Ancient China n degree of isolation n distance from Middle East n youngest Primary Phase culture in the Old World

Prehistoric Society: Yangshao n BCE n Banpo Village n Painted pottery n Bronze tools

Unique features n intensive garden-style agriculture n do not adopt the plow until very late n unique soil: loess

Early History n legendary outline n three principal Neolithic Cultures n later tradition: the Hsia dynasty –no traces n first historical civilization: the Shang dynasty

Pre-dynastic cultures of China Neolithic period

The Earliest Dynasties n Xia –C BCE –Organized through village network –Hereditary monarchy –Flood control n Shang – BCE n Zhou – BCE

Neolithic village at Ban Po

The Shang Dynasty n Yellow River –near the frontier n traditional date: 1500 B.C. n invaders n eventually absorbed

Shang Dynasty n Bronze metallurgy from 1200 BCE –State monopoly n Horse-drawn chariots, other wheeled vehicles n Large armies n Political organization: network of fortified cities, loyal to center –1000 cities –Capital moved six times Impressive architecture at Ao, Yin n Other regional kingdoms coexist: Sanxingdui

Distinct Characteristics n silk n no animal milk or milk products n ancestor worship n central place of the family

Operative unit of Society n the family n not the individual n not the state n not the religion

Other features n ornate architecture n chopsticks n ideographic script –still readable by modern Chinese n divination

Oracle bone with early ideographic script

An example of Shang bronze (religious objects) cast using a “lost wax” process

More bronze ware, with early ideograms

A bronze temple bell -many will strike two distinct and separate notes, depending on which part of the bell is struck

Organization n peasants support nobles, officials, bureaucracy, etc. n government centered in towns n warrior elite n poor live in primitive conditions

Distinctions n between rich and poor –price of civilization ? n between male and female –infanticide –footbinding –arranged marriages –multiple wives

Early ideology n Yin and Yang n Yin: female, dark, weak, wet, passive n Yang: male, bright, strong, dry, active n balance of opposites

End of the Primary Phase n not as serious in China n nomadic invaders n the Zhou dynasty –1027 B.C. n replaced one ruling class with another –“meet the new boss...same as the old boss.”

Zhou dynasty B.C.

Zhou (Chou) Dynasty, BCE n No law codes: rule by decree –“Mandate of Heaven” n Aggregation of villages opposed to Shang leadership –Decentralization of authority n Development of cheap iron weaponry ends Shang monopoly on Bronze n Early money economy

Decline of the Zhou Dynasty n Decentralized leadership style allows for building of regional powers –Increasing local independence, refusal to pay Zhou taxes n Iron metallurgy allows for widespread creation of weaponry n Northern invaders weaken Zhou dynasty, beginning 8 th c BCE n 771 B.C. Zhou driven east –Internal dissention: the Period of the Warring States ( BCE)

The Eastern Zhou n ruled until 256 B.C. n power held by local aristocrats n first Chinese literature n evolution of bronze technology

Political theory n the mandate of Heaven n universal monarch –favors consolidation –xenophobic n Emperor is the Son of Heaven n feudal monarchy

The Period of Warring States n 771 B.C. n dozen-plus states n balance of power until 500’s n period of consolidation by warfare –warfare chronic

The Period of the Warring States, ca. 500 B.C.

Intellectual development n response to crisis and uncertainty n Confucianism –a sort of philosophy n Taoism –a sort of religion

Zhou Literature n Confucius n Book of Changes –Manual for divination n Book of History n Book of Etiquette (Book of Rites) n Book of Songs n Little survived –Often written on perishable bamboo strips –Many destroyed by Emperor of Qin dynasty in 221 BCE

The Good Old Days n breakdown of “traditional family values” n no trust or confidence in government –filled with thieves, liars, and murderers n no respect for the ancestors n “Why do the wicked flourish?”

Confucius (ca B.C.) n poor family n well-educated in the “classics” n ambitious (wanted to be a bureaucrat...) n couldn’t get honest work...so he became a teacher

Kung Fu-Tse Tomb of Master Kung

Confucius, con’t n wrote nothing--his followers wrote about him n difficult to separate myth from fact n the Analects –his “sayings”

The Analects n looked back to the “good old days” n but favored some new ideas along with the old n rejection of the idea of in-born nobility n proper training, education, and aptitude make a “gentleman” –not simply birth into a certain family

Marks of gentility n goodness, wisdom, courage n moderation of outer and inner emotions n knowledge of traditional rites n dissociation from all men who did not practice these things –simple satisfaction in the practice of virtue for its own sake

Circumstances favoring his ideas n lack of mythopoetic urge n lack of a strong religious tradition and experience n lack of prophets n lack of anthropomorphic gods

Important Confucian concepts n Ren – innate goodness in human beings n Li – normal standard of conduct n the TAO –what is appropriate n no speculation on metaphysics

Confucian Ideas n Ethics and politics –Avoided religion, metaphysics n Junzi: “superior individuals” –Role in government service n Emphasis on Zhou Dynasty texts –later formed core texts of Chinese education

Confucius, con’t n a failure? n ideas spread by students n adopted by the Han dynasty

Taoism n Mo Tzu: ca B.C. n Lao Tzu: 4th or 3rd century –taught about the Tao

Taoism n supplied the metaphysical n multiple lines of thought n very fluid

Taoism n Critics of Confucianism –Passivism, rejection of active attempts to change the course of events n Founder: Laozi, 6 th c. BCE n The Tao te Ching (Classic of Way and of Virtue) n Zhuangzi (named for author, BCE)

Basic concepts n pursuit of justice and righteousness n Wu wei wu: “ –Doing by not doing.” n withdrawal and contemplation n withdrawal from society

#1: The Tao n The tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name. The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of creation. Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery. By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real. Yet mystery and reality emerge from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness born from darkness. The beginning of all understanding.

#31: Maintaining Peace n Armies are tools of violence; They cause men to hate and fear. The sage will not join them. His purpose is creation; Their purpose is destruction. Weapons are tools of violence, Not of the sage; He uses them only when there is no choice, And then calmly, and with tact, For he finds no beauty in them. Whoever finds beauty in weapons Delights in the slaughter of men; And who delights in slaughter Cannot content himself with peace. So slaughters must be mourned And conquest celebrated with a funeral.

The Zhou (Chou) and Qin n rise of the Qin n new technology n gave land to peasants n new military draft n new bureaucracy

The Qin and the Legalist tradition n ideology of rule n absolute power of the ruler n people existed to serve the state n destroy Confucian philosophy?

The First Emperor n Qin Shihuangdi (r BCE) founds new dynasty as “First Emperor” n Dynasty ends in 207, but sets dramatic precedent n Basis of rule: centralized bureacracy n Massive public works begun –Incl. precursor to Great Wall

Shi Huangdi n united China in 221 B.C. n ruled by the Legalist theory n massive conscription for labor

China under the Qin dynasty, B.C.E.

Resistance to Qin Policies n Emperor orders execution of all critics n Orders burning of all ideological works n Some 460 scholars buried alive n Others exiled n Massive cultural losses

Tomb of Shi Huangdi

The Great Canal

Rise of the Han n rebellion of peasants n Lui Bang n a successful failure

Han dynasty n ruled for 400 years n new bureaucracy n emphasis on centralization –weakening of the aristocracy n imperial expansion n destruction of the Legalists

East Asia and central Asia at the time of Han Wudi, Ca. 87 B.C.E.

The Han Dynasty

Han society n the Confucian educated elite n free peasants n non-free peasants n improvement in women's’ status n beginnings of “secret societies”

Population Growth in the Han Dynasty n General prosperity n Increased agricultural productivity n Taxes small part of overall income n Produce occasionally spoiling in state granaries

Books: n H.L. Creel. The Birth of China n Sebastian De Grazia, ed. Masters of Chinese Political Thought n Mark Elvin. The Patterns of the Chinese Past n Michael Loewe. Everyday Life in Ancient China n Laurence G. Thompson. Chinese Religion: An Introduction n Martin Palmer. The Elements of Taoism

More Books n Stephen Mitchell. Tao Te Ching n Thomas Cleary. The Essential Tao n Isabelle Robinet. Taoism: Growth of a Religion