Important People in China

Question 1

Yangdi

Answer 1

~Son of Wendi and became the next Emperor of the Sui Dynasty after his father’s death
~Wanted to expand China’s territory and tried to regain lost lands
~His army fought the Koreans but it was badly defeated
~Within China, he was more successful at expanding his empire
~Wanted to bring back the glory of the Han Dynasty
~Repaired the Great Wall and rebuilt Changan (Han capital city)
~The most ambitious project was building the Grand Canal
~To rebuild China, he required help from the Chinese people by forcing farmers to build the Great Wall/Grand Canal and had to pay higher taxes to support the projects
~The taxes also paid for the Emperor’s luxurious life which made farmers angry
~Farmers revolted against Yangdi and he was killed

Question 2

Tang

Answer 2

~The Tang Dynasty started in 618 AD and ruled for about 300 years
~Started by Emperor Taizong and he used violence to raise power
~People liked Taizong because he took land from the rich and gave it to the poor
~The Tang Dynasty copied the Sui’s Dynasty Tax system because it was good
~Tang Dynasty made Changan the capital city because it was on a major trade route
~Imperial State
~Tang Dynasty created highly effective laws for all of China
~All officials in the government had to take an exam to prove themselves for jobs in the government
~If you passed, you were an official (mostly rich family members passed the test because of more education
~The Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty also grew after they made roads and waterways
~Transportation brought China together and improved trade
~Tang and Song also were the first to make paper money

Question 3

Who is the founder of Daoism?

Answer 3

Laozi

Question 4

Who is the original Buddha

Answer 4

Siddhartha Gautama

Question 5

What are the positives of the Sui Dynasty?

Answer 5

~Reunified China
~Old political traditions came back
~People were allowed to have their own belief system
~Government jobs had tests to see if you were qualified for it
~Public work projects started and gave people jobs

Question 6

What are the negatives of the Sui Dynasty?

Answer 6

~The emperor Yangdi forced higher taxes for projects
~paid for the emperor’s pricey way of life, made farmers angry
~farmers revolted against the emperor and he died

Question 7

What is the golden age?

Answer 7

The Tang Dynasty

Question 8

What book was named after Marco Polo?

Answer 8

The travels of Marco Polo

Question 9

Changan

Answer 9

~Tang & Sui Dynasty made Changan capital city bc it was along major trade route
~Silk Road started in Changan

Question 10

Song

Answer 10

~Had the same government structure as the Tang Dynasty
~Imperial state
~Kublai Khan defeated the Song Empire in South China in 1279 AD
~Built Canals to move trade along waterways by boats
~Built roads and waterways
~economy of China grew under Tang and Song Dynasty
~Similar to the Tang Dynasty

Question 11

Sui

Answer 11

~581 AD Sui (sway) dynasty took over and reunified china
~United China violently, lasted 37 years before it fell
~Conquered Sichuan and Northeast
~Founder: Emperor Wen
~Chang An= capital
~Buddhism helped reunify the empire
~Reunified China after 400 years of division
~Lee Un overthrew the Sui Dynasty
~Positive effects:
~old political traditions came back (red doors and red sashes)
~people were allowed their belief system
~Government jobs had tests to see if one was qualified for a job
~Public work projects started & gave people jobs (Great Wall repaired, Grand Canal for the monument of water and ships created)

Question 12

Han

Answer 12

Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD; 400 years) period of progress and prosperity for China
Expanded Chinese Empire using strong army
Existed same time during the Roman Empire, traded through the Silk Road
Trading made the Han Dynasty wealthy
Under the Han Dynasty, the structure of Chinese society was clearly defined
After the fall of the Han Dynasty ppl had to endure 350 years of chaos and fighting\
Fell because:
~of political struggles (emperors fighting each other)
~trouble collecting taxes to fund the army and protect the empire (only peasants paid taxes
~big social problem bc big gap between rich and poor, rich getting richer poor getting poorer
~peasants started fighting back

Question 13

Yuan

Answer 13

~Kublai Khan was the emperor
~The term Yuan means “beginning”
~Would last only about 100 years
~In government affairs, the Yuan regime did not use civil service examinations as was previously done in China
~The Rulers respected Confucian writings, they replaced Chinese scholar-officials to ensure control over the government
~Built ships and expanded seagoing trade
~One of the major trade cities was Quanzhou during this Dynasty
~The Emperors of the Tang and Song Dynasties selected Quanzhou as one of the few cities that could trade directly with foreign merchants
~Problems increased when Kublai Khan died
~Yuan rulers lost the respect of the people, and as a result, many Chinese resented Mongol control

Question 14

Wu Zhao

Answer 14

~One of the only female Emperors of China
~She proved to be a very ruthless and violent, but capable leader.
~She conquered and reclaimed the lands of Korea.

Question 15

Xuanzong

Answer 15

~Emperor of the Tang Dynasty
~Came to power in 712 AD and ruled for 40 years in China
~Chinese literature and ART became very famous.
~People wanted poetry and horse sculptures
~China had achievements in agricultural, technological, and
~commercial developments. It grew in all these areas!!!

Question 16

Taizong

Answer 16

~Most powerful Tang emperor
~He brought back the system of civil service examinations
~Gave land to farmers and brought peace and order to the countryside

Question 17

Confucius

Answer 17

~During the Han dynasty, there was a belief system started by Confucius( 551-479 B.C.)
~Confucius taught people his beliefs.
~The emperors of the Han dynasty liked what he taught.
~taught Education is important and people can advance in life with it
~taught Moral virtues and principles. (self behavior) to control yourself.
~Taught that leaders should be virtuous and kind to everyone.
~Taught that subjects should be loyal to the leaders and obey the laws.
~Taught that children must respect their parents.
~Taught that children must obey and respect the OLDER generations.
~Taught that GROUP thinking is better than INDIVIDUAL thinking.
~Taught the Welfare of the people, people are responsible for others.

Question 18

Ogedei Khan

Answer 18

~became the emperor in 1227 C.E. when his father Genghis Khan died
~set out to continue his vision
~captured all of China, some Russia, and Persia
~divided the Mongolian empire into 4 parts and called it the Khanates
~made each khanate controlled by a descendent of Genghis Khan

Question 19

Kublai Khan

Answer 19

~Genghis Khan’s grandson
~First to rule ALL of China in 300 years
~1260 he became the new Mongol leader
~Focused on conquering all of China
~established his capital at Khanbaliq (the city of the Khan in Northern China and now Beijing today)
~1271 decided he would control all of China
~1279 he finished conquering Southern China
~Brought an end to the Song Dynasty and declared himself emperor, then started the Yuan Dynasty
~didn’t have much experience with government so he kept some aspects of Chinese Rule.
~ended the civil service tests for gov. Jobs.
~gave all jobs to Mongols like himself instead.
~brought back Confucian Religion.
~To keep tight control of new lands, appointed Mongol leaders to top jobs in China and kept some Chinese officials in positions of power
~Encouraged Christians, Muslims, and Hindus from outside China to practice their beliefs
~was fascinated by Marco Polo’s stories about his journeys
~sent Polo on trips all over the region to gather info and carry out business
~developed a thriving sea trade and welcomed visitors from foreign lands.
~made trade routes safer.
~moved A LOT along the Silk Road to Trade and East & West.
~brought and increased contact with foreign people and cultures.
~would rule until he died in 1294
~After his death, a series of weak emperors came to the throne, ~Mongol power in China began to decline and problems increased for the Yuan Dynasty

Question 20

Marco Polo

Answer 20

~One of the most famous European travelers to reach China
~Marco Polo’s stories about his journeys fascinated Kublai Khan
~Marco got sick on the way and the caravan was delayed for a year
~kept careful records of everything he saw
~saw people using paper money, some of the things he saw were hard to believe
~Marco Polo returned after 24 years,

Question 21

Fall of the Han Dynasty

Answer 21

~Political struggles were happening during this time. (Emperors began fighting each other)
~They had trouble collecting taxes to fund the Army to protect the Empire. (only the peasants paid Taxes)
~There was a huge social problem a Big Gap between the Rich and the Poor.
~The Rich were getting RICHER and the poor were getting POORER…
~peasants were fighting back!!

Question 22

Who conquered all of China?

Answer 22

Kublai Khan

Question 23

What was Genghis Khan’s last words?

Answer 23

“I have conquered for you a large empire. But my life was too short to take the whole world. That I leave to you.”