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183-629: The title was originally created as the State Preceptor or Guoshi ( simplified Chinese : 国师 ; traditional Chinese : 國師 ; pinyin : Guóshī ; lit. 'Teacher of the State';; Tibetan : གོ་ཤྲི , Wylie : go shri ) in 1260, the first year of Kublai Khan's enthronement. In that year he appointed the Sakya lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa to this post and soon placed him in charge of all Buddhist clergy. In 1264, he founded

366-411: A bureaucratic system that favored the land-holding class able to afford the best education. One of the greatest literary critics of this was the official and famous poet Su Shi . Yet Su was a product of his times, as the identity, habits, and attitudes of the scholar-official had become less aristocratic and more bureaucratic with the transition of the periods from Tang to Song. At the beginning of

549-618: A compass, first recorded description of the pound lock , and improved designs of astronomical clocks . Economically, the Song dynasty was unparalleled with a gross domestic product three times larger than that of Europe during the 12th century. China's population doubled in size between the 10th and 11th centuries. This growth was made possible by expanded rice cultivation , use of early-ripening rice from Southeast and South Asia, and production of widespread food surpluses. The Northern Song census recorded 20 million households, double that of

732-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst

915-436: A departure from the earlier Tang dynasty (618–907), when the government strictly regulated commercial markets and local affairs; now the government withdrew heavily from regulating commerce and relied upon a mass of local gentry to perform necessary duties in their communities. The gentry distinguished themselves in society through their intellectual and antiquarian pursuits, while the homes of prominent landholders attracted

1098-657: A great effect on people's lives, beliefs, and daily activities, and Chinese literature on spirituality was popular. The major deities of Daoism and Buddhism , ancestral spirits , and the many deities of Chinese folk religion were worshipped with sacrificial offerings. Tansen Sen asserts that more Buddhist monks from India traveled to China during the Song than in the previous Tang dynasty (618–907). With many ethnic foreigners travelling to China to conduct trade or live permanently, there came many foreign religions; religious minorities in China included Middle Eastern Muslims ,

1281-412: A high level of suspicion by the judge. Due to costly court expenses and immediate jailing of those accused of criminal offenses, people in the Song preferred to settle disputes and quarrels privately, without the court's interference. Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays argued against traditional Chinese beliefs in anatomy (such as his argument for two throat valves instead of three); this perhaps spurred

1464-464: A letter and started the letter by saying: “By the king's order, the words of Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen Palzangpo, Imperial Preceptor: To the officials of Pacification Commissioner rank, to generals, soldiers, administrators of the nang so , to judges, holders of golden letters, chiefs of districts, laymen and monks who collect taxes and go and come, to myriarchs, to dignitaries, a command.” This shows how much power and authority he commanded during his year as

1647-673: A literary flourishing in the Song period, which saw the publication of several major classical koan collections which remain influential in Zen philosophy and practice to the present day. A true revival of Buddhism in Chinese society would not occur until the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty, with Kublai Khan's sponsorship of Tibetan Buddhism and Drogön Chögyal Phagpa as the leading lama . The Christian sect of Nestorianism , which had entered China in

1830-461: A lower social tier than men according to Confucian ethics, they enjoyed many social and legal privileges and wielded considerable power at home and in their own small businesses. As Song society became more and more prosperous and parents on the bride's side of the family provided larger dowries for her marriage, women naturally gained many new legal rights in ownership of property. Under certain circumstances, an unmarried daughter without brothers, or

2013-472: A meeting in which he officially claimed rule over Central Tibet under the regime of Phagmodrupa. Kunga Gyaltsen died the same year and there were not any appointments of a new successor for 3 years until his nephew, Sonam Lotro Gyaltsen, eventually replaced him in 1361. Sonam Lotro Gyaltsen was born in 1332 and deceased in 1362. No information about him can be found in any records in the Chinese language. According to records of Tibetan history published in 2005 by

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2196-503: A million a century later. This economic power also heavily influenced foreign economies abroad. In 1120 alone, the Song government collected 18,000,000 ounces (510,000 kg) of silver in taxes. The Moroccan geographer al-Idrisi wrote in 1154 of the prowess of Chinese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and of their annual voyages that brought iron, swords, silk, velvet, porcelain, and various textiles to places such as Aden ( Yemen ),

2379-481: A nephew of Phagpa, who presently stayed in South China. As a matter of fact the new great khan Temür acknowledged Zangpo Pal as the right heir and let him return to Sakya in 1298. Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen nominally handed over the abbot-ship, but continued to direct Sakya affairs from the official abbot's palace Zhitog. Later in 1303, he was summoned to Beijing by the great khan. Being a loyal and experienced man, he

2562-600: A new organization of classic texts that established the doctrine of Neo-Confucianism . Although civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty , they became much more prominent in the Song period. Officials gaining power through imperial examination led to a shift from a military-aristocratic elite to a scholar-bureaucratic elite. After usurping the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty , Emperor Taizu of Song ( r.  960–976 ) spent sixteen years conquering

2745-563: A new writing system, for which he received a title of Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) in 1270. To design the script, Chogyal Phagpa made modifications to the Tibetan alphabet and made the Phags-pa script. The scripts was completed in 1268. Although the script was made into the official writing system of the empire there was a lot of opposition by the people and not many texts were written in that script. Although due to his important political role, he

2928-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as

3111-456: A philosophical point. Although an early form of the local geographic gazetteer existed in China since the 1st century, the matured form known as "treatise on a place", or fangzhi , replaced the old "map guide", or transl.  zho  – transl.  tujing , during the Song dynasty. The imperial courts of the emperor's palace were filled with his entourage of court painters, calligraphers, poets, and storytellers. Emperor Huizong

3294-414: A practice which has always been present as a part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui ,

3477-458: A raid on Guangxi , the Song commander Guo Kui (1022–1088) penetrated as far as Thăng Long (modern Hanoi ). Heavy losses on both sides prompted the Vietnamese commander Thường Kiệt (1019–1105) to make peace overtures, allowing both sides to withdraw from the war effort; captured territories held by both Song and Vietnamese were mutually exchanged in 1082, along with prisoners of war. During

3660-404: A single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of

3843-424: A small scale during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but by the Song period, it became virtually the only means for drafting officials into the government. The advent of widespread printing helped to widely circulate Confucian teachings and to educate more and more eligible candidates for the exams. This can be seen in the number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rising from 30,000 annual candidates in

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4026-541: A surviving mother without sons, could inherit one-half of her father's share of undivided family property. There were many notable and well-educated women, and it was a common practice for women to educate their sons during their earliest youth. The mother of the scientist, general, diplomat, and statesman Shen Kuo taught him essentials of military strategy. There were also exceptional women writers and poets, such as Li Qingzhao (1084–1151), who became famous even in her lifetime. Religion in China during this period had

4209-588: A tribute to Song. Champa rice was drought-resistant and able to grow fast enough to offer two harvests a year instead of one. Song restaurant and tavern menus are recorded. They list entrees for feasts, banquets, festivals, and carnivals. They reveal a diverse and lavish diet for those of the upper class. They could choose from a wide variety of meats and seafood, including shrimp, geese, duck, mussel, shellfish, fallow deer , hare, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, fox, badger, clam, crab, and many others. Dairy products were rare in Chinese cuisine at this time. Beef

4392-515: A variety of courtiers , including artisans, artists, educational tutors, and entertainers. Despite the disdain for trade, commerce, and the merchant class exhibited by the highly cultured and elite exam-drafted scholar-officials, commercialism played a prominent role in Song culture and society. A scholar-official would be frowned upon by his peers if he pursued means of profiteering outside of his official salary; however, this did not stop many scholar-officials from managing business relations through

4575-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌   'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊   'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,

4758-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with

4941-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at

5124-531: Is that he actually died earlier than the last Preceptor, Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen, who deceased in 1327. This seemed like a rather odd situation because Preceptors usually continue their role until their death. As a result, some scholars tend to believe that even if Wangchug Gyeltshen had been appointed as the Preceptor, he was merely a temporary substitute for Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen when he was away in Tibet and not around

5307-615: Is the last Preceptor that was recorded in the Yuanshi (also known as The History Of Yuan ). On the other hand, no records of him in the Tibetan language can be found. According to a very limited Misplaced Pages page in the Chinese Language, Rinchen Trashi was appointed by Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, the 12th Khagan of the Mongol empire, as the Imperial Preceptor in 1329. Kunga Gyaltsen was born in 1310 and died in 1358. He

5490-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,

5673-516: The Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute from the life story of Cai Wenji (b. 177). This art project was a diplomatic gesture to the Jin dynasty while he negotiated for the release of his mother from Jurchen captivity in the north. In philosophy, Chinese Buddhism had waned in influence but it retained its hold on the arts and on the charities of monasteries. Buddhism had a profound influence upon

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5856-473: The ⼓   ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏   ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of the character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to

6039-639: The Buddhist religion during Yuan rule. Kublai Khan , leader of the Mongol Borjigin clan, established the Yuan dynasty eight years before he took over all of China. He proclaimed himself Emperor of China in 1271 and subsequently conquered the Song dynasty . Under Kublai Khan, the Yuan dynasty was structurally divided in a similar manner as the Mongol Empire . He also established his rule under

6222-548: The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs and appointed Phagpa as the first director of this important new agency. The lama was offered nominal rule over all Tibet and also supervised Mongol relations with the Buddhist clergy. In 1270, Phagpa became Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) when the title was renamed. As Imperial Preceptor, he was authorized to issue letters and proclamations to the temples and institutions of Tibet, and he advised

6405-499: The Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to the first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and

6588-860: The Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Srivijaya , the Kara-Khanid Khanate in Central Asia , the Goryeo Kingdom in Korea, and other countries that were also trade partners with Japan . Chinese records even mention an embassy from the ruler of "Fu lin" (拂菻, i.e. the Byzantine Empire ), Michael VII Doukas , and its arrival in 1081. However, China's closest neighbouring states had the greatest impact on its domestic and foreign policy. From its inception under Taizu,

6771-595: The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao , Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin dynasty, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty . The dynasty's history is divided into two periods: during the Northern Song ( 北宋 ; 960–1127),

6954-535: The Han and Tang dynasties. It is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of 90 million people, and 200 million by the time of the Ming dynasty . This dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China . The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and emergence of a national economy led to the gradual withdrawal of the central government from direct intervention in

7137-750: The Indus River , and the Euphrates . Foreigners, in turn, affected the Chinese economy. For example, many West and Central Asian Muslims went to China to trade, becoming a preeminent force in the import and export industry, while some were even appointed as officers supervising economic affairs. Sea trade with the South-west Pacific, the Hindu world, the Islamic world, and East Africa brought merchants great fortune and spurred an enormous growth in

7320-916: The Kaifeng Jews , and Persian Manichaeans . The populace engaged in a vibrant social and domestic life, enjoying such public festivals as the Lantern Festival and the Qingming Festival . There were entertainment quarters in the cities providing a constant array of amusements. There were puppeteers, acrobats, theatre actors, sword swallowers, snake charmers, storytellers , singers and musicians, prostitutes, and places to relax, including tea houses, restaurants, and organized banquets. People attended social clubs in large numbers; there were tea clubs, exotic food clubs, antiquarian and art collectors' clubs, horse-loving clubs, poetry clubs, and music clubs. Like regional cooking and cuisines in

7503-523: The Mandate of Heaven (1272), a Chinese political and religious doctrine used to justify emperorship over China. This doctrine helped Kublai Khan establish his legitimate rule as he was considered to have the divine right to rule. Not only did he establish religious and political rule over China, he kept his ancestral roots as a Mongol leader by following Confucianism . Kublai Khan expanded the Chinese commercial, scientific, and cultural industries. He improved

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7686-662: The Mongol Empire , died in 1259 while besieging the mountain castle Diaoyucheng in Chongqing . His younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan and in 1271 founded the Yuan dynasty. After two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khan's armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279 after defeating the Southern Song in the Battle of Yamen , and reunited China under the Yuan dynasty. Technology , science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished during

7869-487: The Pearl River Delta in 1279, the Yuan army, led by the general Zhang Hongfan , finally crushed the Song resistance. The last remaining ruler, the 13-year-old emperor Zhao Bing , committed suicide, along with Prime Minister Lu Xiufu and 1300 members of the royal clan. On Kublai's orders, carried out by his commander Bayan, the rest of the former imperial family of Song were unharmed; the deposed Emperor Gong

8052-554: The Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on the left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d.  208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for

8235-500: The Qing dynasty after them, lasting up until 1911/12. One of the changes that was made was the revoking of the Imperial Preceptor title. When Zhu came to power and the Ming dynasty was established, the role of the Imperial Preceptor was abolished, and their responsibilities and roles were divided. Titles of lesser importance were created, and the people that carried these new titles were given

8418-499: The Sakya sect, they directed all Buddhist establishments in the Yuan empire and were charged with promoting Buddhism in the empire. They also oversaw routine Buddhist ceremonies and special rituals upon the enthronement and funerals of the emperors. They held rituals and dedicated stupas to the protection of the state and its subjects, in general terms or in specific instances, such as to prevent flooding or thunderstorms. Nevertheless,

8601-584: The Silk Road , created better infrastructure, circulated paper banknotes, and spread Mongol peace, leading to a prosperous and flourishing period. The Buddhist influence on Yuan rule under Kublai Khan was heavily dependent on the Tibetan Buddhist Imperial Preceptors. In twelfth-century Asia, Western Xia Buddhism was vigorously promoted and there were religious scriptures translated to Chinese and Tangut in order to spread

8784-628: The Yangtze to establish a new capital at Lin'an (modern Hangzhou). The Jurchen conquest of North China and shift of capitals from Kaifeng to Lin'an was the dividing line between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. After their fall to the Jin, the Song lost control of North China. Now occupying what has been traditionally known as "China Proper", the Jin regarded themselves the rightful rulers of China. The Jin later chose earth as their dynastic element and yellow as their royal color. According to

8967-411: The go and xiangqi board games. During this period greater emphasis was laid upon the civil service system of recruiting officials; this was based upon degrees acquired through competitive examinations , in an effort to select the most capable individuals for governance. Selecting men for office through proven merit was an ancient idea in China . The civil service system became institutionalized on

9150-417: The shipbuilding industry of Song-era Fujian . However, there was risk involved in such long overseas ventures. In order to reduce the risk of losing money on maritime trade missions abroad, wrote historians Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais: [Song era] investors usually divided their investment among many ships, and each ship had many investors behind it. One observer thought eagerness to invest in overseas trade

9333-531: The states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c.  100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However,

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9516-461: The universal history text of the Zizhi Tongjian , compiled into 1000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters . The genre of Chinese travel literature also became popular with the writings of the geographer Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Su Shi, the latter of whom wrote the 'daytrip essay' known as Record of Stone Bell Mountain that used persuasive writing to argue for

9699-477: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( / s ʊ ŋ / ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song , who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms , ending

9882-473: The 11th century, political rivalries divided members of the court due to the ministers' differing approaches, opinions, and policies regarding the handling of the Song's complex society and thriving economy. The idealist Chancellor , Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), was the first to receive a heated political backlash when he attempted to institute the Qingli Reforms , which included measures such as improving

10065-405: The 11th-century innovation of the use of coal instead of charcoal in blast furnaces for smelting cast iron . Much of this iron was reserved for military use in crafting weapons and armouring troops, but some was used to fashion the many iron products needed to fill the demands of the growing domestic market. The iron trade within China was advanced by the construction of new canals, facilitating

10248-402: The 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see the country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in

10431-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3

10614-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of

10797-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components

10980-618: The Confucian classics of the Four Books as an introductory corpus to Confucian learning formed the basis of the Neo-Confucian doctrine. By the year 1241, under the sponsorship of Emperor Lizong , Zhu Xi's Four Books and his commentary on them became standard requirements of study for students attempting to pass the civil service examinations. The neighbouring countries of Japan and Korea also adopted Zhu Xi's teaching, known as

11163-452: The Dishi dignity in 1282. Drakpa Odzer was appointed as the Dishi after Yeshe Rinchen (the Dishi after Dharmapala Raksita) vacated his position as Dishi. He held the post from 1291 until he died at the imperial court in 1303. He was succeeded by the ex-abbot Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen. After Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen, his younger brother Sanggye Pal became Dishi, in 1309. Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen

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11346-406: The Dishi dignity in 1305 and kept it until 1314, and that he was also known as Dorje Pal. There is not much documentation on Sanggye Pal and not much is known of his activities. In the period of his position as the Dishi, Tibet was relatively stable under the administration of the Yuan dynasty. Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen , born in 1299 and deceased in 1327, was the eighth Tibetan Imperial Preceptor of

11529-538: The Imperial Preceptor's previous responsibilities. However, these new titles were granted to very few people, mainly due to political reasons. During the reign of the second emperor of the Ming dynasty, the Yongle Emperor , ties with Tibet were strengthened, especially through religious teachings. The Yongle Emperor hosted many Tibetan teachers with the most famous and highest regarded being Dezhin Shekpa . Shekpa

11712-483: The Imperial Preceptor. In 1326, Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen decided to return to Tibet from the Imperial Capital due to health declination. However, he never actually went back, because his homeland was unsafe at that time due to a rebellion. Eventually, he stayed in the Yuan capital until his death (March 6, 1327). There is neither records of Wangchug Gyeltshen's year of birth nor that of his family background. Even

11895-423: The Jin dynasty. It had able military officers such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong . The government sponsored massive shipbuilding and harbor improvement projects, and the construction of beacons and seaport warehouses to support maritime trade abroad, including at the major international seaports , such as Quanzhou , Guangzhou , and Xiamen , that were sustaining China's commerce. To protect and support

12078-555: The Khangsarpa family (a clerical elite family of Sakya origins). According to the Yuan shi (History of the Yuan Dynasty), the old Dishi Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen (d. 1305) was followed first by a Duoerjibale (Dorje Pal) in 1305–13, and then Sangjiayizhashi (Sanggye Tashi) in 1313–14. However, a document sent to the Tibetan myriarchy Zhalu in 1307 is issued by Sanggye Pal. Therefore, there is a possibility that Sanggye Pal took over

12261-518: The Lhakhang. About two months after his brother's death in 1327, Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen got appointed by emperor Yesün Temür as the new Imperial Preceptor. However, he only arrived in the Yuan Capital a year after his appointment. Like his brother, he worked as the Imperial Preceptor until he died. Nevertheless, multiple sources show controversies over his year of death. However, according to

12444-580: The Liao forces, who engaged in aggressive yearly campaigns into Northern Song territory until 1005, when the signing of the Shanyuan Treaty ended these northern border clashes. The Song were forced to provide tribute to the Khitans, although this did little damage to the Song economy since the Khitans were economically dependent upon importing massive amounts of goods from the Song. More significantly,

12627-542: The Metog Raba which then became an official residence for the imperial preceptors until the end of the Yuan dynasty. Dharmapala married two women, Palden, a granddaughter of Köden, and to Jowo Tagibum, a lady from Zhalu. He had a son with the latter, who died at the age of 5, this is why his part of the Khon family died out and the next Dishi or Sakya abbot were not part of the Khon lineage. Dharmapala gave up his position as

12810-535: The Ming armies. At the capture of Khanbaliq in 1368, the Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, also called the Hongwu Emperor . As the Yuan dynasty was founded by Mongols, the Hongwu Emperor passed many edicts that were intended to purify China of their influence while also forbidding many Mongol practices. The Hongwu Emperor changed the basic structure of the government. The system was used by

12993-522: The Mongol government. His older half-brother had the title of the Dishi (Imperial Perceptor) and had a close relation with the emperor. His other brother (Chakna Dorje) was the viceroy of Tibet from the period 1264 to 1267. Also, Rinchen Gyaltsen's father belonged to the Khon family who were hereditary rulers of the Sakya monastery in Western Tibet. When Rinchen Gyaltsen's older half-brother (Phagpa –

13176-496: The Mongols as vassals ; when the Jin suddenly moved their capital city from Beijing to Kaifeng, the Mongols saw this as a revolt. Under the leadership of Ögedei Khan (r.1229–1241), both the Jin dynasty and Western Xia dynasty were conquered by Mongol forces in 1233/34. The Mongols were allied with the Song, but this alliance was broken when the Song recaptured the former imperial capitals of Kaifeng, Luoyang , and Chang'an at

13359-519: The New Policies and pursued political opponents, tolerated corruption and encouraged Emperor Huizong (1100–1126) to neglect his duties to focus on artistic pursuits. Later, a peasant rebellion broke out in Zhejiang and Fujian, headed by Fang La in 1120. The rebellion may have been caused by an increasing tax burden, the concentration of landownership and oppressive government measures. While

13542-496: The People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during the early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into

13725-590: The Sharpa family. After the young Sakya Dishi Dharmapala Raksita vacated his position in 1286 and died in 1287, Khagan Kublai Khan suspended the influence of the Khön family. Instead the Shar or Sharpa family came to the fore. This was possibly due to their good relations with the influential Yuan minister Sangge. Yeshe Rinchen was appointed Dishi by orders of Kublai Khan, while his youngest brother Jamyang Rinchen Gyeltsen became

13908-651: The Shushigaku (朱子學, School of Zhu Xi) of Japan, and in Korea the Jujahak (주자학). Buddhism's continuing influence can be seen in painted artwork such as Lin Tinggui 's Luohan Laundering . However, the ideology was highly criticized and even scorned by some. The statesman and historian Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) called the religion a "curse" that could only be remedied by uprooting it from Chinese culture and replacing it with Confucian discourse. The Chan sect experienced

14091-723: The Song dynasty alternated between warfare and diplomacy with the ethnic Khitans of the Liao dynasty in the northeast and with the Tanguts of the Western Xia in the northwest. The Song dynasty used military force in an attempt to quell the Liao dynasty and to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures , a territory under Khitan control since 938 that was traditionally considered to be part of China proper (Most parts of today's Beijing and Tianjin ). Song forces were repulsed by

14274-535: The Song dynasty had lost control of the traditional Chinese heartlands around the Yellow River , the Southern Song Empire contained a large population and productive agricultural land, sustaining a robust economy. In 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols , who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan , the fourth Great Khan of

14457-409: The Song dynasty was able to hold back the Jin, a new foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains north of the Jin dynasty. The Mongols , led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin. The Jin dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to

14640-519: The Song dynasty, but also the last instance where a war elephant corps was employed as a regular division within a Chinese army. There was a total of 347 military treatises written during the Song period, as listed by the history text of the Song Shi (compiled in 1345). However, only a handful of these military treatises have survived, which includes the Wujing Zongyao written in 1044. It

14823-406: The Song era. The Song dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy . This dynasty saw the first surviving records of the chemical formula for gunpowder, the invention of gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows , bombs, and the fire lance . It also saw the first discernment of true north using

15006-416: The Song forces only 3,000 men on 120 warships, the Song dynasty forces were victorious in both battles due to the destructive power of the bombs and the rapid assaults by paddlewheel ships . The strength of the navy was heavily emphasized following these victories. A century after the navy was founded it had grown in size to 52,000 fighting marines. The Song government confiscated portions of land owned by

15189-527: The Song navy that could carry 1,000 soldiers aboard their decks, while the swift-moving paddle-wheel craft were viewed as essential fighting ships in any successful naval battle. In a battle on January 23, 971, massive arrow fire from Song dynasty crossbowmen decimated the war elephant corps of the Southern Han army. This defeat not only marked the eventual submission of the Southern Han to

15372-530: The Song state recognized the Liao state as its diplomatic equal. The Song created an extensive defensive forest along the Song-Liao border to thwart potential Khitan cavalry attacks. The Song dynasty managed to win several military victories over the Tanguts in the early 11th century, culminating in a campaign led by the polymath scientist, general, and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095). However, this campaign

15555-492: The Song, the era was known for its regional varieties of performing arts styles as well. Theatrical drama was very popular amongst the elite and general populace, although Classical Chinese —not the vernacular language —was spoken by actors on stage. The four largest drama theatres in Kaifeng could hold audiences of several thousand each. There were also notable domestic pastimes, as people at home enjoyed activities such as

15738-526: The Tang era, would also be revived in China under Mongol rule. Sumptuary laws regulated the food that one consumed and the clothes that one wore according to status and social class. Clothing was made of hemp or cotton cloths, restricted to a color standard of black and white. Trousers were the acceptable attire for peasants, soldiers, artisans, and merchants, although wealthy merchants might choose to wear more ornate clothing and male blouses that came down below

15921-660: The Tibertan civil war period meant that he could not really do anything significant to help, despite having so much authority as the Imperial Preceptor. Eventually, when the Phagmodrus took over, the leader of this dynasty severely weakened the authorities of the Sakyas (the group which Kunga Gyaltsen and many other previous Imperial Preceptors belonged in). In 1358, the leader of the Phagmodrupas, Changchub Gyaltsen, arranged

16104-401: The Yuan capital. Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen was born in 1308 and died in 1330. He was the younger brother of the eighth Imperial Preceptor, Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen. When Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen was the Imperial Preceptor, he divided up his siblings into four different groups, each of which lived in a different palace (Zhitog, Lhakhang, Rinchengang, and Ducho). And Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen lived in

16287-533: The Yuan dynasty, including natural disasters, like flooding and droughts, and the Red Turban Rebellion (1351). Due to the weakening of the government and the Yuan Emperor's ( Emperor Huizong ) reliance on local Warlords' armies, it led to his desire of keeping his seat of power to vanish. Emperor Huizong eventually fled North to the city of Shangdu , leaving the capital open to be captured by

16470-586: The Yuan dynasty, the Imperial Preceptor's position was continued in response to overseeing the political situation in Central Tibet. The role of the Imperial Preceptor was to coordinate all of the Buddhist activities and establishments in the Yuan Empire and promoting Buddhism . In the 12th century, under the Emperor Renzong of Western Xia , the role of the imperial preceptor was serving as

16653-516: The Yuan dynasty. He came from a very prominent aristocratic family called the Khon of Sakya . His father, Zangpo Pal, is the ruler of a monastery while his mother, Jomo Kunga Bumphulwa, was a widow of a Tibetan administrator. He served under the title of the Imperial Preceptor from 1314 until his death. As the Preceptor Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen has mass influence over the department of Buddhist affairs. For example, he once wrote

16836-416: The acting abbot (Wylie: bla chos) of the Sakya school. The appointments gave the Sharpa brothers influence in Tibet. At the time when Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen was the ruler of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, After the death of Kublai Khan in 1294 the dpon-chen Aglen suggested that a scion of the old Khön family should be allowed to rule Sakya instead of Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen. This would be Zangpo Pal,

17019-464: The age of 14 in 1892, he succeeded his uncles title and was appointed as Dishi (imperial preceptor). Although he was given the title, he did not have much experience and knowledge about the position and he never became the abbot. After receiving the title he stayed close to the great Khan. During his period of being Dishi, he mostly participated in building activities. He had a stupa built in the memory of Phagpa (the first imperial preceptor). Also, he built

17202-528: The arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including painting , composing poetry , and writing calligraphy . The poet and statesman Su Shi and his associate Mi Fu (1051–1107) enjoyed antiquarian affairs, often borrowing or buying art pieces to study and copy. Poetry and literature profited from the rising popularity and development of the ci poetry form . Enormous encyclopedic volumes were compiled, such as works of historiography and dozens of treatises on technical subjects. This included

17385-579: The assault against the Song, gaining a temporary foothold on the southern banks of the Yangtze. By the winter of 1259, Uriyangkhadai's army fought its way north to meet Kublai's army, which was besieging Ezhou in Hubei . Kublai made preparations to take Ezhou , but a pending civil war with his brother Ariq Böke —a rival claimant to the Mongol Khaganate—forced Kublai to move back north with

17568-444: The body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to the founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with

17751-447: The broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ), the "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following

17934-461: The budding movement of Neo-Confucianism , led by Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200). Mahayana Buddhism influenced Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi through its concept of ethical universalism , while Buddhist metaphysics deeply affected the pre–Neo-Confucian doctrine of Cheng Yi. The philosophical work of Cheng Yi in turn influenced Zhu Xi. Although his writings were not accepted by his contemporary peers, Zhu's commentary and emphasis upon

18117-528: The bulk of his forces. In Kublai's absence, the Song forces were ordered by Chancellor Jia Sidao to make an immediate assault and succeeded in pushing the Mongol forces back to the northern banks of the Yangtze. There were minor border skirmishes until 1265, when Kublai won a significant battle in Sichuan . From 1268 to 1273, Kublai blockaded the Yangtze River with his navy and besieged Xiangyang ,

18300-555: The capital was in the northern city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng ) and the dynasty controlled most of what is now East China . The Southern Song ( 南宋 ; 1127–1279) comprise the period following the loss of control over the northern half of Song territory to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song wars . At that time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou ). Although

18483-511: The central Song court remained politically divided and focused upon its internal affairs, alarming new events to the north in the Liao state finally came to its attention. The Jurchen , a subject tribe of the Liao, rebelled against them and formed their own state, the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) . The Song official Tong Guan (1054–1126) advised Emperor Huizong to form an alliance with the Jurchens, and

18666-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant

18849-464: The cities of Huizhou , Chengdu , Hangzhou , and Anqi. The size of the workforce employed in paper money factories was large; it was recorded in 1175 that the factory at Hangzhou employed more than a thousand workers a day. The economic power of Song China can be attested by the growth of the urban population of its capital city Hangzhou. The population was 200,000 at the start of the 12th century and increased to 500,000 around 1170 and doubled to over

19032-469: The collapse of the Jin dynasty. After the first Mongol invasion of Vietnam in 1258, Mongol general Uriyangkhadai attacked Guangxi from Hanoi as part of a coordinated Mongol attack in 1259 with armies attacking in Sichuan under Mongol leader Möngke Khan and other Mongol armies attacking in modern-day Shandong and Henan . On August 11, 1259, Möngke Khan died during the siege of Diaoyu Castle in Chongqing . His successor Kublai Khan continued

19215-595: The confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including a few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure,

19398-656: The country. In 1935, the first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over

19581-470: The court. Wang Anshi's "New Policies Group" ( Xin Fa ), also known as the "Reformers", were opposed by the ministers in the "Conservative" faction led by the historian and Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086). As one faction supplanted another in the majority position of the court ministers, it would demote rival officials and exile them to govern remote frontier regions of the empire. One of the prominent victims of

19764-422: The disciples of the abbots, Sakya Pandita and Phagpa. The three disciples were eastern (Shar), western (Nub) and middle (Gun). The Shar (eastern) was headed by a family of Zhangzhung origins, known as Sharpa. When he was younger, Yeshe Rinchen was a follower of Phagpa. The Dishi before Yeshe Rinchen was Dharmapala Raksita and because he had no heirs to succeed his position at the time he vacated his position as Dishi,

19947-413: The dynasty, government posts were disproportionately held by two elite social groups: a founding elite who had ties with the founding emperor and a semi-hereditary professional elite who used long-held clan status, family connections , and marriage alliances to secure appointments. By the late 11th century, the founding elite became obsolete, while political partisanship and factionalism at court undermined

20130-511: The early 11th century to 400,000 candidates by the late 13th century. The civil service and examination system allowed for greater meritocracy , social mobility , and equality in competition for those wishing to attain an official seat in government. Using statistics gathered by the Song state, Edward A. Kracke, Sudō Yoshiyuki, and Ho Ping-ti supported the hypothesis that simply having a father, grandfather, or great-grandfather who had served as an official of state did not guarantee one would obtain

20313-447: The economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of the most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout

20496-561: The economy. The lower gentry assumed a larger role in local administration and affairs. Song society was vibrant, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. Citizens gathered to view and trade artwork, and intermingled at festivals and in private clubs. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th-century invention of movable type printing. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi reinvigorated Confucianism with new commentary, infused with Buddhist ideals, and emphasized

20679-591: The educational system and state bureaucracy. Seeking to resolve what he saw as state corruption and negligence, Wang implemented a series of reforms called the New Policies . These involved land value tax reform, the establishment of several government monopolies, the support of local militias, and the creation of higher standards for the Imperial examination to make it more practical for men skilled in statecraft to pass. The reforms created political factions in

20862-446: The emperor regarding official appointments in Tibet. Kublai Khan dispatched the lama to Tibet in 1264 to help persuade his people to accept Mongol rule. A member of the Sakya sect, acting as Imperial Preceptor and residing in China, supervised the Buddhist clergy throughout the empire. The Mongols also selected a Tibetan official titled dpon-chen to live in and administer Tibet. This pattern of religio-political relations prevailed for

21045-593: The emperor") may also be used to refer to the office certain post-Yuan dynasty officials. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on

21228-432: The emperor's chaplain, teacher and consecrator and, more generally, teaching, writing, translating and editing. Later, under the Yuan dynasty, this post had also the added responsibility of overseeing the political situation in Central Tibet. Phagpa was a State Preceptor (guoshi) who eventually became Mongol Imperial Preceptor. The Mongol imperial preceptor resided within the precincts of the imperial palace in order to serve

21411-402: The empire. In one such project, cartographers created detailed maps of each province and city that were then collected in a large atlas . Emperor Taizu also promoted groundbreaking scientific and technological innovations by supporting works like the astronomical clock tower designed and built by the engineer Zhang Sixun . The Song court maintained diplomatic relations with Chola India ,

21594-586: The establishment of retirement homes , public clinics , and paupers ' graveyards . The Song dynasty supported a widespread postal service that was modeled on the earlier Han dynasty (202 BCE – CE 220) postal system to provide swift communication throughout the empire. The central government employed thousands of postal workers of various ranks to provide service for post offices and larger postal stations. In rural areas, farming peasants either owned their own plots of land , paid rents as tenant farmers , or were serfs on large estates. Although women were on

21777-447: The famed Bao Zheng (999–1062) embodied the upright, moral judge who upheld justice and never failed to live up to his principles. Song judges specified the guilty person or party in a criminal act and meted out punishments accordingly, often in the form of caning . A guilty individual or parties brought to court for a criminal or civil offense were not viewed as wholly innocent until proven otherwise, while even accusers were viewed with

21960-520: The first preceptor of the Yuan dynasty) left Sakya, he became the “somewhat” abbot of the monastery of Sakya. Although his brother Phagpa was given the title of the Imperial Preceptor, he gave up the post in 1274 (to return to Sakya) and it was passed on to Rinchen Gyaltsen. The year of the death of Rinchen Gyaltsen seems to be uncertain. It is said to be either 1279 or 1282 (most probably 12 March 1279). His death occurred in Shingkun (Lintao) and his post

22143-512: The first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However, the increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d.  782 BC ) to unify character forms across

22326-451: The flow of iron products from production centres to the large market in the capital city. The annual output of minted copper currency in 1085 reached roughly six billion coins. The most notable advancement in the Song economy was the establishment of the world's first government issued paper-printed money, known as Jiaozi (see also Huizi ). For the printing of paper money , the Song court established several government-run factories in

22509-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility

22692-430: The founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across the recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to

22875-400: The government relied upon the cooperation of the few or many local gentry in the area. For example, the Song government—excluding the educational-reformist government under Emperor Huizong—spared little amount of state revenue to maintain prefectural and county schools; instead, the bulk of the funds for schools was drawn from private financing. This limited role of government officials was

23058-521: The hierarchic social order, a person could gain status and prestige in society by becoming a high-ranking military officer with a record of victorious battles. At its height, the Song military had one million soldiers divided into platoons of 50 troops, companies made of two platoons, battalions composed of 500 soldiers. Crossbowmen were separated from the regular infantry and placed in their own units as they were prized combatants, providing effective missile fire against cavalry charges. The government

23241-556: The history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from the use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for

23424-471: The imperial family. The role of the imperial preceptors was to issue decrees under the emperor's authority to both protect and command monasteries in Tibet. At some point, the imperial preceptor's decrees began to be equally effective as the emperor's in Tibet, as the Yuan court had begun tending to leave Tibet politically under the supervision of the imperial preceptor. He also advised the emperor regarding official appointments in Tibet. Moreover, being members of

23607-432: The imperial preceptor in 1286 and left the court to visit Sakya and Tibet. However, he died before getting there on 24 December 1287, at Tre Mandala. Yeshe Rinchen was born in 1248 as the son of Chukpo Jetsun Kya and was from Sakya in Tibet. Unlike the first three imperial preceptors of the Yuan dynasty, Yeshe Rinchen was not from the Khon lineage. Yeshe Rinchen was from the Sharpa lineage. There were three divisions within

23790-414: The importance of proper coroner 's conduct during autopsies and the accurate recording of the inquest of each autopsy by official clerks. The Song military was chiefly organized to ensure that the army could not threaten Imperial control, often at the expense of effectiveness in war. Northern Song's Military Council operated under a Chancellor, who had no control over the imperial army. The imperial army

23973-413: The interest in the performance of post-mortem autopsies in China during the 12th century. The physician and judge known as Song Ci (1186–1249) wrote a pioneering work of forensic science on the examination of corpses in order to determine cause of death (strangulation, poisoning, drowning, blows, etc.) and to prove whether death resulted from murder, suicide, or accidental death. Song Ci stressed

24156-495: The joint military campaign under this Alliance Conducted at Sea toppled and completely conquered the Liao dynasty by 1125. During the joint attack, the Song's northern expedition army removed the defensive forest along the Song-Liao border. However, the poor performance and military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchens, who immediately broke the alliance, beginning the Jin–Song Wars of 1125 and 1127. Because of

24339-487: The knee, skirts, and jackets with long or short sleeves, while women from wealthy families could wear purple scarves around their shoulders. The main difference in women's apparel from that of men was that it was fastened on the left, not on the right. The main food staples in the diet of the lower classes remained rice, pork, and salted fish. In 1011, Emperor Zhenzong of Song introduced Champa rice to China from Vietnam 's Kingdom of Champa , which sent 30,000 bushels as

24522-434: The lack of fully ordained members of the lineage after the death of the third preceptor (Dharmapala Raksita), persons from other clerical elite families of Sakya origins were appointed. Drakpa Odzer was from one of those clerical elite families called Khangsarpa. Drakpa Odzer was the general administrator in charge of Phagpa's property. After which he followed Phagpa's nephew Dharmapala Raksita when he moved to Beijing to take up

24705-451: The landed gentry in order to raise revenue for these projects, an act which caused dissension and loss of loyalty amongst leading members of Song society but did not stop the Song's defensive preparations. Financial matters were made worse by the fact that many wealthy, land-owning families—some of which had officials working for the government—used their social connections with those in office in order to obtain tax-exempt status. Although

24888-554: The last Imperial Preceptor before the coming of the Phagmodrupa dynasty in Tibet. During his early career as the Imperial Preceptor, Kunga Gyaltsen's authority and power were recognized and respected in Tibet. He came up with several new religious rules and people followed them with respect. The appointment of his son, Lotro Gyaltsen , as a monastery leader in the year 1347 further strengthened his place. However, his stay in Dadu during

25071-419: The last obstacle in his way to invading the rich Yangtze River basin. Kublai officially declared the creation of the Yuan dynasty in 1271. In 1275, a Song force of 130,000 troops under Chancellor Jia Sidao was defeated by Kublai's newly appointed commander-in-chief, general Bayan . By 1276, most of the Song territory had been captured by Yuan forces, including the capital Lin'an. In the Battle of Yamen on

25254-533: The mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of a component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example,

25437-558: The major cause of Song economic prosperity. Artisans and merchants formed guilds that the state had to deal with when assessing taxes, requisitioning goods, and setting standard workers' wages and prices on goods. The iron industry was pursued by both private entrepreneurs who owned their own smelters as well as government-supervised smelting facilities. The Song economy was stable enough to produce over 100,000,000 kg (220,000,000 lb) of iron products per year. Large-scale Deforestation in China would have continued if not for

25620-412: The marriage strategies of the professional elite, which dissolved as a distinguishable social group and was replaced by a multitude of gentry families. Due to Song's enormous population growth and the body of its appointed scholar-officials being accepted in limited numbers (about 20,000 active officials during the Song period), the larger scholarly gentry class would now take over grassroots affairs on

25803-727: The most prosperous and advanced economies in the medieval world. Song Chinese invested their funds in joint stock companies and in multiple sailing vessels at a time when monetary gain was assured from the vigorous overseas trade and domestic trade along the Grand Canal and Yangtze River. Both private and government-controlled industries met the needs of a growing Chinese population in the Song; prominent merchant families and private businesses were allowed to occupy industries that were not already government-operated monopolies. Economic historians emphasize this toleration of market mechanisms over population growth or new farming technologies as

25986-507: The most reliable one, Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen died in 1330. A common practice among his family was to get married and have kids before fully turning into a monk; Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen showed no difference. He had five children and one of them, Sonam Lotro, eventually became the thirteenth Imperial Preceptor, while another, Drakpa Gyaltsen, also became a very powerful government official in Tibet. Rinchen Trashi's family background, year of birth and death are all unknown. Furthermore, this

26169-597: The multitude of ships sailing for maritime interests into the waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea (to Korea and Japan ), Southeast Asia , the Indian Ocean , and the Red Sea , it was necessary to establish an official standing navy . The Song dynasty therefore established China's first permanent navy in 1132, with a headquarters at Dinghai . With a permanent navy, the Song were prepared to face

26352-460: The naval forces of the Jin on the Yangtze River in 1161, in the Battle of Tangdao and the Battle of Caishi . During these battles the Song navy employed swift paddle wheel driven naval vessels armed with traction trebuchet catapults aboard the decks that launched gunpowder bombs . Although the Jin forces commanded by Wanyan Liang (the Prince of Hailing) boasted 70,000 men on 600 warships, and

26535-448: The official Chinese government, this Imperial Preceptor came from one of the six ancient aristocratic families in Tibet. His aristocratic background, in particular, was located in Sa’gya, a county in the city of Shigatse. His father is the 10th Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan dynasty, Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen, while his mother also came from an aristocratic family of the Ü-Tsang region, one of

26718-401: The political rivalry, the famous poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101), was jailed and eventually exiled for criticizing Wang's reforms. The continual alternation between reform and conservatism had effectively weakened the dynasty. This decline can also be attributed to Cai Jing (1047–1126), who was appointed by Emperor Zhezong (1085–1100) and who remained in power until 1125. He revived

26901-546: The position was handed to the Sharpa family and Yeshe Rinchen was appointed imperial preceptor. At the same time, Yeshe Rinchen's brother Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen became the ruling abbot of Sakya. There is a possibility that the Sharpa brothers were both guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person (imperial minister Sangge). However, Sangge fell from power and was executed in 1291, which presumably made Yeshe Rinchen's position, difficult to protect. After this, Yeshe Rinchen vacated his position as Dishi in

27084-534: The power of the Sakya-Yuan, in Tibet. He died in Sakya (the Lhakhang palace) on 15 December 1280. There were rumours that his death was a murder by Kunga Zangpo, who was a past pönchen (whom Phagpa had dismissed for an arrogant demeanor). Kunga Zangpo was then executed by the army. Rinchen Gyaltsen was born in 1238 as the son of Zangtsa Sonam Gyaltsen. He was the second preceptor of the Yuan dynasty. Rinchen Gyaltsen's family members were very important members in

27267-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted

27450-407: The recruitment system of officials, increasing the salaries for minor officials, and establishing sponsorship programs to allow a wider range of people to be well educated and eligible for state service. After Fan was forced to step down from his office, Wang Anshi (1021–1086) became Chancellor of the imperial court. With the backing of Emperor Shenzong (1067–1085), Wang Anshi severely criticized

27633-554: The religion. Use of these Buddhist scriptures continued even during the Mongol conquest for the Western Xia dynasty in 1227. By the mid-twelfth century onward shows a special relationship between the Western Xia throne and the Sangha that is distinct from the Song dynasty courts. Before the Yuan dynasty , the role of the Imperial Preceptor had already been established during the early rule of Renzong Emperor in 1139–1193. During

27816-490: The remainder of the Yuan period. After the overthrow of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty by the Han -led Ming dynasty , Yuan titles such as Imperial Preceptor were revoked, replaced with titles of lesser status. The Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) was founded by Kublai Khan . During the last century of the Song dynasty (960–1279), a new dynasty called the Western Xia came into existence in northwest China. The Western Xia

27999-573: The removal of the previous defensive forest, the Jin army marched quickly across the North China Plain to Kaifeng. In the Jingkang Incident during the latter invasion, the Jurchens captured not only the capital, but the retired Emperor Huizong, his successor Emperor Qinzong , and most of the Imperial court. The remaining Song forces regrouped under the self-proclaimed Emperor Gaozong of Song (1127–1162) and withdrew south of

28182-776: The rest of China proper , reuniting much of the territory that had once belonged to the Han and Tang empires and ending the upheaval of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In Kaifeng , he established a strong central government over the empire. The establishment of this capital marked the start of the Northern Song period. He ensured administrative stability by promoting the civil service examination system of drafting state bureaucrats by skill and merit (instead of aristocratic or military position) and promoted projects that ensured efficiency in communication throughout

28365-653: The roles of the dishi focused on religious matters rather than political ones. Drogon Chogyal Phagpa was born in 1235 as the son of Sönam Gyeltsen, in Ngari (West Tibet). Phagpa was the first Imperial Preceptor of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, division of the Mongol Empire, and was simultaneously named the director of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs. He was the fifth leader of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Mongol ruler Kublai Khan ordered Phagpa to create

28548-459: The same level of authority. Robert Hartwell and Robert P. Hymes criticized this model, stating that it places too much emphasis on the role of the nuclear family and considers only three paternal ascendants of exam candidates while ignoring the demographic reality of Song China, the significant proportion of males in each generation that had no surviving sons, and the role of the extended family . Many felt disenfranchised by what they saw as

28731-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted

28914-470: The same year. His position was succeeded by Drakpa Odzer. After stepping down from his position as Dishi, Yeshe Rinchen retired to the sacred Buddhist site Mount Wutai in present-day Shanxi. He died there in 1294. Drakpa Odzer was born in 1246 as the son of Sumpa Drakpa Gyaltsen, he was from Sakya in Tibet. Up to 1286 the position of the imperial preceptor was filled by members of the Khon family who were also usually hereditary abbots of Sakya. However, due to

29097-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊

29280-655: The theory of the Five Elements (wuxing), the earth element follows the fire, the dynastic element of the Song, in the sequence of elemental creation. Therefore, their ideological move showed that the Jin considered Song reign in China complete, with the Jin replacing the Song as the rightful rulers of China Proper. Although weakened and pushed south beyond the Huai River , the Southern Song found new ways to bolster its strong economy and defend itself against

29463-452: The three traditional provinces of Tibet. Sonam Lotro Gyaltsen replaced his uncle, Kunga Gyaltsen, as the Imperial Preceptor. However, he served under this title for only a year, from 1361 until his eventual death in 1362. There are little to no records of Namgyel Pel Sangpo. The Yuan dynasty ended in 1368, after the armies of the Ming dynasty captured the capital city, Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing). This followed decades of struggle for

29646-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes

29829-472: The use of intermediary agents. The Song judicial system retained most of the legal code of the earlier Tang dynasty, the basis of traditional Chinese law up until the modern era. Roving sheriffs maintained law and order in the municipal jurisdictions and occasionally ventured into the countryside. Official magistrates overseeing court cases were not only expected to be well-versed in written law but also to promote morality in society. Magistrates such as

30012-404: The vast local level. Excluding the scholar-officials in office, this elite social class consisted of exam candidates, examination degree-holders not yet assigned to an official post, local tutors, and retired officials. These learned men, degree-holders, and local elites supervised local affairs and sponsored necessary facilities of local communities; any local magistrate appointed to his office by

30195-518: The waist. Acceptable apparel for scholar-officials was rigidly defined by the social ranking system. However, as time went on this rule of rank-graded apparel for officials was not as strictly enforced. Each official was able to display his awarded status by wearing different-colored traditional silken robes that hung to the ground around his feet, specific types of headgear, and even specific styles of girdles that displayed his graded-rank of officialdom. Women wore long dresses, blouses that came down to

30378-530: The waving of banners and to halt at the sound of bells and drums. The Song navy was of great importance during the consolidation of the empire in the 10th century; during the war against the Southern Tang state, the Song navy employed tactics such as defending large floating pontoon bridges across the Yangtze River in order to secure movements of troops and supplies. There were large ships in

30561-415: The year of his death has proven to be very controversial. For example, according to the Yuanshi (also known as The History Of Yuan ), Wangchug Gyeltshen deceased in 1323, while on the other hand, according to another unknown source, he died in 1325. Another controversial debate around Wangchug Gyeltshen is whether he had actually been assigned as the Imperial Preceptor or not. The reason for this controversy

30744-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing  [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by

30927-452: Was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million). People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services. The Song government supported social welfare programs including

31110-498: Was born as the son of Chukpo Jetsun Kyab in 1257, he was from Sakya in Tibet. Jamyang Rinchen Gyaltsen was the brother of Yeshe Rinchen, they both had another brother called Kunga Senge. There were three divisions within the disciples of the abbots, Sakya Pandita and Phagpa. The three disciples were; eastern (Shar), western (Nub) and middle (Gun). The Shar (eastern) was headed by a family of Zhangzhung origins, known as Sharpa. Just as Yeshe Rinchen, Jamyan Rinchen Gyaltsen also belonged to

31293-462: Was demoted, being given the title 'Duke of Ying', but was eventually exiled to Tibet where he took up a monastic life. The former emperor would eventually be forced to commit suicide under the orders of Kublai's great-great-grandson, Gegeen Khan , out of fear that Emperor Gong would stage a coup to restore his reign. Other members of the Song imperial family continued to live in the Yuan dynasty, including Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Yong. The Song dynasty

31476-476: Was divided among three marshals, each independently responsible to the Emperor. Since the Emperor rarely led campaigns personally, Song forces lacked unity of command. The imperial court often believed that successful generals endangered royal authority, and relieved or even executed them (notably Li Gang, Yue Fei, and Han Shizhong ). Although the scholar-officials viewed military soldiers as lower members in

31659-582: Was eager to sponsor new crossbow designs that could shoot at longer ranges, while crossbowmen were also valuable when employed as long-range snipers . Song cavalry employed a slew of different weapons, including halberds, swords, bows, spears, and ' fire lances ' that discharged a gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel . Military strategy and military training were treated as sciences that could be studied and perfected; soldiers were tested in their skills of using weaponry and in their athletic ability. The troops were trained to follow signal standards to advance at

31842-403: Was ordered to take up the position of Dishi after the death of the former title-holder. However, he died in 1305, and the position was succeeded by Drakpa Odzer's younger brother Sanggye Pal. Sanggye Pal was born in 1267 as the son of Sumpa Drakpa Gyaltsen, he was from Sakya in Tibet. He was the younger brother of Drakpa Odzer, who was the fifth Dishi of the Yuan dynasty. Sanggye Pal belonged to

32025-468: Was passed on to his nephew and a son of Chakna Dorje (Dharmapala Raksita – the third preceptor of the Yuan dynasty). Dharmapala Raksita was born after the death of his father (Chakna Dojre – brother Phagpa), in 1268. In addition to the title of the Imperial Preceptor, he was also the head of the Sakya School. Since birth, because he was born fatherless, his care was assigned to the lord of Zhalu. At

32208-498: Was rarely consumed since the bull was a valuable draft animal, and dog meat was absent from the diet of the wealthy, although the poor could choose to eat dog meat if necessary (yet it was not part of their regular diet). People also consumed dates , raisins, jujubes , pears, plums, apricots, pear juice, lychee -fruit juice, honey and ginger drinks, spices and seasonings of Sichuan pepper , ginger , soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, salt, and vinegar. The Song dynasty had one of

32391-592: Was ruled by a Tibetan people, the Tanguts . The Tangut monarch Emperor Renzong of Western Xia (1139–1193) fought against the Mongols and other northern steppe tribes. He formed a close relationship with the Buddhist prelates and Tibetan priests, which led to the creation of the Xia/Hsia Institution of the Imperial Preceptorship. The role the Imperial Preceptor carried would later emerge in the Yuan dynasty and be largely influential to

32574-565: Was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty and he was a renowned artist as well as a patron of the art and the catalogue of his collection listed over 6,000 known paintings. A prime example of a highly venerated court painter was Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) who painted an enormous panoramic painting , Along the River During the Qingming Festival . Emperor Gaozong of Song initiated a massive art project during his reign, known as

32757-512: Was the first known book to have listed formulas for gunpowder; it gave appropriate formulas for use in several different kinds of gunpowder bombs. It also provided detailed descriptions and illustrations of double-piston pump flamethrowers , as well as instructions for the maintenance and repair of the components and equipment used in the device. The visual arts during the Song dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in

32940-421: Was the only one to be recognised as the emperor's personal preceptor. Because of this, Shekpa was granted a lengthy title often shortened to Rúlái dàbǎo fǎwáng (如來大寶法王), meaning " Tathāgata Great Precious Dharma King". The highest title to be granted to a Tibetan teacher during the Ming period, it was the equivalent of being granted the title of Imperial Preceptor. However, the term Dìshī (帝師; lit. "teacher of

33123-462: Was the twelfth Imperial Preceptor of the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Like many other previous Imperial Preceptors, Kunga Gyaltsen belonged to the Khon family, a group of monastery leaders with fairly high political authority in certain regions of Tibet. Kunga Gyaltsen served under this title from 1331 to his death, making him a raw exception that held the title for a very long period of time. Also, he was

33306-504: Was to always stay close to the emperor and had a supreme authority over the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, he apparently did not meet with the emperor that often and mostly lived in Lintao in Gansu. He gave up his position and passed it on to his brother ( Rinchen Gyaltsen – the second preceptor of the Yuan dynasty) in 1274. In his last years, Phagpa spent his time trying to build up

33489-443: Was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost. The Song fought against the Vietnamese kingdom of Đại Việt twice, the first conflict in 981 and later a significant war from 1075 to 1077 over a border dispute and the Song's severing of commercial relations with Đại Việt. After the Vietnamese forces inflicted heavy damages in

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