QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When a country is well governed, poverty and
a mean condition are something to be
ashamed of. When a country is ill governed
riches and honors are something to be
ashamed of.”
Confucius
ANCIENT AND
CLASSICAL
CHINA
THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN AND THE DYNASTY CYCLE
THE ZHOU DYNASTY: 1122-256 B.C.E.
The rise of the Zhou
The last Shang king was a bad ruler
The Zhou forces toppled the Shang
Political organization
Adopted decentralized administration
Used princes and relatives to rule regions
Consequences
Weak central government with ceremonial functions
Rise of regional powers; often called feudalism
Constant rivalry between warring families, nobles
THE FALL OF THE ZHOU
Iron metallurgy Iron technology spread; 1st millennium B.C.E.
Iron weapons were cheaper to produce than bronze
Helped regional aristocrats to resist the central power
Feudal state of Qin mastered iron technology, weapons
Nomadic invasion sacked capital Prior period called Western Zhou
Capital moved to Loyang beginning Eastern Zhou
Warring States Period (403-221 B.C.E.) Territorial princes became more independent
States warred one with another
Rise of Sun Tzu as military strategist
Rise of Qin state Qin began conquering rivals
Created vast army, no one able to stop Qin kings
Last Zhou king abdicated his position in 256 B.C.E.
FAMILY Central to Chinese culture: kinship
Veneration of ancestors Belief in ancestors' presence, continuing influence
Burial of material goods with the dead
Offering sacrifices at the graves
Eldest males presided over rites honoring ancestors
Only males could perform religious duties
Filial Piety Young must respect elders without question
Elders always right, make decisions
Patriarchal society During Neolithic times, Chinese society = matrilineal
Rise of states, war due to men's contribution s
After Shang, not even queens merited temples
THE SOCIAL ORDER
The ruling elites
Royal family and allied noble families at the top
Their lavish consumption of bronze products, silk
Hereditary aristocrats with extensive landholding
Most of the land owned by the king, nobles
Peasants, the majority of population
Called the “mean” people
Landless peasants provided labor
Lived in small subterranean houses
Wood, bone, stone tools common
Iron spread in 6th century B.C.E.
Women’s World
Wine making, weaving, silkworm raising
Managing household, raising children
Elite women vs. poor women
Peasants
Nobles
Imperial Family
OTHERS
Specialized labor Free artisans
Artists, musicians
Craftsmen in great demand
Served the needs of ruling elites
Merchants, trade were important Jade from Central Asia, tin from SE Asia
A few pieces of pottery from India
Merchants ranked socially lower
Slaves Mostly war prisoners
Performed hard work
Became sacrificial victims
Suspicious towards Foreigners
Slaves
Artisans
Merchants
CHINESE POPULAR RELIGION
Customary beliefs and practice
As old as civilization in China
Never encouraged/discouraged by state
Syncretic in nature
Will absorb many different traditions
Blends all major ideas, philosophies
Exists in harmony with official philosophies, faiths
Believes gods, spirits (shen) influence family, world
Power over world affairs
Deceased members of community, family
Deified figures of history, literature
Spiritual embodiment of nature, geography
Maintenance of family shrines, community temples
Prayers, supplications
Food offerings
Shamanism and divination are practiced
SECULAR CULTURAL TRADITION
No organized religion, priestly class Impersonal heavenly power - tian Males performed few duties
Fathers took care of family duties Rulers took care of the public duties
Oracle bones Rulers, people question tian for direction Primary instruments of fortune-tellers
Discovery of the "dragon bones" in 1890s Bones recorded day-to-day concerns
Early Chinese writing Earliest form was the pictograph From pictograph to ideograph Absence of alphabetic or phonetic component More than two thousand characters Modern Chinese writing is direct descendant
CONFUCIUS’ SEARCH FOR ORDER
Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) A strong-willed man, from an aristocratic family Traveled ten years searching for an official post Educator with numerous disciples Sayings compiled in the Analects by disciples
Confucian ideas Fundamentally moral and ethical in character Restore political and social order; stress ritual Formation of junzi - "superior individuals" Edited Zhou classics for his disciples to study
The key Confucian concepts Ren - a sense of humanity Li - a sense of propriety Xiao - filial piety Cultivating of junzi for bringing order to China 5 Relationships and filial piety as basis of society
LEGALISM Legalism
The doctrine of statecraft Promoted a practical and ruthlessly efficient approach No concern with ethics and morality No concern with the principles governing nature
Doctrine used by Qin dynasty
Shang Yang (ca. 390-338 B.C.E.) A chief minister of the Qin state His policies summarized in The Book of Lord Shang Was executed by his political enemies
Han Feizi (ca. 280-233 B.C.E.) Student of Xunzi, became the most articulate Legalist A synthesizer of Legalist ideas Forced to suicide by his political enemies
LEGALISM IN PRACTICE
The state's strength Agriculture
Military force
Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
How to treat people Harnessing self-interest of people for needs of state
Called “carrot and stick” approach in west
Called for harsh penalties even for minor infractions
Advocated collective responsibility before law
Not popular among the Chinese, Chinese used legalism if state threatened
Legalism still doctrine common to China
DAOISM Prominent critics of Confucianism
Preferred philosophical reflection and introspection Understand natural principles, live in harmony with them Laozi and Zhuangzi
Laozi, founder of Daoism; wrote the Daodejing Zhuangzi, Daoist philosopher, wrote Zhuangzi
Philosophical Daoism Dao - The way of nature, the way of the cosmos Opposites in balance, complementary An eternal principle governing all workings of the world Passive, yielding, does nothing , accomplishes everything Tailor behavior to passive, yielding nature Ambition, activism brought the world to chaos
Popular Daoism A folk or religious form of Daoism; not philosophical
Emerged at end of Han Dynasty Seek to master forces of natural, spiritual world Many deities including immortals, which people venerated Symbolized prosperity, happiness Many saints were patrons of certain occupations Gods associated with natural cycles, agriculture Daoist priests were shamans, performed exorcisms
UNIFICATION OF CHINA
The Qin State and Dynasty Partially sinified pastoralists, perhaps even Turkish
Located in west China and adopted Legalist policies
Encouraged agriculture, resulted in strong economy
Organized a powerful army equipped with iron weapons
Conquered other states and unified China in 221 B.C.E.
Qin Shi Huang di King of Qin proclaimed himself First Emperor, 221 B.C.E.
Established centralized imperial rule
Held sons of nobles as hostages
Demolished nobles castles
Project of connecting and extending the Great Wall
700,000 people worked on project; 100,000 killed
QIN STATECRAFT Suppressing the resistance
Bitterly opposed, was opposed by Confucian scholars
Buried 460 scholars alive because of their criticism against the Qin
Burned all books except some with utilitarian value
Policies of centralization Standardization of laws, currencies, weights, measures
Standardized scripts: tried to create uniform language
Creates a uniform writing system but not language
Tomb of the First Emperor The tomb was an underground palace
Excavation of the tomb since 1974
Terracotta soldiers and army to protect tomb
The collapse of the Qin dynasty Massive public works generated ill will among people
Waves of rebels overwhelmed the Qin court in 207 B.C.E.
A short-lived dynasty, left deep marks in Chinese history
THE EARLY HAN DYNASTY
Liu Bang
A general, persistent man, a methodical planner
Restored order, established dynasty, 206 B.C.E.
Han was long-lived dynasty
Early Han policies
Sought middle way between Zhou and Qin
Royal relatives were not reliable
Returned to centralized rule
Martial Emperor (141-87 B.C.E.)
Han Wudi ruled for 54 years
Pursued centralization and expansion
HAN STATECRAFT
Han centralization Adopted Legalist policies
Built an enormous bureaucracy to rule the empire
Continued to build roads and canals
Levied taxes on agriculture, trade, and craft industries
Imperial monopolies on production of iron and salt
Established Confucian educational system for training bureaucrats
Confucianism as the basis of the curriculum in imperial university
Thirty thousand students enrolled in the university in Later Han
Han imperial expansion Invaded and colonized northern Vietnam and Korea
Extended China into central Asia
Han organized vast armies to invade Xiongnu territory
Han enjoyed uncontested hegemony in east and central Asia
HAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• Patriarchal, patrilocal households averaged five inhabitants
• Large, multigenerational compound families also developed
• Women's subordination (Ban Zhao Admonitions for Women)
• Cultivators were the majority of the population
• Differences apparent between noble, lower class women
• Scholar bureaucrats: Confucian trained bureaucrats
• Officials selected through competitive testing
• Used to run the government in Early Han
• Scholar Gentry
• Confucian bureaucrats intermarried with landed elite
• New class comes to dominate local, national offices
• Strongest in late Han
• Merchants held in low social esteem
COMMERCE, INDUSTRY
Iron metallurgy Farming tools, utensils
Weapons
Silk textiles Sericulture spread all over China during the Han
High quality Chinese silk became a prized commodity
Traded as far as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Rome
State monopolies on liquor, salt and iron
Paper production Invented probably before 100 C.E.
Began to replace silk and bamboo as writing materials
Population growth Increased from 20 to 60 million (220 BCE to 9 CE)
Despite light taxation, state revenue was large
Silk Road established: horses for silk
HAN TROUBLES Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus
Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals
Taxes, land confiscations discouraged investment
Much of defense consumed on defending against nomads
Social tensions, stratification between the poor and rich
Problems of land distribution Early Han supported land redistribution
Economic difficulties forced some small landowners to sell property
Some sold themselves or their families into slavery
Lands accumulated in the hands of a few
No land reform, because Han needed cooperation of large landowners
The reign of Wang Mang A powerful Han minister dethroned the baby emperor
Claimed imperial title himself,
9 C.E. Land reforms - the "socialist emperor“
Overthrown by revolts 23 C.E
LOSS OF THE MANDATE
The Later Han Dynasty (25-220 C.E.)
Overthrown of Wang Mang restores Han
New Han much weakened
Rule often through large families, gentry
Rise of Eunuchs in government as new source of power
The Yellow Turban Uprising (Daoist Revolt) Rulers restored order but did not address problem of landholding
Yellow Turban uprising inflicted serious damage on the Han
Collapse of the Han
Court factions paralyzed central government
Han empire dissolved
China was divided into regional kingdoms
Period of 3 Kingdoms
Local aristocrats divided empire
Later fragmented further
During period nomads invaded, Buddhism entered