Tang+-+Orange

TANG DYNASTY 618-907 By: Michael, Troy, Joseph

China sustained there political expansion through Empress Wu's power and the Examination System which produced cultivated and reliable government officials. China sustained there cultural expansion by the Grand Canal pulling the empire together, it also sustained cultural expansion by the Silk Road by being able to trade with other parts of Asia.

The Silk Road was a 4000 mile network of routes that passed through the entire asian continent. It was a trade route that many Asian groups would trade off of. Over hundreds of years, trade and travel along the Silk Road grew and declined based on the conditions in the numerous regions it would pass.

The Grand Canal had many benefits. The Grand Canal helped pull the empire together by promoting trade and improving agriculture. The Canal provided a vital route for trade between the northern and southern cities.

Empress Wu was the self appointed empress of China from 690 A.D to 705 A.D. This empress was the only woman in china to ever hold the throne in her own name. Empress Wu promoted Buddhism which experienced it's golden age during the tang dynasty. Wu reduced the army's size and stopped the influence of aristocratic military men on government by replacing them with scholars.

The examination system was a very hard test one could take to get a spot in government. If one passed he would be apart of the government. The higher the spot in government the person wanted the harder the test would be. Only men were able to take the test. The wealthy had a better chance of taking the test than the poor.

Potery and Ceramics were a big part of Asian culture. The ancient, locally established skills in pottery prodution undoubtedly made the entry of more advanced ceramic techniques easier from China over the last two millenia, leading to numerous distinctive traditions among the subcontinent's major languages.



Bibliography:

Bulbeck, David. “Southeast Asian ceramics.” //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras.// SBC-CLIO, 201. Web. 7 Jan. 2011

Roger B. Beck, Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, Dahia Ibo Shabaka __World History: Patterns of interaction__ Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

Charlie Smith “Asian Silk Road.” http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/11cid…