East Asia

Key Concept 2.1: the development and codification of religious and cultural traditions

  • Three important belief systems emerged in China during the Warring States period
    • Confucianism
    • Confucius (551-479 BCE) and his school
    • Confucius
      • Educator and political advisor
      • Sayings were compiled in the Analects by his disciples
    • Confucian ideas
      • Fundamentally moral and ethical in character
      • Thoroughly practical: how to restore political and social order
      • Concentrated on formation of junzi -- “superior individuals”
      • Edited and compiled the Zhou classics for his disciples to study
      • Five basic relationships
    • Key Confucian values
      • Ren--a sense of humanity, kindness, benevolence
      • Li--a sense of propriety, courtesy, respect, deference to elders
      • Xiao--filial piety, familial obligation
      • Cultivate personal morality and junzi for bringing order to China
    • Daoism
    • Preferred philosophical reflection and introspection, a life in harmony with nature
    • Laozi, founder of daoism, allegedly wrote the Daodejing (Classic of the Way and of Virtue)
    • Zhuangzi (compendium of Daoist philosophy)
    • The Dao--the way of nature, the way of the cosmos
      • Elusive concept: an eternal principle governing all the workings of the world
      • Dao is passive and yielding, does nothing yet accomplishes everything
      • Humans should tailor their behavior to the passive and yielding nature of the Dao
      • Ambition and activism had only brought the world to chaos
      • Doctrine of wuwei: disengagement from worldly affairs, simple life
      • Advocated small, self-sufficient communities
    • Political implications: served as counterbalance to confucian activism
    • Legalism
    • The state’s strength was in agriculture and military force
    • Discouraged commerce, education, and the arts
    • Harnessing self-interest of the people for the needs of the state
    • Called for harsh penalties even for minor infractions
    • Advocated collective responsibility before the law
    • Not popular among Chinese, but practical; put end to Period of Warring States

Key Concept 2.2: the development of states and empires

  • Unification of China-Qin Dynasty
    • Qin, located in west China, adopted Legalist policies
    • Encouraged agriculture, resulted in strong economy
    • Organized a powerful army equipped with iron weapons
    • Conquered other states and unified China in 221 BCE
    • The first emperor was Qin Shihuangdi (221 BCE)
    • Established centralized imperial rule
    • Project of connecting and extending the Great Wall
    • Buried 460 scholars alive because of their criticism
    • Burned all books except some with utilitarian value
    • Policies of centralization
    • Standardization of laws, currencies, weights, measures
    • Standardization of scripts
    • Tomb of the first emperor, who died 210 BCE
    • Tomb was underground palace with army of life-size terra-cotta figures
    • Excavation of the tomb since 1974
  • Collapse of the Qin Dynasty
    • Massive public works generated tremendous ill will among the people
    • Waves of rebels overwhelmed the qin court in 207 BCE
    • Short-lived dynasty, but left deep marks in Chinese history
  • The Early Han
    • Liu Bang; persistent and methodical; by 206 BCE restored order
    • Early Han policies
    • Sought a middle way between zhou decentralization and Qin over-centralization
    • Han Wudi, the Martial Emperor (reigned 141-87 BCE), emphasized centralization and expansion
    • Han centralization; adopted Legalist policies
    • Built an enormous bureaucracy to rule the empire
    • Continued to build roads and canals
    • Levied taxes on agriculture, trade, and craft industries
    • Imperial monopolies on production of iron and salt
    • Established confucian educational system for training bureaucrats - civil service examination
  • Han Imperial Expansion
    • Invaded and colonized northern Vietnam and Korea
    • Han organized vast armies to invade Xiongnu territory (nomads from steppes)
    • Han enjoyed uncontested hegemony in east and central Asia
  • From economic prosperity to social disorder
    • Productivity and prosperity during the Former Han
    • Patriarchal social structure
      • Women’s subordination’ Ban Zhao’s Admonitions for Women
      • Children obey and honor parents
    • Vast majority of population were cultivators
    • Iron metallurgy: farming tools, utensils, and weapons
    • Silk textiles: sericulture spread all over China during the Han
    • Paper production: replaced silk and bamboo as writing material
    • Population growth: twenty million to sixty million from 220 BCE-9 CE
    • Economic and social difficulties
    • Expeditions consumed the empire’s surplus
      • Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals
      • Taxes and land confiscations discouraged investment in manufacture and trade
    • Social tensions, caused by stratification between the poor and rich
    • Problems of land distribution
    • The reign of Wang Mang (9-23 CE)
      • Land reforms by the “socialist emperor”
      • Overthrown by revolts, 23 CE
  • The Later Han
    • Yellow Turban Uprising: revolt due to problems of land distribution
    • Collapse of the Han
    • Factions at court paralyzed the central government
    • Han empire dissolved