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