Ancient China Outline
>> todo
floods & water control
=== Floods, Irrigation & Chinese Culture"
- myth of Yu the Great, tamed the floods & called the Huang He "China's sorrows"
- Chinese word for "politics" = "flood control"
- "Dynastic Cycle" = related to the periodic, unpredictable and catastrophic flooding >> to fix
- >>yin yang guy:: don't resist water, it's all powerful force
- sources
- "Want to Reign Supreme? Control the Water," by Steven Solomon, The Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2011
Philosophy
>> to organize:
Chapter 4 Section 4: Philosophy of Confucius p. 89
.. virtue... lead by example... lead by virtue Confucius times: under Zhou... decentralized, wars, social change and chaos
b. 551 bc to noble but poor family father a bureaucrat who lost favor wandered for 10 years... never wrote down his ideas followers wrote the ANALECTS
philosophy = system of ideas Confus philosophy: to ensure social order and good government >>correct behavior = order and stability
Five Relationships : harmony results when people accept their place in society 5 key relations: 1. father to son 2. elder bro to younger bro 3. husband to wife 4. ruler to subject 5. friend to friend >> none were between equals except friendship duties, responsibilituies - Superiors must care for inferiors - woman’s duty: care for home and promote harmony
filial piety: respect for parents other values: hard work, concern for others (do unto others...) Government: ruler’s responsibility = good government... be respectful of the subjects... virtue “By nature, men are pretty much alike. It is learning and practice that sets them apart” >> rulers should be educated
Legalism: >>see p. 91
Hanfeizi: died 233 bc. .. “the nature of man is evil. His goodness is aquired.” “Greed = motive for most behavior
>> order acheived thru strict laws and punishment goodness is not the virtue of leaders but power/ strength
Quin: united China in 221... cruel laws... employed Legalism punished those who shirked duties
Daoism: The Unspoken Way Laozi: “Old Master” lived at time of Confucius >>“The Way of Virtue” book... >>seeking harmony with nature
Dao = “The Way” “Those who know the Dao do not speak of it. Those who speak of it do not know it.” Daoism: rejects conflict and strife... Stressed the virtue of yielding “Water does not resist”... unstoppable force doaists: monks, hermits, artists, poets
Doaism and governemtn: “if the people are difficult to govern, it is because thos in authority are too fond of action”... best government = least government
Blend of ideas: popularly, daosim adopted gods and magical properties peasants sought protection from unseen forces in it ... priests sought immortality blended with Confucianism
>>neither had personal savlation
Buddhism in China 100 ad
Mahayana buddhism... from India... Proplem: Buddhism honored priests and monks... Chinese loyatly to family... muistn’t abandon family to worship buddhism... >> popularized during crises ... the escape from suffering ...hope of eternal relief and happiness from the world ... buddha = compassionate (now treated as a god) >>personal salvation
by 400 buddhism had spread through China
Zhou China
feudalism
- called in Chinese fengjian
- = to allocate a region or plot of land to someone in exchange for allegiance to the source of the land
- fengjian was a system of confederations with hereditary ranks and land ownership
- King Wu created five hereditary ranks:
- 公 gōng, 侯 hóu, 伯 bó, 子 zǐ and 男 nán, which translate into the European system of Duke, Marquis, Earl (or Count), Viscount and Baron
Qin & Han Dynasties
>> todo / to sort:
Chapter 4, Section 5:
Qin Dynasty: (216-209) >> pronounced “chin” ... “China” comes from the word legacy = centralized bureaucratic state ..ended the “Warring States Period”
Zheng = Shi Huangdi (means “First Emporer”) Qin 20 yrs uniting China after Zhou China splintered authoritarian (legalism) capital: Xianyang
order (see poem, p. 93) philosophy: Legalism anti-feudalism -- imposed direct central rule >>spy networks >.redistributed lands (to peasants, moved nobles to his central city)
bureaucracy: non-hereditary standardization: tore down walls that separated feudal states unified: coins/ wts/ measures further unified the written language roads/ canals >>transportation system >>standardized cart axle widths across China... to use same ruts across China
Crackdown on dissent: ruthless rule >> emporer made 5 trips across the country (died during last one) >> harsh on critics >> harsh on Confucians, “who despised his laws” >> book burning of confucian books >> confiscated weapons and stored them in the capital (Xianyang) >> conscription: every male to serve one year
arts: terra cotta soldiers , 8,000 (see p. 93) ... part of the Emporer’s Tomb
Great Wall: commenced by Shi Huangdi... connected fortification walls built by feudal lords (The Wall was completed during the Ming Dynasty) >> costly >>against raiders >>25 high, brick road atop >>extended and rebuilt over the years >> not effective protection, but example of Emporer’s power: “mobilized the nation”
Collapse: died in 210 bc... revolts against: >>heavy taxes >> forced labor >> cruel policies (laws) �Han (206BC- 220 AD)
Liu Bang took over... illiterate peasant military leader... founded HAN Dynasty >>claimed “Mandate of Heaven” >> used enduring feudal relationships to consolidate his rule: 19 regions ... they fought amongst each other for 5 years, Liu Bang Lui Bang called himself: “Gao Zu” >>lowered taxes, eased harsh laws >> took on Confucian advisers >>his successor tried to combine Daoist principles with Legalism... >>suppressed rebellious states
philosohpy: combination of legalism and Toaism
>>chinese people today call themselves “people of Han” >>Han and Rome = great empires of this period
Wudi: emperor... most famous of Hans >>141bc - 87bc >>consolidated the central power over the feudal regions, expanded empire >> confucian >> changed from Taoism to confucianism confucian principles with Legalist methods ... strenghtened gov and economy >> set up emperial university at Xian >>improved canals and roads >>built granaries, stabilized prices of grains >>imposed gov. monopoly on iron and salt (used this to replace taxes)
military expansionism: beyond Great Wall.. into Manchuria, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, Central Asia >>spread Chinese influence >> “Tributary system” = pacts for mutual benefit with outlying regions, symbolic acceptance of Han rule for autonomy
>>rise of merchant class: privatized lands taxes based on land size and not crops
Silk Road to West>> 4,000 miles China to Fertile Crescent started with mission sent by Emporer Wu... set up missions across the route and into other countries >> stages, met different authorities, China, Persia, etc. see map p. 94 >> silk = main export >> imports: grapes, figs, cucumbers, walnuts for Wsetern Asia furs from Central Asia - muslin from india - glass from Rome
Confucianism: state official policy >> bureaucratic... scholars... confuciansism., poetry, mucis, history, ..duty >>civil service >> merit based >.exams filial piety, `>>no women in gov. positions (couldn’t take cvil service exams) State Religion:
Decay of Han Empire: .. warlords gained power... local leaders... >> canals, roads into disrepair.. taxes, debt... >> peasant revolts .... ”Red Eyebrows” “Green Woodsmen” = secret groups, peasants fled into mountains
220 ad, Han collapsed...
Han Achievements:
Science: chemistry, zoology, botany, .. astronomy >> calandars >>seismograph to detect earthquakes (primative) >> Wang Chong: found that eclipses were unrelated to gods and Heaven’s anger... natural events >> Medicine: >> herbal remedies, anesthetics, acupuncture >>Techonology: - most advanced in the world - paper from wood pulp - shipbuilding... invented rudders - bronze, iron, fishing reels, wheelbarrows, suspension bridges, chain pumps >>Arts: .. walled cities ... poets, historians ... ivory and jade carvings ... skilk.. ... “lessons for a woman” .. Ban Zhao... proper behavior for men and women.. equal education for girls and boys... stressed female obedience... obedient, respectful, submissive “Let a woman modestly yeild to others” “ Let her respect others”
Han form of Gov lasted until 1912 �Great Wall:
started as earthwork fortifications (“rammed earth”) with watch towers started during Qin dynasty workers attacked by brigands while making it... “longest cemetery on Earth” ... a million workers died making it.
Not entirely defensive: fortification and frontier demarcation .. Chinese military strategy didn’t revolve around the Wall
Ming built it starting in 1368-1640 a.d. Stones, larger scale, ... primary purpose: to make it difficult for raiders to come in/out of China by horseback and make off with loot...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall
civ model todo
- Location
Civilization: Early China __ see map p. 60
- geography & climage
mountains west/north/ Desert north, mountains south. ocean east - isolated large, both rural & urban dense/ agricultural/ large families (rice) - most isolated of early civilizations - surrounded by plateaus/ mountains / oceans - Gobi Desert/ Himalayas - Huang-He/Yellow River .. yangzi...see map p. 60 Huang-He = “loess” “yellow soil” .. “River of Sorrows”..soil builds, builds on bottom of river..leads to floods - proximity: to nomads from outlying regions (Mongolia, Manchuria) .. Tibet = Xizang - variety of climates
- Natural Resources
water/soil minerals (copper, tin, iron ore grains, rice soy beans (later) herbs and spices silk, jade independent cities developed (like Sumer, Ganges) walled cities Anyang = walled, capital city of the Shang >>decentralized: city states... under central rule >>dynastic cycles.. (p. 64) ..floods, famine, catastrophes... = gods angry = regime change..
Shang: ruled via clans
Shang: built rich palaces..tombs...warriors (against northern nomads)
Zhou = invadors concept of dynasties: if good, supported by heaven... catastrophres = dynasty lost favor of gods ( - Feudalism ...de-centralized. .. local lords (771, Zhous lost real power to local lords) - currency: 500 bc (copper coins) - development of bureaucracy: disrupted by power struggles - Zhou: create written laws polytheistic Shang Di = chief god - mother goddess - ancestor worship: connection to the gods thru ancestors, at first only the ancestors of the rulers, then all chinese Yin and Yang.. two forces...
Yin = earth, darkness, female forces
Yang= Heaven, light, male forces
Kings had to please both... please both heaven and earthly order
- Civilization
warriors artisans/ merchants peasants
Noblewoman: high status (owned property) >>Fu Hao, wife of King Wu Ding (Shang)... led army against invadors cities>> walled ... walled “administrative centers” decorative pottery, bronzeworking oracle bones jade
irrigation, dikes, canals, etc. >> decayed during political disorder (among periods: 403-222)
pictographs, ideagrams... 2000 bc.. >> “oracle bones”... bones and shells... wrote messages to the gods or ancestor spirits... heated until it cracked, then interpreted the cracks as a response > characters that rep’d words or ideas... tens of thousands... simplified later... still has over 10,000 characters.. limited in early China to the rich, scholars, etc... calligraphy = power language = unity...different spoken languages but same written language
>>books/ wood/ bamboo... “Book of Songs”.. poems.. of farmers.. planting/ harvesting... kings/ courts... romantic stories
bronze horses, chariots, jade silk >> 1000bc .. laborious..dyes...robes.. export >> wood/bamboo books iron = 500 bc.. plows, weapons... allowed for replacement of wood and stonge and bronze.. new agricultural production!... large-scale irrigation... - astronomy - calendars (365.5 days) - books made of bamboo/wood strips - crossbow invented 350 b.c.
natural resources: jade, grains, rice, minerals, silk, etc. huge surpluses of agricultural production
valued imports of: salt, “cowrie shells”
important trade routes: rivers, plains, coasts Gobi desert = barrier
Mongolians: migrations & invasions, but quickly assimilated into Chinese culture
Nomadic invasions... but assimilated into Chinese culture, not the other way around
- people & events list >> to sort
People & Events Neolithic: along the Huang-He...learned to farm
legend of Yu: worked 13 yrs to stop the floods... became king.. >>duty
Isolation: Chinese believed that China was at the center of the earth
Middle Kingdom = central kingdom = center of the world
Flood of 2297 bc ...famine resulted
Chinese character for misfortune = flooded river >> iron: allowed greater production... soy beans
Shang: 1650-1027 bc... 1st Chinese civilization strong centralization
Zhou: 1027=256 bc... invaded from West.. .. >>Mandate of heaven.. “divine right to rule” .. blamed Shangs for cruelty.. said the gods endorsed Zhous.. to bring just rule to the people. lost power to locals
Quin = 1st central rule 221 bc.
early: rulers linked to gods
ancestor kings: to get to Shang Di... prayed to bring about good harvests and military victories
Confucius: 500s bc.
“Analects” = “thus, Confucius says”
“Period of the ‘hundred philosophers’”.. 551-233
Chinese warriors wore the trousers of horse-riding invaders