Chinese Dynasties and Cultural Developments: Qin to Ming

Qin Dynasty

(221-206 BC) set in motion the trend toward aministrative centralization by creating the 1st bureaucratic empire in history

Shihuangdi

founder of Qin dynasty, brought about administrative centralization by creating a system of commanderies and counties

terracotta army

collection of seven thousand life-sized sculptures made from pottery in the tomb of Shi Huangdi

their existence is a demonstration of the successful outcome and high degree of admin centralization

Han dynasty

(206 BC - 220 CE) expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy

Han Wudi

(141-87 CE) made two major acheivements:

1) administrative centralization

2) imperial expansion

- invading Vietnam & Korea and bringing them under the orbit of Chinese society

- defeating Xiongnu Confederation

Xiongnu

frequently mounted raids into Chinese villages and trading areas, a source of concern to the Han emperors

(retreated from Han territories)

confucianization

proccess by which confucianism became officially recognized by imperial ideology/religion as well as the core curriculum of education

Five Classics

five ancient chinese book associated w/ Confucius they were compiled during the Han dynasty and invoked as authorities on chinese society, gov't, literature, and religion

- they were taught from 136 BC - 1905 CE

characteristics of Ancient India

- lack of centralized empires and the dominance by regional kingdoms

- development of a well-defined but inflexible social structure known as caste system

Siddhartha Guatama

(563-483 BC) "one whose aim is accomplished"

one of the ethical and moral thinkers who lived in Ancient India (present-day Nepal)

brahmins

priests who offered ritual sacrifices before the rise of Buddhism

ascetic

person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion

Great Renunciation

to give up princely life and become a wandering ascetic

Four Noble Truths

- life is suffering

- suffering is caused by desire

- the way to end suffering is to end desire

- to end desire, avoid two extremes:

1) life of vulgar materialism

2) life of self-torture and self-mortification

men needed to follow the "Middle Path"

enlightenment

blessed state in which the individual transcends desire and suffering and attains Nirvana

nivana

ultimate goal or condition, beyond existence and w/o former definition

- blissful spiritual condition where the heart extinguishes passion, hatred, and delusion

- highest spiritual plane a person can attain

theravada

traditional form of Buddhism closer to the teachings of the historical Buddha

- renounced material world and emphasized the importance of monastic life and limited routes to salvation

mahayana

emphasized importance of faith and universal opportunity for salvation

- Buddha himself was made a supernatural god

- innumerable deities called bodhisattvas

bodhisattva

enlightened beings destined to attain nirvana, but decided out of compassion to delay the final act to help others achieve salvation

silk road

network of interlinking trade routes across the Eurasian landmass that connected Asia w/ the European world

dream of emperor Ming

first incidence regarding the introduction of Buddhism in China recorded in historical documents

Period of Disunion

period of political fragmentation following the invasion of the Han dynasty in 316 CE

appeal of Buddhism

In northern China, alien rulers accepted Buddhism to attract the allegiance of the Buddhist population and legitimize their rule

Liang Wudi

- founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty of Chinese history

-acquired titles that suggest the fusion of both Confucian and Buddhist Political Sanctions:

1) Emperor Bodhisattva

2)Bodhisattva son of heaven

sincization

to make Chinese in character or to change by Chinese influence

Sui dynasty

(581-617 CE) brought about China's reunification, administrative recentralization, built a grand canal

Grand Canal

canal linking northern and southern China

Tang dynasty

(618-906 CE)

- imperial court continued to patronize Buddhist establishments and build Buddhist temples

- sinicization of Buddhism

- persecution of Buddhism

persecution of Buddhism

(845 CE) destruction of 44,600 monasteries and temples, return of 260,000 monks and nuns and 150,000 to lay life and tax registers

- proved a crippling blow to Buddhism

- paved the way fro China's intellectual, ideological, and religious recentralization

Traditional Chinese Civilization

- absolute monarchy

- centralized bureaucratic system of gov't

- civil service examination system

- governing elite consisting of scholar officials

- dominance of classical & neo-confucianism

- tribute system of international relations

Song dynasty

(960-1279 CE) expanded an existing civil service examination system, which reached its highest point in this dynasty

mutiny at Chen bridge

(960 CE) resulted in the founding of the Song dynasty

- reports of imminent nomadic invasion

- Song Taizu headed an expeditionary force

civil service examination system

system of official examination and recruitment

civil service = China's traditional administrative bureaucracy

since members of this bureaucracy were selected through competitive examinations, these served as a basic mechanism for selecting and recruiting officials until 1905

- allowed social mobility

- created a new governing elite, Shidafu (scholar-officials)

Song Taizu

Founder of the Song dynasty

Nine Rank System

a member of the local aristocracy classified candidates for office into 9 ranks according to family background, character, and ability

Xiucai

"received talent"

prefectural exams

(B.A.)

Juren

"elevated man"

provincial exams

(M.A.)

Jinshi

"presented scholar"

metropolitan exams

(Ph.D.)

country magistrate

entry-level position for a Jinshi

shidafu

governing elite who were scholar-officials

achieved status through success in examinations

Mandarin

what scholar-officals were known to the West as, in reference to the dialect of Chinese they spoke

Neo-Confucianism

revival of Confucianism in the song dynasty that implemented elements of Buddhism and Daoism

Zhu Xi

neo-Confucian scholar during the Song dynasty

understood w/in two spheres

- larger sphere of the universe

- smaller sphere of human society

commentaries on the Four Books became required readings for all civil service examination candidates

Li

w/in the universe: universal principle

Qi

w/in the universe: material force

"Investigation of Things"

Zhu Xi's mechanism/method for comprehending/understanding universal principle

Four Books

four ancient Confucian texts w/ Zhu Xi's interpretive commentaries

- used as official subject matter for civil service examination in China from 1313 to 1905

- serve to introduce students to Confucian literature

Zhu Xi & Thomas Aquinas

demonstrates that both christian and confucian scholars responded to challenge by incorporating and appropriating concepts/ideas/approaches from other schools of thought/belief systems/religions

- response by incorporation and appropriating its rational approach into christian theology

- response by incorporating their cosmological and metaphysical conceptions into confucian ideology/religion

Ming Taizu

founding emperor of Ming dynasty

Ming dynasty

saw the recreation of defining characteristics of Chinese civilization

- Great Wall of China

- two developments suggest that Chinese civilization under Ming dynasty had the potential to develop in radically different directions

1) Seven Voyages of Zheng He

2) missionary activities

Great Wall of China

designed to prevent invasion by Mongols and other nomadic peoples

Zheng He

(1371-1435) Chinese naval explorer who sailed along most of the coast of Asia, Japan, and half way down the east coast of Africa before his death

Seven Voyages of Zheng He

(1405-1433 CE)

- not voyages of exploration

- political and diplomatic in nature, not commercial or colonization

- demonstrated China's potential to develop maritime trade and become a maritime power

- represented a deviation from the established pattern of a self-sufficient agricultural civilization, which did not motivate the Chinese to make sustained effort to undertake geographical exploration or create trading empires

Jesuits

members of Society of Jesus founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola

- a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in service to the universal Church

Matteo Ricci

Portuguese Jesuit missionary, immersed himself in the study of Chinese language and Confucian classics after he arrived in China 1582

Manchus

federation of northeast Asian peoples who founded the Qing Empire

- thoroughly assimilated by dominant Chinese culture and traditions

Manchuria

a northern industrial province in China

Qing dynasty

last imperial dynasty of China, founded by Kangxi

- reestablished the traditional 6 gov't ministries

1) Ministry of Personnel

2) Ministry of Revenue

3) Ministry of Rites

4) Ministry of War

5) Ministry of Justice

6) Ministry of Works

tribute system

principles and regulations governing China's foreign relations

- provided a basic framework for international relations in east and southeast Asia until the end of the 18th centuries

- system's stability can be explained by the dominance of a single country in east and southeast Asian civilization

- European states encountered and accepted the system when they intruded east Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries