Compare And Contrast The Chinese Dynasties

Chinese Dynasties

Much of the growth in Chinese history occurred in the years after the Mongol conquest. Three dynasties were the driving force; the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties.

A northern general, Yang Jian, used the opportunism to stake his claim. Yang Jian married a wealthy noblewoman, whose status allowed him to become the main advisor to the northern emperor. Jian then wed his daughter to that emperor. The emperor passed soon after the birth of her son. Yang Jian named himself as regent for his grandson, who inherited the throne. In 581, Yang Jian deposed the young monarch, claiming Heaven’s Mandate for himself. Thereby, starting a new dynasty called Sui. In 589, the first time in centuries, Jian ended the disunity by conquering

Emperor Wendi formulated nationwide laws and restored the civil service system. The Sui’s also built the Grand Canal, this allowed rice shipments from South China to reach the less fortunate North China. Emperor Wendi ruled until 604, at which point his son took the reign.

Chinese annals indicates that Yang Jian’s son, Yangdi poisoned his father to speed up his own rule. Historians often compare the Sui Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty. One of Sui’s goals was to renovate the most enduring monument of the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall of China. The Sui Dynasty fought to expand China, incorporating what is now Xinjiang and Vietnam into the new empire. Yangdi, however, alienated his people and imposed harsh taxes, thereby sacrificing millions of laborers’ lives to extract an extravagant palace. His rule prompted rebellion and Yangdi was murdered in

Song instead made peace and agreed to pay the Khitans a large annual tribute. The dynasty focused its energy and resources on China itself. They relocated the new capital to Kaifeng. Song dynasty consolidated the previous civil service that had been established by Han. State bureaucrats had to submit rigorous exams and were usually conservative. Most of these bureaucrats came from wealthy families with the best educations. This helped create a Confucian scholar gentry. A particular civil servant, Wang Anshi advisor to the emperor tried to intervene in the economy, which caused question among the other members. Floods, droughts, and famine that followed sparked speculation that Wang’s ideas were not favored by the Heaven’s. His enemies managed to get Anshi dismissed and undo most of his