Ancient Sage Kings ctext/shang-shu

1. Ancient Sage Kingshttp://ctext.org/shang-shu • Often extolled 赞美；赞颂 as the morally perfect sage-king, Emperor Yao 's benevolence and diligence served as a model to future Chinese monarchs and emperors. • Consult “The Canon of Yao”

2. “Canon of Yao”尧典【Yáodiǎn】 • Source: The Classic of Documents • 尚书【shàngshū】, a compilation of documentary records related to events in ancient history of China. • http://ctext.org/shang-shu/zhou-shu

3. 五经【wǔjīng】 the Five Classicsthe core/canonical Confucian Texts • 1. The Book of Songs 诗经—gentleness and generosity, • 2. the Book of Documents/History 书经—knowledge and flexibility, able to mediate between two parties; • 3. the Book of Changes 易经—wisdom and resourcefulness, • 4. the Book of Rites 礼经—respect/no transgression of social stations; • 5. The Spring and Autumn Annal 春秋—parallelism/juxtaposition of historical events.

4. 九族[jiǔzú]Nine Branches of the Family • Nine generations of direct kin. Besides oneself, it includes father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great great-grandfather, son, grandson, great-grandson and great great-grandson • (it is said that it includes relatives of different kin, which are four generations of father, three generations of mother. Two generations of wife, which constitute nine generations.

5. Emperor Shun • Consult “The Canon of Yao” regarding how he was chosen; • http://ctext.org/shang-shu/canon-of-yao • Consult The Canon of Shun regarding his accomplishments • http://ctext.org/shang-shu/canon-of-shun

6. Yu the GreatTaming the Yellow Riverhttp://ctext.org/shang-shu/tribute-of-yu禹貢 • Yu the Great (大禹 Dà-Yǔ), was the legendary founder of the Xia Dynasty that began in 2205 BCE. He is best remembered for teaching the people techniques to tame rivers and lakes during an epic flood.

7. The interest of the people firstFamily second • While trying to tame the Yellow River, Yu the Great passed his own house three times; • He could hear his son crying, but he did not stop; • Chiense Aeneas? • Aeneas vs. Dido • Aeneid, a Latinepic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.

8. Three Ancient Sage Kings--Rule by Virtue Yao/Shun/Yu What is the strength and limit of this model? This practice was terminated when Yu’s son, Qi, took over the throne and established the first dynasty in China, the Xia Dynasty. How to pass the throne to the next generation? Moral strengths vs. blood line—hereditary succession; Rule by VirtueHow to Pass the Power

9. Plato’s RepublicFive Regimes • 1 Aristocracy • 2 Timocracy • 3 Oligarchy (also called plutocracy) • 4 Democracy • 5 Tyranny (also called despotism) • http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html

10. 1. Aristocracy • Aristocracy (Greek ἀριστοκρατία aristokratía, from ἄριστος aristos "excellent," and κράτος kratos "power"), is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule.The term derives from the Greekaristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". • In Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy. In later times, aristocracy was seen as rule by a privileged few (the aristocratic class).

11. 2. Timocracy • Socrates defines a timocracy as a government ruled by people who love honor and are selected according to the degree of honor they hold in society. • 1. a form of government in whichlove of honor is the dominant motive of the rulers. • 2. a form of government in which a certain amount of property is requisite as a qualification for office.

12. 3. Oligarchy • 1. a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few. • 2. a state or organization so ruled. • 3. the persons or class so ruling.

13. Plutocracy 财阀统治 • 1. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy. • 2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules. • 3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth. • plutocracy 1652, from Gk. ploutokratia "rule or power of the wealthy or of wealth," from ploutos "wealth" (see Pluto) + -kratia "rule," from kratos "rule, power." Plutocrat is 1850.

14. Oligarchy • These temptations create a confusion between economic status and honor which is responsible for the emergence of oligarchy. In Book VIII, Socrates suggests that wealth will not help a pilot to navigate his ship. This injustice divides the rich and the poor, thus creating an environment for criminals and beggars to emerge. The rich are constantly plotting against the poor and vice versa.

15. 4. Democracy • As this socioeconomic divide grows, so do tensions between social classes. From the conflicts arising out of such tensions, democracy replaces the oligarchy preceding it. The poor overthrow the inexperienced oligarchs and soon grant liberties and freedoms to citizens. A visually appealing demagogue is soon lifted up to protect the interests of the lower class. However, with too much freedom, the people become drunk, and tyranny takes over.

16. 5. Tyranny • The excessive freedoms granted to the citizens of a democracy ultimately leads to a tyranny, the furthest regressed type of government. These freedoms divide the people into three socioeconomic classes: the dominating class, the elites and the commoners. Tensions between the dominating class and the elites cause the commoners to seek out protection of their democratic liberties. They invest all their power in their democratic demagogue, who, in turn, becomes corrupted by the power and becomes a tyrant with a small entourage of his supporters for protection and absolute control of his people.