With the coming of the end of the last Ice Age (20,000 years BP) and the melting of the mile high glaciers that covered major portions of the Northern Hemisphere, people migrated to take advantage of changing resources.  Many of these moving people were drawn from the game rich fringes of the glaciers, where they formed migrating bands that moved into moist temperate and tropical regions of the world about 9000 BP.  In these areas they made use of ample supplies of wild grains for food, which in time became domesticated – maize, rice, and wheat were among these grasses.

Universal developments of early worldwide civilizations:

From these bases of population concentration and civilization, every one of these cultures acted to possess important resources and dominate surrounding cultures through the establishment of empire.  Though many of these societies became somewhat unified through the formation of loose confederations of city-states, they nevertheless did not create notions of nationalism or nationhood (a modern development).  Early groups of people migrated into the Valley of México, eastern China, parts of India, the eastern Mediterranean area, the Nile Valley, North Africa, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and north of that location to the “Fertile Crescent.”

Congregating in large numbers in great river valleys people settled into permanent towns that centered on agricultural production, task/ product specialization that involved the following hallmarks that supposedly indicate the development of civilization:
 

1. complex religious structures and practices

2. social divisions – caste and class development

3. complex political structures and systems

4. laws and government

5. formalized economic structures and governmental bureaucracies to support them

6. systems of writing:

a. records
b. poems
c. upper caste genealogies
d. histories

1. Indus River Valley
2. Iranian Plateau
3. Jordan River Valley
4. Nile River Valley
5. Mexican Plateau
6. Mississippi River Valley
7. Tigris – Euphrates Valley
8. Yellow – Yangtzee River Valley

Chinese origins are among the oldest known; the earliest “protohuman” remains in Asia were discovered in northeastern China.  After the last glacial period about 20,000 years ago, modern humans settled in the Ordos Desert area.  Chinese agriculture began about 4000 BC (6,000 years ago) during the Neolithic Age.  Its chief crop that was the focus of large-scale production was mullet; cabbage, rice, and soybeans soon followed.

Whatever its origins, by the 3rd to 2nd millennium BC (2700 BC), China developed a rather uniform culture largely unlike no others.  With the establishment of agriculturally based cities in China, a dynastic system of government developed during the late 3rd millennium BC.

Like India, China has a culture that remains in many ways unchanged since very ancient times.  Its history follows a general pattern of repetitive cycles of waxing and waning that allowed the far-western and southern periphery of China to become ethnically and linguistically diverse as these regions periodically fell out of centralized control.

This dynastic pattern/ cycle is described as follows:
 

1. Chinese cultural dominance and dynasties solidify their control between the Huang-He River Valley and the Yangzi River Valley.  In this vast and fertile region as central to the core of Chinese culture and its identity became established by the 3rd century BC.

2. Chinese expansion is halted by invading bands of nomadic tribesmen (barbarians) from the north and west, causing Chinese governmental influence to withdraw from the northern and western perimeters.

3. These conquerors invade China proper and adopt Chinese customs and culture to establish their own dynasty.  Eventually this foreign-dominated dynasty falters in its leadership.

a. As the dynasty ages it becomes corrupt and fails to maintain public works.

i. Economic problems and limited access of peasants and others to land (which is held by great landlords) are important parts of the developing situation threatening political stability.  The great landlords successfully evade taxes, and those that are collected fail to reach the government and king (or emperor beginning with the Ch’in Dynasty).  Land redistribution to small independent farmers temporarily solved the tax problems, but led to the formation of new influence patterns and corruption.  Crop failures and famine aggravate problems leading to political fragmentation.

ii. Provincial warlords emerge to challenge the authority of the central government of China.

b. This government may also become involved in excessive or prolonged warfare as it attempts to maintain control of its outer provinces.

c. As the socio-political situation worsens, the Chinese people realize (according to traditionally-held beliefs) that the government has lost its “Mandate of Heaven” and therefore its right to govern as well.

4. This situation allows traditional Chinese leadership to reclaim power amidst an escalation of nationalist-like sentiment.

5. A new (traditionally and hereditarily Chinese) government (with ties to the old) assumes power to establish a new dynasty, replacing the bureaucracy, establishing tax reforms, rebuilding public works, and redistributing land.

6. Prosperity and stability resumes (this can last generations) until instability and political strife resurface.

7. With the disintegration of this dynastic regime, provincial revolts or foreign invasion follows with the establishment of a new dynasty, and the cycle resumes.

The first five of the historic Chinese dynasties are as follow:

1. Hsia (Xia – 2205/ 1994 – 1766/ 1523 BC; the date discrepancies reflect scholarly interpretation and dispute) – this dynasty was founded by Yu.  Accounts about Yu and the Xia Dynasty are steeped in Chinese mythology, so it is sometimes excluded as a bona fide historical dynasty (from Western perspectives).

2. Shang (also known as Yin 1766/ 1523 – 1122/ 1027 BC)

3. Chou (Zhou – 1050/ 1027 – 256 BC)

4. Ch’in (Qin – 221 BC – 206 BC)

5. Han (202 BC – 220 AD)

Hsia Dynasty - characteristics:

Xia/ Hsia Dynasty (2205/ 1994 – 1766/ 1523 BC): Founded by the semi-historic Chinese culture hero Yu, who controlled the flooding of China’s great rivers by building canals and parceling the lands.  The Hsia Dynasty expanded agriculture by the draining of land and constructing canals and irrigation channels.

Because of the semi-mythical status of the Hsia, they are not considered in a truly historical context and fewer details are known about them than later dynastic periods.  This problem is aggravated by the general lack of archaeological remains as well.

Technological/ cultural advancements of the Hsia Dynasty:

Wheat, rice, mullet, cabbage, and other domestic plants were cultivated and animals were raised for work and food.

The Hsia employed the use of the potter’s wheel in ceramic production.

A priest-class dominated ritual cycles of planting, harvest and governmental activities; human sacrifice was practiced.

The traditional Chinese patriarchally dominated extended family system was in place by the time that the Hsia Dynasty formed.

The first system of writing in China was created under the Hsia.

Bronze became an important metal in China after its introduction sometime around 2000 BC.

Territorial expansion was made through the use of bronze weapons and horse-drawn war chariots.

This was the first fully historic dynasty (based on European empirical standards for determining what historical content is).

The Shang dynasty was founded by T’ang who came to power with the defeat of Cheih the last Hsia king.

T’ang ruled from the Chinese province of Henan

The Shang Dynasty governed an elaborate agricultural society.

The Shang government was complex, consisting of a hierarchically structured bureaucracy based on social classes that in turn were dominated by the warrior class.

The Shang Dynasty was led by war-like nomadic rulers who effectively used chariots and compound bows in their conquests.

Hereditary kings ruled over a large kingdom that successfully consolidated its economic, political, religious, and social power over Chinese city-states.

Several of the most notable aspects of the Shang Dynasty included the following characteristics:

1. The use of bronze continued through this period (iron wasn’t developed until the following dynastic period).  China’s methods of production and use of bronze were the most advanced in the world, surpassing its use in Mesopotamia and Egypt.  Uses of bronze include the following:

a. weapons

b. armor

c. chariot fittings

d. ceremonial vessels

e. art – sculpture

f. farm implements and other tools

2. The appearance of social classes; Shang China developed as a rigidly stratified society, perhaps reflecting its militaristic origins.

3. Writing – Shang Dynasty records were maintained through inscriptions on bamboo strips, bronze items, and the so-called “Oracle Bones.”  These “Oracle Bones” were evidently used as a divination device; as such they comprise one of the earliest forms of Chinese (Shang) writing.

The Shang Chinese observed a pantheon of gods that were dominated by one great “deity above.”  Perhaps they were henotheisitc, believing in one god while recognizing the existence of others.

The Shang used a calendar composed of twelve months on 30 days each.

Originally a semi-nomadic people occupying the Wei Valley and Yellow River region in the North China Plain between Manchuria and the Yangzi Valley, the Chou overthrew the Shang dynasty in the early first century BC.  Asserting that they possessed the “Mandate of Heaven” the Chou claimed power over the government.  As an indication of such a claim, the Chou presented themselves as real Chinese, and successfully assimilated the cultural patterns of the Shang to formed the Age of Classical China.  Enjoying nearly 800 years of alternately stable and unstable rule, the Chou ruled from their capital at Xi’an (in the modern province of Shanxi; it was named Xianyang prior to Chou domination).  The capital was later reestablished at Loyang.
 

The Chou Dynasty was socially divided between an aristocratic warrior class, land-less peasants, and slaves.  The rigidness of Chou society lessened when the feudal order gave way to increased social mobility during the feudal wars that began during the mid 5th century BC (described below).

1. In addition to this warrior aristocracy (and in support of it) the Chou Dynasty recognized the importance of the Shi, a group (or sub-class) of educated professional bureaucrats.

2. This recognition of the importance of these scholars or Shi would remain central to governmental operations throughout Chinese history, forming the basis for later bureaucratic rivalries.

3. As scholars who understood the histories, philosophies, literature, and the proper ways of expressing these disciplines though calligraphy, they formed a kind of best-educated class.

4. The Shi included clerks, advisors, and overseers; they acquired considerable influence in Chinese government.

By the 6th century BC the states of Wu and Yüeh dominated much of China, leading to the “Warring States Period” (453–221 BC) that involved continual warring between the various city-states and provinces and the central Chou government.  With the increased fragmentation of the Chou authority, a new one the Ch’in eventually emerged to take control.  Despite the political instability during the later centuries of the Chou period, it was an era known for its cultural innovations and profound philosophical development known as the “hundred schools of thought.”

Moreover, despite this notion of a hundred schools, three essential schools of Classical Chinese thought emerged to dominate Chinese philosophy and governmental policy.  These three are:

1. Confucianism

2. Taoism

3. Legalism

1. The use of iron that was introduced from western and central Asia.  Iron implements (and weapons) gave the Chou distinct advantages over the technologies of earlier dynasties, while the ox-drawn plow were important innovations allowed for increased territorial expansion and increased prosperity.

2. Massive water control projects and irrigation led to greatly increased agricultural production in northern China.

3. Public works projects (road and canal construction) employed people drawn from the cities that rapidly increased in size with the surpluses of food and wealth.  These projects allowed for increased trade between the provinces and may also have served (if ineffectively in some areas) to unify China.

4. Writing became perfected during this period, and with the improvements in the system of writing, the Chou were able to develop an extensive education system and bureaucracy.

a. Classical Chinese literature that became the basis for its traditional education was created at this time.

b. Under the Chou, human sacrifice ended.

c. This system if learning was influenced by the many important Chinese thinkers/ philosophers who emerged during the Chou Dynasty with creative and deeply philosophical responses to the turmoil that divided Chinese society at the time.  These thinkers include the following (with their philosophies discussed below):

i. Confucius (K’ung Fu-tse c. 551 – 479 BC); founder of Confucianism: This renowned Chinese itinerant sage called for the creation of a system of government and morals that would create and preserve peace and stability.

Life and background of Confucius::

As a child, K’ung Fu-tse received a traditional education that included writing, music, and rituals.  After the death of Confucius’s father, his family fell on tough times.  Confucius took jobs as a teacher and accountant.  Confucius’s outspoken demeanor and criticisms of the inequities in civil rights that resulted from the absolutism of the government won him many followers.  At the core of his teachings was the importance of correct and honest relationships between people.
 

a. Family and respect for parents was deemed under Confucianism to be the most important of these relationships, even over those of spouse, children, or ruler.

b. There are five hierarchical relationships outlined in Confucian doctrine.  In Confucianism these relationships and obedience/ deference to the authority that they represent are all important for the creation of a good and moral society.  These hierarchical relationships include the following (by order of their importance):

i. father/ son

ii. ruler/ subject

iii. husband/ wife

iv. elder brother/ younger brother

v. friend/ friend

Of these relationships, there are dominant/ subordinate aspects involved in all but the last, which is the only one that involves a relationship between equals.

c.  Confucianism stresses the responsibilities of the ruler in relation to his subjects that appears similar to the idea of social contract during the Enlightenment in Europe.

d. Confucianism generally asserted that all government was evil, and that good personas are made, not born.  Using a kind of Socratic method of exchange, he generated a following of disciples at a time when there was considerable conflict and warfare between provincial warlords.

Although Confucius won over many converts in high places to his ideas, his outspoken criticism of authority precluded any opportunities such that he never achieved a position of power that could allow him to bring about the changes that he called for.

Most of what is known about Confucius, including his proverbs and sayings, come from the Analects, collected from his disciples and eventually published.  Confucius has also been credited with that authorship of the Wu Ching.

ii. Mencius (Meng-tse (Mandarin); 371 – 288 BC); this Confucian philosopher came to prominence through his criticism of government while stressing the innate goodness of human beings (like John Locke in the 17th century AD).  According to Mencius, the role of a ruler and his government is to ensure the prosperity and well being of their subjects, and that war should be used only for defense.
Morepver, according to Mencius, if a ruler violates these obligations, then he should be deposed.

Mencius’s relationship with his mother, who raised him alone after the death of his father, became the idealized model maternal devotion and motherhood.

One of the “four books” (Shih Shu), The Book of Mencius is one of the great works of Classical Chinese literature.

 

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iii. Lao-Tzu (his name means “Old Person” or Old Philosopher” fl. 6th century BC); the founder of Taoism.  Though he was a historical figure there is much folklore about him.  Loa Tzu is credited with transmitting his ideas to a border guard before departing in the direction of the mythical K’un-lun Mountains.  This common and anonymous person then compiled these ideas into the Lao-Tsu or Tao-te ching (“Classic of the Way and the Virtue”) sometime between the 4th to 2nd centuries BC (though some of the material dates from the 6th century BC).

The Tao emphasizes the cosmic unity of all things and harmony with the forces of nature, stressing the importance of the “wu-wei” which refers to “nonstriving” or action without purpose.  A person who lives life in a non-striving manner will supposedly be closer to the perennial and creative potentials, and ecstatic qualities, of the Tao.  Taoism recommended that retreat from society offered a solution to suffering.  Through contemplation about nature, people can find the Tao, the way, the mysterious.  The enlightened individual was likened to a little child or an uncarved block, in a perennially ecstatic state.

Taoism offers a method to BE without leaning.  Taoism stresses minimal government and its role in protecting people from materialistic passions.  A follower of the Tao supposedly would find himself (or herself) free from desire (asceticism), though the simple life recommended through Taoism is one that should be enjoyed.

By the 3rd century AD, Taoism merged with local belief systems and deities, traditional medicine (where it incorporated alchemy), and with Buddhism.  The martial arts aspects of Taoism are popularly known in the modern world by the name Kung Fu.

– Chuang-tzu (c. 369–c. 286 BC); this Taoist hermit wrote a series of satirical essays (the Chuang-tze) that stress the relativity of all ideas and beliefs, and that the solutions to the problems in the world involve an acceptance of things according to the universal principal of nature, or the Tao.

iv. Mo-tzu (c. 470 – 391 BC) in his book (named after him) stressed the importance of love in all human relationships, and that all people should treat each other in the manner of family.  First emerging as a rival philosophical system to Confucianism, Moism declined until it became virtually non-existent by the 3rd century AD.
 

v.  Sun Tzu (c. 500 – 320 BC); this was not one figure only, but rather a series of anonymous writers who wrote a series of essays on philosophy related to military espionage, logistics, and strategy that together comprise the book titled The Art of War.

The core of this text of classical military science was likely composed during a period of internal strife and feudal wars known as the “Warring States Period” (453–221 BC).  Noting the pervasiveness of unpredictable situations that arise during warfare, The Art of War stresses the need for using methods of deception and surprise in order to win battles.

The Art of War also points out the close connections between politics and the business of war, emphasizing its high costs and the ironies that come with victory.  In addition to opposing ritualized warfare and wars of contest and bravado, Sun Tzu points out the folly of pursuing quick solutions or hard and fast rules with regard to war.  Nevertheless, according to Sun Tzu, a war should be fought as efficiently as possible and with as little damage as possible.  To this end, Sun Tzu emphasized competent military leadership and organization, and the effective use of propaganda, psychology, and espionage against the opposition as a means to demoralize and convert an enemy.

According to Sun Tzu, the best-won battle is that which is secured without a fight; the only real reasons for war should be:

1. To increase wealth

2. To increase territory

3. To increase the power of the state

The ending of the Chou Dynasty involved a chaotic period without central unity that led to peasant revolts and unrest among a rising merchant class that challenged the landed aristocracy.

This developing situation resulted in the rise of the militaristic Ch’in Dynasty, a government that rose to meet the demands of a changing society in China.
 

Ch’in Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC):

Following the chaos of the feudal wars/ “Warring States Period” (453–221 BC) that undermined the stability and power of the Chou Dynasty, the short-lived and militaristic Ch’in Dynasty came to power with effective cavalry and cross bows. The powerful Ch’in successfully unified China under one great empire for a short period of fifteen years.  Despite its short existence, the Ch’in became the source (through Sanskrit) of the name “China.”  Under the austere rule of China’s first emperor, Ch’in Shih Huang-ti (King Cheng who came to the throne at age 13), a hierarchical bureaucratic system replaced the traditional feudal system that had been in operation until the time of Ch’in rule.

Ch’in Shih Huang-ti destroyed the governments of the six rebellious provinces and the land holdings of the great landlords, instituting land redistribution policies that gained support for his regime.  This action effectively broke the power of the regional lords and facilitated trade with an emerging commercial class that operated outside of the traditional feudal economy.  The autocratic Ch’in Shih Huang-ti was advised by the influential scholar (and China’s first prime minister) Li Si of the (d. 208 BC) Chinese “Legalist School” of philosophy (Legalism) that called for strict central governmental and police control of the populace in order to force compliance with state authority.
 
 

Legalism:

Founded by Shang Yang, the political and administrative philosophy of Legalism stressed the goals and needs of the state over those of the people, and attacked traditionalism.  The tenets of Legalism are as follow:

1. According to the philosophy of Legalism, true peace could only be achieved by creating a strong central state.

2. Conscription and war were effective tools to create this absolute power for the supposed protection of the people.

3. The goals of Legalism were designed to end the feudal wars and create an empire with a central government of which its rule would be absolute.

4. Legalism asserted that human nature was selfish and that punishments should be severe and impartial in order for them to be effectively coercive.

5. Legalism called for the establishment of laws that contained incentives for absolute loyalty to the state, bravery for its defense, obedience to its authority, diligence in maintaining its power, and frugality as a means to defer wealth to the state.

6. Legalism called for harsh punishments to dissuade activities that might weaken the power of the state.

In addition to forcing the unification of China, Shih Huang-ti expanded the empire west into what is today central China, north to Ganzu on the edge of the Gobi Desert, and south into what is today northern Vietnam.  The Ch’in Dynasty and its capital at X'ian flourished (at the expense of peasants) to become one the greatest city in China at the time.

The Ch’in Dynasty became the model for Chinese unification and cultural standards, performed through the following methods:

1. The standardization of the Chinese system of writing became standardized.

2. The creation of uniform laws.

3. The standardization of taxes (even though these were extreme – in addition to heavy taxes, censorship was practiced and criticism of the government was not tolerated).

4. The standardization of weights and measures.

5. The standardization of currency.

6. The Ch’in Dynasty engaged in massive public works projects, including canals and roads that unified China and facilitated commerce.

a. These roads all converged on the capital.

b. The most notable of these projects was the construction of the Great Wall.

The Great Wall of China:

Snaking across northern China for about 1,500 miles and extending through the Mongolian Plain from Kansu in the west to Hopeh Province at the Yellow Sea on the Pacific coast in the east, this massive structure formed the core of China’s defense against nomadic warrior tribes from the north.

Though the Ch’in Dynasty is given the credit for the creation of the Great Wall, it was actually the consolidation of several walls built over many centuries from earlier ancient times.  The Ch’in unified these many separate walls into one continuous structure.  The walls present appearance is largely the result of additions made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD).

Statistics of the Great Wall:

1. Average height: 25 feet.

2. Average thickness at the base: 15 to 30 feet.

3. Average thickness at the top: 12 feet.

4. Construction: earthen throughout, but in the eastern portion is capped with cut stone and/ or brick.

5. Watchtowers and guard stations are located at regular and strategic intervals throughout the structure.

When Ch’in Shih Huang-ti died in 210 BC he was buried with an unprecedented and elaborate array of more than 6,000 ceramic figures of warriors and their accouterments (each was uniquely distinct).  Ch’in Shih Huang-ti was succeeded to the throne of the empire by his inept an ineffective son.

One story of the fall of the Ch’in Empire describes several troops having been ordered to report for duty as a military post during a large storm, but when a flood made the route impassable, these men realized that they would not be able to report on time.  This situation, under the austere principles of Legalism, would require death as punishment, so rather than face that penalty, they decided that it would be best to fight, and hence the start of a rebellion.

With the state of governmental affairs decentralized, peasant revolts erupted to throw the Ch’ins out of power leading to the establishment of a new dynasty, the Han.

Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD):

The era of the Han Dynasty is referred to as “Pax Sinica” the imperial age of China; the Han thus became the cultural type that later dynasties sought to emulate as a means of winning the support of the Chinese people (and the “Mandate of Heaven”) through the modern era.  The first Han emperor was Liu Pang, who had earlier been a simple farmer and minor official from his home village.  Having taken an important part in the peasant revolt that ousted the Ch’in, he defeated his rivals to take the throne of the empire and establish its new capital at Chang’an (an earlier Ch’in capital city).

While the austere and extreme aspects (extreme punishments and heavy taxation) of the Ch’in Dynasty were removed, the Han kept the hierarchical bureaucratic structure of the Ch’in in place.  Moreover, the bureaucracy was augmented through an elaborate system of recruitment involving civil service exams that became the hallmark of the Chinese traditional educational and governmental system until the twentieth century AD.  Under the Han emperor Han Wu-ti Chinese territorial expansion reached to an unprecedented extent, ranging from Xinjiang in central Asia to Manchuria and North Korea, and south into Yünan, Hainan Island, and Vietnam.  Having created a stable government with full granaries and a sound economy, the “Mandate of Heaven” was achieved.

Cultural and technological advancements of the Han Dynasty:

1. The Han Dynasty was a period of great artistic achievement (including the creation of fine porcelain)

2. Under Han rule, the Chinese calendar was revised and paper was invented.

3. Under the Han, territorial expansion and unification reached a peak.

4. The Han period was a time of stability and prosperity.

5. Under the Han, Confucianism became institutionalized as the basis for government.

6. The Han government wrote the first official/ state history of China, and the standardization of the written language was perfected.

7. The first Chinese dictionary was compiled.

8. Calligraphy was established as an expression of learned people.

9. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism entered China to become an important form of religious/ spiritual/ philosophical expression, allowing ties with India.