Lesson 20: China Develops a New Economy

• Circulation


  the passing of something, such as money, from person to person
• Commerce


  the buying and selling of goods; business
• Currency


  the form of money used in a country
• Economy


  a system of managing the wealth and resources of a community or region
• Elaborate


  detailed and often complicated; carefully planned
• Inferior


  lower in rank or quality
• Restrictions


  a limit or control placed on something
• Stimulated


  to encourage the growth or activity of something
• Urbanization


  the growth of cities
• A growth in rice production would most likely result in...


  an increase in the economy because of more crops to sell
• During the Song, China's cities were...


  larger than cities in Europe
• China became prosperous because of changes in...

  • agriculture
  • commerce
  • urbanization
• What linked northern and southern China?


  The Grand Canal
• How did the shift to growing rice encourage trade and the demand for luxury items?


  • peasants could take time off of farming to produce more exotic items
  • rich farmers could market their surplus rice
  • wealthy landowners wanted luxury
• What was one major reason for the increase in rice production during the Song?

  a new variety of rice was introduced (Champa rice)
• To grow rice on hillsides, farmers created flat areas called...

  terraces
• To improve farming techniques for rice and other crops, farmers in southern China...

  • used fertilizer
  • created irrigation systems
  • improved the plow & harrow
• Why did many people decide to move south during the Tang?


  attacks by tribes from Mongolia
• What was one result of farmers moving from northern to southern China?


  Farmers began growing rice plants in the south because of warm and wet conditions there.
• The Chang Jiang valley in southern China was covered with... 


  wetlands
• What allowed businesses to boom during the Tang and Song dynasties?


  emperors promoted trade
• Currency during the Song was...


  paper money
• The main reason that the Chinese population grew during the Song was


  abundance of food
• What custom marked a decline in the status of women during the Song?


  Women began to bind their feet.
• Strolling down a 13th-century city, one might see all of the following except...


  irrigation systems
• What did changes in agriculture, trade & commerce, and urbanization result in?


  the highest standard of living in China
• How did the Chinese improve their economy during the Tang and Song?


  by adapting to changes in agriculture, which enabled the emergence of innovative technologies and stimulated the growth of commerce