History of Religion and State in China
Zhou
Qin
Han
Tang
Song
Yuan
Ming
Qing
About the Author
The Guides to Religion and Culture at present include Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. The purpose of this series is to provide education and understanding of the religious traditions in our increasingly linked world.
These volumes are written as an anthropology of religion, and I have attempted to state the beliefs, practices, and histories in words that are consistent with each religious tradition. I have provided historical, social, and cultural information to define the context within which each religion has come into being and developed as a living society today. To the extent possible, I have discussed and reviewed these materials with religious scholars and
believers from each tradition although I recognize that there are internal differences in belief and practice within religions, and I have tried to reflect those in a correct manner.
Belief and behavior are at the heart of our self-definition as human individuals and the emotional core of our identity. Our religious and/or ideological identity is so important that it shapes major life decisions. This series is published recognizing the powerful importance of religious belief and practice among us as humans, respecting and honoring the uniqueness
of the spiritual nature that defines us.
The Mandate of Heaven:
History of Religion and the State in China
In China, religion is intertwined with government from the earliest historical periods.
The Shang kings who established the first dynasty 3,800 years ago were shaman-kings, and their palace-temple complex at Anyang in the Huang Ho river valley was the first "city" in China.
The Shang kings established the linkage between government and religion that continued for most of the next four millennia, only the format of the religion would change. From shaman- kings to Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Communism, the ideological foundations of Chinese life have favored the governing authorities. The concept of the Mandate of Heaven entered Chinese political life at the end of the Shang period when the first kings were accused of becoming corrupt and cruel with their subjects. According to the Mandate of Heaven, the king who rules well and with respect for the governed has the right to rule, but the king who loses religious and moral values loses the Mandate. Although the rhetoric of the secular government of today does not refer to heaven, the value of the Mandate continues to be politically important as evidenced in 1989 in Tiananmen Square.
The history of dynasties marks the cycles of religious change in China more systematically than in any other country. China has a long history of cultural continuity, and it is the oldest civilization that has been in continuous existence. Since the state is central to the definition of Chinese culture, renovation has always been linked with the change of rulers in contrast to non-state oriented societies like India. Chinese mythology narrates early dynasties that existed before the historic ones, and looking through the veil of prehistory, we can see ethereal kingdoms that reflect what is to occur in history. Legend says that the first dynasty in China was the Xia (Hsia) Dynasty which was founded by a ruler named Yu, and he was the first to build flood control and irrigation projects along the Yellow River sometime before 2000
B.C.E. The basis of their power seems to have been the controlling of the river which made agriculture safer and more predictable. The existence of the Xia Dynasty has not been documented, so the beginning of Chinese history is usually traced to the Shang Dynasty which can be documented both historically and archaeologically. The early dynasties show the development of Chinese religious life.
Table 15.1
Early Dynasties and Religions
Dynasties Time Frame Dominant Religion
Shang | 1766 to 1122 B.C.E | Shamanism |
Zhou | 1122 to 221 B.C.E. | Rise of Confucianism and Daoism |
Qin | 221 to 206 B.C.E. | Legalism |
Han | 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E | State Confucianism |
Starting from the shamanism of the Shang kings religious life and thought developed over the next two thousand years to a mature state Confucianism.
Shang Dynasty (1766 to 1122 B.C.E.)
The Shang Dynasty is called the mother culture because Chinese culture took shape during this period. Its capital was at Anyang which was located half way between the present day cities of Beijing and Xian. In contrast to the economic role of urbanization in the Middle East, cities were not the defining element of civilization in China, rather it was the state and writing. Anyang was primarily a palace-temple complex surrounded by the ruling class, the military, and the workers who sustained them. Palaces and temples were constructed on earthen mounds, so that they were raised above the level of normal activity. Warfare and ritual seem to have been the important purposes of the Shang state.1
The Shang kings were shaman-kings which meant that the king had direct access to the high god, Ti, and the king could also communicate through his personal ancestors to persuade the god to favor Shang society. So, the kings' power was backed up by a range of forces from earthly ones (military and officialdom) to supernatural ones (direct access to the gods). In a practice called scapulimancy, bones were used as oracles to receive messages from the gods about practical events, such as weather, hunting, harvests, or battles. The shoulder bones of oxen or the bottom shells of tortoises were most commonly used, and questions to the gods were written on one side. This is the first evidence of writing in China, and it was used for divination.
This early writing system was logographic (commonly called pictographic).2 The bones were heated, which caused them to crack, producing a pattern that indicated the answer of the gods.
The tombs of the Shang show that they were preparing the person for life in the next world, and the power of the royal ancestors reflects the veneration of the ancestors that came to characterize Chinese society. The veneration of ancestors is still practiced in China, and replicas of physical objects are burned today so that they will accompany the departed family members in the next life. These contemporary funerary practices reflect those in place during the Shang dynasty.
Shang society was based on family clans. The ruling class consisted of the king, the nobles who were warriors, and the bureaucratic officials who conducted state functions. The government was organized around the ruling clan, and many of the officials were family members of the king. The country was divided into four quarters with wealth flowing to the center to support the king and the army. They ruled through a system of local governors, appointed by the king, a system that continued throughout most of Chinese dynastic history. Banners, bronze pots, and bronze weapons were important symbols of royal power. The most graphic display of the kings' power left for us today is in their tombs. Buried with them were human victims (that could number over one hundred), elaborate ritual objects in jade and bronze, and even complete chariots with horses.
Growth in the knowledge and skill of working materials is one of the characteristics of civilization, and the Shang period is defined by the high quality of its bronze art and technology. They made the finest early objects in bronze of any civilization. The ingredients of bronze (copper and tin) were not readily available at this time which meant that they depended on a system of foreign trade for the raw materials. Craftsmen used bronze to cast weapons, chariot fittings, musical instruments, and most importantly ritual vessels. However, bronze was not used for mundane purposes such as tools, so common workers continued to work with stone tools.
The bronze ritual vessels which characterize this period were elaborately decorated with the stylized shapes of actual or imagined animals. The surfaces are ornately decorated so that every inch of surface space is covered with designs in relief.
The last king of the Shang is known historically as a greedy tyrant who indulged in orgies and ordered cruel punishments on those who questioned him. Most telling about his character was his negligence with the gods and lack of respect for the ancestors. Eventually some of his officials and ritual leaders accused him of having lost the right to rule, and they abandoned him. Throughout Chinese history the people have understood that leaders who were cruel and did not have their interests at heart had lost their legitimacy as rulers. The state has been understood as a moral order, and a legitimate ruler had to demonstrate that he could lead it.
Zhou Dynasty (1122 to 221 B.C.E.): Mandate of Heaven, Confucianism, and Daoism
Wu Wang, the leader the Zhou people, attacked and overthrew this last, morally corrupt Shang king, and established the new Zhou Dynasty (also written Chou) which became the longest dynasty in Chinese history.3 The Zhou were agricultural people from the Wei River Valley, a tributary of the Yellow River, which was on the western fringes of the Shang kingdom. Much like the Akkadians did with the Sumerians, the Zhou adopted and continued the cultural traditions of the Shang although they added new elements of ideology and technology. So, there was no cultural break between the two dynasties, and the historical core that became Chinese culture was continued.
The Zhou formalized the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" an ideology of kingship out of the traditional ideas about the legitimacy of the ruler. This was an early statement of political theory. The concept says that the ruler retains the support of the gods as long as he is a wise and principled protector of the people and followed the proper "Path" (or Dao) in his rule. The Chinese concept of dao is similar to the Hindu concept of dharma, or right conduct.
However, when a ruler is unjust the citizens have the right to remove him through revolution, and that right has been exercised in peasant revolts many times in Chinese history. This concept also indicates that rulers do not have divine status, hence no inherent right to rule.
During the Zhou Dynasty the religious and philosophical foundations of Chinese society were also laid down.4 Parallel to what happened in other early civilizations at about the same time, the literate people of China began to record their questions about the cosmos, the nature of humans, and the role of the state in society. People began to impose their interpretation of order on the world that surrounded them. These explanations marked the beginning of organized philosophy and religion. K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucianism) and Lao Tzu (Daoism) lived during this period which was the same time that Guatama (Buddha) lived in India and the Greek philosophers (Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle) lived in the West. By the end of the Zhou period there were a "hundred schools" of philosophy interpreting the nature of humanity and the cosmos. Chinese thought was more secular than religious, and it is reflected in Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, and the popular beliefs in the I Ching.
The original capital of the Zhou was located to the west near present day Xian, and later it was moved closer to the old Shang capital of Anyang. The Zhou kings delegated authority over certain regions of their realm to members of the royal family and other loyal followers, and these holdings became hereditary. In exchange for the lands and authority from the king, the lords pledged loyalty, taxes, and military support. A written record was made of these commitments, an early example of political contracts. Through these and other records, dynastic history were being recorded, and the first written laws were also made during this period.
In the late Zhou period, the population grew to as many as twenty million people, and manufacturing and commerce grew to supply the needs of the population. During this time wealth began to replace noble lineage as a source of power within the society. The clans of the
Shang period were replaced by residentially-based extended families composed of three generations which came to characterize China throughout much of its history. The concept of private property emerged at this time as the families began to replace clans and their communally held lands. This family system was patriarchal, and women had subordinate roles. The concepts of yin (female) and yang (male) existed by this time, and they represented the idea of balance between the action oriented toughness of men and the gentle endurance of women. Men were the leaders of public events, including ritual, government, and warfare while women were responsible for the household and the children. Although women were expected to be monogamous, men were not.
As the central authority waned during the last two centuries of the Zhou Dynasty, the regional governors exerted their independence and fought among themselves, a time known as the "Warring States" period.5 Warfare became more complex as swords and other iron weapons were invented, including the crossbow. Organized cavalries were established and combined with infantry soldiers. The Zhou realm broke into more than a dozen small kingdoms that vied with each other during this long period until the Qin (Chin) ruler was able to subdue all of the others and establish a new dynasty.
Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 B.C.E.)
Although the Qin Dynasty was among the shortest, it was also among the most important in shaping Chinese society and culture. It is the result of the efforts of one man, who took the title of Qin Shi Huangdi (or Ch'in Shih Huang Ti) which means First Emperor.6 He inherited the Qin throne in 246 B.C.E. at the age of thirteen, and by 221 B.C.E. he had defeated the kings of the other regional kingdoms. Under his rule he extended the boundaries of China to approximately their present day limits in the north and south and also pushed them well to the west. He created the first centralized state that approximated the dimensions of what was to become China, and he was so important that the country became known as the Kingdom of Qin (Ch'in) or China in English.
In keeping with the linkage between the state and religious ideology in China, Emperor Qin made Legalism the official state ideology. Legalism suggests that people cannot control themselves and that they must be forced to be good by the government. Laws define social life, and they are re-enforced by the police and military. Qin Shi Huangdi's government was autocratic. The Emperor prohibited the numerous theories of the state that had proliferated during the late Zhou period, including those of Confucius. He ordered the books of competing theories to be burned and the killing of scholars who discussed them. People who did not destroy their banned books were sent to work on the Great Wall. By burning the books that contained the scripts and the political discussions used during the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Qin destroyed much of the information from that period. Although he is remembered in China as the unifier of the country, he is also remembered as a great oppressor and destroyer of information.
Following the political theory of Legalism, Qin Shi Huangdi initiated a series of sweeping reforms to institute a highly centralized government as a means of achieving efficiency and unifying China. To eliminate the potential political opposition from the nobility of the Zhou period, he ordered all of them to move from their lands to his capital. Then he created a centralized bureaucracy with governors that he appointed in all of the provinces and smaller districts. The emperor appointed all officials, so they were dependent on him. He also ordered a census of the entire population and set up tax collections and public works projects. The Qin government was divided into three central ministries: the civil administration, the military, and an inspector general. The duty of the latter was to inspect the effectiveness of the other officials, and this continued to be used by future dynasties. The empire was divided into large provinces which in turn were subdivided into smaller districts. Officials were named by merit or by recommendation.
To facilitate the centralization of the empire he ordered standardization of weights, measures, and coinage, and he also ordered standard axle lengths to permit a common system of roads. One of the most dramatic reforms was the standardization of the written script. Various regions of China had developed their own script systems during the long Zhou Dynasty to match their local spoken dialects. Qin Shi Huangdi ordered that there be a common script that everyone could read and understand the same information throughout the empire. Books not written in the new standard script were to be destroyed.
The largest public works project was to complete the Great Wall along the northern borders of the country to aid in the defense against the mounted attacks by horsemen coming out of the Gobi Desert. There were existing walls that had been built during the Zhou Dynasty, but Qin Shi Huangdi ordered that they be connected and extended fourteen hundred miles to the sea. Some sections of the Qin wall were little more than piled stones or rubble. The Great Wall as we know it today was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty fifteen hundred years after the Qin. The northern frontier of China was to remain its vulnerable border throughout most of its history.
In an attempt to achieve the security of the imperial house, the Emperor established a class of eunuchs who were the personal servants for himself and the women of his family, and the institution of the imperial eunuchs continued for the next two millennia. In later dynasties, they evolved into an inner governing circle that competed with the official bureaucracy of the state. By becoming a eunuch a man could live a life of luxury and even power within the imperial household.
To complete his imperial status Qin Shi Huangdi ordered the construction near Xian of the most imposing mortuary complex ever built in China.7 However, after his death in 210
B.C.E. the peasants revolted against the government and dynasty that he had created, and his successor was overthrown. The short-lived Qin Dynasty was over, but its reputation for brilliance and cruelty has continued to the presence.
Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.)
Under the Han, the ideology of State Confucianism was developed, as a synthesis of Confucianism and Legalism. Although Qin Shi Huangdi had ordered the books of Confucius to be burned, some scholars had hidden their books, and others committed entire books to memory. So, the teachings re-emerged during the Han period. Confucian scholars elaborated the concepts of the "Mandate of Heaven" and "dynastic cycles". As discussed earlier, the first concept states that there is heavenly approval for kings who rule well. The second concept states that when rulers are cruel and unjust they lose the Mandate of Heaven, and their dynasty can be overthrown justly and the mandate passed along to new rulers. They also continued the idea that the ruler is the intermediary between the people and heaven.
Other intellectual currents were strong at this time, and the study of history became important. The greatest early Chinese historian emerged at this time, Sima Qian (ca. 145 to 186 B.C.E.) was from this time period. He wrote Records of the Grand Historian, a history of China up to his day, studying written records, interviewing people about events they had witnessed, and visiting sites of important occurrences. There were other historians, and one family, the Ban, included several historians who wrote the first dynastic history. Ban Zhao was an early woman historian and writer who wrote poems and essays, including Lessons for Women which discussed education for women.8 Notable achievements were also made in medicine, and Jing Jhi wrote Treatise on Fevers which was the standard reference on Chinese medicine. A drug was developed to make patients unconscious during surgery. The mathematician and astronomer Zhang Heng used complex mathematics in calculations in which he concluded that the earth was round, and he also detected directionality in earthquakes. The abacus was developed by Han mathematicians for the rapid calculation of everything from routine commercial dealings to more complex mathematical problems.
Liu Bang, a former Qin official, consolidated the forces opposed to the Qin regime, and eventually re-established order and the new Han Dynasty.9 He retained the main features of the centralized Qin government organization, such as the tripartite division of the central government and the naming of officials by merit.10 From the Song Dynasty, these civil service examinations were based on the Confucian classics, and they favored the sons of wealthy families who had the time to study. Passing the exams and becoming a government official meant that the man would have a high social standing, obtain a good salary, and be able to marry a high status woman. Similar systems of merit examinations were established by other East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. In each case they created a privileged class of government officials who were well educated and wealthy. In China, Japan, and Korea, the official class became the dominant, elite class of the country. The people who live in central China today still call themselves the Han, taking their ethnic name from this dynasty.
Achievements during this period include the invention of paper which was an
inexpensive and pliable medium for the written word, and it facilitated the spread of written documents.11 Urban life also expanded during the Han period, and people developed luxuries such as expensive clothing of silk and fur. This was the first truly wealthy society in Chinese history, comparable to the Romans in Mediterranean history. The houses of the rich and powerful were furnished with rugs, embroidered curtains, and furniture of fine woods. Their food was served in beautiful lacquer bowls, frequently decorated with geometric designs in gold and silver. Wealthy women could enjoy gold rings and earrings as well as bracelets and necklaces of jade and other precious stones. Music was an art that was highly valued, and the wealthy patronized musical groups. Instruments included flutes, stringed instruments, bells, and drums among others.
Chinese society went through periods of strength and weakness under the Han. As land and wealth were concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people, unrest grew and the economy became more troubled. Political conflict between the traditional officials and palace eunuchs contributed to lack of order in the central government, and eventually the dynasty collapsed. Following the downfall of the Han Dynasty, there was a long interlude of four hundred years without the emergence of a strong dynasty. This period of repeated civil wars and even anarchy was the dark ages of Chinese civilization. Many lost confidence in the rational principles of State Confucianism which no longer gave predictable results. During this time the more mystical religions, Daoism and Buddhism gained followers.
China was posed to become a major cultural influence on the world, and it would continue to hold that position through the successive dynasties, the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The history of these latter dynasties is referred to as the golden age of classic Chinese civilization. For more than 1,000 years China was the wealthiest and most technologically advanced country in the world.
Religion in the Great Chinese Dynasties (618 to 1911)
Starting with the Tang Dynasty, China was ruled by a series of imperial dynasties, and it was the wealthiest and most technologically advanced country in the world. During this time, the Muslim empires rose and fell, and India fell first to the Muslims and then the British.
Although the Middle East lost much of its importance after the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century and Indian civilization succumbed to the Muslim Mughals, the Chinese imperial age survived all. Chinese civilization was a true empire throughout the Tang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Each of theses dynasties ruled essentially the same land and people although different religious orientations. The Tang were Buddhist, the Sung Confucianists, the Yuan Buddhists, the Ming Confucianists, and Qing from a background in shamanism. Although China's religious achievements in Confucianism and Daoism have had little influence outside of the country, it has made major contributions to world culture in technology and trade. Chinese civilization has dominated its area of the world for two thousand
years, and it became a regional system within Asia based on religion, trade, language, military influence, and political presence.
Table 15.2
Religion and the Great Dynasties
Dynasty Time Period Dominant Religion
Tang | 618 to 907 | Buddhist |
Song | 960 to 1279 | Confucianist |
Yuan | 1279 to 1368 | Buddhist |
Ming | 1368 to 1644 | Confucianist |
Qing | 1644 to 1911 | Shamanism and Confucianism |
Tang Dynasty (618 to 907)
Under the Tang, the Chinese had increasing contacts with the world beyond their borders, and it was a time of exploration as people made trips to Tibet and India to gain more information about Buddhism. Legends from this time of intellectual and religious exploration have been preserved in the epic work by Wu Ch'êng-ên titled Monkey in English.12 It is also referred to as the "Journey to the West". Monkey refers to the trip of the real life priest/traveler Hsuan Tsang in its fanciful mythical narrative of the trials and tribulations of his trip to India to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha. He returned to the Tang capital in Xian with six hundred Buddhist texts which became the basis of spreading the religion in China and later Japan. Some of those texts still survive in Buddhist monasteries in Xian. Christians arrived to China during this period, and in 638 a group of Nestorian Christians applied for permission to build a church in Xian which was granted by the Emperor.
However, it was Buddhism that was to have the greatest impact on China through its populist Mahayana tradition which taught that everyone could achieve Nirvana.13 The Mahayana tradition encouraged the translation of Buddhist texts into local languages, and it incorporated local worship practices that had little to do with the original teachings of Gautama. The Tang rulers were open to Buddhism in the early years of the dynasty, but by the ninth century Buddhist monasteries had gained significant economic power and political influence. By emphasizing the individual instead of the family unit, Buddhism went against the Chinese family values expressed in Confucianism. Since Buddhism encouraged men and women to cut their ties with the secular world, hundreds of thousands chose not to marry and to enter the monastic life, and the later Tang rulers saw them as non-productive members of the society. In the mid-800's the Tang moved to dissolve the monasteries and make their lands taxable. Buddhism was never again to have the important cultural and political role that it had in the early Tang period.
Xian was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and it became one of the largest cities in the world at the time with a population of as many as two million people. The central city was the focus of commerce and public life with restaurants and public buildings, and the residential areas were walled quarters which surrounded the city like suburbs. Xian was the eastern end of the Silk Road, and foreigners from many parts of the world arrived there including Asians and people of Indo-European background. An indication of this internationalism was that one of the greatest Chinese poets of the period was Li Po who was of Turkic descent from central Asia.14 Ceramic figures from the period show people with physical features of European origin doing tasks such as tending horses. Porcelain was first made during this period, putting China in the forefront of that technology in the world. The formulas and technology for making porcelain were an imperial monopoly, and they were preserved as a state secret.15 In later dynasties, porcelain became one of the largest export items for China. European countries spent centuries trying to discover the secret of porcelain, but it took them almost a thousand years to do it. Tea, which is so linked with porcelain, also became popular during the Tang period, and likewise it became a major item of export in later dynasties.
The horse became an important icon of Tang culture, and horse polo was an important
sport borrowed from central Asia. The adoption of iron stirrups gave riders greater control and maneuverability on the horse. The Tang combined the crossbow with central Asian style use of the horse cavalry to develop an effective military force. They expanded to the north and west as the Han had done and even subdued the nomadic groups beyond the Great Wall. They made contact with the Uygurs in central Asia and brought that territory under their rule, giving it the name of Xinjiang, or "new region." Tibet was linked to China through royal marriages, and Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other neighboring states established commercial, diplomatic, and cultural ties with the Tang.
Toward the end of the ninth century a revolt was led by a Central Asian Muslim leader, An Lu-shan, who captured the capital of Xian and ruled briefly before being killed by his own son. The Uygurs came to dominate western China and Central Asia during this time, and the Tang allied with them in the hopes that they would be a buffer against the intrusions of nomadic people from the steppes. However, the Uygurs were defeated by the Kirghiz, another Turkic group, who in turn defeated and overthrew the Tang government in 906. The next fifty years were an unstable period with a series of would-be rulers. China had no effective central government during this period, but the Muslims groups from Central Asia were never able to take over the country.
Song Dynasty (960 to 1279)
Along with the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the influence of Buddhism decline, but the neo- Confucianism that emerged during the Song period had a rationalist and secular focus on material issues and morality. The re-emergence of Confucianism during the Song period re-
enforced patriarchal values with a corresponding negative influence on the role of women. The cultural subordination of women that began at this time continued basically for the next thousand years until the Communist Revolution. They were legally disenfranchised, and laws were changed so that their property belonged to their husbands. Women could not remarry if they were divorced or widowed. So, women were made to be totally dependent on the men.
The practice that most signified the dependent status of women was foot binding which made it difficult and painful for women to walk. Binding the foot meant bending the toes back toward the heel, and binding it so that the arch broke. The bound foot could not grow, and women's feet were small like a child. Such small feet were thought to be attractive. Foot- binding was practiced mostly by upper class families. Binding the feet of upper class women emphasized their luxury status because it incapacitated them and made them dependent on their fathers and husbands throughout their lives. This practice was popular among the elite and was required for a woman to marry well, but it was not practiced among the poor nor among the non- Han groups within China such as the Uygurs, where the work of women was valued and necessary, and women held a higher place of respect within their families.
In keeping with the Confucian emphasis on study and literacy, Song society became the first truly literate society in the world. Printing had been used since the Tang period, but the entire page was carved from a single block of wood. Now the Korean invention of moveable type was widely adopted in which each letter was individually carved and could be re-used.
Moveable type combined with paper made it possible to print relatively inexpensive editions of books and other documents. The government printed materials on technological innovations in ceramics, weaving, metallurgy, carpentry, medicine, farming techniques, and other areas. They also printed study guides for people preparing to take the civil service examinations.
The Song also invented the use of paper money and banking. The first paper money was issued as certificates of deposit, certifying that the person had deposited a certain quantity of copper, silver, or gold coinage with the government. These certificates contained the signatures and seals of government officials validating its authenticity. The paper money of today in most countries of the world continues the practice of signatures and seals to authenticate it. The issuance of paper money made it easier for merchants to transfer their profits from sales in distant cities. Banking practices also started during this period with institutions that granted loans as a business.
The Chinese made major innovations under the Song in knowledge and technology.
Mathematicians developed the use of fractions, and astronomers developed accurate solar and lunar calendars. Cotton was introduced from central Asia, and a more productive strand of rice was introduced from Vietnam which made more food available to the population. There were a number of technological achievements, and the building of one of the earliest mechanical clocks is indicative of Song technological prowess.16 In 1088, Su Song built a water powered clock that
had a chain driven mechanism (the earliest chain driven device known anywhere) that was eighty feet high. It registered the hour, day, and the movement of the stars and planets. It was the prototype of mechanical clocks that would become popular later in medieval Europe.
The Song also developed an improved compass that could be used for navigation. The development of the stern-mounted rudder and watertight bulkheads along with the improved compass made it possible to expand sea travel and trade. Later, the Greek astrolabe was introduced, and Chinese navigation increased significantly. Although gunpowder had been discovered during the Tang period, it had been limited to use in fireworks until the Song Dynasty who adapted it to shoot arrows. The Song also developed an exploding shell which they could shoot, and it would explode on impact. These had only a limited range and were used for defensive purposes.
The population of China grew to 100 million people during the Song Dynasty, and its capital cities, Kaifeng in the north and Hangzhou in the south, were among the largest cities in the world with one million people each. Urban architecture consisted of wooden houses and apartment buildings that could be several stories high. Although the streets were narrow and winding, they were reasonably clean with good systems of supplying water and carrying away wastes. They successfully controlled rodents and the bubonic plague, much more so than did European cities.
During the last century of Song rule the Mongols were growing in strength on the northern border, and the Song were unable to hold them off. In 1214, the Mongol army under Genghis Khan conquered Beijing, and by 1234, they had conquered all of northern China. For a time the Song continued to control southern China, but in 1279 Genghis' grandson, Kubla Khan, defeated the last of the Song and annexed southern China to his rule. For the first time in history China was ruled by a foreign power. Kubla Khan declared himself the new emperor of China and founded the Yuan Dynasty.17
Yuan Dynasty (1279 to 1368)
The Mongols were culturally quite different from the Chinese and largely lived as a social enclave with their own separate laws. However, they did acculturate to Chinese traditions, and many adopted sedentary lifestyles. Kubla Khan retained the state cult of Confucianism, even though he was a Buddhist. This Mongol policy of religious openness eliminated a potential source of tension between the conquerors and the conquered. Many Mongols were Buddhists, and they were especially attracted to the Tibetan version of Buddhism which emphasized divination and magic. Although the Mongols conquered China militarily, it is said that the Chinese eventually won by acculturating them to Chinese ways. There was strong resistance to the Mongols, particularly in the north, and some northern districts dropped to half of their population due to war and migration to the south to escape the presence of the foreigners. At the height of the Mongol expansion (1250 to 1350), they controlled much of the Eurasian landmass
from China to the Middle East and through Russia to the borders of Europe. This promoted contact, knowledge, and trade between these widely dispersed parts of the world, and virtually created a global society of that day.
One manifestation of these contacts was the trip of Marco Polo who traveled to China along with his father and uncle during this period.18 He lived in China from 1275 to 1292 and claimed that he actually served Kubla Khan as a government official. After returning to Italy in the 1290's, he wrote his account of life in China (A Description of the World) which was translated into most European languages. Although many Europeans did not believe his story in the beginning, eventually his writings served to acquaint the people of the West about the sophisticated civilization that existed in Asia. Marco Polo's accounts of Chinese life are the most complete records from the time in Europe, but there were other contacts from the West through the Middle East and India at the time. Jewish silk and spice merchants in both Muslim and Christian areas of Spain maintained active trade links with the East and are reported to have traveled as far as India and even China on occasion with their own trading fleets, but none left the dramatic writings of Marco Polo. When Christopher Columbus began his trip in 1492, his intention was to reach the land of Zipangu (Japan) described by Polo.
The empire created by the Mongol conquests from China to Europe permitted the movement of trade and people more widely than perhaps had ever been possible before. But, there was a downside to this movement of people, and it was the Bubonic plague which started in the Yunnan province of southwestern China.19 In the early 1330's it spread into other provinces of China, killing millions. It then moved along the Silk Route to the Black Sea and then on to the Mediterranean and Europe where it was known as the Black Death and would great havoc in Christendom. The deaths of farmers and craftspeople decimated the Chinese economy and were one of the factors that led to a crisis in the relatively young Yuan Dynasty.
Like the Mongol kingdoms in the rest of Asia, the Yuan Dynasty went into decline in the fourteenth century. There had been continuing unrest against the foreign rulers, particularly the southern regions of the country. This unrest combined with the devastated economy after the Bubonic plague led to a revolt against the Mongols. In 1351 artisans joined peasant farmers in an uprising led by Hong Wu and a secret group called the Red Turbans. Within a few years they had driven the Mongols out of China and re-established Chinese rule.
Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644)
Confucianism was at the heart of Ming rule. The agrarian basis of the society was re- affirmed according to Confucian principles, and the power of the central government grew. The economy remained predominantly agrarian, and following Confucian precepts the Ming administration structured its tax code around agricultural production. The gentry class was important during the Ming period, and villages had considerable responsibility for local affairs.20 They named councils of elders to make local decisions which included building local public
works and irrigation projects, levying taxes, and organizing the militia. Government financed schools were established at the county level, and that broadened the social base of education and prepared a wider range of people to take the civil service exams. The empire was divided into provinces, districts, and counties. Following the example of the Mongol dynasty, the early Ming rulers employed many people of central Asian origin in the government which broadened the vision of the Chinese government. Although most people continued living in farming villages, market towns proliferated during this period. European style city-states did not develop in China, but a few cities did grow along the coast, and Nanjing and Shanghai grew to importance. Urban-based artisans produced a range of manufactured goods that improved the lifestyle of the population, and merchants became more prominent.
Great public works projects dominated the early Ming Dynasty, and the largest was fortifying and extending the Great Wall to the size and length that is known today nearly four thousand miles from east to west. With the decline of the power of the Mongols in central Asia, Uzbek and Kazak groups began to raid caravans passing through their territory, and trade with the West along the Silk Route declined. Subsequently, the Chinese turned to the sea routes that had been developed slowly over previous centuries. This led to the other grand public project of the early Ming Dynasty, the voyages to the west led by Zheng He who was a eunuch of central Asian origin.
The voyages were the idea of the second Ming emperor, Yong Lu who wanted to explore sea routes to the west, develop diplomatic and commercial contacts, identify and tax overseas Chinese communities, and obtain luxury goods for the imperial court.21 The first voyage of exploration included sixty two ships, some of which were quite large. The largest was 440 feet long and 180 feet at the beam with nine masts, and it was probably the biggest ship in the world at the time. The mission had 27,800 men, including sailors and marines who could act as an invasion force when necessary. Over the first three decades of the fifteenth century, the Chinese fleets made seven voyages, exploring the south coast of Asia, Indonesian islands, India, the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and east coast of Africa, perhaps as far as Madagascar. China was the greatest maritime power in the world at the time, almost a century ahead of the European countries. Following up on the contacts made by the Chinese fleet, as many as thirty states sent envoys to the Ming court. The Ming were not interested in colonialization or conquest, and the cost of the voyages along with other factors led to their termination in 1433. However, commercial voyages continued after this and laid the basis for the future ocean based commerce with the West.
Yong Lu, who initiated the voyages, also moved the capital to Beijing, and built the
Forbidden City as an imperial palace as a monument to state power. This vast palace is over one-half mile long and almost as wide and has 9,999 rooms, nine being a propitious number. Its vermilion outer walls are over thirty feet high, and the moat surrounding it was 150 feet wide.
An infrastructure of eunuch officials administered the imperial palace and developed a complex set of rituals which controlled every aspect of the Emperor's day. The eunuchs also dominated the secret police and the civil service, and they even controlled foreign affairs.
By the late sixteenth century, the Chinese were actively trading with European countries. The Chinese merchant fleets carried silks, porcelains, paper, and other goods to the Spanish port of Manila in the Philippines and brought back silver, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and firearms. The first three products were from the Americas, and it is estimated that one-third to one-half of the silver mined in the Spanish colonial Americas was traded to China for luxury goods. The Portuguese and Dutch were also active traders, looking for Chinese tea, silks, and porcelains.
The flow of silver into China undermined the paper currency system that had been in place since the Song period.22 Economic problems led the emperors to accept foreign trade and to accept silver as the de facto currency.
The imperial court developed a complex lifestyle which stagnated in Confucian etiquette and ritual, corrupting the original ideas of Confucianism. The emperor had little time to rule because of carrying out state rituals. One of the last Ming emperors, Wan-li, who ruled from 1573 to 1619, virtually abandoned the attempt to govern because of the limitations of rules and bureaucratic opposition. As he dedicated himself to personal interests, the eunuchs assumed more power, but the eunuch class was so divided that it could not govern effectively either. The lack of government was compounded by droughts and crop failures which led to widespread famine. The droughts seemed to confirm that Heaven had withdrawn its Mandate from the Ming rulers. Unpaid soldiers, starving peasants, and others revolted against the Ming further weakening civilian order. Simultaneously, the Manchu, who lived to the north of Beijing outside of the Wall, had developed a strong government backed by a successful military. They also had the allegiance of the Mongols and other groups from the central Asian steppes. The Manchus took advantage of the weakness of the Ming Dynasty and captured Beijing and the seat of government.
Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912)
The Manchus declared a new dynasty, the Qing (or Ching) which means "pure", and the name of their dynasty suggests that they would clean up a government that had become corrupt in its own way. Although the Manchus had a tradition of shamanism, they adopted Confucianism in China, but they streamlined the rituals that had become impossible to maintain by the previous government. Slowly they conquered the rest of China, and over the next few decades they extended their control over Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang.23 During this time period, China was the most populous country on the earth, and it reached its highest point of prosperity.
The Manchus. The Manchu adopted Confucian principles and the governmental organization of the Ming which guaranteed basic stability within the country. Accepting the
teachings and writings of Confucius re-enforced their adoption of the Chinese governmental structure. They removed many of the imperial eunuchs who had caused much disruption during the latter years of the Ming Dynasty and gave positions to Chinese intellectuals which gained the support of that class.24 Although the new rulers represented less that 2 percent of the people in China, they were able to rule for 268 years and lead the country to prosperity and strength. The stability brought by the Qing is represented by the long reigns of two powerful emperors: Kangxi who ruled sixty-one years (1661-1772) followed after a short interval by Qianlong who ruled fifty-nine years (1736 to 1795). After this strong start, Qing society seemed to go into a period of cultural fatigue in the 1800's. Technology and military strength declined, and the Confucian center of the culture increasingly gave away to the pleasures of opium. The Dynasty was challenged repeatedly by European powers but did not maintain the military strength to keep the foreigners out, and it went into a long decline.
People of Manchu descent held a privileged position in society which was manifest by their language, distinctive clothing, ethnic separation, and not practicing foot binding for women. Manchus were prohibited from intermarrying with the Han, and they obligated Han men to wear their hair in a pigtail as a sign of subservience, a custom that came to be considered distinctly Chinese in the West. The Ming nobility was replaced by the Manchu nobility, which maintained its status through wealth from extensive land holdings. Some lower status Manchus were organized into elite military units that protected the empire while others were granted lands to farm. Eventually, the Manchus acculturated to Chinese thought and culture and lost much of their distinctiveness.
The Great Emperors: Kangxi and Qianlong. Kangxi is believed by many to have been the greatest emperor to have ruled China. He ruled from 1661 to 1722 and launched the Qing Dynasty as one of the most powerful periods in Chinese history.25 He ruled at the same time as Peter the Great in Russia, Louis XIV in France, and Aurangzeb in India, and he may have been the greatest of that group. Kangxi reduced the size of the imperial court, eliminated many court rituals, and traveled widely throughout the empire. He personally led the army against the Mongols defeating them and guaranteeing peace for China. He supported the arts and the letters and subsidized massive scholarly works which included a 5,000 volume encyclopedia which intended to document all human knowledge.
Literature flourished during the Qing period. Historical novels were written set in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and one example is Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio by P'u Sung-ling (1640-1715). An example of a story about a young man visited by two beautiful young women who later turn out to be fox-fairies, mischievous supernatural beings who play tricks on humans. Another popular work from that period is The Dream of the Red Chamber by Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in, a story about the traditional Chinese family. Kangxi authorized a collection of Chinese literature that was intended to be as complete as possible, and he stimulated the study
of history by supporting an ambitious project of writing the history of the previous Ming Dynasty. He supported the preparation of a new dictionary of the Chinese language and patronized Confucian scholarship.
The Manchus have played an important role in the arts, literature, and science in China over the last four centuries.26 Manchu scientists have written some of the most important works on mathematics and physics (Shu Li Jing Yun Essence of Mathematics and Physics) geography (Huang Yu Quan Lan Tu Complete Atlas of the Empire) among others. In the eighteenth century Cao Xueqin wrote A Dream of Red Mansions which has become a classic in world literature. It is a novel about a Manchu noble family that criticizes the decadence of the ruling class and the Chinese feudal society. They also produced an outstanding group of women poets who were known for their contemplations of life and nature. Both Wanyan Yuegu and Kuliya Lingwen were important women poets, but the most widely admired one was Xilin Taiqing who wrote Tian You Ge Ji (Poems Written in Tianyou Pavilion) and the most famous Dong Hai Yu Ge (Song of East Sea Fishermen). Poetry is highly valued in Chinese society, and the Manchu established themselves among the best of Chinese poets.
Kangxi was open and tolerant of Christians, and missionaries came, especially Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans. Hundreds of governmental officials converted to Christianity, as did an estimated 300,000 commoners. The Christian effort was undermined by competition and doctrinal disputes among them, and Kangxi's heir began to suppress their activities later. The Jesuits were particularly successful in part because they became fluent in Chinese, memorized the Confucian classics, and adopted the dress of Chinese scholars. They brought Western information on mathematics, astronomy, and medicine and learned such Chinese medical techniques as vaccinations against smallpox, an idea that was later adopted in Europe. Chinese art and design became very popular in Europe under the name of "chinoiserie", including silks, porcelains, lacquer ware, jade, jewelry, and other items.
In 1736, fourteen years after Kangxi's death, Qianlong succeeded his grandfather to the throne of the Qing Dynasty and ruled until 1795.27 Under Qianlong, the Dynasty reached its highest levels of prosperity and power. He was a warrior and maintained the correct military strength, but he was also an effective administrator and visited the various parts of China on inspection tours. He supported scholarship, most notably a magnum opus called the Four Treasures which included the major Chinese works on classics, history, letters, and philosophy. He had 15,000 scholars working on the project for almost fifteen years. Toward the end of his life, Qianlong lost control of his court favorites, and some practiced corruption that drained away the country's wealth. In 1796, the year after Qianlong's death, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out calling for the establishment of a Chinese dynasty. Although his successor was able to put down the revolt, China's financial reserves were depleted, and they were never to be replenished. As the nineteenth century started, China continued to have the stability forged by Kangxi and
Qianlong, and there was little to warn what the next century would bring.
Meanwhile, the Europeans were increasingly turning their attention to the commercial possibilities in China. The English had replaced the Portuguese as the dominant sea power in the world, and they were the primary protagonists in pushing for increased access to Chinese markets. This coincided with the shift in English colonialism from the Americas to Asia. In 1765 the British defeated the ruler of Bengal in India and began to rule that important province, and over the next century they would take over many of the wealthy areas of the subcontinent.
When the thirteen colonies in North America had revolted against the British in 1776, the British turned their commercial ambitions toward Asia. India and China were far wealthier than their lost colonies in America, and the British began to aggressively explore commercial possibilities. A treaty with China permitted the British and other European merchants to conduct trade in the port of Canton, working through Chinese merchants. The British envisioned that commerce could be much broader and began to push for more freedom to trade in other areas of China.
The Macartney mission to China in 1793 symbolized what was to happen between Europe and China over the next 150 years. The British East India Company with the support of King George III sent the diplomat Lord George Macartney to establish diplomatic relations with the court of Qianlong and to broaden trade between the two countries.28 Although Qianlong was hospitable and courteous to the visiting English, he refused all of their requests. This meeting marked the clash between an old Empire confident in the superiority of its traditions, and an emerging one confident of its scientific and commercial superiority. It was not long until the English were confronting the Chinese in armed conflict. Qianlong died two years after the visit of Macartney, and a period of internal instability began.
China had social problems because the economy had not kept pace with the large growth in population, and the population of unemployed and homeless people was growing. The Qing Dynasty had been in power for 150 years, and people began to see it as corrupt and weak.
During this time the foreign presence was increasing in the form of Western merchants and Christian missionaries, and these intrusions from other countries were not welcomed by many people. The Manchu themselves were seen as foreigners, and they were suspected of being unduly sympathetic to the foreigners from Europe. The White Lotus Rebellion erupted at this time and predicted that the Ming Dynasty would be re-established, a native Chinese dynasty.29 It was a mystical movement that also predicted that Buddha would return and bring a better life to the people. Although the rebellion was put down in 1804, the unrest continued. The Manchus were losing their Mandate of Heaven.
Conclusions
Religion and government have always been intertwined in China, and that relationship is at the heart of Confucianism. The rulers of the Han Dynasty were the first to recognize the potential of State Confucianism as a support for the government. Respect for the parents, elders,
and rulers were woven into one ideology taught to children from their youngest years. While Confucianism is a practical governing ideology, Buddhism became popular during the Tang Dynasty to fulfill people’s questions about existence itself. From where did we come, and where are we going? As Tang merchants traveled to the West for trade, they also brought back the new ideas of Buddhism. Christian missionaries arrived at the same time but made less impact on Chinese life. It was only when China was ruled by foreigners, the Manchu, that Christianity received more attention in the country.
Appendices
Qin Shi Huangdi constructed his own funerary complex just outside of his capital city, Xian, and as many as 700,000 laborers may have worked on it. His own tomb was the center of the complex, and it was said to have been built was an underground palace lined in bronze with a ceiling painted with the stars and planets. The floor had flowing mercury representing the rivers and seas. Although the location of the tomb is known, the Chinese government has decided not to excavate it.
Visiting the tomb complex, I saw the thousands of life sized ceramic soldiers, armed with spears, swords, bows, and crossbows that were made to protect the emperor after his death. They stand in formation in ordered rows as if they were awaiting the signal to begin marching. Their ranks and uniforms are shown in specific detail, and there are generals, officers, soldiers in armor and others in battle robes, both standing and kneeling archers, charioteers, as well as chariots and horses. The faces of the soldiers seem to be portraits because each one is unique, and they have different individual expressions. I met one of the local farmers who discovered this terra cotta army in 1974 while they were digging a well. They story that I heard was that they were taking turns digging, and as the next man was lowered into the shaft for his turn, he saw a life like face staring out at him from the wall of earth. Accidentally they had sunk the shaft directly in front of one of the life size figures. They told their local leaders what they had found, and in turn they told archaeologists from the nearby city of Xian. The archaeologists initiated excavations, and over the subsequent years have uncovered 7,500 figures. This is widely considered to have been the greatest archaeological discovery of the twentieth century.
The Silk Route across the deserts and steppes of Central Asia was the connection between the great centers of civilization in the East and West for centuries. When ocean going navigation developed to permit long distance trade in the sixteenth century, ocean routes
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replaced land routes because they were faster and more efficient. Although a nascent trade over the Silk Route started as early as the Han Dynasty, it began to flourish during the Tang
Dynasty with the expansion and wealth of the Arab Empire as the trading party on the other end. Over time, these products also filtered into Western Europe, leading to the trip of Marco Polo in the fourteenth century. Xian, the Tang capital, was the eastern terminus of the Silk Route, and it became a cosmopolitan city not only of Chinese but also of Central Asians and even of Europeans. Hsuan Tsang traveled to India over the Silk Route during this period to learn about Buddhism, and Nestorian Christianity arrived to China. Ideas and religions were exchanged along with trade goods.
Jiaohe located along the Silk Route near the present day city of Turpan in Xinjiang Province was one of the first towns established by the Han Dynasty when it expanded into Central Asia. Jiaohe was a large adobe city that ran for a mile along the cliffs above a small river valley. During the Han and Tang periods, it was an administrative center for those dynasties, but it was also taken over by the Tibetans and by the Gaochang state at different times. It was captured and destroyed by the Mongols in the thirteenth century. The size of this ruined city indicates its prosperity as one of the important stops on the Silk Route. The two city gates are preserved, one on the south and the other on the east. The eastern gate is well-preserved, but the entry from the south is more dramatic. It opens into a thirty feet wide main street that runs a quarter of a mile to a large Buddhist temple located in the north-central part of the city. In front of the Temple is a courtyard (150 by 75 feet) and bordered by the Drum and Bell Towers, each for marking the time during the day (Bell) and night (Drum). Inside the Temple, niches for figures of the Buddha are still intact.
At the southern end of the city is a large two story building said to have been the offices for the governor of the province. Such a large strong building would probably have had military significance also. In the residential areas of the city, house walls are intact, as are the hearths and chimneys. Houses are built of tamped adobe earth. Some houses have two stories without windows, and the doors face open into narrow lanes suggesting a sense of family privacy. To walk in the ruined temples, houses, and streets of Silk Route cities gives a sense of the wealth generated by this trade over the centuries.
The center of Beijing historically has been dominated by the vast complex of The Forbidden City (the imperial palace complex) and Tiananmen Square in front of it. Tiananmen Square is the largest in the world at twenty acres (forty-four hectares), and it is also perhaps the busiest of the great urban plazas of the world. In the middle is the Monument to the People's Heros, and at the north end of the Square is the Tiananmen Gate which leads into the Forbidden City. Along the east side is the National History Museum, and across from the Museum is the
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Great Hall of the National People's Congress. When the Congress is not in session, the Great Hall is used for cultural events and concerts. In the southern part of the Square is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall where the remains of Mao are on display.
The Forbidden City was built during the Ming Dynasty as the imperial palace, and it was occupied by twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasty periods. It was built between 1406 and 1420 by one million workers. The best woods and marble were brought from various provinces in China. It includes 800 buildings and 9,999 rooms. The number nine was considered the complete number and one especially identified with the emperor. Only the emperor, the eunuchs who served him, and his wives and concubines lived inside the Forbidden City. In the center of this "City" were three large buildings, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Medium Harmony, and the Hall of Protective Harmony. Imperial audiences with generals and advisers were held in this area which was surrounded by large open plazas representing the power of the emperor. The northern third of the "City" was more enclosed and densely packed with residential and other buildings. The Palace of Heavenly Purity was located there with the imperial throne. Since 1920, the Forbidden City has been the Palace Museum.
About the Author
Ron Duncan Hart, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist from Indiana University with postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford. He is the Director of the Institute for Tolerance Studies and a former University Vice-President. Hart has written books on Crypto-Jews, Jews and the Arab World, and Sephardic Jews. He has spoken widely as an invited lecturer on Jewish life and culture at universities and other venues. He is a former President of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.
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For detailed information on the Shang Dynasty and the Bronze Age in China see Bagley, Robert. 1999. "Shang Archaeology," in The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221B.C. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 124-230.
For a more complete description of the writing system see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 22-27.
For more information on the Early Zhou period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 31-32.
For an in-depth discussion of the flourishing of thought during the late Zhou period see Nivison, David Shepherd. 1999. "The Classical Philosophical Writings," in The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 745- 812. See Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 40-43 for a brief discussion.
For a discussion of this period and its cultural activity see Wu Hung. 1999. "The Art and Architecture of the Warring States Period," in The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 651-744.
For a discussion of Qin Shi Huangdi and his period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 55-59.
See Heinz, Carolyn Brown. 1999. Asian Cultural Traditions. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. Pages 243-244.
For a discussion of this literature see McKay, John P., Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. 1996. A History of World Societies. Fourth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Page 106.
For a discussion of the Han Dynasty see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 59-79.
For sources with further information on Liu Bang and the Han period see De Bary, William Theodore. 2000. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Second edition. New York: Columbian University Press. Pages 225-234.
Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, page 77.
Wu Ch'êng-ên. 1943. Monkey. Translated by Arthur Waley. New York: Grove Press.
For a longer discussion of Buddhism in China during the Tang period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 106-110.
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For a discussion of the poetry of the Tang Dynasty see Fusheng Wu. 1998. The Poetics of Decadence: Chinese Poetry of the Southern Dynasties and Late Tang Periods. (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Cooper, Emmanuel. 1981. A History of World Pottery. New York: Larousse and Company, Inc. Page 49.
For a discussion of Su Song's clock, navigational advances, and other technological innovations of the Song period see Bulliet, Richard W. et.al. 1997. The Earth and its Peoples: A Global History. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Pages 333-335.
For a discussion of the Mongol invasions see Allsen, Thomas. 1994. "The Rise of the Mongolian Empire and Mongolian Rule in North China," in Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Edited by Denis C. Twitchett and Herbert Franke. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 321-412.
For a longer discussion of East-West contacts during the Mongol period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 170-174. Also, Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo. Edited by Ronald Latham. Re-issued 1958. New York: Viking Press.
The Bubonic plague was a factor in the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, and its spread from China to Europe gave it world-wide proportions. It is described in Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. 2000. Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. New York: McGraw-Hill. Pages 512-515.
For further information on the Ming period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 177-210.
For a complete description of the Ming voyages see Levathes, Louise. 1996. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
For more information on the monetary changes during this period see Braudel, Fernand. 1982. Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century. Vol. II. The Wheels of Commerce. Translation revised by Siân Reynolds. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Pages 198- 199.
For discussions of the Qing period see Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 211-257. Also see Hsü, Immanuel C.Y. 1990. The Rise of Modern China. Fourth edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pages 19-135.
See Bentley and Ziegler, pages 653-654 for a description of the scholar-bureaucrats and the civil service examinations.
For discussions of the reign of Kangxi see Hsü, Pages 29-35. Also Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 229-237.
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For a discussion of literature under Manchu rule in China see Craig, Albert M, William
A. Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. 1997. The Heritage of World Civilizations. Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Pages 556-557.
For a discussion of the reign of Qianlong see Hsü, pages 38-41.
The British interest in trade with China is discussed in Fairbank, Reischauer, and Craig, pages 256-257.
The White Lotus Sect is discussed in Hsü, pages 129-130.
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