Free Custom «The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties» Essay Paper

The Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties are the historical Chinese Empires. The Sui Empire was in power from 581 to 618 A.D after the fall of the Han dynasty. The Tang Empire, on its part, ruled China from 618 to 907 A.D after the defeat of Emperor Yang, who was the last Sui Empire. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, China experienced the division of the country into several kingdoms during the next half century. In 960 A.D., the Song dynasty came into power and reunified China. The period of the reign is identified to be from 960 to 1279. The paper analyzes the significant political, economic, and social changes that took place during the three Chinese dynasties.

The Major Changes in the Sui Dynasty

Political Structures

During the Sui Dynasty era, Emperor Wen established the centralized government system. The system consisted of three departments and six ministries. These institutions were responsible for the control of the state affairs (Skaff, 2012). The three-tier system of government that existed in the previous periods was restructured into a two-tier system. In fact, the new system simplified the administrative structure. The Empire also established the imperial examination system. Such a system was used to appoint government and civil servants based on merit (Skaff, 2012). The majority of  successive dynasties applied the same type of a system. Before this change, the previous regimes  used the Jin Empire's system where noble families were given the privilege in appointment to the office (Skaff, 2012).

 

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Social Changes

The unification of China by the Sui Dynasty brought a social order to the nation. The building of the Grand Canal during  Emperor Yang’s era led to the improvement of  citizens' social spheres of live (Skaff, 2012). The Grand Canal made it possible for people living in the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers regions to connect and share their cultures. The Sui Empire era also saw the rise of Confucianism religion in the nation.

Economic Life

Emperor Wen created economic reforms in order to mitigate the financial crisis that broke out as a consequence of the multiple wars. Moreover, he developed the land equalization system (Skaff, 2012). The system advocated for the land distribution to every family according to the number of occupants that lived in a household. The reform stated that people could cultivate these farms but were not allowed to sell them (Skaff, 2012).  Consequently, the system led to a significant increase in agricultural productivity, which improved China's economy. The government also constructed the Grand Canal, which connected the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers leading to economic exchanges between the two regions.

Significant Changes in the Tang Dynasty

Political Structures

Li Yuan, who took over the Empire after the Sui Dynasty, renamed it to be the Tang Empire. The Empire perfected the imperial system of examination that was adopted during the previous dynasty (Edwards, 2009). Furthermore, Emperor Li Yuan appointed qualified officers to run government affairs. These agents also acted as an intermediary between the government and citizens at grass root levels. Moreover, the Dynasty initiated the ‘Dao' and ‘Fu' organization structures in order to fragment the political districts. The government divided the national empire into fifteen legislative districts known as ‘Dao' and several subordinate political districts known as ‘Fu' (Edwards, 2009). However, there was the rise of the military governors known as the jiedushi after the Anshi rebellion that occurred between 755 and 763 (Edwards, 2009, p9.). The military governors challenged the power of the dynasty's central government, and eventually the Empire turned to them asking for protection and assistance in running government affairs.

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Social Changes

Taoism became the formal religion of the Empire that made citizens abide by the teachings of the religion. Some members of the royal family accepted Buddhism as another religion that could be practiced in the empire (Edwards, 2009, p9.). What concerns the social sphere of life,  the citizens enjoyed festivities and sports after the creation of the Cold Food Festival and the Lantern Holiday, which were traditional Chinese holidays.

Economic Life

Chinese economy was considered to be among the best in the world during the Tang Dynasty. To complement the land equalization system, irrigation was invented (Edwards, 2009). Such a procedure contributed to the development of agriculture in the nation. Agricultural growth in the country prompted the development of handicraft industry. The Empire became famous for its expertise in the production of pottery. The growth of agriculture and handcraft industries was an impetus for the development of both foreign and domestic trade that made it possible to sell the products (Edwards, 2009). However, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Dynasty's economy plundered. The government established the double taxation system to cure the fiscal crisis (Edwards, 2009). The system stated that the tax should be imposed according to a person's wealth. Consequently, it helped to recover the financial situation and improve the country's economy. Such a fiscal system served as a good example for future tax reforms used by succeeding Dynasties.

Significant Changes in the Song Dynasty

Political Structures

After the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the next fifty years saw the division of China into several kingdoms. In 960 A.D., the Song Dynasty reunified China (Stearns, Adas, Schwartz&Gilbert, 2007, p. 3).  The Empires used the aristocratic political system of governance during the war period. The Empire reverted to a society ruled by a central government, which consisted of  bureaucratic scholar-officials. These officials practiced Confucianism and were more educated than their counterparts during the Sui and Tang dynasties(Stearnset al., 2007). The military governors that existed till the end of the Tang dynasty were replaced by centrally appointed officials in every region.