Silk Road

Began during the Han Dynasty

stretched halfway through Asia and linked East Asia with the Mediterranean World

Used for over a thousand years

Caravans moved from desert sands to icy mountains

China carried silk, jade, and bronzes westward in exchange for goods in India (including Buddhism), coins from Persia and glass from the Roman Empire

Created the first known worldwide trading network.

Before the use of the Silk Road, how did geography affect early China?

a) The mountains and deserts in western and southwestern China slowed the exchange of ideas.

b) The northwestern region provided many fertile areas suitable for farming.

c) The three major river systems provided barriers against invasion.

d) The lack of deep-water ports on the eastern coast prevented China from developing trade with other nations.

The exchange of silks and spices and the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Roads are examples of

a) cultural diffusion b) self-sufficiency c) ethnocentrism d) desertification

China following the Han

→Following the fall of the Han Dynasty, China suffers through a period of disorder

Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD)

Reunites northern and southern ChinaStrong central government

Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD)

Completed the Grand CanalLinked north to southBrought needed southern agriculture to northern cities

Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD)

There were harsh conditions building the Grand Canal and Great WallLed to revolt and a new dynasty

The Golden Age of China

Tang and Song Dynasties

The Tang Dynasties (618-907AD)

Political and cultural sophistication

Founded by Tang Taizong

Wu ZhoaOnly woman to assume the title Empress

Revived the civil service system of the Han Dynasty

Era of heavy Buddhist InfluenceTraded with India, West Asia and

EuropeThe silk road flourished

porcelain

developed in late 700s

bone-hard, white ceramic made of special clay

became a valuable export

mechanical clock

clock in which machinery, driven by running water, regulated the movements

short lived invention

block printing

printers carved words of a whole page into a large block

spread to Japan and Korea

gunpowder

made from a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal

first used for fireworks, then weapons

technology spread west within 30 years