American textbooks do not pay much attention to the Tang Dynasty, but they describe the Song Dynasty in detail. Today we will take a look at how Americans learned the history of the Tang and Song dynasties.
The following is an excerpted translation of the textbook.
"China will be the next superpower!"
This is the first sentence of the opening chapter of China and the World.
In the third wave of civilization (the United States divides history into several major waves of civilization, rather than primitive society, slave society, feudal society, etc., interested friends can click on the author's avatar to read previous articles).
China has left a far-reaching influence on the world, extending its borders to Central Asia, and its rich international culture attracts tourists from different countries in Eurasia.
Many of its neighbors— whether nomadic peoples to the north and west, or smaller neighboring countries like Tibet, North Korea, Japan, and Vietnam— cannot escape its gravity.
In addition to these immediate neighbors, China's booming economic, political, and many technological innovations have had a knock-on effect across Africa.
Although China often influences the world, the interactions between many foreign countries and China have also profoundly changed China.
Northern nomads often pose a military threat to the Central Plains, sometimes conquering and dominating parts of Chinese civilization.
International trade has also deeply stimulated the social, cultural and economic changes of Chinese civilization.
Buddhism, a religion that originated in India, also took root in China.
In short, in the third wave of civilization. The process of globalization of civilizations is more rapid, and China is an important participating force in this period.
Tang and Song Dynasties: China's Golden Age!
China regained its unity during the Sui Dynasty. Its emperors cemented this unity by building canals, a system that stretched for 1,200 miles (the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal).
It was an engineering feat unparalleled in the world at the time. These canals economically connected the north and south of China and contributed greatly to the subsequent prosperity. But the Ruthlessness of the Sui Emperor and the military actions of the people and the loss of money exhausted the country's resources, and were betrayed by many people, and eventually perished.
However, the collapse of this dynasty did not cause the Central Plains Dynasty to fall apart for a long time. The next two dynasties, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Song Dynasty (960-1279), were reunified on the basis of the Sui Dynasty.
Together, they established a pattern of Chinese life that lasted into the twentieth century, despite the fifty-year-long disunity between the two dynasties.
These two dynasties have long been seen as the "golden age" of art and literature, setting standards of excellence for poetry, landscape painting and ceramic art.
Especially in the Song Dynasty, the explosive development of scholarship gave birth to Neo-Confucianism, an effort to revive Confucianism while incorporating some of the insights of Buddhism and Taoism.
In addition, the Tang and Song dynasties established a system that lasted for thousands of years. Six main departments have been established - the Bureaucracy, the Household Department, the Ceremonial Department, the Military Department, the Punishment Department, and the Ministry of Works, all of which are supervised by the Supervision Department.
In order to strengthen the work of this body, the examination system was revived and made more complicated by the ability to print books for the first time in the history of the world.
To prevent cheating, candidates who enter the exam room are searched and marked with a number instead of their name. Schools and universities have prepared candidates for rigorous examinations, which has become a central feature of high society life.
A world-famous historian described Tang Dynasty China as "the most ordered country in the world"!
Appointing officials on merit was a challenge to established aristocratic families.
Nevertheless, a significant proportion of official positions belong to the descendants of the privileged classes, even if they do not pass the examinations.
In addition, since the education and examination system has developed much faster than the number of official posts, many people who pass the lower examinations are unable to hold office. However, they can get tax breaks. Many poor people attach their land to Xiucai.
But this also led to more and more serious land annexation, although the imperial court would regularly redistribute land to benefit the peasants, but the large landowners still continued to encroach on the peasants' land, which is a pattern that has repeatedly appeared in the countryside of the Central Plains Dynasty from ancient times to the present.
Behind these brilliant achievements is an "economic change":
This "economic revolution" made the Song Dynasty "the richest, most technologically innovative, and most populous country in the world," with a population that surged from 50 million or 60 million in the Tang dynasty to 120 million in 1200 AD.
Behind the doubling of the population is a significant development in agricultural production, especially the introduction of a rapidly ripening and drought-tolerant rice variety from Vietnam.
Many people travel to cities, making China the most urbanized country in the world. It has dozens of cities with a population of more than 100,000, and the capital City, Hangzhou, has a population of more than 1 million.
A Chinese observer from 1235 AD vividly described the city as a professional market for meat, herbs, vegetables, books, rice, etc., and troupes of actors performing for the audience.
Restaurants advertise their unique food – sweet bean soup, sour dates, juicy lungs, meat pies, pig's trotters, and some vegetarian options for religious banquets.
The variety of inns attracts different groups. Those who only drink and don't "touch a glass" are considered impolite. (sic: "hitting the cup").
The Green House, hung with red lanterns, elaborately designed dinners for the wealthy. It is equipped with perfumes and medicines to "help guests wake up".
The music school offers 13 different classes for people, and many clubs offer networking gatherings for poets, fishermen, Buddhists, fitness enthusiasts, antique collectors, horse lovers and other groups.
No wonder Marco Polo described Hangzhou in the late thirteenth century as "the undisputed best and noblest city in the world"!
In addition, the Tang and Song dynasties required the people to pay taxes in cash rather than in kind. Farmers were required to sell some of their products or labor to offset their servitude.
The further use of social tools such as paper money has also promoted the commercialization of Chinese society. Two prominent scholars concluded: "Increased output, population growth, and rapid technological advances made the Song dynasty richer than ever before—or more than anyone in its contemporaries." ”
Next is an extended reading about the status of women in the Song Dynasty, interested friends can pay attention to the author, we will update tomorrow!