Compare And Contrast Tang And Song Dynasties

China and Japan are two of the world's most populous countries. China, which is the largest in population, holds about 20% of the world's population within 7% of the world's land. Japan is the tenth most populous country in the world. In 2010, its population was about 127 million in a land area comparable to Italy. The Korean peninsula shares borders with China and Russia and is closest to the Japanese islands.¹ Unlike Japan, Korean is abundant with natural resources. South Korea is the 25th most populous country in the world with about 49 million people in 2010.¹ North Korea has less than half with 24 million people in 2010.¹ Vietnam is divided by mountains into northern and southern areas. Because of the mountain ranges that span the whole
The Tang and Song dynasties are often considered the golden age of China; science, art, and literature flourished during this period.² The diffusion of Chinese culture to Korea and Japan also happened during the golden age.² From 1200-1300, China was conquered by the Mongol Empire.² Native Chinese reclaimed their land during the Ming dynasty.² The Ming and Qing dynasties make up early modern China, which featured great prosperity, stability, and expansion of population and territory.² The Ming moved the Chinese capital to present-day Beijing.² During the Early Modern period, Chinese invention slowed; this technological slowing was because of extreme isolationism policies, which prohibited most international trade and travel.² This dynasty eventually declined due to overpopulation, famine, and corruption, leaving the nation vulnerable to European imperialism; the height of this decline was the Taiping Rebellion, the bloodiest civil war in
Taiwan was settled by people of Malay-Polynesian descent.³ From the 14th to the 18th century, Chinese settlers from the province of Fukien and Kwangtung arrived on Taiwan.³ In the 16th century, the Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish fought for colonial control of Taiwan.³ The Dutch won out and established a colony in 1624, but in 1662, Cheng Cheng-kung expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in order to reclaim the mainland.³ During the next two hundred years, Chinese ruled over Taiwan.³ As a result of its defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, China gave up Taiwan to Japan in 1895.³ Taiwanese opponents to Japanese rule created the "Republic of Formosa" in May of that same year, not long before the Japanese military quickly the movement.³ During World War II, the Allies continued to support the increasingly corrupt KMT regime as they promised to restore Taiwan to China in 1943.³ In 1945, the Allies granted the KMT regime administrative control of Taiwan.³ By 1949, the KMT was forced to flee completely from China and transfer its headquarters to Taiwan.³ The Nationalists ruled Taiwan with an iron fist; restrictions were imposed on civil and political rights for almost 40 years.³ Over the next two decades, Taiwan underwent rapid industrialization and the economy grew at unbelievable quickly.³ The 1980s brought protests against the KMT.³ In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed.³ In 1987, President Chiang Ching-kuo replaced martial law with an equally restrictive National