Chinese Dynasties:

Makenna :
Sung
­ (960­1279) The Sung dynasty was located on the east coast and rose up
50 years after turmoil from the T’ang dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin, a military general and later declaring himself as T’ai­tsu or the emperor of the Sung Dynasty, set aside military traditions and insisted to have the civilians control his provinces, government, and military. Due to T’ ai­stu’s changes, new printing technology increased literacy rates and the amount of schools.
As a result of increased intellectual fields, a new class grew that was well advanced in arts and innovation. Some inventions included gunpowder and the magnetic compass. The Sung also started housecare for the elderly, low­ interest loans and free pharmacies for the peasants, and fire stations as well as libraries in the big cities. They also introduced paper money and used it to develop their rapidly growing empire. The great empire was overruled
319 years later by Mongols and soon fell. Chin
­ (221­206) The Chin Empire was located on the east side of China and had a large, well­trained army that emerged from King Cheng or Shi Huangdi, also known as the “First
August Emperor.” His empire was brief but filled with events such as building 2,000 miles of the Great Wall and 4,000 miles of imperial highways lined with trees. He also abolished feudalism and replaced it with a more centralized government with harsh laws and heavy taxes. Also, he introduced a standardized system of measurement with everybody following his rules. The King also burned all of the books that did not include medicine and agriculture.
After he died, his son took over for him and followed his father’s same rules. He only lasted a short time as emperor before he was overthrown by a peasant. Ethan: Zhou(
1027 – 221)
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Zhou dynasty was located in Western China. Many characteristics of the Shang Dynasty were used by the Zhou. The one main difference was that the throne was passed down from father to eldest son. The Shang passed down the throne from brother to brother. As Zhou people took more land, they spreaded into former shang land and by the Yangtze River to the main deserts. Vassal capitals were the places set up as land was taken. Dukes controlled them and it was easier for the Kings. The people of the Zhou also influenced many things that would later be used. For instance, the government, education, war strategies, and agriculture. The main goals for the Zhou people was to take the most land and become the best they can be.

Yuan(1279­1368)­­> The Yuan dynasty started in the north and over time took more and more land and controlled almost all of China. Kublai Khan took control of the Yuan people after the
Mongols attacked. The Mongols started to take land of the Yuan people and many peasants

or lower class people were forced into labor by the Mongol military. Khan wanted more land so in result, Khan conquered Korea, Vietnam, Burma, and Japan twice. As the Yuan dynasty came to an end, the Black Plague took all of them out. This was the end and many stories of the people were left behind.

Casey Fell :T’ang/Ch’ing
T’ang: 618­907 AD
The T’ang dynasty was located in Northern China. It was founded by a man named Li Yuan.
They used some of the ideas of the Sui dynasty, but modified them to unify their ways of life.
The second emperor of the T’ang dynasty was T’ai­tsung who made great improvements like expanding the empire up to 5,000 miles from its capital, Loyang. Also, he saved food and money for farmers in case of a famine. The government positions were given based on intelligence and not on wealth which resulted in smarter decisions. Some of the accomplishments in the T’ang dynasty were their creation of a type of money system. Also, there was a set of laws for society that were changed every two decades to fit the current needs. Woodblock printing and gunpowder were invented during this time. The