Is interaction between different people and cultures beneficial? (Short Answer)
While you are analyzing the sources, think about the compelling question "Is interaction between different people and cultures beneficial?"
The collapse of the Tang Dynasty created chaos in China. Over the next 50 years, China was divided between numerous families and kingdoms. It was not until the rise of the Song Dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279, that China was reunited under a single ruler. According to historian Peter Lorge, the Song Dynasty became "extremely successful by almost every social, cultural, technological, economic and even military standard for a pre-twentieth-century state." Analyze these sources about the Song Dynasty in order to investigate the compelling question "Is interaction between different people and cultures beneficial?"
This source has three excerpts about advancements that occurred during the Song Dynasty.
One of the major agricultural innovations... is that a new type of rice was introduced from Vietnam that grew faster. It prevented famine and allowed people to grow a double crop of rice each year, giving them a surplus that they could sell on the open market. This led to more wealth in the rural sector.
-Robin D.S. Yates, "China's Age of Invention," NOVA, February 28, 2000New methods of bridge building, canal lock-gates, and water-powered clocks improved industry and the movement of people... The arts, too, saw striking advancements in the lyrical song and portrait and landscape paintings.
-"Song," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, c. 2017One of the most significant advances was woodblock printing, which was widely used for official documents... Although explosive powder had been invented in the Tang, it was during the Song that the material was widely applied by the military in a variety of grenades, bombs, and rocket launchers. It was also during the Song that compasses, which had been used by the Chinese for centuries, were first employed in sea navigation.
-Jiang Yonglin, "Song Dynasty," Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, Vol. 5, 2002
This map shows selected physical features of East Asia at the time of the Song Dynasty.
This source is about trade during the Song Dynasty. The map shows trade routes, and the excerpt discusses Song use of the routes.
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For the most part, international trade bloomed and prospered during the Song period...In fact, Song-era ceramic shards have been found as far away as the east coast of Africa...
Yet at the same time, Song China relied less on overland trade from the Silk Road, [resulting in a] decrease in contact with Central and Western Asian countries (and through them, India and the Middle East)... Direct exposure to nations and cultures to the west, however, was at a low-point during the Song period... This may also have led to an increase in ethnocentrism.
-John D. Szostak, "The Song Dynasty," University of Washington, c. 2011
This source describes three different aspects regarding the end of the Song Dynasty.
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The Song Dynasty, which is considered China's third golden age, is divided into two parts: Northern (960-1127) and Southern (1127-1279). The Northern period was a peaceful time of economic growth and artistic advances. However, according to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, after invader forces the Song south in the 1120s, the style of Song art changed to reflect the emotions of "regret, acceptance, and longing."
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The peace that permitted these grand accomplishments was purchased at a high price, as foreign lands to the north were paid large tributes. In time, those barbarians became so powerful that they swept down on China, pushing the Song southward.
...[The Mongol ruler Kublai Khan] would defeat the Southern Song in 1279.
-"Song," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library a& Museum, c. 2017
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Government officials rather than military leaders dominated Song China. This fact has led many historians to describe the Song Dynasty as a military failure. In a February 200 interview with NOVA, historian Robin D.S. Yates commented on this interpretation. He said, "Although scholars often consider the Song Dynasty to have been very weak, its use of gunpowder was the reason it was able to hold off the Mongols for many decades."
Question 1a
Read the question carefully. Then enter your answer in the space provided.
Using your knowledge of how physical geography influenced empires in Afro-Eurasia, evaluate the following claim.
Claim: China's physical geography limited interactions between the Song Dynasty and other empires.
In your response, use evidence from multiple sources to support or refute the claim. Sources used may include the introduction. Explain your answer in at least two sentences.
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