Download ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)

ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Unit 2 Study Guide
Important Things to Understand / Remember
Historiography
What kinds of source materials (evidence) can we use to learn history?
What kinds of questions should we ask when looking at any historical account?
When there are conflicting stories (‘histories’), how do we determine what/who to believe?
Can you identify the myths/stereotypes/traditional histories we’ve challenged, & tell a more accurate history?
What are some examples of ‘patterns’ that we see repeating again and again over time?
Can you relate all the above historiography questions to specific stories (‘histories’) we studied in class?
 e.g. Qin Emperor, Great Wall, Xiongnu, the legal policies of Han founder Liu Bang (Gaozu),
Han ‘Empress’ or ‘Regent’ Lu Zhi, Xin Emperor Wang Mang, Sui Emperor Yang Guang (Yang Di),
the results of the Tang debates, foreigners in the Tang’s capital (Chang’an), Tang Emperor Xuanzong
and Yang Gui Fei, Yue Fei vs Qin Gui vs S Song’s Zhao Gou (Gaozong), the philosopher Zhu Xi
The Qin Dynasty
Where was this dynasty located, approximately? Could you recognize a map of this dynasty?
Why is the Qin dynasty so significant? (it was the first dynasty to…it created the concept of…)
Legalism:
 How is Legalism different from the other Warring States philosophies we studied?
 Who was the first Qin ‘Legalist’? What kind of ideas/policies did that guy implement in Qin state?
 Which philosophy did Li Si follow? Who was his teacher? Classmate?
 Why did Li Si go to Qin? What position (job) did he hold in Qin? What policies did he implement?
 What was the official explanation why Han Feizi was executed? What other reasons could Li Si have?
First Emperor of China ‘Qin Shi Huang Di’ (King Zheng of the state of Qin):
 Which philosophy did he follow? Which philosophy did he persecute the most?
 What things was the Qin Emperor most famous for?
 What were 4 ‘faults’ of the Qin? Who wrote this? How reliable are these records? Why?
 What were 3 positive advances of the Qin? How did they help Qin? Can these be seen as ‘negatives’?
 What are the two different images/portraits of the Qin Emperor? What evidence do we have that the
Qin was a terrible dynasty? What evidence do we have that the Qin was a great/successful dynasty?
Who wrote the records? Can we trust them 100%? Why? Which story do you believe about Qin?
 What are the 2 stories of the ‘Great Wall’ of Qin? (e.g. description, purpose, motivations, advantages,
etc) Which story do you believe? Why? What evidence do we have of each of these stories? How did
we get this evidence? Which parts of the traditional history have been proven to be false?
 Qin dynasty has been variously described as ‘uniting’ vs ‘conquering’ the Warring States, as well as
‘defending against’ vs ‘attacking’ the Xiongnu. What implications do these words have? Who would
prefer using each term? Who benefits and who looks bad when these terms are used?
 Why did the Qin dynasty fall? What happened to the First Qin Emperor? To Li Si?
Seal Script:
 What tools did people use to write on the stone seals? How did this affect the shape of the characters?
 Could you recognize Seal Script compared to other scripts we have learned about?
 What is the benefit(s) of having a standardized script? What is the problem(s) with having it?
Western Han Dynasty
Where was this dynasty located, approximately? Why was it called The ‘Western’ Han?
How much did the Qin and Han expand, compared to the Shang and Zhou? Which lands did they gain?
Compare: How was the Western Han different / similar to the Zhou, Warring States, and Qin?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu):
 Who were the two rebel leaders who emerged after the fall of the Qin? What were their backgrounds?
What were they each good at? Who won, out of the two?
 Why was Liu Bang special? (he was the first person to …)
 Which philosophy did he say he followed? Which did he actually follow? What evidence do we have?
 What problem in government did he have that was similar to the W Zhou? How did he solve it?
 How did he treat people inside his borders? What kinds of policies did he implement? Were these
policies benevolent or selfish? Why? How did the Han government benefit from these policies?
 What kind of international relations (IR) did he have? How did he deal with the Xiongnu people?
 What was the general/popular Han opinion (‘traditional history’) of the Xiongnu people? Who wrote
this ‘traditional history’? Why was this history so unfavorable towards the Xiongnu? How do we
know today that this history is not very accurate? Why should we resist describing these struggles as
‘Chinese’ vs. ‘barbarians’?
Sima Qian’s Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian)
 When was it written (approximately)? What types of things does it write about?
 What did he say about the Qin Emperor and The Great Wall in “The Basic Annals of the Qin”?
 Can you briefly describe the 3 parts of his “Xiongnu liezhuan” (Memoir of the Xiongnu)? Whose
point of view is represented in each of the 3 parts? What is the main message he is he trying to tell us?
 What info does the “Ethnography” tell us about the Xiongnu? What does it not tell us about them?
 How much can we trust this source of history? Why? How did his life events relate to what he wrote?
Ban Gu’s Han Shu (Book of Han) and Fan Ye’s Hou Han Shu (Book of Later Han)
 What did these books say about the Xiongnu?
 Sima Qian was held “as a model for later histories,” but did these later histories actually follow Sima
Qian’s example or not? Can you explain in which ways they did or did not copy Sima Qian’s style?
Empress Lu Zhi:
 Who was she? What kind of ruler was she? How did she gain & keep power? How did she lose it?
 Why is there an argument over whether she was a ‘Regent’ or an ‘Emperor’? What evidence do we
have? How does this relate to the stories of the fall of King You and Bao Si of the Zhou?
Liu Che (Emperor Wu):
 How did he gain the throne? How was it different from how Liu Bang (Gaozu) and Lu Zhi did it?
 Which philosophy did he follow? Can you briefly describe it? What major change to the Mandate of
Heaven did he make? What was the result?
 What kind of international relations (IR) did he have? How did he deal with the Xiongnu?
 How were his land policies different than Liu Bang? Why did this change lead to problems?
 How was the fall of the W Han related to Wu’s land policies and IR policies?
Han era developments:
 What is the difference between philosophy in the Han and philosophy in the Warring States?
 What kinds of intellectual developments did the Han have? What system of thought allowed for great
advancements in science? What and How do we know about Han era medical techniques?
Xin Dynasty
Wang Mang:
 Which philosophy did he follow? How did he gain the throne?
 What is the ‘well-field’ system? Which philosopher did Wang Mang borrow this idea from? How is
it different from the W Han’s ‘manor system’?
 Why did he decide to establish the Xin? Do you think he was a ‘usurper’ or a ‘savior’? Why?
 What problems did he have? Why did the Xin fall?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Eastern Han Dynasty
 Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwu): Who was he? How did he gain the throne? What kind of land policies
did he implement? Who did these policies affect?
 Do you think he was a ‘usurper’ or a ‘savior’? Why? Why did the E Han fall?
 Which people does the label ‘Han Chinese’ refer to today? Where did this term originally come
from? What was its original meaning? How did it get turned into an ethnic designation in the Sui?
Period of Disunity
Why is this period called ‘Period of Disunity’?
 Why is this period often omitted (or treated as part of the Han) in the official Chinese histories?
 In what ways was the Period of Disunity like the Warring States Period?
 Which 2 major rebellions led to the fall of the Han? What did these 2 rebellions have in common?
 Why should we resist describing the struggles in this period as ‘Chinese’ vs. ‘barbarians’?
 How many of the 16 northern kingdoms were NOT Chinese?
 Which dynasty briefly unified China in the middle of this period? Why did the Xiongnu attack it?
 Which one of the 16 northern kingdoms was the most successful? Which ethnic group were they?
How were they different from the Han? What is the ‘equal field’ system? Why is it significant that it
was invented by the Northern/Tuoba Wei? Who did they claim was their ancestor? Why did they do
this? Why should we doubt their ancestry story? Why did their kingdom ultimately fail?
The Buddha
 Who was the Buddha and what country was he from? What was the prophecy about his life? What did
his father want for him? How did his father try to control his son’s fate?
 What concept did the Prince Siddhartha understand while watching the farmer plough his field?
 What 4 shocking things did the Prince see? What big change did he make in his life as a result?
 What did Confucians like about the Buddha/Buddhism? What did they not like (criticize) about it?
 What would Daoists like Zhuangzi think of the Buddha’s idea that ‘everything always changes’?
Buddhism in the Period of Disunity
 Who wrote the Buddhist scriptures? When? Why? How does this affect if we can trust them 100%?
 How did Buddhism spread to China? Why did it suddenly get so popular in China in this period?
 Why did Buddhism become accepted so quickly (as a ‘Chinese religion’) by the Chinese people?
 Who was Kumarajiva? What did he do? What was his opinion about translation of religious texts?
 What problems did the Chinese people have in translating Buddhist ideas/texts into Chinese? How
did they solve these problems? What happened to the parts they did not solve?
 What are the main differences between the ways Buddhism was practiced in the North vs the South?
Neo- (“new”) Daoism in the Period of Disunity
 Which 4 new Daoist practices became popular at this time? Can you describe each one (briefly)?
 What would (the original Daoists) Laozi and Zhuangzi have thought of each of these 4 practices?
 How was the ‘Xuan Xue’ approach to Daoism similar to the Han approach to philosophy in general?
 Which of the 4 practices did Wang Bi and Guo Xiang follow? Which books did they comment on?
Why is this significant? How did they feel about Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism? Did this
make them popular or unpopular?
Religious Daoism in the Period of Disunity
 Why do we say ‘Daoism becomes a religion’ at this time? What was it before? What changed?
 What would (the original Daoists) Laozi and Zhuangzi have thought about these changes?
 What kinds of things did Daoism and Buddhism do to compete with each other?
 What/Who were the ‘Celestial Masters’? Where were they located? How were they organized? How
did they attract people to their religion? Which Warring States philosopher would have supported
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)

Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
their method of attracting people? What did they blame illness on? How did they use the Laozi? How
is this different from (1) how Han Feizi used it? and (2) how it is generally used today?
How can a person be Daoist, Confucian, & Buddhist, all at the same time?
The Sui Dynasty
The Sui
 What did the Sui achieve? How did they do it? How is the Sui like the Qin? Unlike the Qin?
 What two ideas drove people to re-create a unified ‘China’ after it broke apart? Where did these 2
ideas originally come from?
 Which lands did the Sui claim as ‘China’? How does this compare to the lands the Han held? Could
you recognize the borders of the Sui dynasty on a map? Where was its capital?
 Which 3 important ‘Chinese’ things did the Sui invent? Why is it significant that Sui invented these?
 Which 3 rivers did the Grand Canal connect? Could you label these rivers and the canal on a map?
What was the main reason to make a canal?
Yang Jian (Emperor Wen/Wendi)
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? How did his family relationships help unite the empire?
 What changes did Yang Jian make to the system of government officials? Why?
 How did Yang Jian build his new system of laws? Why was it a good idea to do it this way?
 What religion did Yang Jian’s family follow personally? Which one(s) did they use in politics? Why?
 Who was Yang Jian’s son? What did he do to help the dynasty? How was he later described?
 What/Who was the fall of the dynasty blamed on? Why should we NOT trust this story? What was the
real reason the Sui dynasty fell? Which other dynasties fell for the same reason(s)?
The Tang Dynasty
The Tang
 Where was its capital? Could you recognize the borders of this dynasty on a map? How did the lands
of the Tang compare to the lands the Sui held? Which new area did the Tang conquer? Why did they
want that land? Who was living there? Which lands did they try but fail to conquer?
 Which ‘foreign’ groups helped the Tang and which fought the Tang? Can you label these on a map?
Li Yuan (Gaozu) and Li Shimin (Taizong)
 What was Li Yuan (Gaozu)’s connection to the Sui? Why is this significant? How did he get power?
 How did Li Shimin (Taizong) gain the throne? What religion/philosophy did he believe in
personally? Use in politics? Why? Why did he send monks to India?
 How did he use religion to legitimize his rule (what did he claim?)? Why should we doubt his claim?
 What changes in government did Li Shimin (Taizong) make? Why are these important?
The Tang Philosophical Debates
 Which 2 philosophies/religions most often argued against each other in the debates?
 Can you give some examples of ‘possible mistakes’ a debater could make?
 Can you give some examples of ‘qualities’ (e.g. 3 essential characteristics) of a good debater?
 What were the 2 main purposes of the debates? How could these purposes affect the debates?
 Who ‘won’? What happened to the winners, losers? How did this affect: the debates, the religions?
 Why should we doubt the official records claiming the Buddhists suddenly improved dramatically at
debating compared to the Daoists? Or suddenly won? What evidence tells us that this NOT true?
Li Zhi (Gaozong)
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? What kind of rule did he have? What happened to him?
 Which philosophy/religion(s) did he follow personally? How did he use it to legitimize his rule?
 What did he think of other philosophy/religion(s)?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Empress Wu Zetian
 Who was she originally? How did she gain the throne? What kind of rule did she have overall?
 How was Empress Wu described: what kind of person? Do you think this was the case? Why?
 What religion did she follow? How did she use religion to legitimize her rule? (what did she claim?)
 How did she treat other religions? How is this different from the Sui and Tang rulers before her?
 What changed in the examination system under her rule? What stayed the same?
 What kinds of evidence do we have of a change in the status of women in the Tang? How do you
think the men of the Tang reacted to this change in status of women? To a woman emperor?
 What significant accomplishment did she make regarding land? Why is she often not given the credit
for it? Who is often given the credit? Why?
Chang’an (Xi’an)
 Why was this city important? How was it arranged? Could you recognize a map of the city?
 What kinds of evidence do we have that foreigners lived in Chang’an in the Tang?
 What happened to Chang’an near the end of the Tang?
Tang High Culture
 Can you name and identify the writing style that become popular in this period?
 What is distinctive about Tang dance and cursive writing style? Why do they share this feature?
 Which two innovations allowed for the printing of paper books? How did this new technology change
the style and form of texts? What 2 major social effects came from the rise of paper book publishing?
 Who are Li Bai/Bo, Du Fu, Han Yu, and Bo/Bai Juyi? When did they live (approx)? How are they
similar? Different? Could you recognize them by their poetry style and themes?
Buddhism and Daoism in the Tang
 Can you recognize the basic descriptions of Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism?
 Which 5 Buddhist sects appeared at this time? Can you describe their main themes/practices (briefly)?
 What are: scriptures, sutras, mantras, mudras, mandalas, koans (gong’an)?
 What was the main thing that made Tiantai different from Huayan and Zhen Yan?
 Which sect was the most popular in the Sui and the early Tang? Why?
 Which sect did Empress Wu like the best? Why? Which one did Li Zhi (Gaozong) like best? Why?
 Which religion did the Late Tang Emperors (e.g. Dezong, Xianzong, Wuzong) follow? How did they
treat other religions? Which 2 Buddhist sects survived Li Yan (Emperor Wuzong)’s persecution?
Why? What was the main thing that made Chan (Zen) and Pure Land different from the other 3 sects?
The Fall of the Tang
 Who was An Lushan? Where did he attack? What was he trying to do? Which ‘foreigners’ finally
ended his rebellion? Why? What problems in Tang government did the An Lushan Rebellion reveal?
 What was Emperor Xuanzong’s nickname? Why did he have this nickname? Can you name at least 3
reasons why people blamed the fall of the Tang on his concubine Yang Guifei, instead of admitting
that Emperor Xuanzong had a problematic reign?
 What happened in the Huang Chao Rebellion? Why did the Huang Chao Rebellion fail? Who are the
Shatuo Turks? Who did they ally with to help the Tang? Why is this significant?
 What was the real reason the Tang fell? Which other dynasties fell for the same reason(s)?
The 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms
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Why is this period called ‘The 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms’? Could you recognize it on a map?
Which one(s) are ‘China’? Does ‘China’ exist in this time period?
What is significant about the second (Later Tang) and fifth (Later Zhou) of the Five Dynasties?
QUIZ 2 ENDS HERE
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
The Song Dynasty
 What 2 periods is the Song divided into? Where were their capitals? Why did the capital move?
 Which ‘foreign’ dynasties/empires existed near the Song at the same time as the Song?
 Which river divided the Jin and Southern Song? Which river divided the Xi Xia from Liao and Jin?
 Which dynasty/dynasties contained the Great Wall during this time period?
 Could you label all these things on a map?
The Northern Song
 What did ‘Later Zhou’ do to hold on to power and create the N Song? Which dynasty did they copy?
 Which lands did the N Song claim? How was this different from the lands the Tang claimed?
 What was significant about the lands the Liao (Khitan people) claimed?
 Who were the 3 main groups of foreigners (foreign countries) who fought with the Northern Song?
 Which conflict came first, second, last? Who dealt with each problem? How was each group of
foreigners dealt with? Why was that strategy chosen? Was the strategy successful? Why/why not?
Women in the Song
 What advantages/disadvantages did women experience in the Song? How might they be related?
How do you think it might be related to the status of women in the Tang?
 How were women portrayed in art in the Song vs. the Tang? What evidence do we have of this?
 What is footbinding? Which group of women started this practice? Why do it?
Song Economy
 What innovation changed book-printing in the Song? How is it different than wood-block printing?
 What changed in ceramics/pottery? Could you describe and recognize Song, Liao, and Jin pottery?
 What are some examples of Song Dynasty developments in Industry? Agriculture? Commerce?
 What kinds of things were traded in S Song ports?
 How are iron chains and bridges related? How are new bridge designs related to new ship designs?
 What groups formed for merchants and tradesmen? How did these changes affect trade, and even
affect the shape of the city? How did Kaifeng of the Song compare to Chang’an of the Tang?
 What Song innovations were ‘firsts’ in China? In the world?
The Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty
 What people ruled the Jin Dynasty? What happened to the people in the Northern part of the Song?
 What did the Jin rulers do to adjust to Song culture? Why did they do it? What did they not change?
 What two policies resulted in promoting Jin people to be officials above Song people?
The Southern Song
 Can you recognize this dynasty on a map? What was its capital, and why was it called ‘temporary’?
 Who was its first Emperor? How did he become Emperor? How did he deal with the Jin (Jurchen)?
Why did he choose this strategy? Was it successful? How did S. Song defend against a Jin takeover?
 Why should we doubt the story about ‘hero’ Yue Fei and ‘villain’ Qin Guei/Kuai? Who benefits most
from blaming Qin Guei/Kuai? Explain how this person would benefit.
 Was the S. Song economy weak or strong? Why? What kind of merchandise was traded in the ports?
Daoism and Buddhism in the Song
 Which older Daoist sects were still popular? Which new Daoist deities/rituals grew? Why?
 Who founded the Celestial Realization sect? How did this sect treat Confucianism and Buddhism?
 Which Song and Jin rulers used Daoism to legitimize their rule? How did they do so?
 What was new/different about the growth of Buddhism in general at this time?
 Which was the most popular Buddhist sect at this time? Why? What strange new development
occurred in this sect at this time? Why is it strange? What would Zhuangzi have thought of it?
 What qualities or ideals of Chan influenced art at this time? Could you recognize this style of art?
 Which Buddhist sect made a comeback in popularity at this time? How did it affect culture and art?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Neo- (new) Confucianism in the Song
 How did the first N Song Emperors Zhao Kuangyin (Taizu) and Zhao Guangyi (Taizong) use NeoConfucianism to legitimize their rules? What was different from how the late Song Emperor Zhao Xu
(Shenzong) used it?
 What were the three kinds of literati in the Tang? What did each group emphasize? Which group did
Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, the Cheng brothers, Zhu Xi, and Su Shi each belong to?
 Who was Wang Anshi? Who hired him? Why? What was his philosophy? When did it start?
 What was his belief about the role of government? Which philosopher held a similar view?
 Who supported him? Who opposed him? Why? Where did he succeed? Where did he fail? Why?
 Who was Sima Guang? Who hired him? What was he critical of? What was his philosophy? What
book did he write? What did he write about? Can we generally trust his book or not? Why?
 Who is Zhu Xi? What philosophy did he claim to follow? Which ones did he claim to hate? How do
we know he was influenced by one of these? What did he change from the old Confucian ways?
 Why was Zhu Xi’s philosophy called ‘Daoxue’ and ‘Lixue’? What is Pattern/Principle (Li)? What is
Vital Energy (Qi)? How are these two related? What is The Investigation of Things (gewu)?
 Which book did Zhu Xi write (with Lu Zuqian)? What was it about? Why did they write it?
 Was Zhu Xi successful in his own time? Later? How so? How did his ideas influence art?