History 383 Notes (Exam 3)

Nature of elite changes againGreat families wiped out 880s Huang Chao rebellion(slaughtered 3000 officials)destruction is so thorough, they never recoverbrief resurgence in late Tang (5 dynasties) but mostly gonemilitary strongmen in power, only contenders are remnants of great familiesso they wipe them outvacuum of power new elite comes to power in Songnew elite = literati, scholar-officialseventually evolves into gentry (land owning elite, by Ming and Qing)Song is successor of last of 5 dynasties5 dynasties: each short-lived, generals rise to power and overthrow(happens in around 50 years)military generals dont train sons, but invest in their education so they will become bureaucratsso, they know military rule is shortsighted, in long run bureaucratic rule more sensiblelast general sets up Song dynastypersuades his generals to retire (good homes, retirement packages)he takes direct control of all armies, ends regional armies that plaguedTangCentralizing power, fundamentally changing cultureHe elevates civilian officials to positions of power over military officialsChinese political culture capable of enormous compromisesThey devise new standard for loyalty to emperorFor a long time, you served whoever was in chargeHowever, if you are fickle, the Emperor is in troubleSo, early Song, civilian officials only serve one dynastyYou should refuse to serve othersAnother big theme of period: shift of cosmopolitan view to sinocentric viewex: in Tang, traditional Chinese music is abandoned for central Asian music(very open to foreign culture)An Lushan rebellion: uighurs dont get paid, take what they want, raise ethnic tensionsToward late 19th century, xenophobia and fear in ChinaTurning point in SongConfucianism finally makes a comeback in Songas a reaction against the foreign religion, BuddhismNorth China now challenged by SouthAfter An Lushan rebellion, 90% of govt revenue comes from the South (N. China devastated)During Song, about 2/3 However, South remains more financially stableSong is able to harness resources/power in South (big help) commercial revolution (and industrial, but limited)5 cities in Tang, 47 cities in SongHangzhou in 12th century: population is 4 millionIn Song, urban population is between 6 7.5% In 1900, only 4%Song is high watermark of urbanization in China before 1950Why is Song so urbanized, but then economic standards decline?As a result of practical responses to real issues?Japanese monk Naito says Song is beginning of modern China (downhill since)view shared by many scholarsshould be early modernTang cities perfect grids, sectors, zones (markets divided, etc.)Song cities more laid back, laissez-faire, constructed city around what merchants/townspeople were doingShops on ground floor, merchants lived on second floorEverything is sort of free, random, unregulatedBut govt pays attention to helping make city functionalRather than focus on Silk route, Song looks to ocean, sea routes openMore economically viable no taxing from central Asians, share less profitstribute rice = tax ricenorth China needed rice from South China to eatin late Tang, 3 million bushels sent, in Song, 7.5 million bushelspersonality/culture changeshift of core personality of Chinese in TangSongfrom northern, marshal, military southern, poetic, romantic, effetein Tang people played polo. By 12th century they stopped playing polo, started playing kickball (safer)new elite/ new clan structurein HanTang, real clans are great families, other clans called water drinking clans (poor people cant afford tea)in Song, clans are still operative in 20th centuryall people of a region (no matter who you are)has benefits for everyonerevival of Confucianism thus reaching lower levels of societyin America, log cabin myth no matter how poor, work hard, become presidentin China, dragon myth no matter how poor, study hard, take exams & become emperoranother major development: change of imperial modellarge step toward centralizationchinese see disorder as bad, so this is a progressive steplong disorderly period from HanTang, much shorter from TangSongalso, finances: explosion of commercial activitygovt turns to commercial taxes, a large share goes to the emperors treasurythus, increasing power of the emperor through bureaucracysignificant in centralization processequal fields died off in 8th century, then Tang institutes 2-year taxby Northern Song, there is a distinction between householdseither host or guesthosts owned householdsguests farmed others land (basically sharecroppers)twice as many host households, Tang only taxed hostsalso, they are now able to use water projects (focus on making ponds/reservoirs on land to get through drought. This requires more landed area) and cropsalso, development of paper money (coins also, made in different places as a protective policy)reenacted in early PRC (funny money)decide that rather than lugging coins everywhere, use paper insteadthen govt stepped in to regulate (worlds first paper currency)very helpful for merchants, eventually, however, govt inflates itgives Chinese a bad experience with paper moneyProblemsAfter Tang, many governments in east Asia thought of themselves as legitimate successorsPower of foreign states:1) Tangut western Xia2) Qidan Liao and treaty of Shanyuan3) Jurchen Jinall regarded themselves as legitimate successors1040 king of western Xia declares himself emperorQidan invades China and at treaty of Chanyuan, treaty among equals, very pragmatic, recognized existing borders, Song would give Qidan what they needed to survivePart of what induces nationalistic response_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Song advancement new way to explain natural worldOlder view (Han) is basis of Chinese medicineSong argues everything is an expression of a different stage of qi (morecomplex)purest qi in body is in your mind (but qi is everywhere) why humans can do so much (bodies different b/c qi is different)paired with li (principle, pattern)patterns useful for transmission of qi (think: martial arts)Zhu Xi most important Song philosopherUses these concepts to explain everythingGeomancy: placement of everything (esp. graves) is importantExplains existence of ghosts as qi (compressed by anger)Zhu Xi has philosophical basis for explaining why Mencius was rightHuman nature is goodHuman nature = principleHumans are combination of energy and principle, energy has limitationsTo become goodtransform nature (mind/body) through education, discipline, so human nature becomes manifestBy extension, do this by investigating/exploringWay of understanding nature, science of the day, empirical observation, analysis with philosophySong paintings of catsyou can tell what time of day by looking at pupils of catsSame spirit with gunpowder/printing/clocksBig push to science/innovation in SongSong is a kind of renaissance excitement to discover wisdom of antiquityWith assumption that all previous history was a dark ageHan/Tang had it wrong, but Song could read Confucius and understand it better than any other periodHan/Tang asked too many concrete/scholastic questionsConfucius said: how do you learn to become a better person?Song wanted to answer thisSong enthusiasm for Confucianism is like Zhiyis transformation of Buddhism in Sui (to unify China)Possible b/c Song govt are convinced they are the first Confucian government in antiquity so they have unique opportunity to solve Chinas problemsConvinced it is their obligation to work with govt to make things better(with knowledge of nature/world)so, type of renaissance (Why Naito said Song beginning of [early] modern China)Song uses a high bar for expectations (judge against ancients)Risk: Zhu Xi trying to radically change world, self, become sageRise in Song (innovation) then downhill why? Big questionWhat went wrong? Implications: if Song China is proxy of modern China with modern population problemsAlso, lots of data available from SongSo we can learn from their effortChallenged with trying to make more sense from Chinese history than simply a dynastic cycleProblems with early Song:Where to place the capital?If China is strong, capital in Xian (west)If weak, Luoyang, closer to breadbasket, away from invaders (east)Song settles on Kaifeng, close to breadbasket, saferNormally, when peace comes, reduce army to cut expensesWhen Song founded (1041) 1.25 millionIn 1066, 1.20 millionWhy couldnt Song keep Jurchen/Qidan Liao out?Had massive army, developed tons of weapons (conventional and not)But instead, used these bandits as police/crowd control put on payroll1127 against Jurchens first documented case of gunpowder in warfarevery effectivein spite of this, they lost(on horses, mobile armies with bows and arrows were still more effective for hitting a target)in Europe, cannons used to attack fortifications effectively(so: better for offense than defense)Liao/Jin from early on put themselves in Chinese tradition, see themselves as legitimate rulers (later, mongolsmodel from Jurchen Jin)So, huge army industry, but in retrospect not great for Chinese at the timeA centerpiece of Chinese warfare: using foreign armies against each otherLiao controls area of Beijing/beyond great wallEarly 12th century, Jurchen (vassal tribe of Liao) try to rise up against LiaoSong says they will help against Liao (make treaty)War: Liao destroyed (1115) Jurchen do it by themselvesBecause Song doesnt contribute, Jurchen take BeijingIn 13th century again Jin have Liao territory, all of north China (Southern Song)Then Mongols arrive, Song hears mongols want to attack JurchenSong has treaty with mongols, mongols kill Jurchen (largely by themselves)Each time, Song ends up with stronger barbarians at border, pushing closer to China (so this can be a bad policy)Chen Liang poem (170) angered that southern leaders bow to barbarians, in north china arent there still true Chinese?China smells like sheep/goats central Asian animalsMust liberate north to save Chinese civilizationTaken China and stuffed it into remote corner in Hangzhou but it cant survive here nationalistic response to barbarians_+_+_+_+

ProblemsPower of foreign states1) Tangut western Xia2) Qidan Liao and Treaty of Shanyuan3) Jurchen JinKoreans make language, careful not to provoke chinese world viewSo they could communicate off radarSame thing Xia was doing (trying to downplay conflict with Chinese)Chinese response warFrom Chinese/Song POV, Xia crossed lineChinese govt is center of cosmos, all under heaven (tianxia)This system cracks with Liao and Jin b/c they are militarily superiorAnother problem: Yin system (old, from Sui/Tang)In Tang, a way great families became officialsdepending on your level of office, you can recommend relatives to a certain level of office (helps dumb relatives)Song also continues Yin systemDeal when Song started, they first needed lots of officials, to attract officials they kept Yin systemHowever, with increase in population and printing (printing starts China 800s):Books are cheaper, so education spreads and there are more qualified peopleEventually, 4000 Yin privileges handed out per year of officials dont have degreeSong tries to correct problems of Tangexams recopied, so handwriting is not recognizableSong doubles size of bureaucracy by creating parallel officese.g. board of revenue (old) and finance commissionreason: need to create jobs, too many peopleFeng Zhongyans minor reforms (1043,44)Strengthens national education, limits Yin privilegesLasts less than 2 years, doesnt accomplish a lotIn all of the dynasties, there have been 3 major reforms:1) Emperor Wu in Han, unintended consequences are landing the merchant class2) Wang Anshis New Policies (1067-89) (big changes)3) Comes laterIn Song, a lot of letters people wrote (ex. Sima Guang and Wang Anshi)Sima attacks Wangs reformsMakes case that just like Wus reforms became a disaster, so will WangsUses quotes from classics (Confucian)Says Wangs reforms are aimed to increase govt revenue, so he is pettyWang Shi thinks:Harvest time, price of grain decreasesLater, price of grain increasesWang says govt should take grain, store it so price wont dropThis undercuts local families/loansharks who have their own silosSo, Sima is bothered that govt is getting involved in economyBad enough to deal with local loanshark, govt would be even worseAlso, financial commissionLarge merchant houses set up to deal with govtWang Anshi wants to undermine control of economy by large local houses, encourages govt to deal locallyOther aspects of reforms, more problematic horse loan programgovt has many horses to take care of, only uses them for battlehowever, many peasants need a horseso why not loan horses?However, farm horses are not war horses, and many peasants cannot take care of horsesWang Anshi increases emphasis of army in capitalBad idea, when Jurchen came, go from great wall to city of Kaifeng with no resistanceBecause Sima Guang and other historians did not like Wang Anshis ideas, these were not often supported in historyPower in wake of New Policies (Wang Anshi)uses his own ideology (sets terms) in exam systemafter Wang dies, his spirit tablet is placed in a Confucian templethis is a symbol of his importancewhen Sima Guang briefly comes to power, he abolishes Wangs reformsbut Wangs group comes backthey make a list of censored books/authors (Sima Guang is target)Jurchen Jin overthrows Liao (1115) post-reformersJin wars and Yue Fei (general who makes great advances to Jin heart, then recalled and executed) why?Songs #1 goal: staying in power (military is #2)So, Yue Fei is threat to imperial familyJin eventually carts off all imperial family, one member escapes to southSituation between Jurchen and Song touchy if save Song in north, they come south and take leadershipSouthern Song (1127-1279)Zhu Xi wants Confucianism to become dominantBuilt on models Buddhists developedHe said some contemporaries are contaminated by BuddhismThey hadnt studied it, but he hadPromotes four books as ladder to five classicsHe was aware that classics were difficult to deal withBuilding on Sima Guangs manuals, gave 12th century version of rituals(brings Confucianism to masseshow to do funerals, weddings, etc.)ritual requires both men and womenemphasis on learning with Zhu Xi (big impact on Chinese culture)when he dies, already on blacklist to teach, etcgovt says people should not attend his burialsame thing Wang Anshi did with post reform movement1202 govt starts incorporating Zhu Xis books into exams1241 govt removes Wangs tablet from spirit temple, puts in Zhu Xisdeclares Confucianism as state orthodoxreaction to mongols in north (rally of loyalty)Zhu Xis ambition to replace Wangs Confucianism is triumphantSourcebook [41] (Day life in Hangzhou)Living in city in 13th centuryHow govt tries to make things better_+_+_+_+_+

Book of Rewards/ PunishmentsAcupuncture open up to free self (karma)Models for good behavior/collecting good karmaLong list of evilsMecius says if virtuous, no enemiesFaith in cosmological virtueHowever, doesnt always work this wayAs time goes one, Chinese begin to see thisLiu Bei is Han, best candidate, but Cao Cao most successful how to explain?Contradicts mandate of heaven(hero) kongming essentially struggles against heaven in novelif you are evil, dont get paid back in lifethen children/grandchildren take bad karma burdenremnants of central Asian culture in jewish/jesus cultureqi and karma ancestors influence you, you influence themby Song, semi-effective drugs made for abortionalso, keeping period regular/ birth control (sophisticated)charitable estates in Song, nature of clan changed fundamentallyHan-Tang clans were for rich (great families)Others were water drinking clansBy Song, effort to put Confucianism back in Chinese cultureSo govt encourages people to live together in same compoundsRegardless of your intelligence/wealth, by being in this family structure, everyone benefitsRenting farmland can be cheaper from neighborsNot country club, more like commune for people assumed to be relatives (same surname avoid in marriages)Because Song is new elite, problems chasing genealogy back very farWomen in Chinese SocietyConflicting images (17)A. positivewives complement/complete/correct husbandnurture/education of childrenLiu XiangBiographies of heroic womenMother of MenciusBan ZhaoAdmonitions for WomenEmphasizes daughters being obedient to husbandStrong tendency in literature to promote right normsBut reality is more complicatedChen Liangs biographical notes on heroic womenNot abstract, women dealing with problems of family/self Eg confrontation by banditsAccounts become more dramatic/livelyCountervailing forcesFiial piety vs. three obediencesSons should obey mother/fatherWoman should be obedient to father/husband/sonb. Negativeas americans, we are accustomed to thinking of women as community consciousin china, conception of family is differentwomen not cohesive agent in familylooked at with suspicionbecause, their focus is foremost on the childrenrather than maintaining harmony, more concerned with childrenfrom chinese POV, dysfunctional family blamed on womanb/c they have different goalsFeng Yans letter to brother in lawDanger is tongue (what they say) not sex (allure)II. Status changes over timea. antiquity: family name (xing ) femalelady hao of shangb. early empire: matching gates (works well for women)c. Song situation more complexEconomic activity, new elite, etc.Life in city women can be spectrum of things (prostitutes, hostess, etc.)Many businesses run by womenWomen more liberated about sexual choicesAvailability of abortive drugs gave women more choiceThis is South Chinahistorically, women kept out of viewSong law declared women had property rights, continued into marriageWhy? To make clear that daughters had financial integrity (werent concubines)So, if daughter enters marriage with property, more financially secureZhu Xis family ritualsHong Mais strange storiesMostly of ghosts, collected as grassroots folk talesPersonalities of interest because they are strangeYuan Cais precepts of family lifed. commercial revolutionliberation (complementary to husbands and abortive drugs)restriction (chastity and footbinding)consider woman Wang and husband with prostitute(she is independent)also, money that never runs out (story about chastity)controversy over footbindingcomes from central Asian dancersspreads first to entertainment girls in cityeventually spreads deeperJohn Fairbank: growth without development (footbinding like economy)Feet become sensitiveerotic spot?Male driven desire to control womenEbrey: women as actors in Inner QuartersDorothy Ko: negotiators in Teachers of the Inner ChambersSays this could have been bonding experience for womenCinderellas Sisters: A Revisionist History of FootbindingEvery Step a Lotus_+_+_+_+

north is Spartan, barren, difficult, worried of central Asianssouthern lifestyle is lush, literati, relaxedthis happens as north is overtakenJinsi- shrine of Jin (in Taiyuan, near Shanxi)Goes Zhou period, built for prince of Tang (founders son)Shrine emphasized military aspects of cultureEarly 7th century, Li family rebels, (SuiTang)Stop at shrine, sacrifice for Prince of TangShanxi (martial area) resists Song unificationFinally, Song uses flood waters to conquer TaiyuanFirst thing they doremodel shrineInstead of prince of Tang/military, they make it the holy mother shrine (preserved over centuries because of location)Later, cultural revolution, Zhou Enlai preserves thisWhy does Song do this? To influence local cultureTake attention away from military and focus on softer idealsSimilar gender shift in SongFootbinding in Songmen become less martial, more effeminateSome argue this is why footbinding is usedto distinguish womenEbrey says: want daughters to be more attractiveIn Song, daughter takes dowry with her in marriageRich families did this to protect daughterBecomes acceptable in Song for women to manage household propertyBettine Birge women, property and Confucian reactionIncreasing dowries and land rights in SongYuans central Asian traditionsBrides price and levirateChanges in law1260 address legal code, continue Jin code and preserving ethnic traditions11 years later, abolish Jin code, enforce levirate marriage on Han chinese (who consider it incest)levirate marriagethe brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brothers widow1276-94 lenient enforcementraised possibility of escaping by being chaste (usually younger brother assumes responsibility of older brother)in America, preoccupied with girls being virgins until marriageChina, wives staying faithful to husbands after deathZhu Xis students wrote funeral eulogies to encourage women to give up property, served as judges to settle property dispute1303 law prohibits widows (women) from taking property out of household (repeated in Ming-Qing codes)also, defines chaste widowbecome widow under age of 30declare publicly you are chastemaintain until you are older than 50must be authenticated by governmentalso, if person wants to be remarried, must be arranged by in-laws1330 mongol govt prohibits levirate to Chinesepunish levirate marriage (M-Q: up to strangling)so chinese slowly interject Confucian dictum of chaste widow, eventually make it illegal for chinese to have levirate marriageif wife is stuck paying bills, you can focus on being a Confucian scholar(even today, women usually handle finances)Zhu Xis students see degeneration of morality, react to this by trying to take away womens property rightsWomen in later imperial china were much more soft than they were in the SongAlien Conquest dynasties1) Khitan Liao (907-1125) Abaojis dual state2) Jurchen Jin (1115-1234) flogging, sinofied3) Mongol Yuan (1215/1260/1271/1276-1368)Chinggis (1162-1227); Khubilai (r. 1260-94)I. Central Asian tribal societiesProud poverty or Interaction with Sown societyCentral Asians needed supplies from agrarian states to surviveTribal councils and slavesSecret of organization strength/weaknessBig advantageif all members come to consensus on leader, they are good. If he dies, do it againDisadvantageinability to reach consensus, group fragmentsWhy move toward Chinese imperial model?Insures your son is the next ruler. Continuity/stabilityWeakness? Successors who are bad

II. mongol impact on chinese society1. very bloody conquest and population decline120 million in 1207; 60 million in 1290Yelu Cai (Khitan) grows up under Jurchen rule, eventually convinces mongols to rule somewhat like ChineseTax, etc.2. decline of science and technologyexceptiongrand canal extended to Beijing14 locks on 2 rivers

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Grand canal solves problem of having capital in far northShipping tribute/tax rice is crucial to keep things goingFour categories of peopleMongols (1 to 1.5million people)Small group trying to control large groupNeeds turncoats to conquerLuckily, many turncoats in navyMongols also get help from SemuCentral and west Asians (semu)Northerners (Jurchen, Han in north, etc.)Southerners (Han chinese in south)Mongols make a clear distinctionanyone in north China (Jurchen/Han) was most trustworthyconquest most brutal in north, biggest population dropUltimately mongols most suspicious of southOccupational classes made hereditarytry to freeze occupational status (you do what your parents do, so on)restrains social mobilitynorth/south differences/ cultural shiftimpact on marriage laws/womenmarco polo/family are merchantshe went to china, worked for mongols as official, goes back to Europe, talks about how advanced they are, gets thrown in jailtalks about their use of coal, Europeans think hes crazydid he ever really reach china?he never mentions great wall, or footbinding (skeptics)also, his claim to be official of mongols is unsubstantial by chinese recordsfailed alliance between rome and mongolsquestion of slavery records show slavery increasedunder mongols, 20% of the population were slaves(high watermark of slavery in Chinaexisted for centuries around 5%)why did currency inflate? By end of Song, gets out of handmongols continue paper currency, both Song/mongols back paper with silverboth decide what paper is worthmongols exchange five old bills for one new billSong just print more moneyBoth inflate currencyTax farmingHowever, mongol period is time of heavy commercializationMongols relied heavily on merchants (go between central asiachina)Merchants were valued more highly by mongols than by chineseMongol conquets opens up silk route, makes it profitable for mongols (middleman)However, city life declines (esp. in South)City curfewsThe flourishing nightlife from the Song disappearsMongols try to disarm chineseIn spite of this, culture flourishesMajor rise in martial arts in this period(chinese disarmed, so using hands/feet is norm)also, dramas and operaswhy? Intellectuals no longer have good access to officemongols decide intellectuals are worthless (mongols illiterate)classified intellectuals as slavesneed them to set up civil service exams (1315)otherwise, they are left entertaining for moneyso literature, arts flourishalso, since mongols were generally illiterate, they didnt care about censorship(even today, say almost anything in China, but what you write is dangerous)chinese writers make eulogies about mongols that exhibit chinese values, much of it is fabricateddriving home point that even mongols, with so much horsepower, cannot rule China without chinese (Confucian) virtuesChinese learning more focused on doing, repetitionExams 1315-66 23/year1330s (high water mark): 2% of officials have jinshi degreesnon-chinese exams:58% have Chinese mothers70% have Chinese wivesmongol rule at least of officials must be non-Chineseabout 33,000; only 30% Chinese in 1333changes in structures/practicesLiaodual system of governmentYin for tribal elitesBeating officials at courtJin: only bureau of state affairs (simplifies government)Chancellory/secretariat abolishedYuan: changes bureau to be called secretariatTripartite: bureaucracy, censorate, armyMobile local govt provincesThese changes mean new base for despotismSimilar now, but the communist party replaces the censorateWhy did the mongols lose china?Too much expansionLose fleet in typhoonsInflation/economic slumpSplit in mongol elitebeijing mongols get upperhandTugh Timur 1323 seizes KahnateAlienates mongols in MongoliaSplits of mongols in ChinaBayan and nativists abolish exams 1335Downfall 1340Toghto last powerful mongol nobleRebels quelled too slowly, mongols accuse him of encouraging ChineseAccommodation1344 yellow river flood and rebellionsarrest and poisoning in 1356b. weather: 36 years (1340s to 1360s) wintersdroughts and floodsChinese rebellion: Zhu Yuanzhang_+_+_+_+

culturalism and protonationalismpeople who adopt chinese customs can become chinese paradigmsMenciusuniversal human nature and acculturationSays Shun is eastern barbarian, founder of Zhou is western barbarian, but they adopted chinese customs so they are heroesAll people have the same (core: good) human nature, everyone has opportunity to be culturedChinese were acculturated/ taught to do specific thingsChinese POV: this was natural, culture, civilizationRegardless what you look like, where you came from, can become chineseIn Song, Chen Liang has different conception: distinct qi makes people fundamentally different, qi varies by locationSo barbarians have separate dao(traditional Confucians reject this, only one dao)these ideas approach nationalismChen Liangs nationalist view was minority, but it is important laterDecline of cosmopolitanismMing (1368-1644)I. Imperial Despotism? a. impact of Zhu Yuanzhangchinese often attribute him to driving out mongols, but they largely left because chinese were difficult to controlYuanzhang means beginning of despotism?First emperor since Han to be peasantWorks in gangs during mongols, kills rival and becomes emperorRules for 30 years, very suspicious of educated people (initially illiterate)lived at bottom of society, saw how officials abused powerreason mongols conquered China? He thinks intellectual-officials were too softwants to make Chinese elite disciplinedfirst he institutes land fish scale survey who owns what land?Also, population registry (70-80 million)Used students to take surveys instead of intellectuals/officialsHe purges officials, abolished office of prime minister and council of stateNever restored, major power move for emperorEventually realizes he needs some positionsBut, like Qin, works hard to oversee everything personallyb. solution: evolution of Grand Secreatariat; less powerc. Zhang Zuzheng (grand secretary 1572-82)Instituted the third of the three great reformsHe was attacked for not having legitimate powerGREAT REFORMS1) Wu diHan2) Wangshi Song3) Zhang ZuzhengMingSo this position isnt very effectiveMing also radically reduces the size of the bureaucracySong20k-30k officialsMingonly 8k officialsDeliberate move to make government more efficient, cost lessArmy follows footsteps of mongols (and cao cao)Support themselves through farm coloniesMing isnt as effective at locking people into occupations but had the same idea (soldiers, merchants, etc.)d. trials for corrupt officials (Ebrey 47) 100know that institutional restraints (prime minister) are goneemperor is free to reprimand officials(executes 100k officials in 30 year reign)level of imperial control/despotism not seen beforeeven first Qin emperor does not go this fare. role of eunuchs/surveys/studentsMing has most dictatorial and most incompetent rulers(so government can become paralyzed) one fix? eunuchsfrom history, eunuchs get out of control(Han chinese more puritanical than central Asians)the first emperor says: no eunuch education, office, no more than 10kbut Chengzu reverses this, educates eunuchs, brings them to govtthis becomes destructiveh. eunuch policies and Wei Zhongxian (#58)risks life to report on crimes of eunuch, who has issued orders without the emperor knowing (usurps power)many charges against him, he focuses ire on court officialsopposes/arrests/executes members of the Donglin Academyin the end, the censor is arrested/dies in prison after torture(eunuch wins) example of how problematic govt can becomeanother exampleGuangzong (Wan li)he disappears after people protest him70k eunuchs now in China collecting taxes, etc.this all goes to emperor (land tax supposed to go to govt)so govt becomes poorer/less effective, emperors treasury growsgovt has deficits, emperor pays them for a while, but then he has problemsso centralization of power doesnt mean its workingwhen Zhu Yuanzhong dies, is son decides he doesnt want Yuanzhongs nephew to be emperor, so he takes the army south to Nanjing and liberates the govt thereMing takes prince sons and enfiefs them (largely in southwest)So powerful that in cultural revolution, continue Zhu family traditions/ritualsFundamental weakness of Chinese govt system taken to extremeIf next emperor is isolated from outside world with no male environmentOnly eunuchs and sistersBefore Ming, not great wall, inward focused society_+_+_+_+

In earlier dynasties (Tang) eunuchs bow to officialIn Song, bow to each otherIn Ming, officials bow to themIn Tang, officials sit in chair to speak with emperorIn Song, officials must stand and wait to be seated (maybe)In late Ming-Qing, officials must kow-tow, stay on kneesHeavy centralization of power/authority by emperor is problematicWith workaholic emperor, system worksWay Ming princes were raised (high isolation, even from siblings, who were initially shipped off, given big estates) they dont see siblings or men other than eunuchsso a distorted understanding of realityone emperor refuses to even show upover time this paralyzes the systemso officials must take actions we may see as bizarreII. Ming policy and economyChanged a lot over timea. in Zhu Yuanzhongs reign, great wall closing in policyafraid of mongols, borders never extend very fareffort to close ranks, discipline Chinese people, bad influences are outside (esp. central asia) so get involved as little as possibleclosing in policy early 15th century returnsb. Ming tries to enforce tribute systemAnyone (Koreans, Japanese, etc) welcome to chinaHowever, only so often, limited circumstances for tradePretext: you are coming to present tribute/acknowledge authority of china/recognize Chinese world order)Gifts that Ming emperor gave/returned usually outdid gifts of envoys, so long trip was often worth itOften envoys top priority was getting chinese books (knowledge)Difficult for china to regulate outside trade, so lucrative (good for both parties)c. Zhu Yuanzhong prohibits private trade (seen as dangerous, introduces new ideas, losing control, Ming wants controld. Yongles opening-out policyYongle takes city of Beijing, rumor kid emperor escapesYongle wants to find him before he recruits an armySo he starts opening-out policye. Zheng Hes voyages and demise (1405-1432)Yongle uses Zheng He (eunuch) as commander of navyHe travels all the way through central asia to northwest AfricaEffort to promote Chinese authority abroadHuge boats, elephants and giraffes sent back as tribute, zoo set up in Beijing, but how to care for animals? Symbolic of how chinese saw thisuseless, not worth much to go abroadEven in Qin-Han, Chinese fleets showed up on California coast1432 navy and ships dismantled, so no more travel/enterprisefrom European POV, this is crazy has bad consequences when Europeans bring their navywhy did chinese do this?Return to closing-in policy, trying to make government as small/efficient as possible/ armada is huge drainEunuchs were in charge of this, so civil officials were suspicious from outsetTheme: at the time, this policy seemed reasonablef. why tech decline? High level equilibrium?Mark elvin: pattern of chinese pastArgues that the bigger the empire, the more it had to surpass its rivals in technologyDegree chinese tech surpassed rivals gave it an edgeEven when tech declines, they made up for it in logistics (even in Ming, Yuan)Also, shows how social organization is reflected in technologyChanges in status of peasants from Song to Yuan to MingIn Song, peasants can use tech to increase production (agriculture)Ex. New rice from Vietnam, now grow rice in shorter period, find new areas to grow, etc.Govt takes these findings and distributes themCotton introduced in Song, replaces linen, cheaper, becomes #1 used for clothesMark elvin finds drawings of machines for processing cotton/linenShows cotton machines influenced by linen machinesSays with tinkering they could have been very efficientBut by early 14th century they start disappearingHe argues a big factor: during Song, big rise in populationAs population goes up, area in Song that grows cotton by Ming cannot waste land growing cotton (so many people) so outsource to much farther placesBottleneck by controlling supply of goodsSo much control, issue is not making cotton faster, but making sure employees eatThus, driven by population growthIn Ming hatred for rich by poorElvin says in Ming relationship changes2/3 have land, 1/3 must become sharecroppersby Ming this is purely contractualfocus is no longer holding so much land (esp. now Ming controlling land more)so shift to finance (loanshark)also, explosion of population, more competition over landin old relationship, guy in big house has concubines, of course limits to how many children he fathers, when women disperse=more populationextra population affects water pumpsin Song, metal pumps, in Ming, metal too expensive, pumps made of woodso general population increase= more productionbecause of ingenuity, production keeps increasingbut eventually no more labor increase will result in production increase because tech becomes as efficient as possiblepoint reached at 1770sshipping as efficient as possible, short of steam shipsso since VS, no matter what they did, could not make use of pop. Growthby this point, relocation doesnt work, china is filled upElvin argues, from here on, only way China can escape trap is to globalize economy, switch from agriculture to industry, must stop isolation and become global playerBig problem would be that this would put pressure on stability of govt/communist partyg. retrenchment and Chinese world order 1435-1572re-embracing the idea of China behind the great wallh. Ying Congs capture by Mongols (1449)Wants to solve problem of mongols (still looting, etc.)Leads army into Mongolia, gets capturedMongols want to use him for ransomAfter a year they give up and send him backChinese POV system works: in Beijing they just put his brother on the thronei. landmarks of failurealtan khan leader of mongols 1570 kills 200k peopleso chinese decide to rebuild great wallpopulation of east coast, Japanese piratesgovt doesnt have resources, so must improvise on local levelso move pop. Inland, then build wall (now bricks)these decisions seem shortsighted now (had economic consequences) but were rational at the timej. Hideyoshis two Korean invasions 1592 and 1597Koreans call chinese to save them (korea is tribute state of ming)So chinese moves army into Korean peninsulaThey stop Japanese, after 1597 the Japanese dont come backCosts 26 million ounces of silver to support troopsk. Global economy: sprouts of capitalisml. silver tradeeuropeans buy porcelain, tea, etc.imbalance of payments in Chinas favor until 1830ssafety valve from high level equilibrium trackm. by 1620s huge problemwidespread famines, small pox epidemic from trade, earth coolingn. Li Zichengs & Zhang Xianzhongs rebellions 1630s o. 1644 Ming dynasty deadZicheng temporarily takes BeijingMust let manchus in with Korean chinese army Manchu conquest_+_+_+_+_+_emperors edicts wanted to appeal to broad massesso they sent proclamations to the masses (mostly standard, moralistic)effort to influence people on grassroots level in Ming is unprecedentedblame the bureaucrats! Im the good guy emperorMing gives flexibility to local level, just avoid banditry, etc.then govt can punish if it chooses (like today)however still hundreds of protests across China on daily basis todayjust like Ming emperor, Beijing bureaucrats good at blaming local levelin Ming, can petition, appeal can go higher, access to central govt (in theory)if government functioned well, this was crucialfaith in system is crucial for dynasty to last so longbuilding stable social order at local level with as thin a govt as possiblethis is possible b/c centralization of powerpeople that are longterm restricted are local officialsZhu Xi, local official in charge of province (drought? Famine? Fix it)So he goes to temples and sacrifices to spirits, encourages digging ponds for holding waterHe travels looking for corrupt local officialsImpeaches relative of prime ministerHe also takes grain/supplies from families to give to soup kitchensw/ IOU from governmentthis initiative is forbidden in later yearsone reason courier system improves in Ming/Qing? They wanted to micromanageseveral censuses in Chinese history, one during MingYellow Register to count households (not people typical for China)government is interested because households pay taxesSouthwest begins to enter the sphereMongols did not deal with censorship much (they were illiterate)But became greater problem in Song and laterIII. Examination and School SystemBefore Ming, change and evolution Ming pulls it all togetherMajor change: from Sui/Tang and into early Song, use parallel prose (couplets establish rhyme pattern poetic) (harder)Indication Sui/Tang was occupied by Great Families with long educationsIn Sui/Tang books arent common, so they memorizeIn Song (into 1040s/50s) shift from parallel to ancient prose stylePolicy statement becomes increasingly important solve a problem they give youBut exams are mostly discussion of classics and poetryb. Song largely tries to have a fair examination systemrecopy exams with numbers, not namesquotas for poor areasc. Wang Anshi sought to radically reform governmenttries to reform examsfirst time they are purely ideologicalmust have read and understand his work/etymologiesemphasized certain classics he thought were advantageoushis spirit tablet goes in Confucian temple after he diesso, Song government endorses his versiond.Zhu Xi and Four BooksZhu Xi wanted Wang Anshi removedHe took emphasis away from five classics and put emphasis on Four BooksAnalects, Mencius, Great Learning, Doctrine of the MeanAnalyzed these through his commentariesWhen he dies, he is censoredBut within 8 years of his death, the govt gives him honor titleStarts using his books in the examsGovt eventually takes Wang Anshis tablet and replaces it with Zhu Xisnew orthodoxywhen mongols get around to it, they use Zhu Xis exam systemso does Ming (uses four books) and Qing (until 1908)Ming does change thingsAt best, you had one percent chance of passing(roughly 10% at each level)to make grading easier:a. eight-legged essays in Ming 1487to balance, use rhyme patterndifference between how you speak and how you write is greatly widenedhow to solve the massive number of people showing up to take exams?Officials responsible for exams travel and find people who are worthyb. examination hell and experienceleave words out, fill in blankssynopsis of Zhu Xis thoughtsyour own thoughtspoetrypolicy statement (given a problem, what do you do?)after three days, take drafts and write a perfect copyc. levels of degreesdistrict: qualifying examprefecture: government student (shengyuan) or cultivated talent (xiucai)province: recommended man (zhuren)metropolitan and palace: presented scholar (jinshi)further exams before specific officed. effects of learning the teste. social mobility_+_+_++_

h. effects of learning to the testi. social mobility? Js 2-4k 1/10,000 mSong 2/3 of men passing Jinshi come from nothingMing Qing 1/3 (less and less social mobility)By Qing, if you are in 60s, taking exam since teenager, you get a token for effortZhu Xi passed when he was 18Lots of new literature about examsMany in Qing committed suicide while taking examsMing and Qing used exam system at expense of education (your problem)Stance of Mingreduce government, expenditures(Song at least tried to promote education)new elite with new privileges influence officialsif you pass, benefits wear a robe, fly a flaggentry: 14,341 households 120 acres 13972% by 1435, 250k @ 35-400 acres(late imperial China) Ming based on: landed wealth, education, office?continuity of landed wealth gave families resources to get aheadamerica log cabin myth: work hard, become presidentchina dragon myth: study hard, become official, become emperorholding office can get you land, education etc.Zhu Xi insistent purpose of education is to make you a better personCriticized those who used it as an expedient to office (most people did this)Li Zhi becomes monk because he cant handle the systemWhere did China go wrong? 19th/first half of 20th centuryMost chinese say foreigners (imposing unequal taxes, etc) , manchusHowever, exam system limited chinese curiosity, inventiveness, etcEconomic perspective: population increase eats resources, reduces ability to improvetechnological improvements not made (eg cotton in homes, not factories)since midterm:theme: despotism/executive powerSongincreased centralization, movements in other directions cut short by Liao/JinYuansimplification by mongols of executive branch, then secretariatMingfounder wipes out prime minister, tries direct controlExecutes 100k officials in 30 yearsOther despotic thingsSong address problems of economy/securityHow to address mongols? (too many officials/positions)Ming activist, different approach from SongSmaller government is better[EXAM QUESTIONS]_+_+_+_+_+

Ming Societyf. ming continues mongol practice of dividing people into categoriesmost are commoners, then artisans, merchants, militaryfamilies are dedicated as military families (one son goes to war, one stays and helps cultivate land, third son hopefully available)China wants to run with as small a bureaucracy as possibleBut this has drawbacksg. village: rules and tenants (sourcebook 49/52)dragon boat race no weekend , this is a releasevillage ordinanceh. contracts/business practices/artisans (50/51)even illiterate people used theseno re-negotiation, must use explicit languageZhang Hes essay on merchantsi. Shi Jin the Nine Dragoned (53)_+_+_+_+_