Chinese Culture 2

Alexis N. Pomeroy
19 March 2008

Chinese Culture: Unit Two

256 B.C.E. – 580 C.E.

Qin Dynasty and the Unification of China. In 221 B.C.E., the Qin Dynasty began the unified Chinese Empire after overpowering all of the rivaling regions. The Qin dynasty brought with them their Legalist traditions and their respect towards those they conquered. I think that their understanding approach to their new domains is what helped them unify China with such ease.

Lu, a highly influential individual, increased the unity of China in many ways. One beneficial factor that he contributed in unifying China was the fact that anyone could attain nobility, depending on their own success. This provided a sense of equality between the common people and those who ruled them, as well as a huge motivator to be successful. Lu was one of these common people himself, but his success and entrepreneurship gained him a position as chancellor, regent, and other distinguished titles.

He also has a book compiled that would represent the unified philosophies of Qin. This was another huge unifier in that the book consisted of philosophies and thoughts of all the different schools of thought that were important at that time. That way all people would embrace Qin’s new book and have a connection with everyone else.

Then there was King Cheng, the “First Emperor” of the Qin, who reformed the structure of Chinese government and administration. He promoted the standardization of writing, measurements, and currency, as well as the development of roads and canals. The Qin law under the “First Emperor” was very rigorous with taxes, penalties, and executions. When the First Emperor finally died in 210 BCE, he had thousands of life-sized ceramic soldiers surround this tomb. He was very mistrusting and slightly paranoid about death because he had three different assassination attempts in his life.

The next emperor began his reign as the Second Emperor after his father, the First Emperor, died in 210 BCE. He had his brothers, as well as Li Si, executed. The Qin dynasty was losing its power and status, and there started to be rebellions. The Qin dynasty eventually disintegrated and in its place arose a new dynasty known as the “Han Dynasty.”

The first Emperor of the Han was Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), who took his leadership role in 202 BCE and continued until 195 BCE. He reformed the centralized government, instated a new location as the capitol: Chang’an, as well as reformed many of the laws, taxes, and from the sound of it, improved the overall quality of life for the people. The Han emperor was a powerful position, but he heavily relied on the advice of chancellors and other officials.

After Emperor Gao died, the widow of the next emperor took over and no one liked her. She was apparently very mean and harsh, and caused the people to decide that it was a lesson concerning “letting a woman take power”.

The next emperor sounded like a very beneficial individual. Emperor Wu began his rule in 141 BCE. He loved the arts and culture. He was interested in art, music, poetry, and Confucian teachings and texts. According to Ebrey, he was “unafraid of innovation” (47). He took on militaristic expansion and helped develop pecuniary structure and stability. Wu ruled for 54 successful years.

Wu also strongly endorsed Confucian teachings. He appointed officials based on their Confucian virtues, and spread the availability of Confucian schools and training. This high regard he had for Confucianism definitely affected this approach to governing the Han dynasty, and in my opinion, made him as successful as he was. He was not nearly as restricting and forceful as the previous dynasty. He believed in good, virtuous ways of life and encouraged others to study this philosophy and lifestyle. This instilled a natural sense of these values in those who adhered to it, and this provided them with more trust and freedom than the Legalist way of government, who required more supervision than the Confucian adherents did.

Throughout this time there existed nomadic clans that roamed the Northern Frontier. These groups included: the Eastern Hu, the Xiongnu, and the Yuezhi.

During the Qin dynasty, a Qin general, Meng Tian, took over the Xiongnu region in the northern Shanzi area. He was the first person to initiate the beginnings of the first Great Wall.

The chief of the Xiongnu was Touman, who was later killed by the command of his son, Maodun. Maodun later overpowered the Eastern Hu as well as the Yuezhi. He also united the tribes of the Gobi region.

Later, a new emperor succeeded in establishing the Xin Dynasty. He was a Confucian who was able to gain his position through his relative, Empress Wang. The Xin Dynasty did not last very long (only 9 CE – 23 CE), and the Later Han Dynasty soon took over.

During the Qin Dynasty, many writings were burned due to a command of the First Emperor. However, when the Han Dynasty came about, they had a library, developed paper, and were able to write many literary records, books, and teachings. During the early Han period, a new form of Taoism developed. It was known as “Huang-Lao Taoism” and Emperor Wu found it particularly agreeable. It involved worlds of gods, immortals, sacrifices, rituals, and stories.

After the commencement of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism once again became a common and highly regarded belief system. Scholars would study endlessly to master the meanings of all the teachings and try to learn and develop more understanding.

Writer and critic, Wang Chong, disagreed with the common beliefs that the time or day affected one’s luck. He was a practical person who saw the reasons behind consequences instead of being superstitious like much of society during the Han. Instead of just assuming any misfortune was caused by a decision or action made of an unlucky day, he realized that there was a real reason affecting the outcome.

During the Han Dynasty, a great historian named Sima Qian wrote a huge history called “Record of the Grand Historian.” His record included documents; cultural, political, and economic information; calendars, as well as many other accounts. He was given access to important documents, writings, and association with prominent people through his verdict to become a palace eunuch. He contributed immensely to initiating the history keeping of China.

The Han society consisted of different social statuses. There were the common farmers and the elite. The common farmers made agricultural advancements and developed farming equipment. The government was conscientious to provide for the farmers by reduced land taxes, provision during famines, helped them move to more open lands, etc. Despite this, many farmers were in debt and unable to keep their land.

The elite groups of the Han included those who were close to the throne (in-laws, eunuchs, relatives, etc), as well as merchants, manufacturers, government officials, the educated, and those who were simply wealthier than the commoners were. The elite relatives would often have lavish abodes and draft commoners into being their slaves or to work for them instead of public labors.

The merchants and manufacturers were also very well off. They had access to top quality clothing and food. They provided loans to other nobles, in order for the nobles to gain the power they wanted among society.

As the Han developed, they gained control of the Western trade routes, the Silk Road, and started realizing that there were many other developed civilizations around just like themselves. Until then, they had been relatively isolated and contained, and during the Han they began contacting and interacting with other civilizations. This outer contact greatly influenced changes that took place in the Chinese culture and society.

During this time, however, there began to be a political division within the Han, It evolved into the Three Kingdoms from 220-265 CE, and then the Western Jon Dynasty developed from 265-316 CE. There was a huge religions growth and development occurring at these times. Many Chinese people adopted a new religion, Buddhism, from India. This helped reform their beliefs concerning their present lives, as well as their afterlives. This religion became increasingly popular all across Asia. Daoism was also growing tremendously as well. They added new thoughts, beliefs, and it became more of a religious Daoism verses the philosophical Daoism of the past.

Reference:

Ebery, Patricia Buckley. China: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company. 2006.