Tang Vs Song Dynasties Essay
WOH2012
6-27-11
Compare and Contrast Song and Tang Dynasties
After the collapse of the Han dynasty at the beginning of the third century, China fell into an extended period of division and civil war. China was at a loss for leadership. Many dynasties ruled over this perdiod of time including the Song and Tang dynasties.
The political system of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) stood in the tradition of a central bureaucracy that was already created during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Unlike the Han system, the Tang administration did not bestow semi-independent kingdoms to the imperial princes. On the other hand the Song Dynasty had a political system balancing between military and civil officials:The capitals, The central government,Territorial administration,Examination system and official recruitment. The experience of the late Tang Dynasty that regional military leaders had too much power in their hands to be effectively controlled by the central government, led to a thoroughly new system of parallel installment of civil and military officials and that were to control mutually each other. All in all, the Song system was more autocratic than the Tang system, laying more power into the hands of the emperor or persons acting on the emperor's behalf, like the strong chancellors (prime-ministers …show more content…
Indeed, three important inventions of mankind were made during the Song period: moveable printing types, gunpowder, and the compass. wo important factors contributed to the technological leap during this historical period. The first was the economic development with an increasing importance of money as currency. The second reason was the organized civil bureaucracy of the Chinese state that actively sought to enhance productivity in any sector of state
6-27-11
Compare and Contrast Song and Tang Dynasties
After the collapse of the Han dynasty at the beginning of the third century, China fell into an extended period of division and civil war. China was at a loss for leadership. Many dynasties ruled over this perdiod of time including the Song and Tang dynasties.
The political system of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) stood in the tradition of a central bureaucracy that was already created during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Unlike the Han system, the Tang administration did not bestow semi-independent kingdoms to the imperial princes. On the other hand the Song Dynasty had a political system balancing between military and civil officials:The capitals, The central government,Territorial administration,Examination system and official recruitment. The experience of the late Tang Dynasty that regional military leaders had too much power in their hands to be effectively controlled by the central government, led to a thoroughly new system of parallel installment of civil and military officials and that were to control mutually each other. All in all, the Song system was more autocratic than the Tang system, laying more power into the hands of the emperor or persons acting on the emperor's behalf, like the strong chancellors (prime-ministers …show more content…
Indeed, three important inventions of mankind were made during the Song period: moveable printing types, gunpowder, and the compass. wo important factors contributed to the technological leap during this historical period. The first was the economic development with an increasing importance of money as currency. The second reason was the organized civil bureaucracy of the Chinese state that actively sought to enhance productivity in any sector of state