Sui,+Tang,+and+Song+Dyanasties

=__Theme 1: Interaction Between Humans and the Environment__=

Urban Growth
During the Tang-Song era, there was a large boom in urban growth. The capital of the Tang Empire, Chang'an, had nearly two million inhabitants, and other cities had more than one hundred thousand people. Almost ten percent of the population lived in the cities in China, a number that would not be reached again until the industrial revolution.

The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal was created by Yangdi, who risked losing his throne to have it built. It was originally created to link the centers of Chinese civilization on the northern Chinese plain with the Yangzte River Basin, which was located more than five hundred miles south. Because the important river systems that were crucial to China's agrarian base ran west to east, the movement of people and goods in this direction were simpler than the ones moving from north to south. Later, the Grand Canal made it easier and more efficient for north and south civilizations to communicate with each other. It had many uses, including control over southern regions by courts, bureaucracies, and armies in imperial centers. The Canal made it possible to transfer food as well as ideas and other trade, and this system was one of China's greatest engineering achievements.

= = =__Theme 2: Development and Interaction of Cultures__= The scholar- gentry was responsible for the artistic creativity of the Tand- Song era. Buddhist art was supported by the court and merchants. Confusion teachers wrote literary classics. Education started to become more generalized, instead of specialized. A scholar might be able to paint or play the lute. With the revival of confusianism, Secular focuses on literature surpassed more religious ext. writings focused on everyday common people activities or mysteries of murders. paintings by the scholar-gentry were meant to be symbolic. They explored ethnics, and philisophical thoughts. An object, such as a crane, was not just a crane; it was a symbol for longevity. These paints focused more on the artist's views of natural beauty