Period 2 11.10.

12

Chapter 12 - Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: In the era of the Tang and Song Dynasties C. Focus Questions
1) How did the Sui and Tang reestablish a centralized empire in China? They struck alliances with the nomadic invaders, uniting traditional core areas of Chinese civilization, lowering taxes, and storing food in case of famine. 2) What problems did religion cause in this period: how did the state resolve them? Buddhism was spreading throughout the empire but neo Confucians strongly opposed this. In turn, the emperors continued to look down on Buddhists while at the same time promoting the education of Confucian classics. 3) Identify neo-Confucianism; how did it influence Chinese culture and the state? Neo-Confucianism was the revival of Chinese thought. Influence on culture: People began to look at old Confucian texts and build academies devoted to these texts. Also, they built new libraries and schools of philosophy that focused on Confucius teachings. Influence on state: Civil service examinations tested on Confucius teachings. 4) What problems plagued the Song states and how did they attempt to solve them? Mainly it was the problem of nomadic invasions, especially the Mongols. They had to pay protection to their borders which drained their resources and the militarily was costly. Wang attempted to hold off impending disaster with sweeping reforms but could not get them passed because the new emperor that just came to power wanted to continue traditional government policies 5) Describe the Chinese commercial revolution. New canals led to a great increase in international trade and China had the second best trading shipping the world at the time. They mostly exported manufactured goods and imported mostly luxury products. This commercial expansion was due to the enormous increase in cities and towns. 6) How did the Chinese expand agricultural production? They moved to fertile lands in the southwest. The government also sent troops to newly settled areas to protect the peasants. New innovations like the wheelbarrow made it much easier to farm. New seeds were also introduced to the Chinese people like rice, which became one of Chinas most dominant crop. Farmers were also able to grow specialized crops due to the canals

In Depth Essay: Artistic creativity as a Means of Visualizing the Past (pg 284-286)
I think it tells us that the Chinese view the natural world as much more substantial than humans. The natural world is more important than humans. Monumental art may also be used to justify their political power. It is a way of it setting in stone for the next generation to know. No, I cannot think of any American or European politicians who have created great works of art. I dont expect this sort of creativity from our elected officials. This tells us that our civilization does not place value on artistic creativity.