Transcript Early Society in East Asia

Early Society in East Asia
Chapter 5
I. Political Organization in Early
China
 Agricultural populations expand, villages and towns
flourish throughout the Yellow River and the Yangze
River valleys
 Organized local states
 3rd millenia bce 3 major regional states emerge: Xia,
Shang, and Zhou Dynasty’s
 Laid political foundation for distinct Chinese society
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
A. Early Agricultural Society and the Xia Dynasty
1. The Yellow River
a. 2920 miles
b. Huang-He=Yellow River
c. nickname “China’s Sorrow”, altered course and
caused destruction
d. Loess soil is extremely fertile and easy to work
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
2. Yanshao Society and Banpo Village
a. neolithic village
b. 5000-3000bce
c. fine painted pottery and bone tools
d. as population increased settlemets cropped up in
the valley of the Yangzi River and Yellow River.
e. this led to a need of a more organized authority
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
f. Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties emerge which were hereditary states that
extended control over larger regions
3. Xia Dynasty
a. made one of the first efforts to organize the public life of China on a
large scale
b. 2200bce
c. hereditary monarchical rule in China
d. dynasty founder was the sage king Yu
e. organized large public works projects (flood control) helped to est. a
recognized authority and political institutions, promoted selflessness, social
harmony and hard work
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
f. dynasty encouraged founding of cities and the development of
metallurgy.
g. Erlitou may have been the capital
B. The Shang Dynasty

Xia Dynasty’s last king was an oppressive despot who lost his rule to the Shang
Dynasty

Xia Dynasty did not necessarily collapse but gave way to Shang in the SE region
of Xia

1766-1122
1. Bronze Metallurgy and Horse Drawn Chariots
a. Technology aids in Shang success
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
b. Bronze may well have been a major way that Shang was
successful over the Xia, used to beat their competitors
c. Chinese chariots were similar to Indo-European
d. assigned gov’t craftsmen to create spears, knives and
arrowheads for Shang rulers and armies/no public creations w/
bronze allowed
e. Used bronze for horse fittings
f. had little difficulty imposing their rule on agricultural villages
g. kings claimed agricultural surplus portions from regions they
controlled to support military forces, political allies and others
who could help them maintain power.
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
2. Shang Political Organization
a. Shang relied heavily on political allies
king
and
b. did not necessarily have a centralized authority but relied on a
network of vast towns that recognized the authority of the Shang
c. Others who shared agricultural surplus and who also
influenced Shang policy include: advisors, ministers, craftsmen,
metalsmiths
d. Shang dynasty revolved around large cities, supposedly the
dynastic capital moved 6 times.
e. though each city chosen for military & political reasons it was
also the cultural, social and economic epicenter
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
3. The Shang Capital at AO
a. one of the earliest capitals
b. remarkable city wall (33ft high & 66ft thick)
4. Shang Capital at Yin
a. capital during the last two or three centuries of Shang
b. had large palaces, written texts, residential neighborhoods,
tombs for kings
c. tombs had sacrificial victims to go onto the afterlife with the
kings
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
5. The Tomb of Lady Fu Hao
a. 1/64 wives of Shang king Wu Ding (his favorite wife)
b. escaped notice of grave robbers
c. 468 bronze objects, would have required 11 tons of ore, also jade
figurines, cowrie shells, sacrificial humans and dogs
d. unlooted tomb shows the valuable resources that were available to the
royal court.
6. Beyond the Yellow River Valley
a. while Xia and Shang ruled the Yellow River Valley other areas were
ruled by contemporaries to those of the Shang Dynasty (ex. Sanxingdui)
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
C. Zhou Dynasty
 Shang rulers ruled by proclamation or decree, trusting
that their military forces and political allies enforced
their will
 Chinese politics and statecraft became clearer in the
Zhou Dynasty
 Wei River Valley of NW China
 After battle and conflict Zhou allied w/Shang and
gained recognition as kings of the western regions
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
1. Rise of the Zhou
a. the last Shang king gave himself up to many vices and resulted in the
towns and political districts to change allegiance to the Zhou.
b. Zhou forces seized Shang capital of Yin, beheaded the king, and
replaced administration
c. allowed Shang heirs to rule small districts but reserved the right
to
rule throughout the realm, mainly entrusted their relatives to the regions
2. The Mandate of Heaven
a. In order to justify the disposition of the Shang king the Zhou held an
idea of politics that earthly events were closely related to heavenly affairs
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
b. heavenly powers granted the right to govern “mandate of heaven” to an
esp.deserving individual known as the son of heaven
c. ruler served as a link between heaven and earth
d. duties: observe high standards, maintain order & harmony as long as he
did this he would maintain control when disorder occurred he would be
able to lose control.
3. Political Organization
a. Zhou was much larger than Shang
b. decentralized administration
c. entrusted power, authority and responsibility to subordinates who show
allegiance, tribute and military support to central gov’t.
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
d. Zhou rulers sought to arrange marriages in order to
strengthen ties to their political allies
4. Weakening of the Zhou
a. subordinates gradually est. their own bases of power: they
ruled their territories not only as allies of the Zhou kings but
also as longs established & traditional governors
b. set up regional bureaucracies, armies, and tax systems
c. As they became more secure in their rule they also
became more independent of the Zhou Dynasty
d. subordinates sometimes ignored their obligations to the Zhou
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
5. Iron Metallurgy
a. Technological developments worked in favor of subordinate rulers
b. Zhou controlled all uses for the creation of bronze
c. couldn’t control the entrance of iron metallurgy
d. subordinates moved quickly to est. ironworks and outfit their forces.
e. iron weapons allowed subordinates to resist the central gov’t and pursue
their own interests
f. reasons for collapse: nomadic peoples invaded China during an
ineffective king, territorial princes ignored central gov’t and used their
resources to build, strengthen and expand their states
I. Political Organization in Early
China cont’d
g. Period of Warring States (403-221bce)-period of
violence where the Zhou Dynasty ended when the
last king abdicated his position under pressure from
his ambitious subordinate the king of Qin
II. Society and Family in
Ancient China
 Patriarchal family emerged as the institution that most directly
influenced individuals’ lives and their roles in the larger society.
A. The Social Order
1. Ruling Elites
a. families occupied the most honored positions in Chinese
society (resided in palatial compounds, agricultural surplus, and
taxes delivered)
b. ruling elites possessed much of the bronze weaponry which
ensured military strength and political hegemony, and through
the subordinates and retainers they controlled most of the
remaining bronze weapons available in N China
II. Society and Family in
Ancient China cont’d
c. aristocrats possessed extensive land holdings and they worked at
administrative and military tasks.
2. Specialized Labor
a. free artisans and craftsmen in China
b. worked for privileged classes
3. Merchants and Trade
a. little info on merchants and trade
b. linked trade networks to the W and S of China (Jade from Central Asia,
chariots from Mesopotamia)
c. found Shang pottery from Mohenjo-Daro
II. Society and Family in
Ancient China cont’d
d. King Yu invention of sails, used large oar-propelled vessels which helped
to support the large fishing trade
e. Zhou dynasty shipbuilding emerged as a prominent business, mariners
learned how to navigate their vessels by the stars and other heavenly bodies
4. Peasants
a. semiservile peasants, owned no land but provided agricultural, military
and labor services for their lords in exchange for plots of land to cultivate,
security and a portion of the harvest.
5. Slave
a. sizable class of slaves, enemy warriors captured during battle, performed
hard labor
II. Society and Family in
Ancient China cont’d
B. Family and Patriarchy
1. Veneration of Ancestors
a. believed spirits of ancestors passed into another existence where they could protect
their support their surviving families if the descendants displayed proper respect and
ministered to the spirits needs.
b. this led to a strong ethic of family solidarity
c. all family members had to work cooperatively toward common interests
2. Patriarchal Society
a. vested authority in elderly males
b. Chinese men gained public authority by virtue of the female line of descent
II. Society and Family in
Ancient China cont’d
3. Women’s Influence
a. occasionally played prominent roles
b. women eventually became overshadowed by men
due to large states and Chinese society eventually lost
its matrilineal character.
III. Early Chinese Writing and
Cultural Development
 Organized religion did not play a role in Chinese society
 Tian=impersonal heavenly power
 Did not recognize a personal or supreme deity who
intervened in human affairs or took interest in human
behavior
 Writing served as the foundation for a distinctive secular
cultural tradition in Ancient China
III. Early Chinese Writing and
Cultural Development cont’d
A.
Oracle Bones and Early Chinese Writing
1. Oracle Bones
a. principal instruments used by ancient Chinese
the
the bone.
b. heated, developed splits and cracks, fortune tellers studied the patterns of
splits and cracks and determined the answer to the question inscribed on
c. most come from royal archives, questions posed clearly reveal the day to
day concerns
2. Early Chinese Writing
a. oracle bones offer earliest glimpse into Chinese writing
b. pictographic, sometimes pictographic to ideographic
III. Early Chinese Writing and
Cultural Development cont’d
c. found more than 2000 characters inscribed in oracle bones
B. Thought and Literature in Ancient China

Political interests may have led to the origin of Chinese writing

Zhou dynasty also produced books of poetry and history, manuals of divination and
rituals, essays dealing with moral, religious, philosophical and political themes
1. Zhou Literature
a. Book of Changes= foretelling instruction manual
b. Book of History=book of history that justified the Zhou state and called for
subjects to obey their overlords
c. Book of Etiquette aka Book of Rites=art of polite behavior
III. Early Chinese Writing and
Cultural Development cont’d
2. Book of Songs
a. aka Book of Poetry aka Book of Odes
b. traditions of Early Zhou, some poems had political implications
c. verses about life, love, family, friendship, eating drinking, work, play, nature, daily
life that offer reflections on human affairs without particular concerns for political or
social conditions
3. Destruction of Early Chinese Literature
a. books fell victim to human enemies
b. Qin dynasty ordered destruction of all Zhou writing
mind
c. kept those on divination, agricultural but destroyed those on poetry, history and
philosophy, feared that it might inspire doubts about Qin gov’t or encourage the
IV. Ancient China and the
Larger World

Developed in the larger context of interaction and trade

This meant that various peoples would have regular dealings w/each other
A.
Chinese cultivators and Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia
1. Steppe Nomads
a. pastoral societies located N and W of China
b. not really suitable for agriculture or settlement
2. Nomadic Society
a. nomadic societies of central Asia helped to link agricultural societies of the East
and West Asia
b. tense relations, posed a threat to northern and western regions of China
IV. Ancient China and the
Larger World cont’d
B. The Southern Expansion of Chinese Society
1. The Yangzi Valley
a. Chinese influence spread to the north, south and west through migration and
assimilation
b. supports more intensive agriculture than in the Yellow River
c. aka as the Long River
2. State of Chu
states
a. agricultural surpluses and growing populations led to the emergence of cities,
and complex societies in the Yangzi and Yellow River valley
b. autonomous and challenged Zhou for supremacy
c adoped Chinese political an social traditions and writing