The+Rise+of+The+Tang+Dynasty+-+Research+Notes+-+Climate+and+Geographic+Factors

Cathy Zheng →weakens when it reaches south of China, causes a dry and cold winter in the country and huge temperature differences (almost about 40 degrees!!!) between the northern regions and southern regions. (E.g. Hainan Island in the south has a long summer, no winter; Northern HeiLongJiang province in the northeast has no summer; The Tibetan Plateau(conquered by the Tang later) is always covered by snow, etc.) Source: [|Tourism Asia] []
 * __ Climate and Geographic Factors __** :
 * territories stretched from the Tarim Basin塔里木盆地 to the Korean Peninsula, and from Mongolia down to what is now Vietnam.
 * The Tang capital was ChangAn长安, modern day XiAn西安/ShanXi陕西.
 * General Climate**
 * China lies mainly in the northern Temperate Zone.
 * Pre-dominated by Monsoon.
 * from September to April, monsoon wind from Siberia and the Mongolia Plateau arrive in Chinese territory
 * Most rainfall during the monsoon season between May and October.
 * Great temperature and climate differences for different regions-due to China's huge territory and its complex topography.
 * Great differences between regions for humidity level.


 * A Very Diverse Topography**




 * a land of deserts, mountains and fertile river basins.
 * the outline descends step by step from the west to the east
 * about 60% of its total land area covered by mountains, hills and plateaus.
 * China had a great number of lakes.
 * the east and southeast coast embraced by the Bohai Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the South China Sea

Source: [|Tourism Asia] []

BUT the idea was rebutted by the Chinese historians > 2. a relatively dry period from 771 AD to 819 AD > 3. a rainy stage, during this period which the reign of the Tang Dynasty came to an end.
 * Climate change ended the Tang Dynasty??**
 * Based on the idea that burning enormous amounts of oil unnaturally cultivated from the earth causes climate change, some say that the Tang dynasty burned enormous amounts of oil unnaturally cultivated from the earth. →causes shifts in the monsoon cycle
 * Strong winter monsoon & Weak summer monsoon →prolonged droughts and poor summer rains, which caused crop failure
 * Some foreign researchers say that peasant uprising caused by severe drought that lasted 150 years was one of the main reasons for Tang's fall.
 * According to a group of Chinese Historians' research, the climate change in the Tang Dynasty could be divided into 3 stages:
 * 1. a rainy stage from 711 AD to 771 AD
 * Though, the Climate in the middle period of the Tang Dynasty became cold, no record of a great drought in the historical documents of the Tang Dynasty that led to a peasant revolution.
 * Seaports&Maritime Trade**
 * They used their sea and water routes to their utmost advantage in trading.
 * The Chinese was actively involved in large-scale tradings for overseas at the time of the Tang Dynasty.
 * Strong Chinese presence in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, into Persia, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt, Aksum (Ethiopia), and Somalia

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Tang Dynasty China > The Rise of the Tang Dynasty > Research Notes > Climate and Geographic Factors 