CHINA IN THE MIDDLE AGES

What are the major contributions of medieval China?


China contributed much in the medieval era, including explosives, large ships, discovering coal and steel, inventing woodblock and movable type printing, and their own Tang poetry. Along with these contributions, China also brought the clock tower, porcelain sculptures, and the first restaurants to the world. The medieval Chinese also created composite crossbows and water powered mechanical clocks that some still use to day and were the basis for modern day technology.

How did geography affect the development of the Chinese civilization?

The geography of China forced the Chinese to farm on mountains by way of terrace farming. The rivers of China were used not only for drinking water, but for transportation. The early Chinese settling in river valleys made them somewhat prone to invasion, resulting on many different, rather short dynasties.the mountains and deserts set natural borders and the mountain passes led to trade routes, but their main source of water caused disastrous, feared flooding that slowed development immensely.

What did the social hierarchy of Feudal China look like?(Explain each class)

The social hierarchy of feudal China is semi-feudalism itself. The emperor was the top, controlling the government above the landowning aristocrats(nobles). These powerful lords that had power over lower classes were divided into several groups including Bo(earls), Gong(dukes), and Zi(viscounts). Below these diverse nobles were, unlike many other feudal societies, farmers. Farmers had a higher place in feudal society than merchants because though merchants made more money, farmers worked with their hands. Farmers had little power, but still more than merchants. The only lower class than merchants were slaves and servants, with no power whatsoever.

How was the art and literature of Medieval China different from that of Medieval Europe?

The art and literature of China was different from the art and literature of medieval Europe because Chinese poetry was widely diverse in that of nature and everyday life with the famous tang poetry. Also, the pictures painted by the Chinese was not the exact picture, but what the artist sees it as. There are a lot of empty spaces in their art, creating a mysterious picture appearance. Though in the same time period, Medieval European art and literature was very different. Medieval literature was solely religious, only monks being able to read and wright. The art was also religious, with very disproportionate, long paintings.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Spielvogel, Jackson J and the National Geographic Society. "World History, Journey Across Time, the Early Ages," Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill, 2005
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Examples_of_feudalism. Wikipedia, May 26, 2014
• http://app.discoveryeducation.com/techbook2:unit/view/unitGuid/8d07b366-f72.... Discovery Education Social Studies techbook, China, May 29, 2014

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