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ANCIENT CHINA 1
Introduction and General Remarks for Ancient China
Ancient civilizations of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians have long
disappeared, but Ancient Chinese civilization and its transformation to
modern times has lasted as the largest and most enduring one in human
history. This is even more remarkable when observing the numerous
leitmotifs of the Chinese society that were inaugurated so long ago, and
many of these themes still resonate today. Ancestral worship, the Mandate
of Heaven, and the numerous philosophical ideas, especially of Confucius,
have been practiced or used for thousands of years. Remote and mysterious
are two adjectives that Western Society has applied to China until recently.
China is the only civilization where western thought had no influence until
modern times, and also practically the only large region in the world where
western men never ruled. For westerners, Chinese customs seem reversed
to theirs. White is the color of mourning for the Chinese not black, and for
them the left side is one of honor not the right side. Writing is read
vertically from the top right-hand corner downward. These few differences
reveal that Chinese culture evolved independently of western influences.
One can only marvel at the longevity of Chinese civilization.
Influence of Geography
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Geography has played an important role in Chinese History as in most
ancient, medieval, and modern cultures. While 85% of China is arid or
inaccessible steppes, deserts or mountains, this has never kept China from
creatively developing its natural resources. Today, China occupies nearly
four million square miles, and is the third largest country in the world. Only
Russia and Canada are larger in area. Not until the early 1700’s did China
reach its present size.
About 3500 years ago it consisted of a number of
small states in the region of the Hwang-He or Yellow River. Though the
Yellow River’s waters are nearly useless for navigation because of its
swiftness and cataracts, its waters are vital for irrigation. Flooding was a
common occurrence, but massive dikes were built to stop this. Silt left
behind was great soil for growing crops. The Hwang-He still goes by its
nickname as ‘China’s Sorrow,” and later on in the discussion on customs
there will be a discussion on an important festival connected to this great
waterway. During the course of many centuries the various rulers gradually
pushed the frontier outward in all directions and China was welded into a
strong and united empire.
The Division of Chinese History into Dynasties and the Cohesion and
Continuity of Chinese History
Chinese history is divided into dynasties like ancient Egypt, but with
names not numbers. A particular dynasty was a family that stayed in power
for a few to many centuries. With only a couple of exceptions, China was
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ruled by dynasties for 4000 years. Names of the various dynasties are
spelled differently, but the following ones will be discussed in this lecture:
Hsia, Shang, Chou or Zhou, Chin, and Han. Compared to the discontinuity
and change of Ancient Indian and Ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, China
is characterized by cohesion and continuity. While there were numerous
invasions of China over the centuries, the Chinese were not forced to adopt
the language or customs of their invaders. Rather invaders invariably
became Chinese. All Chinese are mongoloids like their nomadic invaders.
The Chinese enjoyed racial and cultural homogeneity throughout their
history. Later this homogeneity was further cemented by the
standardization of their writing system, which enables speakers of widely
differing dialects to communicate with each other. In contrast look at the
sub-continent of India where even today there are fourteen national
languages, and English is the linqua franca. Relative political unity has
persisted and is important as their cultural continuity. Many scholars
attribute this largely to the unique secularization of Chinese society. This
was the only great civilization that never produced a priestly class. In fact,
inventions were created by man not the deities as in other societies. Thus,
no great division existed between the religious community and the laity,
between church and state. Nor was there any counterpart to Ancient India’s
Epics that were steeped in metaphysics and concerned with personal
salvation. Rather Chinese literature emphasized the life of human beings
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and especially the relationships between members of the family; and
between ruler and his subjects.
Pre-dynastic and the Hsia Dynasty
According to Chinese legends Huang-Ti was the founder of the Chinese
Civilization circa 2500 B.C.E. because he defeated the neighboring
barbarians and united the Chinese people throughout the Yellow River plain.
To this day many Chinese call themselves descendants of the Yellow
Emperor. Before Huang-Ti the earth was ruled by deities, and according to
the myths, during the reign of Huang-Ti and his four successors, the
government of the world was perfect. The last successor Yu, founded the
Hsia Dynasty around 2000 B.C.E. Archaeological evidence has located the
capitol of the Hsia.
Yu was called the “great engineer” as he was
considered the first to build large-scale waterworks to control the flooding of
the Yellow River. In addition, the Hsia Dynasty fixed the lunar calendar of
366 days. Today the Chinese still use this Hsia calendar to base their
traditional festivals’ dates.
The Early Invention of Silk
Other Chinese legends relate that Empress Hsi Ling-Shi discovered silk
around 2000 B.C.E.1 The emperor had told her to find out what was wrong
with the mulberry trees in the garden. She found them covered with white
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Confucius was known to have said the date was 2640 B.C.E.
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worms spinning cocoons. By accident the empress dropped one of the
cocoons into some hot water and when she removed it, the silk thread came
out. This secret of making silk or the production of sericulture remained
with the Chinese for about 3000 years. To discuss silk making with a
barbarian or outsider was punishable by death.2 There will be discussion
later on the Silk Road.
The Shang Dynasty and the Invention of Writing
Sometime in the 16th century B.C.E. the Hsia Dynasty was defeated by
a neighboring tribe called the Shang. The Shang Dynasty, circa 1523-1027
B.C.E. marks the beginning of documented written Chinese history. Giving
us our understanding of the Shang Dynasty, are 20,000 inscribed oracle
bones. Modern Chinese writing evolved from this logographic script incised
into scapula bones of oxen, tortoise shells, and later bamboo, wood, and
silk. These oracle bones were originally used for divination, which is the art
of telling future events through consulting the supernatural. The Chinese
Shaman was either a man or a woman, who would write down a question on
the bone, drill holes in the bone, and when a hot poker was heated and then
stabbed into the holes, further cracks appears. These cracks were then
interpreted as an answer from the gods or an ancestor. Typical questions
were: is the drought caused by ancestor X? If we raise an army of 3000 men
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It was not until 550 C.E. when two Christian monks smuggled silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds out of
China
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to drive them away will we succeed? Was it a propitious time for sowing or
for gathering the harvest? When was the best time to take a journey or go
hunting? Scholars did not know about this writing until some of them visited
in the late nineteen century some Chinese herbal shops in Peking and
noticed some writing on the pile of ground-up bones used in their medicinal
remedies. These bones were then ground into powder and highly prized by
druggists in China, becoming remedies for nervous disorders and other
ailments.3
Ancestor Worship
During the Shang Dynasty their ruler was a king, but he was not
considered divine like the Egyptian pharaoh. During this time only the king
could consult a shaman, and offer sacrifices to his ancestors and other
spirits. Some of these sacrifices were human. The evidence for this is found
in Shang Dynasty tombs, bronze vessels, and huge bronze axes that were
used by the executioners during the ritual sacrifices. On the ax were a half
human and half animal face. Ancestors and their living descendants had
reciprocal obligations. This concept of reciprocity is the essence of ancestor
worship practiced by the Chinese today, and was true of the Ancient Greeks
and other ancient cultures.
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Not unlike the ground-up mummies’ powder used in Europe in Early Modern Centuries for curative care
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Many oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty recorded solar and lunar
eclipses. These Shang specialists became members of a Board of
Astronomers, which continued as part of the Chinese Government until the
nineteenth century – for 3400 years. Their bronze vessels found in the
tombs are considered by art historians unequaled in technical excellence and
beauty. Bronze casting probably started about 2000 B.C.E. Jade was
considered the most precious of all stones, and Chinese craftsmen were
masters of executing the various colors of jade into dragons, and other
animals.
Zhou or Chou Dynasty and the Mandate of Heaven
“Now that the king has received the mandate, unbounded is the
grace…heaven has removed and made an end to the great state [Shang]
Yin’s mandate…under the last king wise and good men lived in misery,
leading their wives and carrying their children wailing and calling to
heaven…oh, heaven had pity on the people of the four quarters, and looking
with affection and giving its mandate, it employed the zealous ones [leaders
of the Chou].” Thus the people of China heard their new Chou rulers justify
their conquest of the Shang [Yin] Dynasty as the Mandate of Heaven. The
Chou told how the last Shang king had forfeited his right to rule by his
personal immorality and tyrannical government, and so Di or Ti or Heaven
had cut off the Shang’s Mandate to rule, and transferred it to the deserving
House of Chou. This concept of the Mandate of Heaven has remained the
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cornerstone of Chinese political thinking up to this last century. For nearly
800 years, the Chou established the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese
history (from 11th century to 3rd century B.C.E.) Although the Chou rulers
held the Title of Emperor, most of them were political figureheads. Within a
few centuries after the conquest of the Shang, barbarians from outside really
became the de facto powers, while the Chou rulers were only the de jure
ones.
During this new Dynasty, kings and commoners alike worshiped the
spirits of their ancestors not just the rulers. Most of the commemorative
bronze vessels cast and inscribed by Chou lords contained the following
sentence: “May my sons and grandsons forever treasure and use this
vessel,” meaning may the line continue and the descendants sacrifice to his
spirit forever. Every family’s life was centered around its ancestral temple or
shrine, but now the practice or human and animal sacrifices declined.
The Classical Age or the Age of Philosophers
During the Chou Dynasty the classical age or age of philosophers
occurred. With the advent of Confucius’ thoughts and Taoism (Daoism),
remarkable achievements occurred with the primary concern of ethics and
the proper conduct in this life. Abstract questions that were dealt with in
Western metaphysics were not all that important to the Chinese.
In later
centuries Buddhism developed a different direction. Because of the
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omnipresent warring during the Chou Dynasty, it is no wonder that many
men pondered practical solutions to alleviate this chaotic course China was
enduring.
Confucius
Practical ”this-world” tendency is inherent in Chinese philosophy, and
finds its fullest expression in Confucianism, which dominated Chinese
thought for the last twenty-five centuries.
Confucius’ teachings have
probably influenced the lives of more people than any other body of thought
in all of history.
Born in Northeast China probably about 551 B.C.E., Confucius lived
less than a century before Socrates (the great philosopher of Ancient
Greece) and about the same time as the Buddha (India’s great philosopherteacher.) During his boyhood, Confucius studied extensively, and became a
government employee as a young man, an occupation that included
teaching. Pondering the disorder of society, Confucius made efforts to
persuade the feudal lords to adopt his ideas. His actions were unsuccessful,
so Confucius spent the rest of his life teaching a small group of loyal
followers his ideas. Confucius primarily was concerned with the behavior of
human beings in this world. He paid little attention to such matters as sin,
salvation, and fate of the soul. He believed that not until men learned to
behave properly in this life could they turn their minds to problems of the
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afterlife. If people would improve themselves, then both the individual and
society would benefit. If people knew what was expected of them, then they
would behave correctly. Confucius singled out five principal relationships in
which people might be involved, and if all acted as recommended peace and
harmony would result.
The Five Relationships of Confucius
The First relationship was between the ruler and his ministers.
Confucius placed a heavy burden on the ruler’s responsibility to his country
to act as an outstanding example of proper social behavior. If he acted
properly then his officials would be inspired to behave similarly. Wicked
rulers that were brutal and dishonest could expect the same behavior from
his ministers. The Second relationship was that of father and son.
Confucius called on fathers and sons to understand their obligations to each
other. One of the foremost duties of father was to be a worthy model for his
children, guiding their behavior and developing their character along the
proper lines.
As the father of accomplished children he could justly claim
credit, but if they strayed, then it was the father’s fault. The son’s duties
were to honor his parents while they lived and to respect their memory after
their death. This filial piety was the highest virtue for Confucius. In the
Third relationship between the husband and wife, the husband was head of
the family, responsible for maintaining memories of the ancestors, ensure
the family name was passed to next generation, and keeping the good
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reputation of the family.
The wife’s duty was to bear sons. Harmony
maintained between the oldest and younger brothers was the main maxim
for the Fourth relationship. As the older son would someday be head of the
family, his behavior was the model for his younger brothers. These
youngest brothers in turn were to accept without complaint the special
position of the oldest son. Finally, the Fifth relationship was between
members of the community. Confucius had a “golden rule” to cover all other
relationships: “Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to
you.”
Confucius’ Works and Pithy Sayings
After Confucius’ death in 479 B.C.E. his teachings were compiled by
his followers into a book called the Analects. It is evident by his many
“sayings in his Analects that he recognized the strengths and weaknesses of
the human character. Many of his richest pieces of wisdom are pithy and
witty statements: a. “ Knowing what he knows and knowing what he
doesn’t know, is characteristic of the person who knows.” b. “Making a
mistake and not correcting it, is making another mistake.” c. “The superior
man blames himself; the inferior man blames others.”
Five other books
dealing with more of Confucius ideas were called the Five Classics. Accepted
by all Chinese as their heritage from ancient times, the world has
incorporated “Confucius-like” sayings into fortune cookies.
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Mencius
Mencius (370-290 B.C.E.) was born about a century after the death of
Confucius, and was the greatest disciple of the famous sage. Like Confucius,
Mencius had faith in the basic goodness of people. Mencius thought that
men were not obliged to be loyal to wicked rulers, and that people had the
right to revolt against these oppressive and incapable rulers who neglected
their responsibilities. This carried Confucius’ tenets one step further.
Taoism or Daoism
Confucianism had many rivals. Others did not agree with his ideas on
what was wrong with society, or what might be done to remedy individual
and society’s problems. Many followers were attracted to these philosophies
either contemporary with Confucius or later. Two of the most successful
were Taoism and legalism. According to tradition, the first great teacher of
the philosophy of Taoism was Lao-Tsu (“Old Master”).
Some scholars still
doubt whether he was a real person. These ideas of Taoism were eventually
recorded in the Book of the Way or Tao Te Ching. Taoism is not easily
understood as its teachings cannot be conveyed by words alone, being
similar to art, which must be viewed to be appreciated. Taoism must be
sensed or felt, and is often called a mystical philosophy. The difficulty of
making clear the meaning of Taoism once inspired a poet to write the
following verse about Lao-Tsu and The Book of the Way. “Those who speak
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know nothing; those who know are silent; these words, I am told were
spoken by Lao-Tsu. If we are to believe that Lao-Tsu was himself one who
knew how is it that he wrote a book of 5000 words? Taoists believed that
man in his effort to understand the universe, divides it into many parts.
Man gives everything a name of its own, but in so doing he forgets that the
natural world is an integrated whole. Man himself is merely one element of
all the other elements in the natural world. If man is ignorant of his best
interests in life, Taoists claim that society is largely responsible as human
beings are not permitted to act in a completely natural way. To escape from
man-made laws, man must find the way or the Tao. Formal knowledge and
learning should be rejected, and reliance on one’s senses and instincts.
Peace of mind comes with behaving naturally and spontaneously. Taoists
taught that government and its laws should be ignored as dangerous ideas.
Followers of Taoists withdrew into the mountains and forests, becoming
hermits, and living with nature. Lao-Tsu is reported to have said: “Man
follows the ways of the earth, the earth follows the ways of heaven, heaven
follows the way of Tao, and Tao follows its own ways. There was usually a
strong dash of Taoism in every Chinese to survive the strict relationships’
rules introduced by Confucius. Later on Taoism incorporated deities from
India.
Legalism
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Confucius, Mencius, and other philosophers believed in the basic
goodness of mankind and the world, but contrary beliefs were held by
Legalists. Legalists believed that man was bad by nature, so they had no
interest in advancing the welfare of an individual. For the Legalists, wise
rulers were to devote their energies to cracking the whip and keeping men in
line. Severe laws backed by force were necessary to achieve the goals of
rulers. Minor crimes and any failure to carry out government decrees were
to be punished ruthlessly. They argued that if men were sternly dealt with
for small crimes, then they would think seriously before committing major
violations of the law. It was the Chin Emperor that used this methodology
when the Zhou Dynasty was overthrown.