Impacts of the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties on Political, Social, and Economic Life in China

The Sui Dynasty

Under the auspices of Emperor Yang, the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) was characterized by a brief period of prosperity in which Chinese citizens received an education rooted in Confucian principles that supported military expansion (Fendos, 2018; Xiong, 2006). Emperor Yang also launched many constructions, particularly that of the Grand Canal of China, that established great economic disparities between the wealthy elite class and peasant farmers. Emperor Yang also expanded military invasions into Vietnam that involved the use of elephants to lure enemy soldiers into traps. However, many soldiers who served Emperor Yang during the Sui dynasty fell victim to tropical diseases like malaria (Xiong, 2006). Eventually, as Xiong (2006) noted in his biography of Emperor Yang, the leader of the Sui Dynasty was the victim of assassination by his own ministers after he lost public support.

Despite the short existence of the Sui Dynasty, many cultural artifacts produced in China during this historical period indicated a strong current of resistance among Buddhists who insisted that Confucian ideology could not satisfy personal needs (Fendos, 2018). Despite how the Sui Dynasty had its ideological roots in Confucian principles, Buddhist resistance led to a period of cultural decline that produced literature inscribed with traditional Chinese characters. Accordingly, the writing style of Chinese literati dramatically shifted during the Sui Dynasty to include descriptions of iconic imagery and provide space for the creation of a background context (Fendos, 2018). Inscriptions on cultural artifacts such as Buddhist statues bear testament to what the Sui Dynasty represented before the assassination of Emperor Yang who insisted that strict adherence to Confucian principles would propel China into greatness (Xiong, 2006). Yet, despite surging popularity of Buddhist resistance, the Tang Dynasty that followed from the Sui Dynasty produced an environment in which Chinese cultural and literary traditions flourished.

The Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) represented a historical era in which Buddhist resistance to Confucian ideology during the Sui Dynasty compelled Chinese citizens into adopting an enlightened worldview to produce a "golden age" during the eighth and ninth centuries (Schlütter, 2008, pp. 2-3). Ruled by four different emperors—Gaozu (618-626 CE), Taizong (626-649 CE), Xuanzong (712-756 CE), and Ai (904-907 CE)—the Tang Dynasty reinforced wide economic disparities between the cultural elite and peasant farmers. However, the Tang Dynasty thrived as Buddhism was present in popular beliefs and practice (Schlütter, 2008). Urbanization strategies rooted in the notion of unlimited wealth accumulation were also part and parcel of the objectives emperors who ruled during the Tang Dynasty considered important then (Friedmann, 2006). Accordingly, governing patterns of Chinese urban centers dramatically changed as political structures throughout the country became remarkably influenced by core economic functions during the centuries-long urbanization process.

During the Tang Dynasty, urbanization occurred both rapidly and gradually as Buddhism enlarged in its popularity. While feudalism was the prevailing economic system in China at this time, urbanization produced conditions that would resemble modern-day capitalism as architectural developments increased productivity in major cities while peasant farmers in rural areas continued to suffer the hands of emperors (Friedmann, 2006; Li & Lai, 2017). Many peasants eventually migrated into the major Chinese urban centers to adopt a modern urban lifestyle; however, most of these migrants continued to experience the economic disparities enforced by emperors who held a considerable level of political control (Friedmann, 2006). Leading into the Song Dynasty, disparities between urban settlers and rural farmers became even more pronounced as emperors acquired significant control over economic processes.

The Song Dynasty

Founded by Emperor Taizu, the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 CE) was the last of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, while this period was also one divided into two distinct periods specific to the northern and southern regions of China (Friedmann, 2006). During the Song Dynasty, processes of urbanization continued to influence political, social, and economic life as aristocratic elites migrated to northern cities from 960 until 1127 CE. As Friedmann (2006) stated, the migration of aristocratic elites into northern cities led to the increased militarization in both open and fortress cities. In particular, the city of Kaifeng was an open urban center that functioned as an imperial hub that allowed political and economic processes to influence cultural and literary production. More interestingly, however, the baojia system established a political environment in which instruments of social control influenced how rural peasants farmers could achieve economic success in major urban centers. Under the baojia emperors grouped households comprising rural peasant farmers into the tens (bao) and hundreds (jia) to fulfill a dual purpose of maintaining social order and preventing crimes (Friedmann, 2006, pp. 444-445). The baojia system maintained a significant influence on political, social, and economic life in China as emperors selected local residents to represent government functions but not hold an official position.

Put differently, the baojia system implemented during the Song Dynasty effectively created a volunteer workforce that evidently represented a system of indentured servitude for rural peasant farmers who sought greater economic freedom in major urban centers. Yet, informal social customs underscored the baojia system as emperors and other high officials attended to seemingly more important affairs for developing new instruments of social control. Certainly, the Song Dynasty led to the establishment of a national currency and a permanently standing naval force. However, as Li and Lai (2017) illustrated, political corruption permeated social and economic life during this historical period as emperors insisted that aristocratic elites should receive a greater share of the spoils. As urbanization continued to increase rapidly during the Song Dynasty, members of the ruling class continued to maintain their own personal interests that had particularly detrimental effects on the livelihood of rural peasant farmers who migrated to major urban centers.

Conclusion

To summarize, the Sui Dynasty was a period in which Confucian principle held a strong governing influence on political, social, and economic life in China during the late sixth and early seventh centuries CE. However, Buddhist resistance to Confucian characterized by Tang Dynasty from the early seventh century into the early tenth century CE despite how a golden age established considerably widening disparities between urban aristocratic elite and rural peasant farmers. Increased urbanization during the Tang Dynasty effectively altered a feudal economic system into one that resembled the earliest forms of modern-day capitalism. Yet, the same phenomenon characterized the Song Dynasty from the late tenth century into the late thirteenth century CE as a baojia system led emperors to create a volunteer workforce bearing resemblance to indentured servitude. Throughout all three dynastic periods, political corruption was rampant to the extent that urban aristocratic elites maintained exclusive economic interests by implementing instruments of social control.  

References

Fendos, P. G. (2018). A Sui Dynasty (581-618) Iron Buddha: The tale of two filial sons. Asian Culture and History, 10(1), 19-42. doi: 10.5539/ach.v10n1p19

Friedmann, J. (2006). Four theses in the study of China’s urbanization. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 30(2), 440-451. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2006.00671.x

Li, W., & Lai, L. (2017). Historical materialism and Liu Dunzhen’s Ancient Chinese Architecture History, 6, 145-154. doi: 10.4236/ahs.2017.64011

Schlütter, M. (2008). How zen became zen: The dispute over enlightenment and the formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China. Honolulu, HI: Koroda Institute/University of Hawai’i Press.

Xiong, V. C. (2006). Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.