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

2. Prehistoric Society: Yangshao n 5000-3000 BCE n Banpo Village n Painted pottery n Bronze tools

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

4. 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

5. Pre-dynastic cultures of China Neolithic period

6. The Earliest Dynasties n Xia –C. 2200 BCE –Organized through village network –Hereditary monarchy –Flood control n Shang –1766-1122 BCE n Zhou –1122-256 BCE

7. Neolithic village at Ban Po

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

11. 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

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

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

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

15. Oracle bone with early ideographic script

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

17. More bronze ware, with early ideograms

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

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

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

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

23. 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.”

24. Zhou dynasty 1100-256 B.C.

25. Zhou (Chou) Dynasty, 1122-256 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

26. 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 (403-221 BCE)

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

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

29. 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

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

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

32. 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

33. 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?”

34. Confucius (ca. 551-479 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

35. Kung Fu-Tse Tomb of Master Kung

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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

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

43. Taoism n Mo Tzu: ca. 470-391 B.C. n Lao Tzu: 4th or 3rd century –taught about the Tao

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

45. 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, 369-236 BCE)

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

47. #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.

48. #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.

49. 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

50. 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?

51. The First Emperor n Qin Shihuangdi (r. 221-210 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

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

53. China under the Qin dynasty, 221-207 B.C.E.

54. 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

55. Tomb of Shi Huangdi

57. The Great Canal

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

59. 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

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

61. The Han Dynasty

62. 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”

63. 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

64. 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

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