Transcript Classical China

ANCIENT AND
CLASSICAL
CHINA
ANCIENT LEGENDS: THE 3 WISE SAGE KINGS

The Sage Kings


Gave the Chinese “civilization”
King Yao


King Shun



Rescued China from raging floods of the Yellow River
Legendary?



Regulating the four seasons,
Invented weights, measures, and units of time
King Yu


A virtuous ruler bringing harmony to society
Legends reflect values of society
Many may prove true!
The Xia Dynasty


Considered historical by Chinese
Possibility that the Sage Kings were from the Xia Dynasty
APPEARANCE OF HUMANS IN EAST ASIA

Beginnings


Over two hundred thousand years ago
Domesticated rice



Millet cultivation



In the valley of the Yellow River
Also around 8000 BCE
Wheat and barley


Around 7000 B.C.E.
In the valley of the Yangzi River
Became staple foods of north China by 2000 B.C.E.
Two Hearths?



Genetic and archaeological evidence says yes
Northern hearth (Yellow R) ethnically Chinese
Southern hearth (Yangzi R) ethnically Polynesian
EMERGENCE OF CHINESE SOCIETY 2ND MILLENNIUM BCE
Agricultural villages






Appeared in the valleys of the two rivers
Society was patriarchal
Fathers dominated families
Elder males ruled village
Males performed religious sacrifices
Political Institutions



Towns and small states
Appeared in north China during 2nd millennium B.C.E.
Three dynastic states in the valley of Yellow River:




Xia
Shang
Zhou
EARLY AGRARIAN SOCIETY

The Yellow River





Water source at high plateau of Tibet
Loess soil carried by the river's water, hence "yellow"
River was "China's Sorrow" as it flooded uncontrollably
Loess: rich soil, soft, easy to work
Neolithic societies after 5000 B.C.E.

Yangshao society, 5000-3000 B.C.E.


Excavations at Banpo village: fine pottery, bone tools
Longshan culture: 3000 – 2000 BCE
ANCIENT CHINA
XIA DYNASTY
•
Archaeological Evidence
Discovery of Xia is still in preliminary stage
Archaeologists have found some tombs
Chinese scholars believe it existed
•
•
•
•
Supposed History
Established about 2200 B.C.E.
Legendary King Yu
•
•
•
•
•
The dynasty founder
A hero of flood control
Erlitou: possibly the capital city of the Xia
XIA CHINA
THE SHANG DYNASTY: 1766-1122 B.C.E.
Arose in the North China

Along Yellow River
Between Ordos Bulge and Mouth of Yellow River


Evidence

Many records, material remains discovered
Bronze metallurgy, monopolized by elite
Vast network of walled towns
Agricultural surpluses supported large troops




Shang Society

Shang-kings were warriors





Constant struggle with nobles for power
The Shang capital moved six times
Small Shang elite ruled large common population
Lavish tombs of Shang kings


Contained chariots, weapons, bronze goods
Sacrificial human victims, dogs, horses
SHANG CHINA
MANDATE OF HEAVEN

The right to rule granted by heaven






Zhou justified their overthrow of Shang
Ruler called "the son of heaven"
Only given to virtuous, strong rulers
To lose mandate = someone else should rule
Replacement of dynasties = Dynastic Cycle
Signs one had lost mandate





Corruption, heavy taxes
Lazy officials and rulers
Revolts, invasions, civil wars, crime
Natural disasters
Society develops bad morals, habits
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 ZHOU MAP
WARMUP

The Chinese movement which grew out of
Confucianism, and which sought to establish
order with harsh penalties for crimes and
violations was:
 Daoism
 Legalism
 Buddhism
 Shintoism
 Ancestor
veneration
HOMEWORK
For Tomorrow
p. 160 – The Long Reign of the Han (164)
2 pages of notes
For Friday
p. 164 – Imperial Parallels (168)
2 pages of notes
UPCOMING…

In class next week, you will be writing a paper
comparing and contrasting the Han Empire in
China to the Roman Empire in Europe. You will
not be able to use the book, but you will be
able to use any notes you have written
beforehand.
Just sayin’…..
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just Powers from the
Consent of the Governed."
WHAT WAS THE 3/5 COMPROMISE?
MORE AFRICANS ENTER U.S. THAN IN DAYS OF
SLAVERY
NEW YORK TIMES, 2005
For the first time, more blacks are coming to the United
States from Africa than during the slave trade.
Since 1990, according to immigration figures, more have
arrived voluntarily than the total who disembarked in
chains before the United States outlawed international
slave trafficking in 1807. More have been coming here
annually - about 50,000 legal immigrants - than in any of
the peak years of the middle passage across the
Atlantic, and more have migrated here from Africa since
1990 than in nearly the entire preceding two centuries.
ANALECTS 1.2
Master You said: “Those who are filial to their
parents and obedient to the elder brothers but
are apt to defy their superiors are rare indeed;
those who are not apt to defy their superiors, but
are apt to stir up a rebellion simply do not exist.
The gentleman applies himself to the roots. Only
when the roots are planted will the Way grow.
Filial piety and brotherly love are perhaps the
roots of humanity, are they not?”
ANALECTS 1.7
Zi-Wa said: “He who loves worthy men instead of
beautiful women; who, in service to his parents,
can exert all his energy; who in serving the
sovereign, can exhaust his talents; and who, in
associating with friends, is truthful to his word –
although others may say he has not learned, I will
surely say he has learned.”
ANALECTS 1.5
The Master said: “In governing a thousandchariot state, be reverent to your duties and
truthful; economize expenditure and love men;
employ the people at proper times.”
ANALECTS 6.27
The Master said: “A gentleman who is extensively
learned in culture and restrains himself with the
rituals is not likely to betray.”
THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN AND THE DYNASTY CYCLE
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



Rise of Qin state



States warred one with another
Rise of Sun Tzu as military strategist
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







Filial Piety

Young must respect elders without question
Elders always right, make decisions



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
Patriarchal society



During Neolithic times, Chinese society = matrilineal
Rise of states, war due to men's contributions
After Shang, not even queens merited temples
THE SOCIAL ORDER

The ruling elites





Imperial Family
Nobles
Peasants, the majority of population






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
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
OTHERS

Specialized labor







Artisans
Jade from Central Asia, tin from SE Asia
A few pieces of pottery from India
Merchants ranked socially lower
Slaves




Free artisans
Artists, musicians
Craftsmen in great demand
Served the needs of ruling elites
Merchants, trade were important


Slaves
Mostly war prisoners
Performed hard work
Became sacrificial victims
Suspicious towards Foreigners
Merchants
CONFUCIAN SOCIAL HIERARCHY
Meritocracy
Confucian Scholar Official
CHINESE POPULAR RELIGION

Customary beliefs and practice



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





As old as civilization in China
Never encouraged/discouraged by state
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
EXPANSION OF CHINA

The Yangzi valley




Indigenous peoples of South China





The longest river of China
Two crops of rice per year
Dependable and beneficial to farmers
Ancestors of the Malayo-Polynesians
Many assimilated into Chinese society
Some pushed into hills, mountains
Many migrated to Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand
State of Chu (Conquered by Qin)



Emerged in the central Yangzi region
Challenged the Zhou for supremacy
Adopted Chinese ways
CONFUCIUS’ SEARCH FOR ORDER

Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.)





Confucian ideas





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
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
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
LEGALISM

Legalism

The doctrine of statecraft





Doctrine used by Qin dynasty
Shang Yang (ca. 390-338 B.C.E.)




Promoted a practical and ruthlessly efficient approach
No concern with ethics and morality
No concern with the principles governing nature
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




How to treat people





Agriculture
Military force
Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
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
QIN STATECRAFT

Suppressing the resistance




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




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
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




Han was long-lived dynasty
Early Han policies




A general, persistent man, a methodical planner
Restored order, established dynasty, 206 B.C.E.
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
MAPPING HAN CHINA
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
•
•
•
Scholar Gentry
•
•
•
•
Officials selected through competitive testing
Used to run the government in Early Han
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



Silk textiles






Invented probably before 100 C.E.
Began to replace silk and bamboo as writing materials
Population growth



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


Farming tools, utensils
Weapons
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





Social tensions, stratification between the poor and rich
Problems of land distribution






Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals
Taxes, land confiscations discouraged investment
Much of defense consumed on defending against nomads
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)



Collapse of the Han




Rulers restored order but did not address problem of landholding
Yellow Turban uprising inflicted serious damage on 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