Friday December 7

Weapons-tang

Weapons-Song

The song discovered gunpowder and this gave them a big advantage in their battles
they could now have explosives and guns
landmines
booby traps
gunpowder propelled rockets

Agriculture and Trade

Song Dynasty Trade

silk Road was very important for trade with the west
there was also vigorous sea trade with Korea, Japan and lands to the south and southwest
the major port of Quanzhou dominated trading for Song Dynasty
during song times maritime trade for the first time exceeded overland foreign trade
trade between song dynasty and its northern neighbors was stimulated by the payments Song made to them
set up supervised markets along the border to encourage this trade
Chinese goods that flowed north in large quantities included tea, silk, copper coins (widely used as a currency outside of China) paper and printed books, porcelain, lacquer ware,
the return flow included some of the silver that had originated with the song and horses that Song desperately needed for its armies other animals like camels

Song Dynasty Agriculture

agriculture as the basis of national economy of China experienced considerable improvements during this dynasty
was a shortage in farmable fields, and every inch of soil in mountains regions had to be opened for agriculture
very steep hills, the famous terrace fields were created
agrarian tools and irrigation technique improved substantially
iron harrows, hay cutters, and sickles were forged with improved standards and water wheels driven by humans or animal power were common
improved techniques of plowing fertilizing and weeding lead to a substantial increase in agriculture output
especially in the lower Yangtze region whre at least tow harvests could be obtained in a year
wheat and beans were imported form the northern region and rice was cultivated in north where possible

Tang Dynasty trade

silk road was important per-modern Eurasian trade route
Silk was a very valuable item that they traded away
the Islamic world coverted and purchased in bulk Chinese goods such as silks, lacquer wares, and porcelain wares
Handicrafts commerce, techniques for textile manufacturing and dyeing porcelain making smelting printing developed and land and water transportation greatly improved
same currency as Song Dynasty
friendly foreign policy and use of Silk Roads trade with more than seventy countries flourished which also brought foreigners with new technology and ideas such as astronomy and mathematics
the tang capital of Chang’ an became the most populated and wealthiest city in the world at the time,

Tang Agriculture

system of equal land allotments to the male population increased agriculture production that was the backbone of a prosperous farming civilization
taxes on the allotments were the Tang’s greatest source of income and increased the government’s wealth and strength
powerful army based on volunteer farmer-soldiers
made great advances in agriculture like digging underground wells for better irrigation and made a very light weight pump used to take water to farm land far from water sources
Rice a Chinese crop, ripened quickly, so China was able to hold such a large population with these small inventions

Accomplishments of the Song Dynasty

Northern/Southern Split

the northern song was destroyed by the Jin in 1127
southern song was set up by Zhao Gou son of the last emperor of the Northern song
Zhao Gou escaped being captured by the Jin in 1127 and fled to Nanjing Yingtianfu.
Nanjing Yingtianfu was the first capital city of the southern song

Key Player: Emperor Taizu

Emperor Taizong

Wang Anshi

Yu Fei

during the 1130’s
General Yu Fei waged war on the Jin
had MANY victories
was an awesome general
was executed though, because of the traitor Qin Hui
Hui persuaded the emperor that a peace treaty was much better than war-killed Yu Fei

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