Download China in Antiquity

China in Antiquity
Civilization in China has maintained the most direct contact with its past and can
be said, in fact, to be the world’s oldest continuous civilization. It faced repeated
intrusions of pastoral peoples on its vast borders, but the geography of China helped to
isolate and defend it. Only about 12 percent of China’s total land is arable (about half that
of the U.S.), and the region called the North China Plain – the relatively small eastern
area between the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers – was the home of China’s earliest
settlements. About 2000 BCE the first cities emerged there. Although the earliest dynasty
may have been the Xia, our knowledge of pre-classical China (before about 1000 BCE) is
quite limited because the archaeological record has not survived intact due to China’s
climate. But we believe an organized state came into existence and began carefully
irrigating the flood-prone river valley and by 2000 BCE had advanced technology and an
elaborate intellectual life. The early Chinese learned how to ride horses and were skilled
in pottery; by 1000 BCE, they had moved from an adept use of bronze to iron.
Around 1600 BCE, and lasting until about 1100 BCE, an aristocratic class of
warriors came to rule. The Shang believed in supernatural forces, thinking they could
communicate with the gods through oracle bones, on which were the earliest form of
Chinese pictographic writing. The next and longer dynasty was the Zhou (about 1100
BCE to 221 BCE), which marks the earliest stage of the classical age in China. By this
time a dynastic cycle had been set: A family of kings would rule effectively, developing
fairly strong political institutions and an active economy … but would subsequently grow
weaker and see tax revenues fall, which hastened the stratification of the larger society.
This would foment internal rebellions and, coupled sometimes with the threat of invasion,
would lead to the dynasty’s downfall. The Zhou called the concept at the heart of this
cycle the Mandate of Heaven, meaning power to rule was granted from heaven and could
be taken away.
The Zhou emphasized the veneration of ancestors, a cultural characteristic in
which the family (and extended family, or clan) is the most important organizational
structure. Besides the ruling elite, there was a class of free artisans and craftsmen, a huge
class of peasants, and slaves. The Zhou ruled through bureaucracy, a form of government
in which tasks could be organized by department, or bureau, in order to facilitate
specialization and stability. They also instituted what came to be called feudalism. To
manage their vast empire, the king granted power over smaller regions to nobles. These
nobles used the well field system of landownership, granting the use of land to peasants
who in turn paid high taxes to the nobles, or local lords. The nobles, in turn, owed their
loyalties to the king (the central government). This worked effectively for a while, but
over time regional disloyalties emerged and the Zhou declined as competing nobles
solidified their power base and disregarded the central government. The last two
centuries of the Zhou were thus known as the Era of Warring States.
The Qin Dynasty lasted for just 15 years (221 to 206 BCE) but is notable for
several reasons. The ruthless first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, re-imposed central rule,
creating in the process the first unified Chinese state. He ordered the construction of a
system of roads, standardized many things (currency, weights and measures, the Chinese
script) and began building the defensive fortifications that later became the Great Wall of
China (most of the actual structure standing today was built 1500 years later by the Ming
Dynasty). Qin Shi Huangdi also tried to provide for his own immortality: He famously
ordered an elaborate mausoleum to be built underground, containing an army of six
thousand life-size terra-cotta soldiers.
The Han Dynasty (202 BCE to 221 CE) saw the trebling of the Chinese
population and a large expansion into central Asia and into what is today North Vietnam
and Korea. During this time the Silk Roads began to flourish. The overland route was a
series of roads allowing trade to connect China with India and the Roman Empire. It also
facilitated the spread of Buddhism into China from India. Among the various
achievements of the Han were the invention of paper and highly accurate sundials and
calendars, as well as more refined use of metals. Significantly, the Han developed the
civil service system (complete with a civil service exam) to ensure that those involved in
government service were well educated and capable. But despite a relatively “glorious”
reign, Han rulers couldn’t prevent the recurrence of the economic inequities of the Zhou,
and landownership once again became concentrated in the hands of a few. Falling tax
revenue (peasants were forced onto smaller and smaller family plots of land and often
fled from tax collectors) ruined the empire. Whereas the Gupta Empire in India fell
primarily because of external pressures, the Han eventually fell because of internal
pressures.
During the Era of Warring States (the fourth to second centuries BCE), Three
Schools of Thought emerged to address the problems of the day. These were the
philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism:
Confucianism
 A political and social philosophy … not a religion.
 Founded by Confucius (551 to 479 BCE), who believed peace would come with
the right kind of leadership in China … rulers who would rule by moral example.
 Filial piety – respect for one’s parents – is a key facet.
 Became very influential under the Hans, spreading to Korea and Japan.
 People would learn to behave properly through the example set by those superior
to them, with five key relationships in society: 1) Ruler to subject. 2) Father to
son. 3) Husband to wife. 4) Older brother to younger brother. 5) Friend to
friend.
Daoism
 Literal translation – the way, the way of nature, the way of the cosmos.
 All life is independent and should exist in harmony – yin and yang.
 Central concept: wu wei, which means act by not acting.
 Institutions are dangerous … less government is better.
Legalism
 Qin Shi Huangdi’s favored philosophy.
 Humans are inherently evil, need strict laws and punishments.
 Implies need for a strong central government with an absolute ruler imposing
heavy taxes to ensure stability.