Ancient China is credited with many important inventions we still see today. One of these lesser known inventions was the invention Gunpowder and gunpowder weapons. Gunpowder aided in the advancements of weapon technology and Gave China the upper hand when in combat. Gunpowder changed the way combat was fought against the Mongols, and how religious ceremonies were carried out.
The Tang dynasty lasted from 618-907. “It regularly [was] cited as the greatest imperial dynasty in Ancient Chinese history” (Mark, 2016). The Tang dynasty was a period of many technology and cultural advances in China. The Tang dynasty can be credited to the inventions of porcelain, air conditioning, medicine, and most importantly, the invention of gunpowder.
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During the Song Dynasty, the neighboring Mongols invaded China in an effort to gain more land and increase their empire (Griffis, China Invaded by the Mongols). ¨The Mongol conquest of China lasted for 70 years, beginning in 1209, passing through several stages of intermittent prosecution, and not achieving completion until 1279¨. (Wright, 2011). was a five year siege where the Mongol general Kublai Khan sieged the strongholds of XiangYang and Fa-Ch’eng. The two strongholds were crucial to conquering the Southern Song dynasty, as they bordered the Han river that was important for transporting supplies and troops to parts of Song territory (Alvarez, 2014). Gunpowder weapons can be credited to defending against the 30,000 mongol troops for five years. The Han river was used to transport supplies to the defending mongol forces, “To support the two cities, the Song used their fleet of ships (river junks) to bring in supplies or to support troops sallying from the cities. The Song had many forms of siege engines, including gunpowder weapons, to counter Mongol siege equipment.” (Alvarez, 2014). Gunpowder was used in many forms by the Song forces. “Chinese ships loaded with bags of gunpowder and used to destroy other ships or bridges. Other types of gunpowder weapons are recorded, some thrown by infantry or attached to animals, but again the effectiveness of such weapons is not clear. The Song used gunpowder weapons of virtually every sort and it is doubtless that some were effective, while some were not” (Alvarez, 2014) (See figure
During the Tang and Song dynasty, many excellent achievements have been accomplished which are still being preserved and used widely over centuries. Their citizens were excelled in many fields with several of new and practical inventions which all directly affected the citizens’ lives.
The Han dynasty: The Han dynasty was one of the longest of China’s major dynasties. In terms of power and prestige, the Han dynasty is the East rivaled it’s almost contemporary Roman Empire in the West, it lasted a span of four centuries and was considered a golden age in Chinese history, especially in arts, politics, and technology.
One of the eras of a majestic ancient civilization that has left a lasting impression upon the world of today is the Chinese Song Dynasty. Established by General Zhao Kuangyin this dynasty lasted from 960–1279 AD and brought a new stability to China after many decades of civil war, and ushered in a new era of modernization. It was divided into the Bei (Northern) and the Nan (Southern) Song periods. This brilliant cultural epoch gave birth to major advances in economic reform, achievements in technology, and helped to further medical knowledge.
As in terms of economics, China grew prosperous through trade, military expansion, invention of tools and other means of convenience and through the market economy. From the Han Dynasty China began to build again. The Sui Dynasty constructed the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was an artificial canal that extended 1,240 miles. It enabled merchants and farmers to travel by water, selling an abundance of rice and other crops. This canal was extremely expensive but throughout the years paid itself off by providing travel routes north and south of China. The Sui Dynasty also built palaces, granarie...
The ancient Chinese invented many things we use today, including paper, silk, matches, wheelbarrows, gunpowder, the waterwheel, lacquer, fireworks, paper money, compass, the seismograph, folding umbrella, ink, calligraphy, printing, abacus, wallpaper, the crossbow, ice cream and much more!
The Mongols used many inventions that they discovered on their conquests and spread them throughout the known world. In China they discovered Gunpowder and Paper. They took the gunpowder to the western parts of the world and used it when conquering other cities and nations.
China was without a doubt one of the most innovative countries by reason of their many advances made throughout the Shang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Numerous accomplishments were archived by this empire. Their form of government was based on Dynasties, which are series of rulers from the same family. Different dynasties brought out different successes, such as the famous Great wall, which was a 13,170 miles fortress built around around 206 A.C. by millions of people. This structure was ordered to build by China’s first emperor, Qin, in the interest of protecting the Empire from invaders. Another extraordinary Chinese invention was paper. This universal utensil was created in the 2nd century B.C. by Cai Lun. The creating of this material
One of the major lasting effects was the Han Dynasty’s changes to the economy. The Han Dynasty expanded their influence throughout the land and made improvements in many products made in China, including silk, iron, and textiles, as well as inventing paper. As stated in the article, “Great Journeys of China… The Silk Road”, “at the order of Emperor Wudi, courtier General Zhang Qian travelled to the “regions western ...
The Song dynasty is actually divided into two separate periods: The Northern Song from 960-1126 A.D. and the Southern Song from 1126-1279 A.D. The northwestern part of the country had been taken over by the nomadic tribes, forcing the emperor move the capital to Kaifeng, then later to Hangzhou during the southern Song period. They also lost control of Tibet. (Duiker, & Spielvogel, 2009) While they struggled with territory control, the Song strived in economic development and cultural achievement.
(www.discovery.com) By extending the Great Wall they opened China up to great expansion of trade. Trade of ideas, knowledge, and physical goods.
The Mongols, a nomadic society in the 13th century, were quickly able to conquer a vast amount of land in Eurasia. The Mongols were able to accomplish expanding their empire so widely and so fast because they had many military tactics, and their army was extremely well trained. These both got them a leg up on their enemies. The Mongols were incredibly ruthless at times in battle and used interrogation tactics to gain intel. Plus, their soldiers were trained from a very young age and always prepared.
Ancient china was a dynasty, a dynasty is a family that rules a civilization for years. I am choosing to compare the shang and tang dynasties in the period of decline. First off the similarities, my first similarity is that both ignored the needs of the poor. you might be asking why is the poor so important? Well without the poor they would have a very bad economy and a bad economy causes chaos and eventually leads to a rebellion by the chinese citizens. Another similarity between the shang and the tang is that they both had a very bad economy is because of the poor not being taken care of because in china there were mostly poor and merchants so since the poor being most of the population they lost a lot of the people. Now the differences,
“Volley Guns” (Chivers, 2010, p.26) or also known as “Organ Guns” (Ellis, 1975, p.10) were first attempts at increasing firepower by adding several barrels at the firing itself, rather than simply attempting to increase the rate of fire. “Gunsmiths had long ago learned to place barrels side by side on frames to create firearms capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession. These unwieldy devices, or volley guns, were capable in theory of blasting a hole in a line of advancing soldiers” (Chivers, 2010, p.26). An example of such weapons can be seen on July 28, 1835 when Giuseppe Fieshi unleashed terror on King Louis-Phillipe in Paris, France. He fired his 25 barrel “volley gun”, killing 18 of the king's entourage and grazing the King's skull. The weapon was ineffective however. Four of the barrels failed and another four ruptured. Two other barrels had exploded inside, grievously wounding Giuseppe. (Chivers, 2010, p. 27)
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
In 1127, after a prince of the Song Dynasty fled across the Yangtze River to Hangzhou, the Southern Song Dynasty was established. The Southern Song Dynasty achieved a period of economic success, prosperity, and artistic creativity, despite the fact that the military was not exactly strong. The Southern Song Dynasty’s downfall did not come from problems within, but was overthrown by Mongols in 1279, marking the end of the Song Dynasty.