*Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty (1115-1234)

*Southern Song (1127-1279)

Mid-to-Late Imperial China

Northern Dynasties

Liao (Kitan) Dynasty 907-916-1125

Xi Xia (Tangut) Dynasty ca. 982-1038-1227

Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty 1115-1234

Yuan (Mongol) 1260-1279-1368

China-based Dynasties

N. Song (960-1127)

Capital at Kaifeng

S. Song (1127-1279)

Capital at Hangzhou

Ming (1368-1644)

Qing {Manchu} (1644-1911)

*Jurchen Origins

Spoke Altaic language (Tungusic)

Forest dwellers “uncooked”

E. Manchuria
Hunt and fish

Plains dwellers “cooked”

C. Manchuria (Sungari River) from 10th c.
Agriculture, cattle and horse raising

Hunting and war important male pursuits

Jurchen rise to power

Wanyan clan of “Uncooked” Jurchen

Sungari R. Tributary, SE of Harbin

Wugunai (1021-74)

Tribal unifier/Liao Tributary

*Aguda (r. 1113-1115-23)

Refused to dance, 1112

Independent of Liao, 1115

Founded Jin dynasty, 1115

Conquered Liao, 1125

Conquered North China from the Song, 1126

China-centered Regime

Controlled cradle of Chinese civilization

“the land of Yao, the region of Shun, the realm of Yu”

Chen Liang (1143-94)

Population

50 million under Jin

70 million under S. Song

Dominant Regimes in Multistate system: Liao and Jin

Liao Treaty with Song, 1005

200,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 ounces of silver annually

Emperors address each other as brothers

Jin Treaty with Song, 1127

300,000 bolts of silk, 1 million strings of coins, and 300,000 ounces of silver annually

Relative status of rulers

Jurchen ruler as uncle

Song ruler as nephew

Significance of Northern Dynasties

Cultural synthesis

Arose in China-Inner Asia borderlands

Adopted some Chinese practices

Process seen earlier in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, etc.
Modified bureaucratic government

Written language

Population Trends

Population growth

60 million, mid-Tang

100 million, N. Song in 1100

Population, ca. 1200

North: 50 million under Jin

South: 70 million under S. Song

Urbanization (grain and cheap water transport)

S. Song Hangzhou, 4 million

Expansion of Money Economy

Cash was 3.1% of revenue in 749

Cash was 51.6% of revenue in 1065

20 times Tang maximum

Merchants in S.W. issued paper notes in response to coin shortage

Initially backed by 29% cash reserve

Example of surviving Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) paper money

Technological advances

Iron

Production of 125,000 tons of iron, 1078

1.4 kg (3.1 lbs.)/person

Not matched in Europe until 1700

Papermaking

What are the drawbacks to these writing materials?

Turtle plastron, ca. 1200 BCE

Silk cloth, ca. 300 BCE

Bamboo strips, ca. 300 BCE

Proto-paper, 1st c. AD
Commonly used, 3rd-4th c.

Woodblock Printing

Buddhist invention 7th c.

Books in scroll format 9th c.

Diamond Sutra, 868

Diamond Sutra full printed scroll

Bookbinding

Moveable type, 1048

Social consequences of printing?

Rise of the Scholar-Officials

Officials in Government Passing Civil Service Examinations

Entrance into civil service

Jinshi “presented scholar” highest degree

Yin "shadow" privilege persists

Change in content from Tang to Song

Less emphasis on literary ability

More emphasis on Confucian classics

What are the social consequences of the availability of printed books on paper?

Status of Women in Imperial China

N. Song (960-1127)

“Peace Reigns over the River,” (Hansen, 258-62)

Where are the women?

Tomb of Master Zhao and wife, 1099 (Hansen, pp. 248-50)

A seat at the table

Southern Song Women

Depictions of Idealized Females in “Wenji’s Return to China” Paintings

S. Song version, mid-12th c. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Jin court painting, 1196 (Jilin Provincial Museum)

*Footbinding

Elite households

Perpetuation

Old view

Male domination

New view

Marriageability

Female enforcement

Hansen thesis: Commodification of marriage

Patrilinealism reinforced in elite families

Widow remarriage