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From Yao to Mao: A Thematic Overview of Chinese History Prof. Shana J. Brown Department of History University of Hawaii Tactics in studying Chinese history… • Appreciating the extraordinary degree of geographical, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity • Countering the myth of “eternal China” by defining historical units and themes that acknowledge growth, change, influences by outside world • Looking for historical themes that enrich our understanding of contemporary problems, without reducing them to stereotypes China to the Modern Period (5000 BC – 1308 AD) True or false? • China has always been ruled by ethnic Han Chinese • The geographical boundaries of China have remained constant for thousands of years • The cultural makeup of China shows remarkable degrees of consistency Early Cultures Yangshao (5000-3000 BC) Pit houses; painted pottery; domesticated animals; sericulture? Longshan (3000 – 2000 BC) Black pottery; divination on bones; rammed-earth cities; rice cultivation Hongshan (3700-2250 BC) Jade artifacts; temple and city builders Liangshu (3400 – 2250 BC) Jade artifacts; slab tombs; silk and lacquer production Historiographical issues… • What is the difference between a culture and a dynasty? • Why and how are these cultures and / or dynasties defined as Chinese? “Early Civilization in China: Reflections on How it Became Chinese” • Hierarchical social distinctions • Massive mobilization of labor • Emphasis on the group, rather than the individual • Emphasis on ritual in all dimensions of life • Formal boundaries and models • Ethic of service, obligation, and emulation • Little sense of tragedy or irony Chinese myths of origins: the sage kings • More significant than myths focusing on semihuman or divine figures • Yao: 95-year reign • Succeeded by son-in-law Shun, who ruled for 40 years & established laws and penalties • Yu controlled floods and thus improved agriculture; founded first dynasty, the Xia The Shang (1600-1046 BC) Shang culture & society What’s wrong with the Shang? Slave society; ancestor worship; corrupt rulers The Zhou (1122-221 BC) Zhou culture & society • Zhou invade Shang • Establish new dynasty, claim mandate of heaven allows them to rule • Duke of Zhou establishes proto-Confucian ethical principals Zhou feudalism and decline • Feudal: central king & subservient fiefdoms • Central state loses authority as kings become corrupt • Last Zhou king is defeated by vassal, allied with “barbarian” forces • Fiefdoms devolve into independent states Warring States (481-221 BC) • Age of Confucius and the philosophers • How to create effective political & social structures to attract population, rule effectively • Government based on moral persuasion and elite cooperation, not force Empire unified under Qin (221-206 BC) • Qin Shi Huang built the wall and burned the books; unified the writing system • Rise of Legalism as a political philosophy • Is tyranny the price of efficient government? Qin conquered by Han (206 BC – 220 CE) • Imperial rule strengthened by bureaucracy and imperial examination system • Confucian texts become orthodox • Age of literature and art