Chinese Civilization

Institutions, World Views, and Significance,

2205 B. C. E. – 220 B.C.E

Generalizations About Chinese Civilization

• Powerful Central Authority—emperor• Veneration of Ancestors• Beginning w/ Han Dynast, Confucianism is

official governing philosophy• Chinese citizens mix Confucian beliefs

with Taoism• Perennial problems—food production,

invasion, and internal strife

Cradle of Chinese Civilization

• Huang Ho (Yellow River) is cradle of civilization—also termed River of Sorrows—its floods destroy even as they give livelihood.

• Millet cultivation; stone tools; emergent urbanization.

• Three cultural heroes: Fu Hsi—invented writing; Shen Nung—farming and commerce; Yellow Emperor—government and Taoism

Huang Ho River

Sage Kings 2350-2200

• May not have been historical but were seen as especially virtuous

• Perceived pattern in Chinese history—wise rule and order followed by period of moral laxity, decline, decadence, and disorder

• Chinese history would emphasize public virtue—obedience to a wise emperor

Shang Dynasty—1766-1050

• First “historical” dynasty.• Development of Writing• Bronze age civilization along Huang Ho• Reading of oracle bones• Emergence of “T’ien” concept—heaven—

where God and ancestors dwelled.

Shang Oracle Bones

Chou Dynasty—1050-221 B. C. E.

• Development of “T’ien Ming” or Mandate of Heaven

• Myth of Legitimacy—how to justify overthrowing of Shang

• Central authority weakened in “Spring and Autumn” periods—771-401 b. c. e.—and collapse of order in Period of Warring States—401-256 B. C. E.

• Ironic contribution of Chou dynasty was providing incentive to develop classical philosophy in China.

Classical Chinese Philosphy

•Confucianism•Taoism•Legalism

Confucianism

• K’ung Fu-tzu (Confucius) 551 B. C. E.-479 B. C. E.

• Public order comes from “jen” or humane behavior between people.

• Superiors should govern well• Inferiors should obey• Shu—reciprocity and chung—doing one’s

best

Sayings from the Analects: 1

• Fan-ch'ih asked about jen. The Master said, "It is to love all men." He asked about knowledge. "It is to know all men." Fan ch'ih did not immediately understand these answers. The Master said, "Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in this way, the crooked can be made to be upright."

• Tzu-kung asked, saying, "Is there one world which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."

Sayings from the Analects: 2

• The Master said, "With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow; I still have joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by inhumanity are to me as a floating cloud."

• The Master said, "The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of humanity. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their humanity."

• The Master said, "The superior man in everything considers righteousness to be essential. He performs it according to the rules of propriety (li ). He brings it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This is indeed a superior man."

• The Master said, "The object of the superior man is truth, not food. . . . The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him."

Social Order and Confucius

• Rule of reciprocity promoted both order and disorder—presumably an evil ruler or an ineffective husband could be disobeyed.

• See Ban Zhao, Lessons for a Woman• She accepts some subservience and

humility but also believes in the balance of Yin/Yang—not the dominance of Yang

Taoism

• Based on ideas of Lao Tzu• Tao—the way of heaven—unity• Balance of yang (maleness—cold,

heaven) and yin (femaleness, warm, earth)

• Government should guide people, not rule them.

Legalism

• Founded by Hsun Tzu (298-238 B. C. E.)• People are evil and must be controlled through

harsh laws.• Reward good deeds, punish bad deeds severely.• Utilitarianism—meant that government would

encourage agriculture over other pursuits• Rule of Law—law is supreme—and law is

standard in entire real (two ideas that persist in Chinese state)

Chi’n Dynasty (221-206 B. C. E.)

• Officially legalist• Standardized form of govt.• Ended period of warring states• Began Great Wall of China• Extended China’s boundaries

to the south

Great Wall of china

Han Dynasty ( 202 B. C. E. -220 C. E.

• Officially Confucian• Scholar bureaucrats educated in Confucian

classics govern china on a day to day basis.• Han Wu Ti (r. 141-86) extended China from

Korea to Vietnam• Wang Mang (9-23) overthrew corrupt Han but

was soon ousted by peasants who were then ousted by the nobles.

• Conquests of later Han opened up the Silk Roads to Mediterranean