Part Nine IX › Division III III › Section 932 932

China from the Late T’ang (ad 755) to the Late Ch’ing (c. 1839)

Subject Outline

AThe late T'ang dynasty, the Ten Kingdoms, the Five Dynasties, and the Sung dynasty
- 1The late T'ang and the Northern Sung
  - aThe late T'ang (755-907): the rebellion of An Lu-shan (755-757) and its effects, provincial separatism, attempts to restore central authority, growth in power of provincial warlords
  - bT'ang cultural life: the growing influences of Buddhism, developments in music and the visual arts
  - cSocial and economic developments: the decline of the aristocracy and social mobility, agricultural advances and expansion of trade
  - dThe period of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms (907-960)
    - iThe short-lived Five Dynasties in North China: the Liang dynasty, advance of talented bureaucrats in government posts
    - iiThe more permanent Ten Kingdoms: the Tanguts; the Khitan, or Liao, empire; the kingdoms of Wu, the Southern T'ang, the Southern P'ing, the Ch'u, the Earlier and Later Shu, the Min, the Southern Han, and the Wu-yiieh
  - eThe Northern Sung (960-1126): foundation of the dynasty and its expansion under T'ai-tsu and T'ai-tsung and their successors
    - iUnification and centralization of the empire: development of the Imperial civil service in T'ai-tsu's reign (960-976), further consolidation under Chen Tsung (998-1022)
    - iiReforms in the reign of Shen Tsung (1068-85): leadership of Wang An-shih, criticism of the reforms leading to the decline and fall of the dynasty
- 2The Southern Sung (1127-1279): survival and consolidation, defeat by the Jurchens and removal of the Sung to South China under Kao-tsung
- 3Sung cultural and economic developments; e.g., resurgence of Neo-Confucianism, visual arts and music, scholarship, historiography, invention of printing, manufacturing advances
BMongol-Chinese rule under the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368)
- 1The Mongol conquest of China: imposition of Mongol government and policies
  - aGenghis Khan's conquest of the Chin (1211-34), invasion of the Sung and the establishment of the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan
  - bMongol government and administration: transfer of the capital to Ta-tu (Peking), nonassimilation with the Chinese, expansion of trade
- 2Religious and intellectual life, relations with the West, decline of Mongol rule
  - aReligious toleration and patronage of Buddhism, the status of the Confucian scholar, developments in the arts
  - bYuan China and the West: commercial and cultural contacts, arrival of Catholic missionaries
CThe Ming and Ch'ing dynasties to c. 1839: the tribute system, relative stability, ethnocentrism, and emphasis on cultural unity
- 1The Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
  - aFoundation of the Ming and its political and social structure
    - iPeasant uprisings and the foundation of the dynasty (1368) by Chu Yiian-chang (Hung-wu): pattern of dynastic succession, gradual degeneration of Ming government
    - iiGovernment and administration: local and central government, later innovations to coordinate central government and regional administration
  - bDevelopments in foreign relations and economic policy
  - cCultural life in the Ming period: philosophy and religion, developments in the visual arts, music, literature, and scholarship
- 2The Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty to c. 1839
  - aThe Manchu rise to power (1644): preservation of the Ming administration under joint Manchu-Chinese supervision
    - iManchu entrance in Peking and territorial conquest ending with the seizure of Taiwan (1683): early Ch'ing institutions
    - iiEarly foreign relations in Asia, contacts with the West
  - bMid-Ch'ing social and economic developments: the role of religious associations, expansion of industry, social unrest, intellectual and cultural advances
    - iAdvances in agriculture through increased rice cultivation and introduction of new crops, expansion of crafts and industries, commerce and finance
    - iiPopulation growth and immigration, religious associations, the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804)
    - iiiCultural developments; e.g., government interference in scholarship; introduction of Western sciences; advances in music, literature, and the visual arts