AP World History - Stearns
Chapter 2 – Classical Civilization: China
- Introduction – longest-lived civilization in history
- Isolated
- Couldn’t learn from other cultures
- Rare invasions
- Distinctive identity
- Relatively little internal chaos w/ decline of Shang dynasty
- Greatest links to classical society
- Intellectual theory
- Harmony of nature – yin and yang – balance
- Seek Dao – the way
- Avoid excess
- Appreciate balance of opposites
- Humans part of world, not on outside – like Mediterranean
Thesis: China emerged with an unusually well-integrated system in which government, philosophy, economic incentives, the family, and the individual were intended to blend into a harmonious whole.
- Isolated
- Patterns in Classical China
- Pattern of rule
- Dynasty, family of kings – create strong politics, economy
- Dynasty grew weak, taxes declined
- Social divisions increased
- Invasion or internal rebellion
- Another dynasty emerged – general, invader, peasant rebel
- Zhou Dynasty – 1029-258 BCE
- Started decline in 700 BCE
- Ruled w/ local princes – alliance system
- Successful in agricultural communities – ie manor system Europe
- Princes received land for troops/tax
- Eventually local leaders ignored central gov’t
- Contributions
- Extended territory to “Middle Kingdom” – wheat north, rice south
- Transportation/communication difficult – hard to govern
- Mandate of Heaven – Sons of Heaven – emperors live affluent life
- Greater cultural unity
- Banned human sacrifice
- Standardized language – Mandarin – most people speaking same
- Confucius – wrote on political ethics
- Extended territory to “Middle Kingdom” – wheat north, rice south
- 402-201 BCE Era of the Warring States
- Qin Dynasty – China’s namesake
- Xin Shi Huangdi – first emperor – brutal leader
- Undid power of regional leaders
- Nobles brought to emperor’s home
- Officials selected from nonaristocratic groups – allegiance
- Extended territory south
- Built Great Wall – 3000 miles
- Burned books, attacked culture – hurts his autocratic rule
- Innovations
- National census – tax and labor service
- Standardized coins, weights, measures
- Uniform written language
- Irrigation projects
- Promoted manufacturing – silk
- Downfall – unpopular
- high taxes, attacks on intellectuals
- killed men, punished brutally
- Died in 210 BCE – revolts broke out
- Xin Shi Huangdi – first emperor – brutal leader
- Han Dynasty – 202 BCE-220 CE
- Kept centralized power of Qin, but reduced repression
- Extended borders – opened trade to India, Mediterranean
- Wu Ti – period of peace – like Pax Romana
- Advancements
- Formal training
- Supported Confucianism
- Shrines built to worship Confucius as god
- Invasions – Huns – led to decline
- 220 – 589 CE China in chaos
- Pattern of rule
- Political Institutions
- Strong central government
- Qin stressed unquestioned central authority
- Han – expanded bureaucracy
- Political framework
- Strong local units remained, but power diminished
- Relied on patriarchal families
- Ancestor worship linked families
- Village leaders helped coordinate farming/harvesting
- Single law code
- Universal tax system
- Central authority appointments – not based on local government nominations
- Delegation done to emperor’s ministers
- Strong local units remained, but power diminished
- Huge bureaucracy – 130,000 bureaucrats
- Civil Service tests
- Scholar bureaucrat
- Not exclusively upper class rule - occasionally lower class recruited
- Rulers often could be controlled by bureaucrats – didn’t do crazy stuff of Rome
- Most tightly governed people
- Rules administered by trained scholars
- Father unquestioned power – passed down from ancestors
- Harsh punishments to put down rebellion
- Government traditions
- Not heavily militaristic – not huge need
- Promoted intellectual life – not Qin
- Active in economy
- Organized production of iron/salt
- Han tried storing grain for bad harvests
- Sponsored public works – canals/irrigation
- Technology made it difficult to control, but…
- Torture and execution used to keep obedience
- Taxed
- Annual labor
- Invaders – Huns – couldn’t create better system for governing – kept bureaucrats
- Strong central government
- Religion and Culture – people not united by religion – no political threat
- Religion – relation to politics
- earthly life/obedience more important than speculating about God
- harmonious earthly life – prevent excess
- traditions
- Ancestor ceremonies
- Special meals
- Politeness at meals – tea ceremonies/chopsticks
- Confucius - Analects
- Political virtue and good government
- secular views, not religious
- Respect for superiors- even if bad
- Respect for tradition
- Leaders should behave modestly without excess
- Work hard as a leader and lesser people will serve superiors
- “When the ruler does right, all men will imitate his self-control”
- Rulers not just punish – be humble and sincere
- Satisfied upper class distaste for mystery, and interest in learning/manners
- Gov’t used to maintain order
- 7. Careful socialization of children
- 8. Lacks spiritual side
- Political virtue and good government
- Legalism – pragmatism
- Better gov’t is one that rules by force
- Human nature evil – needs restraint
- Confucian façade + legalist strong arm tactics
- Polytheistic beliefs – appealed to peasants
- Spirits of nature
- Ancestors
- Dragons – fear plus playful respect
- Daoism – first to upper class who wanted spirituality
- Nature has divine impulse that directs life
- Understanding comes from withdrawing and thinking of “way of nature”
- Espoused humility and frugal living
- Intellectual
- Five Classics – speeches, songs, poems, etiquette, political materials
- Poetry mark of an educated person
- Art form
- Calligraphy
- Chinese artists, pottery, carved jade
- No monumental buildings – except palaces/Great Wall
- No singular religion
- Confucianism against temples soaring to heaven
- Science – practical work – not imaginative theorizing
- Calculated motion of planets 1500 years before Copernicus
- Medicine – anatomical research – proper hygiene for longer life
- Five Classics – speeches, songs, poems, etiquette, political materials
- Religion – relation to politics
- Economy and Society
- Class – social status passed from one generation to the next
- Upper class literate, wealth, culture denied peasants
- Mandarins – educated bureaucrats + landowning aristocracy
- Land owners 2%, peasantry the rest
- “mean” people – lowest status – like India’s untouchables
- Property owned communally
- Upper class literate, wealth, culture denied peasants
- Trade
- Luxury items – silk, jewelry, leather goods, furniture – Silk Road
- Carried by merchants
- Merchants not highly important – Confucius prioritized learning/political service
- Luxury items – silk, jewelry, leather goods, furniture – Silk Road
- Technological Advance – practical usage – remained agricultural
- Ox-drawn plow/collar for animals
- Iron mining – pulleys and winding gear
- Production methods advanced – water powered mills
- Paper invented – needed for bureaucracy
- Family life – father unquestioned leader
- “There are no wrongdoing parents”
- law courts don’t punish parents
- Strict control of emotions
- Home training ground for personality
- Women gained power through sons/mother-in-laws to women brought in
- Power to oldest son, boys over girls
- “There are no wrongdoing parents”
- Class – social status passed from one generation to the next
- How Chinese Civilization Fits Together – Chinese wholeness – not a divided society
- “China’s politics and culture meshed readily, especially around the emergence of a Confucian bureaucracy.”
- Theme of isolation – surrounded by barbarians – can’t learn anything from outsiders
- Buddhism – rare foreign concept embraced by population
- Common culture provided unity
- Elaborate bureaucracy
- Confucianism – trained group w/ common ideals
- Appreciation of distinctive art, poetry and literature
- Relative political stability
- Stable family – clear hierarchy
- Private and public not separated – extensions
- Views on etiquette
- Language
- Daoists and Confucianists tolerated
- But…Confucianists saw Daoists as superstitious
- Sometimes divine attacks on gov’t
- Justice – tight control - Arrested – presumed guilty – tortured
- Mixed torture w/ benevolence – good cop/bad coop
- Precarious balance – sometimes violent
- Global connections – Heavy influence on the world
- 1/5 of population supported by peasants
- Created technologies shared w/ world
- Power – water mill, porcelain (China), paper, compass
- Views affected region “Middle Kingdom” basis for most of Asia
- 2000 year reign
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