Chapter 8 18/09/2007 18:51:00

In search of political and social order

In late Zhou brought confusion to China and led to Chaos of Warring States
(403 – 221BCE). Politcal turmoil helped cultural creativity rise and to reflect
on human society.
• Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) and his school
o Confucius – first to address problem of political and social
order, “Master of Philosopher Kong”, (551 – 479BCE), Came
from aristocratic in state of Lu in N.China.
 Strong willed man and refused to compromise believes,
and insisted on observing principles that frequently
clashed with state, traveled around China and returned
to Lu when he died 5 years later.
 Educator and political advisor – never realized dream to
be minister
 Sayings were compiled in the Analects by his
disciples
 Confucian ideas
 Fundamentally moral and ethical in character
 Thoroughly practical: how to restore political and
social order, but didn’t deal with religion
 Concentrated on formation of junzi--"superior
individuals" to fill government positions, those
who did not let public influence judgments
 Edited and compiled the Zhou classics for his
disciples to study due to lack of established school
system
 Literary works became core text in China
 Key Confucian values
 Ren--a sense of humanity, kindness, benevolence
 Li--a sense of propriety, courtesy, respect,
deference to elders
 Xiao--filial piety, familial obligation
 Cultivate personal morality and junzi for bringing
order to China
 Very flexible text that’s why it survived so long
  Mencius (372-289 B.C.E.), spokesman for the Confucian
school – most
 Believed in the goodness of human nature (ren)
 Travelled around China to consult rulers
 Advocated government by benevolence and
humanity
 Critics said that it is too naïve of optimistic view
 Little practical effect in lifetime but deeply
influenced Confucian over long term, 10th CE,
considered most authoritative of Confucius’s
 Xunzi (298-238 B.C.E.) had a less positive view of
human nature – like Mencius, was government admin
 Believed that humans selfishly pursue own
interests no matter what effect to others
 Emphasised li to establish clear standards of
conduct that set limits
 Compared to warp wood, can change bad men
 Preferred harsh social discipline to bring order to
society
 Advocated moral education and good public
behavior
o Daoism featured prominent critics of Confucian activism
 Preferred philosophical reflection and introspection, a
life in harmony with nature
 Laozi, founder of Daoism in 6th century BCE, allegedly
wrote the Daodejing (Classic of the Way and of Virtue)
 Zhuangzi named after Zhuangzi (369 – 286BCE)
(compendium of Daoist philosophy)
 The Dao--the way of nature, the way of the cosmos
 Elusive concept: an eternal principle governing all
the workings of the world
 In Daodejing, dao figures as the original force of
cosmos, eternal and unchanging
 Dao is passive and yielding, does nothing yet
accomplishes everything
  Humans should tailor their behavior to the passive
and yielding nature of the Dao
 Ambition and activism had only brought the world
to chaos so as simple as possible
 Doctrine of wuwei: disengagement from worldly
affairs, simple life
 Advocated small, self-sufficient communities
 Political implications: served as counterbalance to
Confucian activism
 Confucious by day and Daoist by night
o Legalism
 The doctrine of practical and efficient statecraft
 No concern with ethics and morality
 No concern with the principles governing nature
 Only concern is with state, expand at all cost
 Shang Yang (ca. 390-338 B.C.E.), chief minister of Qin
and Legalist writer, served as Duke of Qin state in W.
China. Policies survived in a book called The Book of
Lord Shang. Feared and despised because of power and
ruthlessness
 Han Feizi (ca. 280-233 B.C.E.) synthesized Legalist
ideas in essays but killed by poison in Qin
 Legalist doctrine
 The state's strength was in agriculture and
military force
 Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
 Harnessing self-interest of the people for the
needs of the state by means of clear and strict
laws
 Called for harsh penalties even for minor
infractions
 Advocated collective responsibility before the law
 Not popular among Chinese, but practical; put
end to Period of Warring States
The Unification of China – In Warring States, rulers adopted Legalist
program and most enthusiastic was Qin
• The Qin dynasty
o Qin, Located in west China, adopted Legalist policies
 Encouraged agriculture, resulted in strong economy and
agriculture surplus
 Organized a powerful army equipped with iron weapons
 Conquered other states and unified China in 221 B.C.E.
o The first emperor was Qin Shihuangdi (221 B.C.E.) – short
dynasty
 Established centralized imperial rule that became
tradition
 Governed from Xianyang near XiAn, divided admin
provinces and districts
 Disarmed local armies and destroyed fortress
 Project of connecting and extending the Great Wall
 Daoist and Confucian both criticized them
 Buried 460 scholars alive because of their criticism
against the Qin and put rest into dangerous post in
army
 Burned all books except some with utilitarian value
o Policies of centralization
 Standardization of laws, currencies, weights, measures
 Standardization of scripts, so can communicate much
better
 Qin Shihuangdi pointed China toward political and
cultural unity
o Tomb of the First Emperor, who died 210 B.C.E.
 Tomb was underground palace with army of life-size
terra-cotta figures
 Excavation of the tomb since 1974
o The collapse of the Qin dynasty
 Massive public works generated tremendous ill will
among the people
 Waves of rebels overwhelmed the Qin court in 207
B.C.E.
  Short-lived dynasty, but left deep marks in Chinese
history
• The early Han dynasty
o Liu Bang; persistent and methodical; by 206 B.C.E. restored
order and had lots of loyalty
o Called dynasty Han in honor of native land
 Turned out to be longest and most influential in all
Chinese history
 Lasted for 400 years form 206BCE to 220CE except for
in 9-23CE where and usurper displaced Han rule
 So divided into early and later Han
o Early Han policies
 Sought a middle way between Zhou decentralization
and Qin overcentralization, as both have weakness
 Trusted family too much as an army from Xiongnu
besieged him and family supported little
 Thus more centralization and bureaucracy
 Han Wudi, the Martial Emperor (reigned 141-87 B.C.E.),
emphasized centralization and expansion
o 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
 Placed lucrative liquor industry under state supervision
 Established Confucian educational system for training
bureaucrats in 124BCE
 Showed no intrest to learn himself
• Liu Bang peed into hat
  Ensured survival of Confucianism, students risen
from 3K to 30K
o Han imperial expansion
 Invaded and colonized northern Vietnam and Korea
 Han organized vast armies to invade Xiongnu (Spoke
Turkish) territory (nomads from steppes)
 Very mobile and could raid
 During Maodun (210-174BCE) large federation of
nomadic people, brought strict military discipline
 Han tried to marry or tribute to Xiongnu
 Han enjoyed uncontested hegemony in east and central
Asia
From economic prosperity to social disorder: In Xia, Shang, and Zhou
a agricultural economy supported development of complex society. In Han,
experienced major social and economic problems as land became
concentrated causing social tensions thus presiding over a weakened realm
• Productivity and prosperity during the Former Han
o Patriarchal social structure that average 5 person
 Women's subordination; Ban Zhao's Admonitions for
Women
 Children obey and honor parents from Classic of Filial
Piety
o Vast majority of population were cultivators
o Iron metallurgy: farming tools, utensils, and weapons
o Silk textiles; sericulture spread all over China during the Han
o Paper production; replaced silk and bamboo as writing
material
o Population growth: twenty million to sixty million from 220
B.C.E. to 9 C.E.
• Economic and social difficulties
o Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus
 Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy
individuals
  Taxes and land confiscations discouraged investment in
manufacture and trade
o Social tensions, caused by stratification between the poor and
rich caused peasants to organize
o Problems of land distribution as small landowners had to sell
their property under unfavorable conditions
o The reign of Wang Mang (9-23 C.E.)
 Land reforms by the "socialist emperor"
 Overthrown by revolts, 23 C.E.
• The later Han dynasty (25-220 C.E.)
o Yellow Turban Uprising: revolt due to problems of land
distribution
o Collapse of the Han
 Factions at court paralyzed the central government
 Han empire dissolved; China was divided into regional
kingdoms
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