Disunity & Struggle for Reunited Order

Review: Qin/Early Han political system

Qin and Early Han government emphasized Legalist meritocracy, centralized authority, and advancement based on service rather than family background.

Major transition from Early Han to Late Han

Meritocracy gradually weakened as powerful hereditary clans accumulated wealth, land, and political influence.

Late Han and Great Clans

Large aristocratic families emerged as dominant social and political forces, weakening centralized authority.

Cao-Wei and Great Clans

Cao-Wei institutionalized aristocratic privilege through systems such as the Nine-Rank ranking system.

Neo-Daoism

Intellectual movement that emerged after the decline of Han Confucianism and emphasized individual expression, spontaneity, and withdrawal from politics.

Why was Confucianism discredited?

The collapse of Han authority and the chaos of the Three Kingdoms period caused many intellectuals to lose faith in traditional Confucian political ideals.

Neo-Daoism and politics

Neo-Daoists were often anti-political and critical of Confucian social conventions.

Neo-Daoism and individualism

Emphasized personal freedom, self-expression, and detachment from government service.

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

Group of intellectuals associated with Neo-Daoism who rejected rigid Confucian norms and enjoyed wine, conversation, and artistic expression.

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Neo-Daoism

Represented withdrawal from politics and celebration of individuality.

Xi Kang

One of the most famous members of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

Xi Kang's execution

Executed in 262 for allegedly corrupting public morality and challenging social norms.

Xi Kang and Neo-Daoism

Became a symbol of intellectual independence and resistance to political authority.

4th-century reaction to the loss of China

Many thinkers blamed Daoism for political decline and promoted renewed Confucian values.

Reaction against Neo-Daoism

Critics argued excessive individualism weakened society and political order.

Rise of Confucian family ethics after the Wei-Jin period

Greater emphasis was placed on family hierarchy, lineage, and social order.

Anti-woman trend in post-Han Confucianism

Women increasingly became subject to stricter family and social expectations.

Matching Gates (門當戶對)

Marriage ideal that families should marry others of equal social rank and status.

Purpose of Matching Gates

Preserved aristocratic privilege and prevented status loss through marriage.

Buddhism and the 4th century

Buddhism gained popularity as people searched for explanations and solutions to suffering during times of instability.

From fate (fen) to karma

Buddhism shifted explanations of success and failure from destiny to moral actions and their consequences.

Karma

Buddhist concept that actions influence one's future circumstances.

Why was Buddhism attractive?

It offered individuals a way to influence their future through moral behavior rather than accepting fate.

Great Clans of the Wei-Jin period

Elite hereditary families that dominated politics and society between 220 and 317.

Historical sequence of Chinese elites

Zhou aristocracy → Han-Tang Great Families → Song-Qing literati and gentry.

Great Clans as a period of elites

Political and social power was concentrated in hereditary aristocratic lineages.

Genealogies of great families

Elite families often created or exaggerated ancestral records to strengthen legitimacy.

David Johnson on genealogies

Argued many aristocratic genealogies were partially fraudulent constructions.

Family system and privilege

Elite family networks preserved wealth, office, and status across generations.

Cao Cao's economic reforms

Established state farms and military colonies to strengthen the economy and military.

State farms under Cao Cao

Government-controlled agricultural colonies designed to produce food and support armies.

Military colonies under Cao Cao

Settlements that combined farming with military service.

Why did Cao Cao collect taxes in silk?

Counterfeiting and inflation weakened the value of metal currency.

Zhoumu inspectors

Officials who evolved from inspectors into powerful regional military governors.

Han prefectures vs Wei-Jin prefectures

The number increased from 13 under Han to 19 under Wei-Jin administration.

Nine-Rank System

Official ranking system that classified families and individuals according to status.

Purpose of the Nine-Rank System

Helped determine eligibility for office and reinforced aristocratic privilege.

Nine-Rank System and Matching Gates

Both reinforced hereditary status and elite dominance.

Benefits of elite families under the Nine-Rank System

Received office opportunities, tax benefits, labor exemptions, and social privilege.

Recommendation system in Wei-Jin

Individuals could be recommended directly into official positions.

Shi

Elite noble families with legal and social advantages over commoners.

Shu

Common people who possessed fewer legal privileges than aristocratic families.

Legal distinction between shi and shu

Noble families enjoyed higher status and advantages unavailable to commoners.

Serving in one's home area during Wei-Jin

Elite officials were allowed to serve locally, strengthening family influence.

Great clans and refugees

Powerful families sheltered refugees and incorporated them into private armies and labor forces.

Great clans and decentralization

Local aristocrats accumulated power that weakened central authority.

Clan system

Social structure dominated by extended aristocratic families controlling land and political power.

Elite view of themselves under the clan system

Saw themselves as the protectors and embodiment of Chinese civilization.

Landed estates

Large aristocratic properties that formed the economic foundation of great clans.

Water-drinking

Symbolic practice emphasizing elite refinement and cultural distinction.

Cultural gulf between classes

The divide between aristocrats and commoners widened significantly during this period.

Failure of the Great Wall

The Great Wall failed to prevent invasions and political fragmentation in North China.

Sixteen Kingdoms Period

Era from 304-439 when North China was divided among competing states and Central Asian groups.

North China during the Sixteen Kingdoms

Became a battleground for competing states and peoples.

Xiongnu and the Western Jin

Xiongnu leaders adopted the surname Liu and played major roles in conquering Western Jin territories.

Conquest of the Western Jin

Occurred between 311 and 317 and contributed to the collapse of northern Chinese rule.

Battle of Fei River (383)

Major battle in which a much smaller Jin force defeated Former Qin.

Importance of the Battle of Fei River

Prevented northern conquest of the south and preserved southern independence.

Fu Jian

Ruler of Former Qin who was defeated at the Battle of Fei River.

Military lesson of Fei River

Discipline and organization can overcome numerical superiority.

Fubing militia system

Highly effective divisional militia system contributing to military success.

Yu Yingshi's argument about captives

Suggested many captives in northern regimes were originally Han Chinese from the North.

Northern Wei (Tuoba Wei)

Powerful dynasty founded by the Xianbei that ruled North China from 386 to 534.

Tuoba Wei and Koguryo comparison

Both combined agriculture with hunting traditions and relocated capitals as they expanded.

Northern Wei capital movement

The dynasty shifted its political center as part of state-building efforts.

Northern Wei and artisans

Relocated approximately 100,000 artisans from Manchuria to Datong.

Datong

Important Northern Wei center in Shanxi.

Military caste in Northern Wei

Society included a powerful military elite.

Northern Wei synthesis

Combined Chinese administrative traditions with nomadic political practices.

Importance of Northern Wei

Created new methods of controlling land, labor, and administration.

Empress Feng

Influential Northern Wei ruler who encouraged intermarriage among elites of equal rank.

Empress Feng and intermarriage

Promoted integration among elite groups while preserving status distinctions.

'Rank was real; ethnicity was changeable'

Social status often mattered more than ethnic background in northern political society.

Empress Ashina

Northern Zhou empress who illustrates the extensive international connections of elite families.

Empress Ashina and global connections

May have had links stretching from Central Asia to Persia and Byzantium.

Mixing in Northern China

Elite society was characterized by intermarriage and cultural blending.

Emperor Xiaowen

Northern Wei ruler famous for promoting sinicization.

Sinicization

Adoption of Chinese cultural practices, language, institutions, and names.

Emperor Xiaowen and ethnicity

Promoted Chinese customs while ruling a Xianbei dynasty.

Chinese mother of Emperor Xiaowen

Empress Feng strongly influenced his adoption of Chinese traditions.

Yuan surname

Chinese surname adopted by the ruling Tuoba family under Xiaowen.

Confucian advisors of Xiaowen

Included Wang Su and scholars who promoted the Rituals of Zhou.

Rituals of Zhou

Classical text used to support governmental and social reforms.

Salary schedules under Northern Wei

Part of administrative reforms designed to professionalize government.

Equal Field System

Land distribution policy intended to equalize land access and strengthen state control.

Purpose of the Equal Field System

Prevent concentration of land while ensuring taxation and agricultural productivity.

Three Elders System

Administrative structure organizing households into hierarchical groups.

Structure of the Three Elders System

Organized households into units of five within larger pyramidal administrative networks.

Northern Wei and Fubing

The state adopted the effective divisional militia system for elite military organization.

Northern Zhou

Dynasty founded in 557 that continued northern political reforms.

Xianbei contributions to Chinese history

Introduced military, political, and administrative innovations later adopted by unified China.

Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou

Conquered Northern Qi and reunified North China in 577.

Northern Qi

Northern dynasty conquered by Northern Zhou.

Importance of Emperor Wu's conquest

Brought northern territories under a single political authority.

Abolition of the Nine-Rank System

Removed hereditary restrictions on official appointments.

Effect of ending the Nine-Rank System

Expanded imperial freedom to appoint officials based on need rather than family status.

Buddhist persecution of 576

Confiscation of Buddhist wealth strengthened state finances.

Yang Xuanzhi

Writer whose observations reveal northern and southern cultural tensions.

Yang Xuanzhi on legitimacy

Claimed the legitimate imperial succession remained in the South.

Northern rebuttal to Yang Xuanzhi

Criticized southern society as backward, unhealthy, and culturally inferior.