Spice Chart Tang vs. Song

Characteristics of the Tang Dynasty Characteristics of the Song Dynasty Characteristics shared by both dynasties
Social Tang dynasty offered women a new opportunity for personal expression shown by the leadership of Empress Wu
Neo-Confucianists movements in the late Song led to the deteriorating rank of women in society
Neo-Confucianism also discouraged women from education and other career outlets Male-dominated society
Men enjoyed more rights in areas such as remarrying and premarital sex
Women were given protection in the event of a divorce
Strong laws were put in place to keep elders and males as the leaders in the family
The Scholar-gentry class gained most of the power in the government due to the emerging bureaucracy
Women’s families were forced to pay dowry’s to the husband’s family
Political The Tang dynasty had a much more powerful military that the Song therfore they were able to capture a larger area of land all the to modern Afghanistan
The civilian administrators were subordinate to military commanders which caused problems in the tang dynasty The Song Dynasty allowed for the Liao to continue living north of them in Manchuria
This was costly because the liao (Khitans) continued to charge tribute and eventually led to the downfall of the Song dynasty
When the empire collapsed, everyone moved South Political power was held by a succession of imperial families and bureacrats
Although the system allowed for more commoners to become scholar-gentry, being noble was still advantageous
Interactions During the Tang dynasty, the invention of gunpoweder came about, but it was not used for military purposes until the Song
Coal started to become used for fuel and heat especially in the cold winters of the North China plain Compasses were invented which dramitacally helped sea navigators
The invention of the movable type and the abacus were also widely developed Chinese citizens began to move southward during both of these