Chapter 8: The Unification of China

Vocabulary

• Confucius (Kong Fuzi): He was also called “Master Philosopher Kong” by his disciples, Confucius was the first thinker in China to address the problems of the Chinese social order and Chinese politics in straightforward and self conscious way. He refused to compromise many of his political beliefs and often insisted on observing principles that went against the state policies. Confucius was also an educator and a political advisor. 

• Junzi: Literally translating to “superior individuals”. The idea of junzi was created by Confucius. These were well educated and extraordinary conscientious individuals selected to become government officials, who took broad views of public affairs and would not allow personal opinions or feelings to interfere with their choices or judgments. 

• Mencius: Lived from 372-289 B.C.E. and is considered the most learned man of his time and was one of the key spokesman for the Confucian school. He was an early form of a diplomat, offering political advice to different states all over China during times of trouble. Mencius believed that all human nature was basically good, and he wanted policies to be created to let that good nature influence their society. His ideas and beliefs were integral to the shaping of modern day Confucianism. 

• Laozi: Laozi was the founder of Daoism, according to Chinese tradition. He is given credit for writing Daodejing, which is Daoism’s holy book, although realistically, Laozi was most likely just one of the many contributors to writing it. 

• The Dao: A key element in the philosophy of the early Chinese. It literally translates into “the way” or “the way of nature” or “the way of the cosmos”. The Dao is revered in Daoism. In the Daodejing, the Dao does nothing, and yet at the same time accomplishes everything. It can resemble something soft and yielding like water, and yet it is so powerful it can erode even the hardest rocks. In these ways the Dao is very complex. 

• Legalism: Part of China’s Zhou dynasty’s philosophy that called for common Chinese people to be almost inhumanely suppressed. 

• Qin Shihuangdi: The founder of China’s Qin dynasty that lasted from 221-207 B.C.E.. This dynasty was especially important because it was the first in which unification really occurred in China and the first in which defensive walls and barriers were built around China. 

• Han Wudi: Also known as the “Martial Emperor”, occupied the Chinese throne for 54 years (141-87 B.C.E.). He ruled during the Han Dynasty and had a lot of vision and vigor, pursuing mainly two governmental policies; administrative centralization and imperial expansion. Han Wudi created a large bureaucracy, but needed thousands of intelligent people to help run it. Therefore, he created the first form of an education system, using Confucianism as the basis for its curriculum. Unified China in the most complete way up to this time. 

• Classic of Filial Piety: Also known as Xiao Jing, The Classic of Filial Piety was written around 400 B.C.E.. This is a Confucian document that addresses the issue of how to treat someone who has more respect than you, authority over you or seniority over you. 

• Yellow Turban Uprising: Was an uprising in which rebels wore yellow turbans, thus the name. More specifically, this was a revolt of the lower class throughout China caused from the unfair land distribution. Although the rebellion was stopped by the Later Han Dynasty’s superior military force, it weakened the dynasty during the second and third centers C.E.. 

Focus Question #1

            Confucius and Laozi were Chinese philosophers with vastly different ideas. What were those ideas and how might they have a reaction to their time?

            Confucius believed that people should live, in general, a certain lifestyle so that they would eventually gain more influence within their society. Laozi, on the other hand, believed that people should devote their energy to introspection so that they could comprehend how the world functions and learn how to function along with in peacefully.       The qualities that Confucius believed a person should posses include ren, li, and xiao. If a person possessed “ren”, it meant that they were courteous, respectful, diligent, and loyal. He believed government officials definitely needed ren. To posses the quality “li”, which is a sense of propriety, a person must behave in an appropriate manner, be courteous, and show special respect and deference to those who are superior and/or elder to them. “Xiao”, or filial piety, reflects the importance in the Chinese society of family. Filial piety demands that children respect their parents and other elders within the family, care for them when in sickness and old age, and after they die, remember them along with their other ancestors. Therefore, this reacts to Confucius’ time because people wanted to possess these traits because they were valued by the society, and if you did posses them you were more likely to be well-off.

            Laozi’s beliefs, and the beliefs of those who believe in Daoism, were that a person should focus on finding how the world operates by looking inside their own minds. They believe that by doing so you will find a way to coexist with the world, without causing too much conflict. The central concept of this is known as “the way”. To live in harmony with Dao, you cannot be involved in the political/administration/governmental world. According to Laozi, people should also change their behavior back to its passive and yielding nature— to be more laid back, and lead a simple, yet fulfilling life.

Focus Question #2

            Examine the successes and failures of the short-lived Qin dynasty.

            The Qin dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that only lasted a few years, but it shaped the way that future dynasties would build themselves and changed the way China would be governed forever. The Qin dynasty lasted for a short fourteen years (221-207 B.C.E.), which is somewhat ironic. This is so, because the creator of this dynasty, self-proclaimed “The First Emperor”, Qin Shihuangdi, claimed that “his descendants would follow him and reign for thousands of generations”. This could be considered a failure, yes? But it may have been just one of the few failures to plague the Qin dynasty.

            The successes on the other hand, were much more numerous. The Qin dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty to be based on an imperially ruled centralized government—which I believe to possibly have been one of the earliest forms of socialism. Shihuangdi ruled through a bureaucracy, and divided China into administrative provinces and districts and placed in charge people he trusted. Through them he would implement the majority of his policies all throughout China. The First Emperor also constructed roads to make transportation easier, and later on also increasing interregional trade networks. There were many barriers already in the northern portion of his empire, and he created drafts of workers so that they would be connected so as to protect the empire from nomads and such. Although Emperor Shihuangdi was extremely harsh, ordering executions for those who criticized his regime, and decreeing the burning of all books that did not have some utilitarian value, he did bring China together in a way that had never happened before.

            To enhance the unity of China, Qin standardized the laws, currencies, weights, and measures of the various provinces and districts located throughout his empire. He created standardized script (a written language), so that the people all had a clear understanding of his policies, even though they all spoke different languages. The standardized script also served as a break in language barriers between different language speaking peoples. These and so many more of his policies and ideas were developed upon and were no doubt successes of the Qin dynasty.