chinese were interested in science

and technology. Read this chapter to learn about Chineseinventions and how they influence your life today.

View the Chapter 12 video in the World History:Journey Across Time Video Program.

China ReunitesDuring the Middle Ages, Chinese rulers brought peace, order,and growth to China. Buddhism became a major religion inChina, but the Chinese government supported Confucian ideas.

Chinese SocietyFarming and trade brought wealth to China. The Chinese devel-oped new technology and enjoyed a golden age of art and writing.

The Mongols in ChinaLed by Genghis Khan, the Mongols built a vast empire. Underhis son, Kublai Khan, they went on to conquer China as well.

The Ming DynastyChina’s Ming rulers strengthened government and brought peace and prosperity. They supported trading voyages to other parts of Asia and to East Africa.

Chapter Overview Visitjat.glencoe.com for a previewof Chapter 12.

Categorizing Information Make this foldable to help you organize your notesabout China in the Middle Ages.

Reading and WritingAs you read the chapter,identify the main ideas inthe chapter. Write theseunder the appropriatetab.

Step 1 Fold a sheet of paper inhalf from side to side, leaving—12

— inch tab along the side.

Step 2 Turn the paper and fold it into fourths.

Step 3 Unfoldand cut alongthe top threefold lines.

Step 4 Label as shown.

405

Leave inch tab

here.

12

Fold in half,then fold in half again.

This makes four tabs. China

ReunitesChineseSociety

The Mongols in China

The MingDynasty

China in the Middle Ages

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406 Unit Title

406

Reading Between the LinesTo infer means to evaluate information and arrive at a conclusion.

When you make inferences, you “read between the lines,” or draw conclu-sions that are not stated directly in the text. We naturally make inferencesabout things we read, see, and hear every day.

Read this paragraph from Section 3.

GenGenghis Khan gathered an army of more than 100,000 warriors. He placed his soldiers into well-trained groups.Commanding them were officers chosen for their abilities,not for their family ties. These changes made the Mongolsthe most skilled fighting force in the world at that time.

—from page 425

Use this Think-Through chart to help you make inferences.

InferencesInferences

Sometimes you make

inferences by asking

yourself questions or

making predictions

about what is going to

come next.

Genghis Khan

Text

The army had 100,000 warriors

Officers not chosen for family ties

Who was he? A powerful leader?

Why did he needso many warriors?

To take over another country or to defend his own?

Why did Genghis Khan want officers without strong family ties?

So they would not worry about their families to better concentrate on battle?

Mongols Who were they? Genghis Khan’s countrymen?People from Mongolia?

InferenceQuestion

404-407 Ch12 CO-824133 3/15/04 5:44 AM Page 406

Making InferencesRead the next paragraph, also about Genghis Khan’s

warriors, and pay attention to highlighted words as youmake inferences.

Read the text under theheading Scholar-Officials in Section 1,page 414. Pay attentionto the paragraph abouthow important it wasfor students to passtests. Write about anyexperiences with testsyou have had to helpyou understand thefears and hopes ofChinese students duringthe Middle Ages.

Read to Write

Create your own Think-Through Chart to help you makefurther inferences about Genghis Khan’s army. You mightwant to use the highlighted words in your first column andlabel it Text. Your second and third columns can be labeledQuestions and Inference. Read the rest of page 426 to seeif your inferences were correct.

Genghis Khan began buildinghis empire by conquering otherpeople on the steppes. These vic-tories brought him wealth andnew soldiers to fill the army. Soonthe Mongols were strong enoughto attack major civilizations. In1211 Mongol forces turned eastand invaded China. Within threeyears, they had taken all of north-ern China. They then moved westand struck at the cities and king-doms that controlled parts of theSilk Road.

—from pages 425–426

We also make inferences about othertypes of text, such as poetry. Readthe poems on pages 420–421, andcreate a Think-Through chart tohelp understand the poems.

407

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CChina hina RReuniteseunites

What’s the Connection?Earlier you read that the Han

dynasty of China collapsed and Chinaplunged into civil war. As you will read,China eventually reunited.The newdynasties took Chinese civilization to even higher levels.

Focusing on the • The Sui and Tang dynasties reunited

and rebuilt China after years of war.(page 409)

• Buddhism became popular in Chinaand spread to Korea and Japan.(page 412)

• The Tang dynasty returned to theideas of Confucius and created a newclass of scholar-officials. (page 413)

Locating PlacesKorea (kuh•REE•uh)Japan (juh•PAN)

Meeting PeopleWendi (WHEHN•DEE)Empress Wu (WOO)

Building Your Vocabularywarlord

economy (ih•KAH•nuh•mee)reform

monastery (MAH•nuh•STEHR•ee)

Reading StrategyCategorizing Information Completea table like the one below to show thetime periods, the most important rulers,and the reasons for the decline of theSui and Tang dynasties.

A.D. 581Wendi founds Sui dynasty

A.D. 907Tang dynasty falls

1279Mongols endSong rule

Changan

Hangzhou

A.D. 500 A.D. 900 1300A.D. 500 A.D. 900 1300

408 CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages

Time Period

Sui Tang

Important Rulers

Reasons for Decline

408-415 Ch12 S1-824133 3/15/04 6:07 AM Page 408

Rebuilding China’s EmpireThe Sui and Tang dynasties reunited

and rebuilt China after years of war.

Reading Focus Have you ever thought about how the

economy in your town or city works? How do goods get to

your local stores? Who makes sure roads are paved? Read

to learn how China dealt with these issues.

Earlier you read that China’s Hanempire ended in A.D. 220. For the next 300years, China had no central government. Itbroke into 17 kingdoms. War and povertywere everywhere. Chinese warlords—mili-tary leaders who run a government—fought with each other while nomadsconquered parts of northern China.

While China was absorbed in its ownproblems, it lost control of some of thegroups it had conquered. One of thesegroups was the people of Korea (kuh •REE •uh). They lived on the Korean Peninsula tothe northeast of China. The Koreansdecided to end Chinese rule of their coun-try. They broke away and built their ownseparate civilization.

The Sui Dynasty Reunites China Chinafinally reunited in A.D. 581. In that year, ageneral who called himself Wendi (WHEHN•DEE) declared himself emperor. Wendi wonbattle after battle and finally reunitedChina. He then founded a new dynastycalled the Sui (SWEE).

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Beijing

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Tang Dynasty China c.c. A..D. 700. 700

Dynasties of ChinaDynasties of China

Sui A.D. 581–618

TangA.D. 618–907

Civil WarA.D. 907–960

SongA.D. 960–1279

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Tang dynastyGrand Canal

KEY

The Tang dynasty lasted almost 300 years.1. What two cities were connected by the

Grand Canal?2. What physical feature made up much of

the northern border of the Tang dynasty?Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages 409

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After Wendi died, his son Yangdi(YAHNG • DEE) took the Chinese throne.Yangdi wanted to expand China’s territory.He sent an army to fight the neighboringKoreans, but the Chinese were badlydefeated. At home, Yangdi took on manyambitious building projects. For example,the Great Wall had fallen into ruins, andYangdi had it rebuilt.

Yangdi’s greatest effort went into build-ing the Grand Canal. This system of water-ways linked the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)and Huang He (Yellow River). The Grand

Canal became an important route for ship-ping products between northern and south-ern China. It helped unite China’s economy.An economy (ih • KAH • nuh • mee) is anorganized way in which people produce,sell, and buy things.

In 1994 China began buildingthe Three Gorges Dam on the Chang

Jiang. The dam will control floodingand produce electricity. Building it,

however, requires many areas to beflooded. Millions of people have had to

move, and much farmland will be lost. Whathave construction projects changed in your state?

Grand Canal and Three Gorges Dam ProjectGrand Canal and Three Gorges Dam Project

Opening the Grand Canal boostedImperial China’s economy and made it muchcheaper and faster to ship food and goodsnorth and south. It also cost many laborerstheir lives. In addition, the canal systemoften flooded, drowning many people andanimals and destroying crops.

The Grand Canal

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 12—Student Web Activity tolearn more about China.

410 CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages

The Three Gorges Dam under construction

(l)The Art Archive/Bibliothèque Nationale Paris, (r)Christopher Liu/ChinaStock

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CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages 411

Yangdi rebuilt China, but he did it by placing hardships on the Chinese people.Farmers were forced to work on the GreatWall and the Grand Canal. They alsohad to pay high taxes to the governmentfor these projects. Finally, the farmersbecame so angry that they revolted. Thearmy took control and killed Yangdi.With Yangdi gone, the Sui dynasty cameto an end.

The Tang Dynasty In A.D. 618 one ofYangdi’s generals took over China. Hemade himself emperor and set up a newdynasty called the Tang (TAHNG). Unlike theshort-lived Sui, the Tang dynasty was inpower for about 300 years—from A.D. 618 toA.D. 907. The Tang capital at Changanbecame a magnificent city, with about onemillion people living there.

Tang rulers worked to strengthenChina’s government. They carried out anumber of reforms, or changes that broughtimprovements. The most powerful Tangemperor was named Taizong (TY • ZAWNG).He restored the civil service exam system.Government officials were once again hiredbased on how well they did on examsrather than on their family connections.Taizong also gave land to farmers andbrought order to the countryside.

During the late A.D. 600s, a womannamed Wu ruled China as empress. Shewas the only woman in Chinese history torule the country on her own. A forcefulleader, Empress Wu (WOO) added moreofficials to the government. She alsostrengthened China’s military forces.

Under the Tang, China regained muchof its power in Asia and expanded the areasunder its control. Tang armies pushed westinto central Asia, invaded Tibet, and tookcontrol of the Silk Road. They marched intoKorea and forced the Korean kingdoms to

pay tribute, a special kind of tax that onecountry pays to another to be left alone. TheTang also moved south and took control ofnorthern Vietnam.

By the mid-A.D. 700s, however, the Tangdynasty began to have problems. A newgroup of nomads—the Turks that you readabout earlier—drove the Tang armies out ofcentral Asia and took control of the SilkRoad. This damaged China’s economy.Revolts in Tibet and among Chinese farm-ers at home further weakened the Tang. InA.D. 907 all of this disorder brought downthe Tang dynasty.

The Song Dynasty For about 50 years afterthe fall of the Tang, military leaders ruledChina. Then, in A.D. 960, one of the generalsdeclared himself emperor and set up theSong (SOONG) dynasty.

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SouthChina Sea

EastChina

Sea

Hu

an

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ngJia

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Mekong

R.

CHINA

KOREANPENINSULABeijing

Changan LuoyangHangzhou

Guangzhou

Song China c.c. A..D. 1200. 1200

The Song dynasty moved thecapital city to Hangzhou.1. Use the map of the Tang dynasty

on page 409 to compare the areasof the Tang and Song dynasties.

2. About how far is Hangzhou fromthe northern border of the empire?

Song empireGrand Canal

KEY

408-415 Ch12 S1-824133 3/15/04 6:16 AM Page 411

The Song dy-nasty ruled fromA.D. 960 to 1279.This period was a time of prosper-ity and culturalachievement forChina. From thestart, however, theSong faced prob-lems that threat-ened their hold on China. Songrulers did nothave enough sol-diers to control their large empire. Tibetbroke away, and nomads took over much ofnorthern China. For safety, the Song movedtheir capital farther south to the city ofHangzhou (HAHNG • JOH). Hangzhou wason the coast near the Chang Jiang delta.

Explain How did Wendiunite China?

Buddhism Spreads to China Buddhism became popular in China and

spread to Korea and Japan.

Reading Focus Where do you turn when you are hav-

ing problems? Read to learn why many Chinese turned

to Buddhism when China was in trouble.

Earlier you learned that traders andmissionaries from India brought Buddhismto China in about A.D. 150. At the time, theHan dynasty was already weak. Soon after-ward, China collapsed into civil war. Peopleeverywhere were dying from war and alack of food and shelter. It was a time ofgreat suffering. Because Buddhism taughtthat people could escape their suffering,many Chinese seeking peace and comfortbecame Buddhists.

Chinese Buddhism Early Tang rulers werenot Buddhists, but they allowed Buddhismto be practiced in China. They even

Farmerssellinggoods

Civil serviceexaminations

Musicians and dancers

Print shop

Making pottery

Under the Tang, China grew and was prosperous. Tang cities couldbe large, with many activities occurring within the city’s walls. Acity contained many shops and temples. The homes of rich familiesoften had two or three floors. When did the Tang rule China?

City Life in Tang ChinaCity Life in Tang China

Statue of the Buddha,carved about A.D. 460in the Yun-Kang cavesin China.

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CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages 413

supported the building of Buddhist tem-ples. Many Chinese Buddhists becamemonks and nuns. They lived in placescalled monasteries (MAH • nuh • STEHR • eez),where they meditated and worshiped.

Buddhist temples and monasteries pro-vided services for people. They ran schoolsand provided rooms and food for travelers.Buddhist monks served as bankers and pro-vided medical care.

Not all Chinese people liked Buddhism,however. Many thought that it was wrong forthe Buddhist temples and monasteries toaccept donations. Others believed that monksand nuns weakened respect for family lifebecause they were not allowed to marry.

In the early A.D. 800s, Tang officials feared Buddhism’s growing power. Theysaw Buddhism as an enemy of China’s tradi-tions. In A.D. 845 the Tang had many Budd-hist monasteries and temples destroyed.Buddhism in China never fully recovered.

Chinese Buddhism Spreads East As youread earlier, Korea broke free of China whenthe Han dynasty fell in A.D. 220. For severalhundred years after, Korea was divided intothree independent kingdoms.

In the A.D. 300s, Chinese Buddhistsbrought their religion to Korea. About A.D. 660, the Koreans united to form onecountry. After that, with government sup-port, Buddhism grew even stronger in Korea.

Buddhism later spread to the nearbyislands of Japan ( juh • PAN). According tolegend, one of Korea’s kings wrote toJapan’s emperor. The letter contained astatue of the Buddha and Buddhist writ-ings. “This religion is the most excellent ofall teachings,” the king wrote. As timepassed, Buddhism won many followers inJapan as well.

Explain Why did someChinese people dislike Buddhism?

New Confucian IdeasThe Tang dynasty returned to the

ideas of Confucius and created a new class ofscholar-officials.

Reading Focus Have you ever seen someone get a

reward that he or she did not earn? Read to learn how

China’s rulers tried to avoid this problem when hiring

government officials.

You have already read about Confuciusand his teachings. Confucius and his fol-lowers believed that a good governmentdepended on having wise leaders. The civilservice examinations introduced by Han

DefendingConfucianism

Han Yü (A.D. 768 to A.D. 824) encouraged theChinese people to remain faithful toConfucianism.“What were the teach-ings of our ancient kings?Universal love is calledhumanity. To practice thisin the proper manner iscalled righteousness. Toproceed according tothese is called theWay. . . .They offered sacrifices toHeaven and the godscame to receive them. . . .What Way is this? I say:This is what I call theWay, and not what theTaoists [Daoists] and theBuddhists called the Way. . . .”

—Han Yü, “An Inquiry on The Way” (Tao)

Why does Han Yü think Confucianismshould be followed?

Han Yü

Bettmann/CORBIS

408-415 Ch12 S1-824133 7/16/04 9:04 PM Page 413

rulers were a product of Confucian ideas.They were supposed to recruit talentedgovernment officials.

After the fall of the Han dynasty, nonational government existed to give civilservice examinations. Confucianism lostmuch support, and Buddhism with its spiritual message won many followers.Tang and Song rulers, however, broughtConfucianism back into favor.

What Is Neo-Confucianism? The Tangdynasty gave its support to a new kind ofConfucianism called neo-Confucianism.This new Confucianism was created, inpart, to reduce Buddhism’s popularity. It

taught that life in this world was just asimportant as the afterlife. Followerswere expected to take part in life andhelp others.

Although it criticized Buddhistideas, this new form of Confucianismalso picked up some Buddhist andDaoist beliefs. For many Chinese,Confucianism became more than a sys-tem of rules for being good. It became areligion with beliefs about the spiritualworld. Confucian thinkers taught that ifpeople followed Confucius’s teachings,

they would find peace of mind and live inharmony with nature.

The Song dynasty, which followed theTang, also supported neo-Confucianism.The Song even adopted it as their officialphilosophy, or belief system.

Scholar-Officials Neo-Confucianism alsobecame a way to strengthen the govern-ment. Both Tang and Song rulers used civilservice examinations to hire officials. Indoing so, they based the bureaucracy on amerit system. Under a merit system, peo-ple are accepted for what they can do andnot on their riches or personal contacts.

Connecting to the Past1. How old were the Chinese when they took

the tests?

2. Why do you think taking the tests was sostressful for these men?

Civil Service Exams Proficiency testsand final exams today take a lot ofpreparation, but they are not as difficultas China’s civil service examinationsgiven during the Tang dynasty. Men ofalmost all ranks tried to pass the examsso they could hold government jobs andbecome wealthy. Thousands attemptedthe tests, but only a few hundred peoplequalified for the important positions.

Chinese boys began preparing forthe exams inprimary school.After many years oflearning to read andwrite more than400,000 words andsayings, the boys—now men in theirtwenties or earlythirties—would takethe first of threelevels of exams.Students traveled tohuge testing sites totake the tests. Foodand beds were notprovided, so they had to bring theirown. Many men became sick or insanebecause of the stress of the tests andthe poor conditions under which theywere tested.

Students taking civilservice exams

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408-415 Ch12 S1-824133 3/15/04 6:20 AM Page 414

Reading SummaryReview the • While the Sui dynasty was short-

lived, the Tang and Song dynas-ties lasted for hundreds of yearsand returned power and prosper-ity to China.

• Buddhism became popular inChina and also spread to Koreaand Japan.

• A new kind of Confucianismdeveloped in China during theTang and Song dynasties, and thegovernment used civil servicetests to improve itself.

1. What made Buddhism so popular in China?

2. How was neo-Confucianism a response to Buddhism’spopularity, and what did itteach?

Critical Thinking3. Compare and Contrast

Create a diagram to show howthe reigns of Wendi and Yangdiwere similar and how theywere different.

4. Cause and Effect Whatevents led to the fall of theTang dynasty?

5. Sequencing InformationDescribe the history of Budd-hism during the Tang dynasty.

6. Analyze Why had Confuci-anism fallen out of favor inChina before the Tang andSong dynasties?

7. Drawing Conclusions Doyou think China’s civil servicesystem truly brought the mosttalented individuals into thegovernment? How would youmake the system fairer?

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com

CHAPTER 12 China in the Middle Ages 415

The examinations tested job seekers ontheir knowledge of Confucian writings. Topass, it was necessary to write with style aswell as understanding. The tests were sup-posed to be fair, but only men were allowedto take the tests. Also, only rich people hadthe money that was needed to help theirsons study for the tests.

Passing the tests was very difficult.However, parents did all they could to pre-pare their sons. At the age of four, boysstarted learning to write the characters ofthe Chinese language. Later, students hadto memorize all of Confucius’s writings. If astudent recited the passages poorly, hecould expect to be hit by his teacher.

After many years of study, the boys tooktheir examinations. Despite all the prepara-tion, only one in five passed. Those whofailed usually found jobs helping officials orteaching others. However, they wouldnever be given a government job.

Over the years, the examination systemcreated a new wealthy class in China. Thisgroup was made up of scholar-officials.Strict rules set the scholar-officials apartfrom society. One rule was that they couldnot do physical work. Students preparingfor the tests were taught never to use theirhands except for painting or writing.

Describe How didConfucianism change in China?

Chinese scholar-officials on horseback

Wendi Yangdi

Michael Freeman/CORBIS

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