The In 609 CE, China completed the Grand Canal, a waterway that helped transform the empire into the largest and most advanced civilization of its time. Over the centuries that followed, the population soared, great cities blossomed, and Chinese inventions changed the world. Historians call this period China’s Golden Age.
China Divided
For more than three centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty, China remained divided during the Age of Disunity. Military leaders fought for control while many people were forced to flee their farms. Trade declined, travel became dangerous, and a series of small kingdoms rose and fell. None could match the stability and prosperity of the Han Dynasty, which remained a symbol of unity and good government.
Advertisement
The Sui Reunify China
A military leader named Yang Jian reunified China and founded the Sui Dynasty. Like the Qin rulers centuries earlier, the Sui restored order but demanded enormous labor from the people. Their greatest achievement was the vast waterway that connected the great cities and wheat-growing regions of northern China with the fertile rice fields of the south.
The Tang Dynasty
The burden placed on millions of workers contributed to rebellions that toppled the dynasty. The emperor abandoned the capital and retreated to his floating palace on the Grand Canal. In 618 CE, he was assassinated in his bed by his own advisors. Out of the chaos, a military governor named Li Yuan seized control and founded the Tang Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty maintained stability for nearly three centuries, but high taxes and military revolts led to its collapse in 907. After a brief period of fragmentation, the Song Dynasty arose fifty years later.
Prosperity
The Grand Canal united China in a way that armies never could. Merchants moved goods more easily, trade expanded, and prosperity spread across the empire. China’s population soared as food became more plentiful. By the time of the Golden Age, China was home to more people than any country on Earth.
Advertisement
Crowded cities such as Kaifeng (pronounced (kai-FUNG) and Hangzhou (pronounced hahng-JOH) became centers of innovation. As demand for books grew, Chinese craftsmen carved entire pages into wooden blocks and used them to print thousands of copies. Centuries before Gutenberg’s printing press appeared in Europe, printed books were already common in China.
Inventors developed furnaces that could melt iron and pour it into molds. Cast iron produced stronger plows, better tools, and durable cooking pots. Chinese craftsmen perfected porcelain, a hard, beautiful ceramic that became prized throughout the world. Gunpowder and the compass were also developed during China’s Golden Age.
A Self-Sufficient Economy
While China traded with Central Asian peoples and neighboring kingdoms, most of its wealth came from within. Its farms fed growing cities, its craftsmen produced valuable goods, and its merchants connected markets across the empire. During the Golden Age, China became one of the most prosperous and self-sufficient civilizations in the world.
Threats from the North
While China had the resources to prosper, much of the land to the north and west was less productive. As China’s wealth grew, nomadic herders along the frontier sometimes raided its farms, towns, and villages. Chinese rulers became increasingly concerned with protecting their people and resources. In time, China would build its Great Wall to keep these intruders at bay, but not before the Mongols ended a Golden Age that had lasted nearly 700 years.
Resources
Download this lesson as a worksheet with activities
Editable File (Microsoft Word)
Printable PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on Chinese History.