- Reemergence of a Unified China
- Han Dynasty collapse 220 CE
- 300 years of political fragmentation
- Nomadic incursion from North
- Chinese migration to Yangzi River valley
- Golden Age of Chinese Achievement
- Sui dynasty reunified China
- Vastly extended canal system
- Failure to conquer Korea alienated people, exhausted states resources
- Dynasty overthrown
- Tang and Song dynasties built off Sui
- Established patterns of Chinese life
- Regarded as golden age of arts and literature
- Tang and Song politics
- Six major ministries created
- Examination system
- Proliferation of schools and colleges
- Political positions went to sons of elite
- Large landowners continued to be powerful
- Economic Revolution under Song
- Great prosperity
- Population growth
- Women in Song Dynasty
- During Tang Dynasty elite women in North had been allowed greater freedom
- Song: tightening of patriarchal restrictions on women
- Foot binding
- Associated with images of female beauty and eroticism
- Kept women restricted to house
- Textile production
- Displacing women from traditional role in industry
- Prosperity of elite created demand for concubines, entertainers, prostitutes
- Position of women improved in some ways
- Property rights expanded
- More women educated, in order to raise sons better
- China and Northern Nomads
- China's most enduring interaction with foreigners
- Nomads felt threatened by Chinese
- Great Wall
- Military attacks
- China needed nomads
- Horses and other goods
- Controlled much of silk roads
- Coping with China: Comparing Korea, Vietnam and Japan
- Had relationships with China
- Agricultural
- Shaped by proximity to China, they did not become Chinese
- Korea and China
- Interaction with China started with temporary China invasion
- States rivals
- Korea remained generally politically independent
- Accepted much of Chinese culture
- Vietnam and China
- Similar to experience of Korea
- Vietnamese culture remained in place
- Greater roles for women
- Kept nature goddess and buddha in popular
- Japan and China
- Japan was never invaded or conquered by China, borrowing Chinese culture was voluntary
- 2 capital cities modeled Chinese capital
- Elements Chinese culture took root in Japan
- Japanese borrowings were selective
- China and Buddhism
- India's most important gift to China
- China base of spread to Korea and Japan
- First entered via silk roads
- Comforting
The part of this chapter that stood out the most to me was how women were treated in China. Its very sad that they were literally restricted to their house and their feet were bound. I can't even imagine how painful that would have been.
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