The first major philosopher who lived in China was Lao Tsu (if he really existed), about 600 BC, under the Eastern Chou dynasty. Lao Tsu founded the philosophy of Taoism, which said that people should try to live in harmony with the universe, rather than fighting it. Instead of living by rigid rules and laws, people should try to work with the natural way of the world, and in this way their lives would be easier and happier.
Not long after Lao Tsu began teaching Taoist ideas, another philosopher named Confucius came along to disagree with him. Confucius, who lived about 550 BC, also under the Eastern Chou dynasty, taught that people should recognize their responsibilities to the larger society, and work to uphold the laws and customs of their society. If everyone was a good citizen, the whole community would benefit and everyone would be happier.
You can see that these two ideas conflict with each other. Yet both Taoism and Confucianism were popular all over China for the next two thousand years, and they are still both popular today.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Religion Of ancient China
In the Shang Dynasty (about 2000 BC), the earliest period we know much about, people in China worshipped a lot of different gods - weather gods and sky gods - and also a higher god who ruled over the other gods, called Shang-Ti. People who lived during the Shang Dynasty also believed that their ancestors - their parents and grandparents - became like gods when they died, and that their ancestors wanted to be worshipped too, like gods. Each family worshipped their own ancestors.
By the time of the Chou Dynasty (about 1100 BC), the Chinese were also worshipping a natural force called t'ien, which we usually translate as Heaven. Like Shang-Ti, Heaven ruled over all the other gods. Heaven also decided who would be the Emperor or Empress of China. The emperor or empress could only rule as long as he or she had the Mandate of Heaven (as long as Heaven wanted him or her to rule). You knew when the emperor or empress had lost the Mandate of Heaven because he or she would then be overthrown by somebody else who would become the new emperor or empress.
Around 600 BC, under the Eastern Chou Dynasty, and for the next two hundred years, there were a lot of new ideas in Chinese religion. First, a Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu (he may be mythical) created the philosophy of Taoism, which became very popular. Taoism holds that people should not try to get their way by force, but through compromise and using natural forces in their favor. It is partly a philosophy, and partly a religious faith. Taoists believe that there is a universal force flowing through all living things, and that respecting that force is essential to a happy life.
Not long after Lao Tzu, another Chinese scholar called Confucius created a different philosophical system we call Confucianism, which disagreed with Taoism but also became very popular. Confucianism holds that people should do their duty and follow their leaders and the gods faithfully. Order is the way to peace. If everyone just does what they are told, and what they are supposed to do, there won't be any fighting and nobody will be upset.
There were two other important philosophical schools of this period. One was started by Mo Tzu, which suggested that the way to happiness was for everyone to treat all other people as well as they treated their own families. The other was Legalism (a kind of Confucianism), which believed that people were all basically bad, and needed to be kept in line by strict laws and harsh punishments in order to create order and peace. Legalism was very important in the way the Chin Dynasty worked (about 220 BC).
But these new philosophies did not end the old religious practices. Everybody kept on worshipping their ancestors and the traditional Chinese gods, and they kept on believing in the Mandate of Heaven.Under the Han Dynasty (about 200 BC to 200 AD), scholars working for the emperors tried to find a way to combine Taoism and Confucianism. They believed that the emperors should follow the Tao, or the way, and help people to be good by rewarding good deeds. In this way, people would naturally want to be good, and wouldn't have to be forced into it.
Around 500 AD, in the period of the Three Kingdoms, Buddhism first came to China from India, where the Buddha had lived and where Buddhism got started. Actually there were Buddhists in China even during the Han Dynasty, starting about 50 AD, but there got to be a lot more of them under the Three Kingdoms. Some Buddhists were persecuted by the emperors, but generally Buddhism was popular and accepted. The T'ang Dynasty Empress Wu, for example, was a Buddhist. But Taoism was still very strong in China too.
During the T'ang Dynasty, also, trade with the Sassanians and then the Islamic Empire in West Asia meant that Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam all found converts in China. In 636 AD, for instance, some Christians from Syria in West Asia built a church in China. Jews settled at Kaifeng, at the end of the Silk Road, and built a synagogue in 1163 AD.
Under the Sung Dynasty (about 1000 AD), a sort of Confucianism combined with Buddhism got to be popular. Scholars reread the old Confucian philosophical writings in Buddhist terms, and tried to get Buddhist meanings out of them.
With the Mongol conquests around 1200 AD a new multiculturalism came to China. Kublai Khan, a Mongol emperor, although he was himself a Buddhist, was very interested in all different faiths and encouraged Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Tibetan lamas to all come debate each other at his court in China. But most people in China remained either Buddhists or Taoists.
Under the Ming Dynasty (begins in 1368 AD), Confucianism was again the main principle of the emperors, while Buddhism and Taoism remained popular among ordinary people. Throughout this whole time, however, the old ideas of the Mandate of Heaven, the traditional Chinese gods, and ancestor worship remained normal for everyone in China.
By the time of the Chou Dynasty (about 1100 BC), the Chinese were also worshipping a natural force called t'ien, which we usually translate as Heaven. Like Shang-Ti, Heaven ruled over all the other gods. Heaven also decided who would be the Emperor or Empress of China. The emperor or empress could only rule as long as he or she had the Mandate of Heaven (as long as Heaven wanted him or her to rule). You knew when the emperor or empress had lost the Mandate of Heaven because he or she would then be overthrown by somebody else who would become the new emperor or empress.
Around 600 BC, under the Eastern Chou Dynasty, and for the next two hundred years, there were a lot of new ideas in Chinese religion. First, a Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu (he may be mythical) created the philosophy of Taoism, which became very popular. Taoism holds that people should not try to get their way by force, but through compromise and using natural forces in their favor. It is partly a philosophy, and partly a religious faith. Taoists believe that there is a universal force flowing through all living things, and that respecting that force is essential to a happy life.
Not long after Lao Tzu, another Chinese scholar called Confucius created a different philosophical system we call Confucianism, which disagreed with Taoism but also became very popular. Confucianism holds that people should do their duty and follow their leaders and the gods faithfully. Order is the way to peace. If everyone just does what they are told, and what they are supposed to do, there won't be any fighting and nobody will be upset.
There were two other important philosophical schools of this period. One was started by Mo Tzu, which suggested that the way to happiness was for everyone to treat all other people as well as they treated their own families. The other was Legalism (a kind of Confucianism), which believed that people were all basically bad, and needed to be kept in line by strict laws and harsh punishments in order to create order and peace. Legalism was very important in the way the Chin Dynasty worked (about 220 BC).
But these new philosophies did not end the old religious practices. Everybody kept on worshipping their ancestors and the traditional Chinese gods, and they kept on believing in the Mandate of Heaven.Under the Han Dynasty (about 200 BC to 200 AD), scholars working for the emperors tried to find a way to combine Taoism and Confucianism. They believed that the emperors should follow the Tao, or the way, and help people to be good by rewarding good deeds. In this way, people would naturally want to be good, and wouldn't have to be forced into it.
Around 500 AD, in the period of the Three Kingdoms, Buddhism first came to China from India, where the Buddha had lived and where Buddhism got started. Actually there were Buddhists in China even during the Han Dynasty, starting about 50 AD, but there got to be a lot more of them under the Three Kingdoms. Some Buddhists were persecuted by the emperors, but generally Buddhism was popular and accepted. The T'ang Dynasty Empress Wu, for example, was a Buddhist. But Taoism was still very strong in China too.
During the T'ang Dynasty, also, trade with the Sassanians and then the Islamic Empire in West Asia meant that Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam all found converts in China. In 636 AD, for instance, some Christians from Syria in West Asia built a church in China. Jews settled at Kaifeng, at the end of the Silk Road, and built a synagogue in 1163 AD.
Under the Sung Dynasty (about 1000 AD), a sort of Confucianism combined with Buddhism got to be popular. Scholars reread the old Confucian philosophical writings in Buddhist terms, and tried to get Buddhist meanings out of them.
With the Mongol conquests around 1200 AD a new multiculturalism came to China. Kublai Khan, a Mongol emperor, although he was himself a Buddhist, was very interested in all different faiths and encouraged Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Tibetan lamas to all come debate each other at his court in China. But most people in China remained either Buddhists or Taoists.
Under the Ming Dynasty (begins in 1368 AD), Confucianism was again the main principle of the emperors, while Buddhism and Taoism remained popular among ordinary people. Throughout this whole time, however, the old ideas of the Mandate of Heaven, the traditional Chinese gods, and ancestor worship remained normal for everyone in China.
Ming Dynasty
After Hung-Wu threw the Mongols out in 1368 AD, he established the Ming Dynasty. But Hung-Wu's power was still pretty weak after the Mongol invasion. He only ruled China from the Great Wall to the east of Tibet - smaller borders than modern China or than T'ang Dynasty China. Hung-Wu modelled his government on the T'ang Dynasty, trying to keep as much power as possible in the central government and especially in his own hands. To deal with the extra work this made for him, he created a council of his advisers to help him. Examinations came back as a way to select governors and judges.
In 1451 AD, after a civil war, the emperor Yung-Lo moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing (bay-ZING), where he began work on the imperial palace, which still stands today.
In 1451 AD, after a civil war, the emperor Yung-Lo moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing (bay-ZING), where he began work on the imperial palace, which still stands today.
Yuan Dynasty- the mongols invasion
In 1276 AD, when the Mongols invaded and took over China, they had already been ruling a large empire for about fifty years. Their empire stretched from India and Russia to northern China and Korea. In 1276 the Mongols captured the Sung capital at Hangzhou, and by 1279 the Mongols controlled all of China. Kublai Khan, the Mongol leader, moved the capital of the Mongol empire from Karakorum in Central Asia to Beijing, China. In 1271, when he was 56, Kublai Khan declared himself emperor of China.
Kublai Khan tried to conquer Japan in 1274 and 1281 AD, but was prevented by a great storm. He also tried to recapture northern Vietnam (Annam) and Burma, but without much success. Even in China, Kublai Khan's rule was not very successful. The Chinese were very angry that Kublai Khan gave foreigners like the Venetian Marco Polo all the jobs as governors and judges, instead of choosing Chinese people. But Kublai Khan did not trust the Chinese. And the Chinese were also angry that the Mongols kept their own language and customs, and didn't want to act like the Chinese.
Kublai Khan died in 1294 AD, and his successors were weaker and less able to keep the Mongol empire together. During the 1350's AD, a revolutionary movement called the Red Turbans became active in northern China. In 1356, the Red Turbans, under the leadership of Chu Yuan-chang, captured Nanjing. Chu Yuan-chang gradually conquered China, and threw out the Mongols. In 1368 AD Chu Yuan-chang declared himself emperor of China, under the name Hung-wu, and then he finally captured the Mongol capital at Beijing, starting the Ming Dynasty
Kublai Khan tried to conquer Japan in 1274 and 1281 AD, but was prevented by a great storm. He also tried to recapture northern Vietnam (Annam) and Burma, but without much success. Even in China, Kublai Khan's rule was not very successful. The Chinese were very angry that Kublai Khan gave foreigners like the Venetian Marco Polo all the jobs as governors and judges, instead of choosing Chinese people. But Kublai Khan did not trust the Chinese. And the Chinese were also angry that the Mongols kept their own language and customs, and didn't want to act like the Chinese.
Kublai Khan died in 1294 AD, and his successors were weaker and less able to keep the Mongol empire together. During the 1350's AD, a revolutionary movement called the Red Turbans became active in northern China. In 1356, the Red Turbans, under the leadership of Chu Yuan-chang, captured Nanjing. Chu Yuan-chang gradually conquered China, and threw out the Mongols. In 1368 AD Chu Yuan-chang declared himself emperor of China, under the name Hung-wu, and then he finally captured the Mongol capital at Beijing, starting the Ming Dynasty
Sung Dynasty
The first part of the Sung dynasty is called the Northern Sung. In 960 AD, one of the generals of the declining T'ang Dynasty managed to reunify China under his control. This general's name was Chao K'uang-yin, but once became emperor he renamed himself Sung T'ai Tsu. Sung T'ai Tsu was a strong emperor who kept the army firmly under his control, but after Sung T'ai Tsu died, his successors did not do as well, and China's defenses became weak. The Sung Dynasty never controlled as large an empire as the T'ang had. In 1004 AD, the Sung made peace with the Khitans in the north-east, and in 1044 they made peace with the Western Hsia in the north-west. The emperors had to pay heaps of gold to these people every year in order to keep them from attacking China.On the other hand, the old Han Dynasty examinations became more and more important to Chinese government, and from the Sung dynasty on, these examinations were really the only way to get political power in China. But paying out the gold meant that poor people had to pay high taxes, and everyone was unhappy. Some people wanted to keep making the payments anyway, and other people thought it would be better to try to fight the northern invaders off. These two groups kept fighting with each other. First one would get into power and then the other.
Then about 1110 AD, the Sung emperor made an alliance with the Juchens of Manchuria to fight the Khitans and get them out of China. It worked great! But once the Khitans were out, in 1115, the Juchens took over the Sung capital of Kaifeng. The Juchens took the emperor and his son prisoner.The second part of the Sung dynasty is called the Southern Sung. Another son of the Sung emperor ran away to southern China and in 1126 he started a new Sung Dynasty with its capital at Hangzhou. He took the name Kao Tsung. Kao Tsung and his successors were not very strong militarily, and could not take back northern China from the Juchen. But they did develope thriving trade. Because the Juchen had cut off their traditional route along the Silk Road, traders began sailing to South-East Asia and to India. Paper money helped to create growth in the economy. But in 1279 AD the Mongols invaded from the north and killed the last of the Sung emperors.
Then about 1110 AD, the Sung emperor made an alliance with the Juchens of Manchuria to fight the Khitans and get them out of China. It worked great! But once the Khitans were out, in 1115, the Juchens took over the Sung capital of Kaifeng. The Juchens took the emperor and his son prisoner.The second part of the Sung dynasty is called the Southern Sung. Another son of the Sung emperor ran away to southern China and in 1126 he started a new Sung Dynasty with its capital at Hangzhou. He took the name Kao Tsung. Kao Tsung and his successors were not very strong militarily, and could not take back northern China from the Juchen. But they did develope thriving trade. Because the Juchen had cut off their traditional route along the Silk Road, traders began sailing to South-East Asia and to India. Paper money helped to create growth in the economy. But in 1279 AD the Mongols invaded from the north and killed the last of the Sung emperors.
Tang Dynasty
Yang Ti, the last ruler of the Sui Dynasty, was killed in 618 AD by his generals, who blamed him for the disastrous defeat of the Chinese army in Korea. One of the generals, Li Shih-min, took over ruling the empire, putting his father, Li Yuan, on the throne as emperor. By 626, Li Shih-min made his father abdicate (retire) and took over being emperor himself, taking the new name T'ai Tsung. He made his capital at Chang'an. It became one of the biggest cities in the world at this time.
T'ai Tsung had a long reign and was a strong emperor. He continued the Han Dynasty way of choosing governors and judges on the basis of the great examinations, to see who was the smartest and the best educated. And he also continued the Sui Dynasty way of giving each man a grant of land and collecting taxes equally from everyone. T'ai Tsung also took a census every three years to make sure that everyone paid the right amount of taxes. Under his rule, trade and cities began to become more important to China.Wu Chao was one of T'ai Tsung's girlfriends. After he died, she became his son's girlfriend too! His name was Gaozong. She used Gaozong's love for her to get rid of all his other girlfriends (some she had killed) and eventually he married her, so she became the empress. As empress, Wu Chao (woo-CHOW) was very active in politics. When Gaozong had a stroke in 660 AD and was too sick to rule, Wu Chao took over the government of China. In 684 AD, Gaozong died, and Wu Chao became the regent for her young son. In 690, when she was 64 years old, Wu Chao forced her son out altogether and made herself Empress of China, ruling on her own. Wu Chao was a devout Buddhist, but also promoted Taois. She was a great ruler, and China was very successful both militarily and economically under her rule. But in 705 AD, Wu Chao (now 79 years old!) was forced out of power. Nobody could agree about who would come after her, and so there was a long civil war.In 712 AD, Hsuan Tsung became the ninth T'ang emperor of China. Hsuan Tsung was a great emperor who ruled a long time, and he managed to greatly expand the borders of China, so that by 750 he ruled all the way to Tibet and Central Asia in the west, and north to Mongolia and Manchuria, and south to Vietnam, and even controlled Korea as the Sui emperors had wanted. In 751, the Chinese army fought the Arabs in a great battle at Talas (Samarkand) in Uzbekistan. They lost the battle, but they succeeded in stopping the Arabs from invading China.
But in the last years of his life, Hsuan Tsung turned to art and philosophy, and lost interest in running his empire. Some people say that he was more interested in his girlfriend, Yang Kuei-fei. His generals took over instead. One of these generals, An Lu-shan, controlled the troops of north-west China. In 755 AD, An Lu-shan led a rebellion against Hsuan Tsung. Hsuan Tsung ran away to Szechwan with a small part of his army. Soon his army rebelled too, and made Hsuan Tsung abdicate (quit) and let his son be emperor.The son raised a new army, and by 757 AD he was able to get An Lu-shan assassinated. Still there was more civil war until 763. These wars wrecked China and killed millions of people. He never did really get command of China again. The generals of the armies in each province had more real power than the emperor did. There were also several revolts of the poor people in the countryside. In 881 AD a revolt under Huang Ch'ao ruined much of central China and destroyed the capital at Chang'an. The T'ang emperors had to move their capital east to Luoyang. They never became strong again.
T'ai Tsung had a long reign and was a strong emperor. He continued the Han Dynasty way of choosing governors and judges on the basis of the great examinations, to see who was the smartest and the best educated. And he also continued the Sui Dynasty way of giving each man a grant of land and collecting taxes equally from everyone. T'ai Tsung also took a census every three years to make sure that everyone paid the right amount of taxes. Under his rule, trade and cities began to become more important to China.Wu Chao was one of T'ai Tsung's girlfriends. After he died, she became his son's girlfriend too! His name was Gaozong. She used Gaozong's love for her to get rid of all his other girlfriends (some she had killed) and eventually he married her, so she became the empress. As empress, Wu Chao (woo-CHOW) was very active in politics. When Gaozong had a stroke in 660 AD and was too sick to rule, Wu Chao took over the government of China. In 684 AD, Gaozong died, and Wu Chao became the regent for her young son. In 690, when she was 64 years old, Wu Chao forced her son out altogether and made herself Empress of China, ruling on her own. Wu Chao was a devout Buddhist, but also promoted Taois. She was a great ruler, and China was very successful both militarily and economically under her rule. But in 705 AD, Wu Chao (now 79 years old!) was forced out of power. Nobody could agree about who would come after her, and so there was a long civil war.In 712 AD, Hsuan Tsung became the ninth T'ang emperor of China. Hsuan Tsung was a great emperor who ruled a long time, and he managed to greatly expand the borders of China, so that by 750 he ruled all the way to Tibet and Central Asia in the west, and north to Mongolia and Manchuria, and south to Vietnam, and even controlled Korea as the Sui emperors had wanted. In 751, the Chinese army fought the Arabs in a great battle at Talas (Samarkand) in Uzbekistan. They lost the battle, but they succeeded in stopping the Arabs from invading China.
But in the last years of his life, Hsuan Tsung turned to art and philosophy, and lost interest in running his empire. Some people say that he was more interested in his girlfriend, Yang Kuei-fei. His generals took over instead. One of these generals, An Lu-shan, controlled the troops of north-west China. In 755 AD, An Lu-shan led a rebellion against Hsuan Tsung. Hsuan Tsung ran away to Szechwan with a small part of his army. Soon his army rebelled too, and made Hsuan Tsung abdicate (quit) and let his son be emperor.The son raised a new army, and by 757 AD he was able to get An Lu-shan assassinated. Still there was more civil war until 763. These wars wrecked China and killed millions of people. He never did really get command of China again. The generals of the armies in each province had more real power than the emperor did. There were also several revolts of the poor people in the countryside. In 881 AD a revolt under Huang Ch'ao ruined much of central China and destroyed the capital at Chang'an. The T'ang emperors had to move their capital east to Luoyang. They never became strong again.
Sui Dynasty
In 581 AD, a general named Wen Ti from northwest China succeeded in conquering the other two kingdoms and establishing a new dynasty in China, with emperors who ruled all of China like the Ch'in and the Han. This was the Sui Dynasty. Wen Ti made himself popular by trying to make the government better than it was during the Three Kingdoms. Wen Ti ordered that poor people in the countryside should pay less taxes than they had before. And he sent men around to all the provinces to count how many people there were and how much land and money each of them had (this is called a census) so that the government would know how much taxes that province should pay. He ordered that every man should get a certain amount of land to farm. When the man turned 60 and was too old to farm, he would stop paying taxes and give back some of the land, and pass on the rest to his sons.Wen Ti also decided to go back to the Han Dynasty way of picking his government officials through the university and the great examinations, to find out who were the smartest and best educated men (Women were not allowed to be government officials at this time).
Wen Ti died while he was still not old. He may have been killed by his son, Yang Ti, who wanted to be the emperor himself. In any case Yang Ti did become the next Sui emperor. Yang Ti wanted to be a great emperor, so he began a lot of important projects. Yang Ti's best project was one where people dug a Grand Canal which connected the Yellow River with the Huai and Yangtze Rivers and made it much easier to get from northern to southern China and back again.But Yang Ti's worst project was that he attacked Korea to try to take it over. He got together a great army of over a million men to invade Korea, but his great army was defeated and had to run away. The army generals were angry about this and killed Yang Ti. That was the end of the Sui Dynasty.
Wen Ti died while he was still not old. He may have been killed by his son, Yang Ti, who wanted to be the emperor himself. In any case Yang Ti did become the next Sui emperor. Yang Ti wanted to be a great emperor, so he began a lot of important projects. Yang Ti's best project was one where people dug a Grand Canal which connected the Yellow River with the Huai and Yangtze Rivers and made it much easier to get from northern to southern China and back again.But Yang Ti's worst project was that he attacked Korea to try to take it over. He got together a great army of over a million men to invade Korea, but his great army was defeated and had to run away. The army generals were angry about this and killed Yang Ti. That was the end of the Sui Dynasty.
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