CLASSICAL CHINA

1. CLASSICAL CHINA 250 B.C.E.- 600A.C.E.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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 StatesPeriod (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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. CONFUCIAN SOCIAL HIERARCHY Confucian Scholar Official

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. THOUGHT, LITERATURE • Zhou literature • The Book of Change, a manual of diviners • The Book of History, the history of the Zhou • The Book of Rites • The rules of etiquette and rituals for aristocrats • The Book of Songs • The most notable of the classic works • Verses on themes both light and serious • Reflected social conditions of the early Zhou • Destruction of early literature • Most Zhou writings have perished • 1st emperor destroyed most writings

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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