Chapter XI. The peoples of Asia, America and Africa in the Middle Ages.

1. Tang Empire. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Tang dynasty established itself in China, ruling the country for about 300 years. The unified state was headed by an emperor with unlimited power: he was considered the "Son of Heaven". He had a large army and many officials at his disposal.

The Tang Empire sought to subjugate its neighbors. Korea and Vietnam became dependent on China for a while, the Chinese army took control of the Great Silk Road up to Central Asia. After the defeat by the Arabs in the middle of the 8th century, China lost complete control over it. But trade along this route with Iran, Central Asia and Byzantium continued.

China also conducted maritime trade with countries located along the shores of the Indian Ocean. In coastal cities in China, Arabs and Persians created their permanent settlements. To facilitate transportation within the country, the Grand Canal was built with a length of 1700 km. It connected the mighty Yangtze and Huang He rivers, connected them with the southeastern sea coast, and later it was extended far to the north. The canal was also used to irrigate the fields.

At first, land in China was considered the property of the emperor. Peasants received small allotments from the state. They paid taxes to the treasury, worked on the construction of palaces, fortresses and temples. Later, military leaders and officials began to appropriate the land with the peasants living on it and imposed heavy dues on them. There were estates with hundreds of peasant households. Many peasants fled from their native villages to the mountains and forests, where they gathered in large detachments.

2. Peasant war at the end of the 9th century. In 874, a rebellion broke out in northeastern China. The peasant detachments united into a large army led by the salt merchant, the brave and determined Huang Chao. The army of peasants passed the country from north to south and stormed the large commercial port of Guangzhou (Canton), where bloody clashes between the rebels and foreigners living in the port took place.

From here, the rebels went to the capital of China - the city of Chang'an. Their army reached 500 thousand people. At its approach, the imperial troops fled, and the emperor with his court left the capital. Having entered Chang'an, the rebels declared Huang Chao emperor. He abolished heavy taxes and ordered bread from the imperial granaries to be distributed to the poor. The rebels killed noble people and high officials, and divided their wealth and valuables among the poor.

The emperor managed to gather an army, and it laid siege to Chang'an. Famine began in the city, and the rebels had to leave the capital. The authorities called on the help of cruel nomads from the north; they were popularly called "black crows".

Only in 884 the rebels were defeated. They were scattered, and their leader committed suicide. But even after that, for many years, the peasants continued the guerrilla war in various parts of the empire, defending their rights to the land.

3. Song Empire. Mongol conquests. For half a century, civil strife did not stop in the country. Weakened by uprisings and warriors, the Tang Dynasty was overthrown In the north of China, five dynasties were replaced: this time was called the "Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms." In 960, the Song Dynasty established itself in China. Her reign was spent in the fight against neighbors and popular uprisings.

AT early XIII century, Mongolian tribes appeared on the northern border of China. The Mongols first lived on the territory of present-day Mongolia. They were nomadic herders, engaged in hunting and fishing. The Mongols were divided into tribes and clans. Among the relatives, nobles rose. At the head of the tribe was a khan - a military leader, who passed power by inheritance in his family.

In 1206, a congress of representatives of the Mongol tribes chose Genghis Khan as the ruler of all the Mongols. He was a skilled commander and found many talented military leaders in his entourage. Genghis Khan created a large, disciplined army, mostly cavalry, which he sent on distant campaigns of conquest. The army was clearly organized: it was divided into units of 10 thousand soldiers (“darkness” - led by a “temnik”), each of which was divided into thousands (with “thousands”), hundreds (with “centuries”) and tens. Such a division, in a sense, reminiscent of the Roman army, made the Mongol army well managed and mobile (mobile).

An Arab historian wrote about the conquests of the Mongols: "There has not been a catastrophe more terrible for mankind since the creation of the world, and there will be nothing like it until the end of time." Indeed, invading countries with an ancient culture, the Mongol horsemen trampled down cultivated fields, robbed and destroyed cities. Everyone who resisted was exterminated, masses of people, especially artisans, were turned into slaves. The Mongols took children, especially boys, into their families in order to raise them in their traditions and replenish the number of warriors, of which they needed a lot.

In 1211, the army of Genghis Khan attacked Northern China. Within four years, it took over part of the Jin Empire, along with the capital Beijing. The Mongols adopted siege weapons from the Chinese and learned to storm fortresses. In the following years, Genghis Khan and his commanders made a campaign to the west: Central Asia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus and part of the Transcaucasus, part of Iran were conquered. In all the conquered territories, Genghis Khan forced able-bodied men to join his army, which was becoming numerous and multilingual. But the commanders were only the Mongols, and they also consisted of the most combative and devoted to the khan detachments. After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered Eastern Europe and moved west, but, having already exhausted their forces and met with stubborn resistance, they retreated. The Mongols continued their conquest of China for another 70 years. They occupied the capital of the Song Empire and from the end of the 13th century China became the main part of the Mongolian state with its capital in Beijing. The Mongolian nobility seized a lot of land in China. Gradually, the great khans adopted the Chinese order and allowed educated Chinese to rule.

In the middle of the XIII century, the Mongol state broke up into four states - uluses. They were ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan - the Ching Sids. They stopped recognizing the power of the great khan.

4. The liberation of China from the power of the Mongols.

In the middle of the XIV century, an uprising against the Mongols arose in China. It was named after the insignia of the rebels, the Red Turban Rebellion. The peasants started the struggle, the townspeople joined them. A liberation war began, which lasted about 20 years.

The rebels marched north and occupied Beijing. The last Mongol emperor with the remnants of his army fled to the northern steppes. In 1368, China achieved independence.

After the liberation from the power of the Mongols in China, there was an economic boom. The ruined cities were rebuilt. The lands taken from the Mongol nobility were divided into plots and transferred to the use of the peasants. All those who cultivated abandoned lands were exempted from duties for three years.

5. Artistic crafts. China was famous for silk production. Clothes and sails were sewn from silk, umbrellas and strings of musical instruments were made. Scenes from fairy tales, pictures of native nature were embroidered on silk.

The Chinese learned how to make porcelain from a mixture of special types of clay. Chinese craftsmen said that porcelain should be "shiny like a mirror, thin like paper, ringing like a gong, smooth and shining like a lake on a sunny day." Porcelain production required a lot of experience, knowledge and skill, and like silk production, it was kept in strict confidence. China exported a lot of porcelain products to distant countries: Byzantium, the Baghdad Caliphate, European states, where they were highly valued.

Wonderful works of the master were made of bronze, ivory, precious stones and wood. Vases and caskets were covered with carvings, varnish, drawings, and mother-of-pearl.

6. Inventions. The Chinese learned how to print books before the Europeans: craftsmen made them by carving text on wooden boards (see § 30), and each new text had to be cut on a new board. In the 11th century, a collapsible type was invented, consisting of individual hieroglyphs. But this invention did not then find wide application in China and in general in the countries of the Far East, since thousands of hieroglyphs were required to print books.

In the 8th century, the capital of China began to publish the daily newspaper Capital Bulletin. It contained decrees of the emperor and messages about major events. The newspaper was reproduced from the text cut out on the boards.

Gunpowder was invented in China. At first it was used for fireworks, and then in military affairs. Gunpowder was filled with incendiary shells. In the 13th century, guns in the form of bamboo tubes were invented, and in the 14th century, metal cannons that were loaded with stone and iron cannonballs.

Chinese sailors, earlier than others, began to use the compass in navigation, invented in antiquity. From China, the compass was taken to the west by the Arabs, and from them the Europeans borrowed it.

7. Education and scientific knowledge. Many literate people were needed to manage a huge country. Only those who passed difficult exams could become officials and enter a special class of service nobles. Officials were trained in cities in special schools.

Medieval China advanced further than Europeans in a number of branches of science. Astronomers have measured the length of a meridian degree. Long before the Europeans, they discovered spots on the Sun, and in the 13th century they created a calendar in which the duration of the year differed from the true value by only 27 seconds. The Chinese imagined the universe in the form of an egg, where the Earth resembles a yolk, and the sky is a shell revolving around it; the sun, moon and stars are attached to the sky. Astronomers knew the causes of solar and lunar eclipses and were able to predict them.

The doctors were well aware medicinal properties plants. Since ancient times, they have used ginseng root to treat overwork and decrepitude. Smallpox vaccination was a great achievement of Chinese medicine. Acupuncture and moxibustion were used to treat many diseases.

The Chinese carefully studied the history of their country. They said: "Do not forget the past, it is the teacher of the future." During the reign of each emperor, his decrees and other documents were collected and stored in order to facilitate the work of historians in the future. Scientists compiled a detailed, multi-volume history of the reign of the former dynasty.

Chinese travelers visited Central Asia, India and Indonesia, described the life and customs of many peoples.

The Chinese wanted to master the sea route along the southern coast of Asia. At the beginning of the 15th century, the emperor equipped 7 expeditions led by an experienced navigator Zheng He. The Chinese fleet, consisting of 50-60 ships with 30 thousand sailors, warriors and merchants, visited the Sunda and Moluccas, India, Iran, southern Arabia. During one of the voyages, the ships reached the eastern coast of Africa. were drawn up detailed maps sea ​​coast of Southeast and South Asia.

8. Literature and art. The 8th-9th centuries were the "golden age" of Chinese poetry: at that time, about 2 thousand poets worked.

In the 14th century, the art of the historical novel flourished. The novels "Three Kingdoms" and "River Backwaters" enjoyed special fame and love. They are still read today.

Chinese buildings were closely connected with the surrounding landscape. Architects built pagodas - Buddhist temples in the form of high multi-storey towers made of wood, stone, bronze and iron, decorated with intricate carvings. The edges of the roofs bent upwards created the impression of lightness and aspiration upwards, as if they reproduced the silhouettes of the surrounding hills and trees.

After the liberation of China from the power of the Mongols, Beijing was completely rebuilt. The Temple of Heaven was erected in the center of the square area. This building, which has a circle in plan - a sign of the Sun or sky, with blue pointed roofs in the form of cones, recalls the continuous movement of natural elements.

Statues and reliefs were placed in the pagodas - images of the deity. The images of the Buddha, his disciples and followers are distinguished by clarity and purity, they represent the beauty of a wise man in his greatness and tranquility.

Painting was the main form of art in medieval China. Artists were educated in special schools, and an academy of painting was opened in the capital. Exhibitions of paintings by the best artists were often arranged here.

Painters painted pictures with paints or ink on long silk or paper scrolls. They depicted landscapes - views of nature, which the Chinese called "mountains and waters." In the Tang time, nature was represented as a fairy-tale world, colorful, festive and bright. The upheavals experienced by the country in the Sung period brought a poignant sadness to the landscapes, a glorification of peace and quiet. Nature appears as the only reliable refuge of man in a world of wars, rebellions and disasters.

The landscape has always been closely associated with man, expressed his feelings; the mood of the master was also conveyed through the state of nature. In addition to landscapes, the artists also painted fruits, delicate flowers and leaves, animals and birds. Such paintings were called "flowers and birds". Beautifully written and arranged hieroglyphs played an important role in the paintings.

In the Middle Ages, the culture of China was very high. She had a great influence on the culture of Korea, Indochina, and Japan.

In the II century. AD as a result of internal contradictions, one of the greatest world powers of antiquity, the Han Empire, fell. Popular uprisings, most notably the Yellow Turbans, destroyed the old system of government and, although the uprisings were suppressed, it was impossible to restore the old order of government. The chiefs of government troops, who claimed supreme power in the state, unleashed an internecine war. On the territory of the former Han Empire, three independent kingdoms were formed: Wei, Wu, Shu. Long wars between these kingdoms ended with the victory of the northern kingdom of Wei. In all three kingdoms, the power of the new imperial Jin dynasty was established.

The collapse of the Han Empire dealt a blow to the foundations of the slave-owning society. The time of the establishment of feudal relations begins, within the framework of which slavery continued to exist, which was not completely destroyed.

In 280, Emperor Sima Yan issued a decree changing the land use system. In accordance with the decree, every able-bodied farmer (male or female aged 16 to 60) had the right to a full allotment of land, from which 1/5 of the harvest went to the state, the rest was left to the user of the land. Persons aged 13 to 15 and 61 to 65 could use only half of the allotment. Children and the elderly did not have land plots and did not pay taxes. The taxable population, in addition to the specified contribution, paid a tax in the form of silk fabric and silk wadding and, in addition, worked out at government jobs up to 20 days a year.

At the end of the III century. the Huns invaded northern China, and then other tribes roaming along the borders of the Chinese empire. The population of the conquered northern regions moved to the south. Newcomers from the north crowded local residents, often capturing their lands. At the same time, a struggle broke out between representatives of the ruling strata for land, for the enslavement of the peasants, as a result of which large landholdings were formed. The state power was weak and could not resist this.

Absorbed by the struggle for land, the court did not attempt to return the conquered northern lands. Attempts by individual commanders to carry out campaigns to the north did not receive support. Meanwhile, the domination of the Toba tribe was established in the territory of Northern China and the power of the Tobi dynasty of the Northern Wei was established. With the accession of this dynasty, wars ceased, and peaceful life began to improve in Northern China. Here also began the struggle for land, for the peasants. In 485, an imperial decree was issued, establishing an allotment system of land use. State ownership of the land was asserted, and the peasants, free from the power of individual feudal lords, were the holders of state allotments. The decree determined the size of the plot and the obligations of the holders. While securing the supremacy of state ownership of land, the decree did not prevent the formation of large landholdings by the feudal nobility.

The organs of power and administration were formed according to the ancient Chinese model. Chinese officials played an important role in the administration of the state. The Chinese language became the state language, the Tobis adopted the Chinese culture and religion. An early feudal centralized monarchy developed in the Northern Wei state.

In the second half of the VI century. The north and south of China were unified under the rule of the Sui Dynasty. The first representatives of this dynasty sought to establish autocracy. The strengthening of central power was accompanied by further enslavement of the farmers and an attack on the ancient village organizations. Officials sent to the localities conducted a population count and identified peasants who had not previously been included in the tax lists. The size of the allotment was reduced, the tax, on the contrary, increased, labor service increased. This policy led to widespread popular uprisings.

The large feudal landowners, who received grant and service lands, were also dissatisfied with the government's policy. In addition, they were frightened by the inability of the government to suppress the peasant uprisings that swept the country. Taking advantage of the unsuccessful Korean campaign, the feudal lords revolted. Trouble and the struggle for power brought to the throne a new ruling dynasty - Tang. To stop popular unrest, the new emperor issued a series of decrees aimed at improving the situation of the peasants: the tax debt for previous years was liquidated, the terms of the state corvée were limited, the peasants sold into slavery were freed, the feudal lords were forbidden to kill the peasants.

Representatives of the Tang dynasty sought to limit large land ownership by increasing state land ownership and the number of state tax-paying peasants. In 624, a decree was issued establishing favorable conditions for peasants. According to this decree, every adult male had the right to a garden plot, which is the eternal possession of the family, and to an arable plot, which was a holding for the duration of his ability to work. The elderly, women and teenagers received small allotments. State slaves could also receive land. Arable plots were subject to redistribution annually in every tenth month. Lands in perpetual possession could be the subject of transactions, arable land was allowed to be sold and mortgaged in exceptional cases. In favor of the state, farmers were required to pay food rent-tax and work on state lands 20 days a year. The peasants, who were the main productive force in the state, were attached to the land and were not only economically, but also personally dependent.

In the early years of the Tang Empire, there were not so many large family holdings of feudal lords, they were worked by peasants dependent on the owner and sometimes slaves. The service allotments of officials, provided to them only for the duration of their service, were processed, as a rule, by state allotment peasants.

During the reign of the Tang dynasty, a fairly strong centralized state was created with a well-established bureaucratic apparatus of government.

The social structure of the Tang Empire. With the development of feudal relations, the population of China was organized into a complex hierarchical system. All the inhabitants of the Empire were vassals of a single suzerain - the emperor, who personified the state. The highest group of the ruling class was the hereditary aristocracy, which had significant economic and social privileges. Representatives of the nobility were divided into groups in accordance with the category of feudal titles. Each title corresponded to a certain amount of land ownership.

Numerous officials were divided into nine ranks. Each rank corresponded to payment in the form of a certain land ownership or salary. Promotion up the bureaucratic ladder was possible subject to passing state exams.

The most numerous stratum of the population - the peasantry - was also not united. Most of the peasants belonged to the "good people", whose duties included the cultivation of the land and the timely performance of all duties. Most of the "good people" were the poor. A special position was occupied by village elders, heads of clans, and wealthy peasants. Duties were also included in the “good people”. In some cases, they could be endowed with half land plots.

At the very bottom of the social ladder were "cheap people" - land holders from private individuals, servants, slaves.

Each social group led a lifestyle that was unique to it, strictly observing the rules of conduct, using a certain type of clothing, jewelry, and housing. It was forbidden, bypassing the nearby step, to address people standing higher. Despite the obstacles that existed between the numerous social groups, movement along the hierarchical ladder was not excluded.

Political system. The supreme power in the state belonged to the emperor, who had unlimited rights and had to rule on the basis of traditions and laws. The emperor was called the Son of Heaven. His closest assistants were two zai-xiang. These positions were held by members of the imperial house or influential dignitaries. Often it was they who actually decided state affairs. The country was administered through three departments - chambers: one chamber was in charge of the executive authorities, the other two prepared and promulgated imperial decrees, organized solemn ceremonies. The activities of each chamber were led by the chief and his two assistants: the right and the left. Six departments were subordinate to the first chamber, divided into two groups. The first included: the department of ranks, which was engaged in the appointment and dismissal of officials; the department of rituals, which oversaw the observance of rituals, etiquette, morality; department of finance, which carried out tax accounting, was engaged in the taxation and collection of taxes. The second group of departments included the military department involved in the organization of military affairs in the Empire; department of punishments, to which the courts and prisons were subordinate; department of works, which carried out the organization of labor service tax.

At the imperial palace there were special departments serving the imperial person, palace property.

important place among public institutions occupied by the Chamber of Inspectors, whose task was to monitor the central and local apparatus. The activities of this body contributed to the centralization of the state apparatus.

The empire was divided into provinces, districts, counties. Each of these levels had its own organization of officials appointed and removed by the center. Smaller than the counties, the unit was the villages headed by the elders, and the smallest unit was the union of four or five households. The creation of such units contributed to the destruction of family ties, which were still strong in the village.

The filling of public positions was based on the system of state examinations.

Right

By order of Emperor Li Shi-ming, the creation of a code of laws of criminal law began, which ended after his death. The list of crimes was huge: walking down the street at night, kindling a fire at night, driving fast around the city, etc. For example, the owner was punished with 100 blows with a stick for killing a delinquent slave, and a slave for the careless murder of a master was subjected to the death penalty. Under the influence of Confucianism, the ancient custom of physically mutilating a criminal was banned.

The reign of Emperor Xuanzuang (713-765) was the heyday of the Tang Empire. But the development of feudal relations led in the second half of the VIII century. to the crisis of the state. The tradition, according to which the supreme ownership of the land belonged to the state, the existence of a social hierarchy and a system of supervision could not resist the aspirations of the feudal lords to create large landholdings. Having strengthened their economic positions, the feudal lords began to lay claim to political dominance in the country. Separatist sentiments have spread on the ground. The state, waging a struggle with them, and also trying to stop the aspirations of the feudal lords for political domination, transferred part of the functions and rights of civil ranks to the military. As a result of this, in fact, dual power was created in the provinces, while the military governors turned out to be more influential.

The reduction of state lands and the decrease in the number of taxable peasants devastated the treasury. All attempts by the imperial government to limit the growth of large landownership did not produce any particular results. The seizure of land and peasants continued. State funds were reduced and the result was the loss of the previously conquered territories by the Empire.

Power passed to the owners of feudal estates. Instead of the allotment system, a new taxation procedure was introduced. All land owners were divided into nine categories, depending on the amount of land available. All former duties were replaced by a single land tax, levied regardless of the age and ability to work of the taxable persons. Taxes were levied twice a year: in summer and autumn. As a result of the reform, not only state peasants, but also land holders from private individuals. This reform officially recognized the land holdings of the feudal lords.

The collapse of the allotment system led to a deterioration in the situation of the peasants, the ruin of peasant farms, which caused numerous popular unrest.

The political power of the emperor was shaken. At the same time, the military governors achieved hereditary rights to titles and possessions. They, only nominally obeying the emperor, pursued a completely independent policy. In China, a period of feudal fragmentation began. At the beginning of the X century. The last emperor of the Tang Dynasty was deposed.

Even during the period of feudal fragmentation, the Chinese state to some extent retained its unity. This was due to the following circumstances: there were close economic ties within the state, great importance to maintain their livelihoods, they had public works in large areas, periodic popular unrest, the constant threat of raids from nomads required a combination of efforts.

In the second half of the X century. the general empire was restored political power. The Song dynasty became the new ruling dynasty. In order to centralize power, the former administrative system, which ensured the dominance of military governors, was abolished. The newly formed districts were subordinate to the emperor. To limit the power of local officials, parallel governments were created. Chiefs were appointed from the center to the districts and counties for permanent work. In addition, it was practiced to temporarily send officials from the capital to the provinces. The ideological support of the feudal monarchy was Confucianism.

In the XIII century. China was conquered by the Mongol feudal lords, whose dominance continued until the middle of the 14th century. In 1351, all of China was engulfed in a popular movement directed against Mongolian yoke. China is free again. The Ming dynasty ascended the throne. The social and political system of the Minsk Empire exactly copied the old feudal state: the same division of the population into ranks and classes, preventing the formation of estates, the same bureaucratic apparatus of government. All power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor. Political development of China in the XIV-XV centuries. contributed to the strengthening of the feudal order.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. in China, a crisis of feudal relations begins and a transition to a new historical period in the history of the state.

220-266 Kingdom of Wei.

221 - 263 Kingdom of Shu.

222 - 280 Kingdom of W.

581-618 Suyi Empire.

618-907 Reign of the Tang imperial dynasty. Founded by Li Yuan. The dominance of the Tang was undermined by the peasant war of 874–901 and the struggle between various groups of feudal lords.

907 Beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, a period of internecine strife in China.

916-1125 Formation of the Khitan state Liao (Khitans - tribes of the Mongol group) in northern China.

960-1279 The number of cities increased, new types of crafts flourished. Imperial Song Dynasty in China. It fell as a result of the Mongol conquest.

1211 - 1217 The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, captured a significant part of the Jin state.

1231 - 1234 Z completion of the conquest of the Jin state by the Mongols.

1276 Mongol conquest of southern China.

1280-1368 Mongol Yuan dynasty in China. The founder is the Mongol Khan Kublai.

1351-1368 The uprising of the "Red Troops" ("Red Armbands") in China, which led to the overthrow of the Mongol Yuan dynasty; The insignia of the rebels is a red scarf.

1368-1644 Imperial Ming Dynasty in China. Founded by Zhu Yuanzhang (one of the leaders of the "Red Troops" uprising). Overthrown by peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng.

1644 The establishment of the rule of the Manchus in China, their dynasty ruled until 1911.

China in the Middle Ages.

The slave system in China was destroyed by popular uprisings. In the III century on the spot ancient empire several warring states emerged. The weakness of China took advantage of the nomadic tribes who lived north of the Great Wall of China. One invasion of nomads was replaced by another. For several centuries, the Chinese people had to fight against the conquerors.

In the III-IV centuries, a feudal system began to be established in China. In a large, densely populated country, it was difficult for landowners to suppress the uprisings of enslaved peasants alone. They themselves could not organize the construction of canals and dams on the entire length of the high-water Chinese rivers - the Yangtze and the Yellow River. Fragmented China could not resist the nomads. All this required the creation of a single state with a strong power of the emperor and a large army.

At the end of the 6th century, the unification of China took place. The whole state was headed by the emperor, who had unlimited power.

After the unification, the northern part of the country was liberated from nomads. Gradually the economy revived. Peasants restored canals, strengthened dams, sowed empty fields. In the VIII century, the borders of China expanded. Empire paid tribute to Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Vietnam.

Fortified peasants.

For a long time, all land in China was considered the property of the emperor. Peasants received small allotments from the state, for the use of which they paid taxes to the treasury.

The work of a peasant was hard. On a tiny field, he worked from dawn to dusk, carefully guarding the crops, patiently waiting for the harvest. And when autumn came, the tax collectors came and took away most of his food. In addition to constant requisitions, officials drove thousands of peasants to build palaces, temples and fortresses. Peasants worked for free, driven by blows from bamboo sticks.

The emperor distributed large plots of land to his military leaders and officials, who became feudal lords.

From the 8th century, military leaders and officials began to seize state lands, and the peasants were turned into their serfs. There were estates with hundreds of peasant households. The houses of the feudal lords were surrounded by adobe walls and were guarded by guards from hired soldiers. Peasants were obliged to pay quitrents to the feudal lords, which amounted to two-thirds of the harvest. In lean years and after floods, hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation. Fleeing from the oppression of the feudal lords, the peasants fled from their native villages. In the mountains and forests they gathered in large detachments.

Peasant war in China in the 9th century.

In 875, in northeast China, individual peasant detachments united into a large army. The rebels were led by the peasant Huang Chao. Huang Chao was a brave and determined man; he was good with a spear and was a good archer.

Occupying region after region, the rebels dealt with the hated feudal lords and officials, and their lands and wealth were distributed to the poor. The government did not have enough forces to suppress the uprising. Then one of the local chiefs offered Huang Chao to go to the service of the emperor and promised to appoint him a general if he betrayed his supporters. But Huang Chao indignantly refused and continued to fight.

The army of peasants passed the country from north to south and stormed the large trading city of Guangzhou (Canton). Having replenished their forces, the rebels set out on a campaign to the north, to the capital of China - the city of Chang'an. Their army reached 500 thousand people. At its approach, the imperial troops fled in fear. The emperor secretly left the capital.

Upon entering Chang'an, the rebels declared Huang Chao emperor. They did not know any other power, except for the imperial one. Officials and large feudal lords captured by the rebels were killed. Huang Chao abolished large taxes and ordered bread to be distributed to the poor from state barns.

Saving their wealth, the emperor and the feudal lords called for help from the enemies of the Chinese people - cruel nomads from the north. The people called them "black crows". Nomadic cavalry broke into the capital and burned most of the city. Huang Chao was forced to leave Chang'an. During the retreat, his troops suffered several defeats. In 884, the rebels were scattered, and their leader died. But even after that, for about 20 years, the peasants continued the armed struggle in various parts of the empire.

During the peasant war, many feudal lords and officials died, part of their lands passed into the hands of the peasants. The masses of the people have obtained temporary relief from their situation.

16. Material culture of the medieval East

In essence, the medieval era was feudal and developed in two little similar versions: one - the states of the West; the other is the medieval civilizations of the east, among which is the Confucian civilization (China); Japan; the Indian state, the civilization of the Mongols and the Middle Eastern Islamic world.

1. Medieval China

Chinese civilization survived the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages imperceptibly, without global transformation and destruction of all foundations, as happened with the collapse of the great empires of the past in the West. Moreover, medieval China in many ways resembled ancient China. But changes did occur. Historians date the origin of feudal relations here from the 11th to the 4th centuries. BC, although it is believed that they developed around the 3rd century. n. e. Gradually, slowly, slavery was eliminated, and new social formations arose in their peculiar, “eastern” version. Serious changes took place in the spiritual life, the state structure and its moral foundations were recreated. In this sense, the emergence of Confucianism was a turning point in Chinese history.

In the middle of the first millennium BC. e. the philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC) created the doctrine that was destined to become the flesh and blood of Chinese civilization. The goal of his philosophical system was to make the state ideal, based on solid moral principles, with harmonious social relations. The ideas of Confucius, at first glance, far from reality, after several centuries became the state religion and for more than two millennia, almost unchanged, retained a leading role in the spiritual life of Chinese society. Confucianism is salvation on earth Confucianism is a very "earthly" religion. Rationality and practicality are expressed in it so strongly that some scholars do not even consider it a religion in the full sense of the word. The methods of government, the regulation of relations between different social strata, the principles of family life, the ethical norms that a person must follow - this is what interested the medieval followers of Confucius in the first place.

The stage of centralization of China was carried out during the Sui dynasty, which at the end of the 6th century. united north and south, but was overthrown at the beginning of the 7th century. The era of its true heyday is associated with the Tang dynasty, which ruled for a long time (from the beginning of the 7th to the beginning of the 10th century) and the Song dynasty (X-XIII centuries). In that era, roads, canals and new cities were built throughout the country, crafts, trade, fine arts, and especially poetry reached an extraordinary flowering.

Weak people - strong state: the main slogan of medieval China. The power, which played the role of patron and steward in a large family, was personified in the face of the emperor. All other social strata, no matter what step of the hierarchical ladder they stood on, were directly his subjects. Therefore, in feudal China, as it was in Western Europe, the system of vassalage did not arise; the only suzerain was the state. In addition, the system of collective responsibility was widespread in China. So, the son, and even the whole family, could pay for the crime of the father; the headman in the village was punished if the land on his territory was not fully cultivated; county officials found themselves in the same position. However, the focus on collectivism also had a downside. In China, family and clan ties, consecrated and glorified by Confucianism, have acquired tremendous power.