Ancient China

History 111 David C. Hanson, Virginia Western Com. College
Lecture 6. Ancient China

As in the Indus River valley of India, fertile river valleys in China allowed villages and towns to flourish along their banks, and these settlements slowly developed into larger regional states. The Yellow and Yangzi river valleys fostered primitive farming communities as early as 7000 BCE. Agricultural surpluses and growing populations eventually led to the emergence of societies with distinctive and sophisticated cultural traditions. By 1000 BCE the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties had progressively brought much of China under centralized control with mighty armies and extensive government bureaucracies ruled by powerful emperors.

The First Chinese Societies__________________



Peking Man
      In 1927 an anthropologist named Davidson Black was searching for prehistoric fossils near Peking, China. He discovered a human tooth. Subsequent excavations yielded more teeth, skullcaps, mandibles, facial and limb bones that together led to identification of "Peking Man." This was a Homo erectus hominid carbon-dated to 500,000 years ago. Peking man used stone tools, hunted game, and used fire. Remains of modern humans inhabiting China have been dated to over 60,000 years ago.
      China has one of the world's earliest civilizations and the oldest continuous civilization. It has archaeological evidence dating back over 5,000 years. Modern China is the fourth largest country in the world with an area of 9.6 million square miles. It is the world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people
China's Sorrow
      The Yellow River (Huang He) is called the "cradle of Chinese civilization" because it's basin is the birthplace of the Xia dynasty and the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. The river takes its name from the vast quantities of light-colored soil that it picks up along its 3,400-mile route from the mountains bordering the high plain of Tibet to the Yellow Sea. So much soil flows in the river that the water turns yellow. The soil gradually builds up, raising the river bed and forcing the water out of its usual path, periodically unleashing tremendous floods. Despite the occasional destruction caused by the flooding Yellow River, earning it the nickname “China’s Sorrow,” the deposited soil is extremely fertile and easy to work.
      Even before the development of metal tools, water-control projects, and organized agricultural labor, cultivators using simple wooden implements could bring in generous harvests. As in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India, surplus food resulted in increased population and eventually gave rise to complex and enduring societies. High mountain ranges, forbidding deserts, and turbulent seas provided some degree of protection from invaders and also tended to isolate China, hindering the establishment of long-distance trade. Nonetheless, especially during the Qin [p. chin] and Han dynasties (280-200 BCE), political stability brought economic prosperity and high agricultural productivity supported the development of a market economy. Surplus food, iron and silk found markets in central Asia, India, the Persian Empire, and even the Mediterranean basin.

The Xia Dynasty
      Like the Epic of Gilgamesh in prehistoric Mesopotamia, the Xia Dynasty is shrouded in mythology and conjecture. According to the ancient Chinese legend, King Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty [p. SHEE-ahn] around 2200 BCE. The Xia were agrarian people who crafted bronze weapons, tools, and pottery. The Xia Dynasty is credited with implementing effective flood-control projects on the Yellow River and formal political institutions ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The people believed the Xia rulers, who used elaborate and dramatic rituals to confirm their authority, were able to communicate with supernatural spirits for guidance and support.

The Shang Dynasty
      The Xia were followed by the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), known for impressive bronze metallurgy and a sophisticated writing system. The Shang Dynasty rested on an extensive network of walled cities and towns that served as centers for political, economic, military, social and cultural affairs. Major cities included royal palaces, residential neighborhoods, bronze foundries, trade and craft facilities, and residential neighborhoods. During this period, China was an agricultural society ruled by a warrior elite. Multiple families, referred to as clans, resided in farm villages, forming the basic social unit.
      As observed by historian William Duiker, a noted authority on East Asian studies, “The tribal origins of Chinese society may help explain the continued importance of the joint family in traditional China, as well as the relatively small number of family names. Even today there are only about four hundred commonly used family names in a society of more than one billion people."
      The Shang Dynasty consisted of thirty kings and seven different capital cities. Rather than always passing the ruling authority from father to son, the Shang form of descent sometimes passed from the eldest brother to the next brother.
      The Shang worshipped a supreme god called Shang Ti and lesser gods associates with the sun, the moon, wind, rain, and other natural forces. Sacrifice to the gods was a major part of the Shang religion. Small numbers of prisoners were sacrificed for minor events such as the dedication of a temple; and when a king died, hundreds of slaves might be buried with him.
      An important achievements of the Shang period was the development of writing. One of the most revealing archeological discoveries is the so-called “oracle bones” of ancient China. During the Shang dynasty, fortune-tellers inscribed a question on a broad animal bone (e.g., the shoulder blade of a sheep), then heated it until the bone cracked. The diviner would study the pattern of splits and cracks, similar to a palm-reader, and inscribe an answer to the question on the bone. The oracle bones offer the earliest glimpse of Chinese writing and reveal bits of Chinese life 3,000 years ago (concerns about the upcoming harvest, a royal marriage, the expected birth of a child, political rivalries, and the like). The next stage in the evolution of Chinese writing was the appearance of bronze inscriptions in the late Shang period and widely used during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Writings on bamboo strips appeared in the fifth century BCE.
      Early Chinese writing, like that of Sumerian and Egyptian writing, was comprised of logograms (pictographs of objects and ideographs of concepts); i.e., one written sign represents the entire word. The characters used in contemporary Chinese writing are direct descendants of those used during Shang dynasty. Scholars have identified more than 2,000 characters inscribed on the oracle bones, most of which have a modern counterpart. Whereas Sumerians organized writing in horizontal rows read from left to right, Chinese organized their writing in vertical columns read from top to bottom. Despite variations in spoken language (vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation), Chinese writing was standardized during the short reign of Emperor Qin [see examples].
The Zhou Dynasty
      The Zhou dynasty [p. Joh] succeeded the rival Shang as the dominant political authority in northern China from 1045 to 221 BCE. Much larger than the Shang state [see map], the Zhou state relied on a decentralized administration that entrusted power, authority, and responsibility to subordinate warlords who owed allegiance, tribute, and military support to the central government.
      The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that lived to the west of the Shang kingdom. Initially they were ruled by the Shang. While the Shang grew weaker from constant warfare with neighbors to the north, the Zhou grew stronger and eventually overthrew the Shang. They validated their conquest with the "Mandate from Heaven," declaring that the Shang had degenerated morally--corrupted by wine, women, tyranny and greed-- and the gods elevated the Zhou leaders. Accordingly, their divine right to rule China included the responsibility to govern with high standards of honor and justice in order to maintain moral order and harmony.
      The Zhou had different religious beliefs than the Shang, practicing the Cult of Heaven. They worshipped the sun and stars along with miscellaneous lesser gods. They also banned human sacrifice. They adopted much of the Shang lifestyle and customs, writing, and bronze work; but they differed in their approach to governance. They established a system of hereditary feudalism.
      Throughout the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese society was vertically divided between a ruling class of hereditary aristocrats with extensive landholdings, a small class of free artisans and craftsmen who lived fairly comfortable lives because of the aristocratic patronage, and a much larger and poorer class of peasants who populated the countryside, providing agricultural, military and labor services in exchange for protection and plots of land (which they did not own) to cultivate. There was also a sizable class of slaves, most of whom were enemy warriors captured in battle, who performed hard labor on major public works such as the building of city walls and clearing of new fields.
      Intensive cultivation of rice--a primary food source because of its good taste, relative ease of preparation, and high nutritional value--required an elaborate irrigation system. The fertile soil of the Yellow and Yangzi rivers, and the subtropical climate of southern China, enabled cultivators to plant and harvest two crops of rice per year.
      Starting with the defeat of the Shang until about 770 BCE the Zhou had their capital in the west. When their king was killed in a battle with barbarians, they moved east and established a new capital in Loyang. From 770 to 476 BCE the Zhou emperor steadily lost power. Gradually feudal warlords established their own bases of power and became increasingly independent. The Zhou dynasty was further weakened by nomadic invaders from the north, and China suffered through a period of internal conflict known as the Period of the Warring States (403-221 BCE) that ended with the emergence of the Qin dynasty.

Rise of Confucianism______________________

Kong Fuzi
      During the Period of the Warring States, the political turmoil associated with the dissolution of the Zhou dynasty resulted in a cultural flowering as people increasingly questioned the role of the state. The first and foremost Chinese philosopher of this vein was Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE), known by his disciples as “Master Philosopher King” or Confucius.
      Confucius came from an aristocratic family in the state of Lu in northern China. For many years he unsuccessfully sought a position in the Lu court and then other courts in the region. After a decade of travel, he returned to his home. He died a bitterly disappointed man but left an enduring mark on Chinese society through his work as an influential teacher and advisor.
      Confucius attracted numerous disciples during his travels and had them study works of literature from the Zhou dynasty that provided insights into human nature (among them the Book of Songs, the Book of History, and the Book of Rites). Consequently, literary works of the Zhou dynasty became core texts of traditional Chinese education from 500 BCE to the twentieth century CE.
      Confucian philosophy, compiled in a book known as the Analects, is fundamentally moral, ethical, and practical in character. Confucius generally dismissed speculation about religious or metaphysical matters and instead focused on good government and interpersonal relationships based on moral integrity. At a time when China seemed to lack political and social order, Confucius made a strong case for enlightened leadership as the key to stability. Particularly important were ren (kindness), li (courtesy), and xiao (respect for elders).
Daoism
      In the waning years of the Zhou dynasty another Chinese philosophy, Daoism (Taoism), achieved considerable popularity, especially among intellectuals who were inclined to disengage from politics. Daoists devoted themselves to reflection and introspection in an effort to understand the fundamental character of the world and nature. The central concept of Daoism is the dao (“the way”).
      According to Chinese tradition, the founder of Daoism was Laozi ("Old Master"), a philosopher and contemporary of Confucius who composed the Daodejing (Classic of the Way and Virtue). About 200 years later a Dao Master, Zhuangzi (369-286 BCE), wrote another classic of Daoism named after its author. He described the dao is a powerful but passive force: dao does nothing but accomplishes everything. Dao is like water, soft and yielding, yet so powerful that it eventually erodes even the hardest rock. Daoists advocated withdrawal from politics and a simple life in harmony with nature.

Legalism
      At the other extreme was the philosophy known as Legalism. Proponents of Legalism did not concern themselves with Confucian values of ethical and moral social behavior, nor the Daoist focus on man’s place in nature. Instead they promoted a practical and often ruthless use of strict laws and harsh punishments. The Legalist approach to state management was not popular with the people, but it enabled Chinese rulers to end the Period of the Warring States, restore order (by force), and unify China. Legalism was pragmatic political philosophy without an ideology or spiritual component. Because the laws of the state were supreme, ancient Chinese legalism is sometimes regarded as one of the earliest forms of totalitarianism. Among the first adopters of Legalism was Shang Yan, an advisor to Emperor Qin.

The Reign of Emperor Qin___________________

Unification of China
      In 221 BCE, the king of Qin [p. Chin] proclaimed himself the First Emperor of all China and decreed that his descendants would reign for thousands of generations. Qin led his powerful army on campaigns in all directions, rapidly conquering six independent Chinese kingdoms and unifying the country under his rule [see map]. The Qin dynasty actually lasted for just fourteen years, dissolving in 207 BCE because of civil insurrections. Nonetheless, Emperor Qin had a significant impact that is far disproportionate to his short reign.
      Qin Shi Huang [p. chin-Shayanhn-Yang] demonstrated the power of Legalism in strong hands. Ruling from his capital at Xianyang where he was born, he established a strong centralized bureaucracy, divided China into administrative provinces and districts, disarmed regional military forces, built a system of roads to facilitate communications and the movement of his army, and drafted laborers by the hundreds of thousands for state projects such as the Great Wall along the border of the Gobi desert.
      Qin had no tolerance for dissent, ordering the execution of hundreds of scholars and the burning of all books on philosophy, ethics, history, and literature (sparing only works on medicine, fortune-telling, and agriculture). Consistent with his goal of unifying all of China under centralized governmental authority, Qin standardized laws, currencies, weights and measures, and writing. In a very short time, China underwent a remarkable transformation in its economic, political and military institutions.
      As Qin grew older he became obsessed with acquiring immortality. He consulted with assorted mystical "scientists" and healers, consuming various potions including mercury pills (lethal poison) that had the opposite of the desire effect. Soon after Qin’s death, waves of rebels overran the court, slaughtered government officials, and burned state buildings. Centralized rule was restored almost immediately by an efficient administrator, Emperor Liu Bang, who established the Han dynasty (named for his native land) in 206 BCE. The Han dynasty turned out to be one of the longest and most influential in all of Chinese history, lasting for over four centuries [see Lecture 7].

The Great Wall
      One of the main concerns of Emperor Qin was the threat of invading nomads from the north. His solution was a massive earthen and stone wall with a protected roadway linked by small forts. The Great Wall, most of which was constructed 1,500 years later during the Ming dynasty, eventually extended nearly 4,000 miles from the desert to the sea. Prior to the unification of China under Qin, extensive fortifications had been constructed by the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao during the Period of the Warring Sates. Qin had these destroyed to eradicate the old political divisions and ordered new construction.
      The Great Wall served three purposes: military, spiritual, and political. First, connecting a network of fortified garrisons with a secure roadway, it enabled the army of Qin to quickly concentrate soldiers posted at strategic points along the empire's northern perimeter. Signal towers on hilltops or other high points along the war served as a warning system to thwart invasion. Second, Qin believed that evil spirits invading from outside China moved in a straight line; thus the wall stripped enemies of their power. Third, construction of the wall was both a symbolic and visible monument to the determination of China to secure its borders; and the conscription of tens of thousands of men to work on the wall served to reinforce the authority of Emperor Qin.
      During the reign of Qin, the wall was mainly built from earth, stones and wood. Most of the original Great Wall eroded over time and few sections remain today. The Han, Sui and Jin dynasties rebuilt much of the wall. Faced with the threat of invading Manchurian and Mongolian tribes in the 15th century CE, the Ming Dynasty devoted substantial resources to strengthening and extending the wall. Most of the Ming construction was done with bricks. Today the Great Wall is considered a national historical monument. It is a popular tourist attraction. Contrary to a widely circulated legend, it is barely visible from outer space.

The Terra-Cotta Army
      One of the most amazing legacies of the Qin Dynasty was unknown until its discovery by archeologists in 1974. Upon his death in 210 BCE, Qin was entombed in an elaborate underground palace guarded by an army of terra-cotta (ceramic clay) soldiers. The life-size and life-like army includes over 8,000 warriors along with hundreds of horses and chariots, all placed in precise military formation according to rank and duty.
      Local farmers drilling a water well found the emperor's secret tomb. Archaeologists have only uncovered part of the vast underground complex. This monumental undertaking is a stunning testament to the power of Qin.

Lecture 7. East Meets West

The First Chinese Societies__________________

	Peking Man In 1927 an anthropologist named Davidson Black was searching for prehistoric fossils near Peking, China. He discovered a human tooth. Subsequent excavations yielded more teeth, skullcaps, mandibles, facial and limb bones that together led to identification of "Peking Man." This was a Homo erectus hominid carbon-dated to 500,000 years ago. Peking man used stone tools, hunted game, and used fire. Remains of modern humans inhabiting China have been dated to over 60,000 years ago. China has one of the world's earliest civilizations and the oldest continuous civilization. It has archaeological evidence dating back over 5,000 years. Modern China is the fourth largest country in the world with an area of 9.6 million square miles. It is the world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people China's Sorrow The Yellow River (Huang He) is called the "cradle of Chinese civilization" because it's basin is the birthplace of the Xia dynasty and the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. The river takes its name from the vast quantities of light-colored soil that it picks up along its 3,400-mile route from the mountains bordering the high plain of Tibet to the Yellow Sea. So much soil flows in the river that the water turns yellow. The soil gradually builds up, raising the river bed and forcing the water out of its usual path, periodically unleashing tremendous floods. Despite the occasional destruction caused by the flooding Yellow River, earning it the nickname “China’s Sorrow,” the deposited soil is extremely fertile and easy to work. Even before the development of metal tools, water-control projects, and organized agricultural labor, cultivators using simple wooden implements could bring in generous harvests. As in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India, surplus food resulted in increased population and eventually gave rise to complex and enduring societies. High mountain ranges, forbidding deserts, and turbulent seas provided some degree of protection from invaders and also tended to isolate China, hindering the establishment of long-distance trade. Nonetheless, especially during the Qin [p. chin] and Han dynasties (280-200 BCE), political stability brought economic prosperity and high agricultural productivity supported the development of a market economy. Surplus food, iron and silk found markets in central Asia, India, the Persian Empire, and even the Mediterranean basin. The Xia Dynasty Like the Epic of Gilgamesh in prehistoric Mesopotamia, the Xia Dynasty is shrouded in mythology and conjecture. According to the ancient Chinese legend, King Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty [p. SHEE-ahn] around 2200 BCE. The Xia were agrarian people who crafted bronze weapons, tools, and pottery. The Xia Dynasty is credited with implementing effective flood-control projects on the Yellow River and formal political institutions ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The people believed the Xia rulers, who used elaborate and dramatic rituals to confirm their authority, were able to communicate with supernatural spirits for guidance and support. The Shang Dynasty The Xia were followed by the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), known for impressive bronze metallurgy and a sophisticated writing system. The Shang Dynasty rested on an extensive network of walled cities and towns that served as centers for political, economic, military, social and cultural affairs. Major cities included royal palaces, residential neighborhoods, bronze foundries, trade and craft facilities, and residential neighborhoods. During this period, China was an agricultural society ruled by a warrior elite. Multiple families, referred to as clans, resided in farm villages, forming the basic social unit. As observed by historian William Duiker, a noted authority on East Asian studies, “The tribal origins of Chinese society may help explain the continued importance of the joint family in traditional China, as well as the relatively small number of family names. Even today there are only about four hundred commonly used family names in a society of more than one billion people." The Shang Dynasty consisted of thirty kings and seven different capital cities. Rather than always passing the ruling authority from father to son, the Shang form of descent sometimes passed from the eldest brother to the next brother. The Shang worshipped a supreme god called Shang Ti and lesser gods associates with the sun, the moon, wind, rain, and other natural forces. Sacrifice to the gods was a major part of the Shang religion. Small numbers of prisoners were sacrificed for minor events such as the dedication of a temple; and when a king died, hundreds of slaves might be buried with him. An important achievements of the Shang period was the development of writing. One of the most revealing archeological discoveries is the so-called “oracle bones” of ancient China. During the Shang dynasty, fortune-tellers inscribed a question on a broad animal bone (e.g., the shoulder blade of a sheep), then heated it until the bone cracked. The diviner would study the pattern of splits and cracks, similar to a palm-reader, and inscribe an answer to the question on the bone. The oracle bones offer the earliest glimpse of Chinese writing and reveal bits of Chinese life 3,000 years ago (concerns about the upcoming harvest, a royal marriage, the expected birth of a child, political rivalries, and the like). The next stage in the evolution of Chinese writing was the appearance of bronze inscriptions in the late Shang period and widely used during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Writings on bamboo strips appeared in the fifth century BCE. Early Chinese writing, like that of Sumerian and Egyptian writing, was comprised of logograms (pictographs of objects and ideographs of concepts); i.e., one written sign represents the entire word. The characters used in contemporary Chinese writing are direct descendants of those used during Shang dynasty. Scholars have identified more than 2,000 characters inscribed on the oracle bones, most of which have a modern counterpart. Whereas Sumerians organized writing in horizontal rows read from left to right, Chinese organized their writing in vertical columns read from top to bottom. Despite variations in spoken language (vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation), Chinese writing was standardized during the short reign of Emperor Qin [see examples]. The Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty [p. Joh] succeeded the rival Shang as the dominant political authority in northern China from 1045 to 221 BCE. Much larger than the Shang state [see map], the Zhou state relied on a decentralized administration that entrusted power, authority, and responsibility to subordinate warlords who owed allegiance, tribute, and military support to the central government. The Zhou began as a semi-nomadic tribe that lived to the west of the Shang kingdom. Initially they were ruled by the Shang. While the Shang grew weaker from constant warfare with neighbors to the north, the Zhou grew stronger and eventually overthrew the Shang. They validated their conquest with the "Mandate from Heaven," declaring that the Shang had degenerated morally--corrupted by wine, women, tyranny and greed-- and the gods elevated the Zhou leaders. Accordingly, their divine right to rule China included the responsibility to govern with high standards of honor and justice in order to maintain moral order and harmony. The Zhou had different religious beliefs than the Shang, practicing the Cult of Heaven. They worshipped the sun and stars along with miscellaneous lesser gods. They also banned human sacrifice. They adopted much of the Shang lifestyle and customs, writing, and bronze work; but they differed in their approach to governance. They established a system of hereditary feudalism. Throughout the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese society was vertically divided between a ruling class of hereditary aristocrats with extensive landholdings, a small class of free artisans and craftsmen who lived fairly comfortable lives because of the aristocratic patronage, and a much larger and poorer class of peasants who populated the countryside, providing agricultural, military and labor services in exchange for protection and plots of land (which they did not own) to cultivate. There was also a sizable class of slaves, most of whom were enemy warriors captured in battle, who performed hard labor on major public works such as the building of city walls and clearing of new fields. Intensive cultivation of rice--a primary food source because of its good taste, relative ease of preparation, and high nutritional value--required an elaborate irrigation system. The fertile soil of the Yellow and Yangzi rivers, and the subtropical climate of southern China, enabled cultivators to plant and harvest two crops of rice per year. Starting with the defeat of the Shang until about 770 BCE the Zhou had their capital in the west. When their king was killed in a battle with barbarians, they moved east and established a new capital in Loyang. From 770 to 476 BCE the Zhou emperor steadily lost power. Gradually feudal warlords established their own bases of power and became increasingly independent. The Zhou dynasty was further weakened by nomadic invaders from the north, and China suffered through a period of internal conflict known as the Period of the Warring States (403-221 BCE) that ended with the emergence of the Qin dynasty.

Rise of Confucianism______________________

	Kong Fuzi During the Period of the Warring States, the political turmoil associated with the dissolution of the Zhou dynasty resulted in a cultural flowering as people increasingly questioned the role of the state. The first and foremost Chinese philosopher of this vein was Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE), known by his disciples as “Master Philosopher King” or Confucius. Confucius came from an aristocratic family in the state of Lu in northern China. For many years he unsuccessfully sought a position in the Lu court and then other courts in the region. After a decade of travel, he returned to his home. He died a bitterly disappointed man but left an enduring mark on Chinese society through his work as an influential teacher and advisor. Confucius attracted numerous disciples during his travels and had them study works of literature from the Zhou dynasty that provided insights into human nature (among them the Book of Songs, the Book of History, and the Book of Rites). Consequently, literary works of the Zhou dynasty became core texts of traditional Chinese education from 500 BCE to the twentieth century CE. Confucian philosophy, compiled in a book known as the Analects, is fundamentally moral, ethical, and practical in character. Confucius generally dismissed speculation about religious or metaphysical matters and instead focused on good government and interpersonal relationships based on moral integrity. At a time when China seemed to lack political and social order, Confucius made a strong case for enlightened leadership as the key to stability. Particularly important were ren (kindness), li (courtesy), and xiao (respect for elders). Daoism In the waning years of the Zhou dynasty another Chinese philosophy, Daoism (Taoism), achieved considerable popularity, especially among intellectuals who were inclined to disengage from politics. Daoists devoted themselves to reflection and introspection in an effort to understand the fundamental character of the world and nature. The central concept of Daoism is the dao (“the way”). According to Chinese tradition, the founder of Daoism was Laozi ("Old Master"), a philosopher and contemporary of Confucius who composed the Daodejing (Classic of the Way and Virtue). About 200 years later a Dao Master, Zhuangzi (369-286 BCE), wrote another classic of Daoism named after its author. He described the dao is a powerful but passive force: dao does nothing but accomplishes everything. Dao is like water, soft and yielding, yet so powerful that it eventually erodes even the hardest rock. Daoists advocated withdrawal from politics and a simple life in harmony with nature. Legalism At the other extreme was the philosophy known as Legalism. Proponents of Legalism did not concern themselves with Confucian values of ethical and moral social behavior, nor the Daoist focus on man’s place in nature. Instead they promoted a practical and often ruthless use of strict laws and harsh punishments. The Legalist approach to state management was not popular with the people, but it enabled Chinese rulers to end the Period of the Warring States, restore order (by force), and unify China. Legalism was pragmatic political philosophy without an ideology or spiritual component. Because the laws of the state were supreme, ancient Chinese legalism is sometimes regarded as one of the earliest forms of totalitarianism. Among the first adopters of Legalism was Shang Yan, an advisor to Emperor Qin.

The Reign of Emperor Qin___________________

	Unification of China In 221 BCE, the king of Qin [p. Chin] proclaimed himself the First Emperor of all China and decreed that his descendants would reign for thousands of generations. Qin led his powerful army on campaigns in all directions, rapidly conquering six independent Chinese kingdoms and unifying the country under his rule [see map]. The Qin dynasty actually lasted for just fourteen years, dissolving in 207 BCE because of civil insurrections. Nonetheless, Emperor Qin had a significant impact that is far disproportionate to his short reign. Qin Shi Huang [p. chin-Shayanhn-Yang] demonstrated the power of Legalism in strong hands. Ruling from his capital at Xianyang where he was born, he established a strong centralized bureaucracy, divided China into administrative provinces and districts, disarmed regional military forces, built a system of roads to facilitate communications and the movement of his army, and drafted laborers by the hundreds of thousands for state projects such as the Great Wall along the border of the Gobi desert. Qin had no tolerance for dissent, ordering the execution of hundreds of scholars and the burning of all books on philosophy, ethics, history, and literature (sparing only works on medicine, fortune-telling, and agriculture). Consistent with his goal of unifying all of China under centralized governmental authority, Qin standardized laws, currencies, weights and measures, and writing. In a very short time, China underwent a remarkable transformation in its economic, political and military institutions. As Qin grew older he became obsessed with acquiring immortality. He consulted with assorted mystical "scientists" and healers, consuming various potions including mercury pills (lethal poison) that had the opposite of the desire effect. Soon after Qin’s death, waves of rebels overran the court, slaughtered government officials, and burned state buildings. Centralized rule was restored almost immediately by an efficient administrator, Emperor Liu Bang, who established the Han dynasty (named for his native land) in 206 BCE. The Han dynasty turned out to be one of the longest and most influential in all of Chinese history, lasting for over four centuries [see Lecture 7]. The Great Wall One of the main concerns of Emperor Qin was the threat of invading nomads from the north. His solution was a massive earthen and stone wall with a protected roadway linked by small forts. The Great Wall, most of which was constructed 1,500 years later during the Ming dynasty, eventually extended nearly 4,000 miles from the desert to the sea. Prior to the unification of China under Qin, extensive fortifications had been constructed by the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao during the Period of the Warring Sates. Qin had these destroyed to eradicate the old political divisions and ordered new construction. The Great Wall served three purposes: military, spiritual, and political. First, connecting a network of fortified garrisons with a secure roadway, it enabled the army of Qin to quickly concentrate soldiers posted at strategic points along the empire's northern perimeter. Signal towers on hilltops or other high points along the war served as a warning system to thwart invasion. Second, Qin believed that evil spirits invading from outside China moved in a straight line; thus the wall stripped enemies of their power. Third, construction of the wall was both a symbolic and visible monument to the determination of China to secure its borders; and the conscription of tens of thousands of men to work on the wall served to reinforce the authority of Emperor Qin. During the reign of Qin, the wall was mainly built from earth, stones and wood. Most of the original Great Wall eroded over time and few sections remain today. The Han, Sui and Jin dynasties rebuilt much of the wall. Faced with the threat of invading Manchurian and Mongolian tribes in the 15th century CE, the Ming Dynasty devoted substantial resources to strengthening and extending the wall. Most of the Ming construction was done with bricks. Today the Great Wall is considered a national historical monument. It is a popular tourist attraction. Contrary to a widely circulated legend, it is barely visible from outer space. The Terra-Cotta Army One of the most amazing legacies of the Qin Dynasty was unknown until its discovery by archeologists in 1974. Upon his death in 210 BCE, Qin was entombed in an elaborate underground palace guarded by an army of terra-cotta (ceramic clay) soldiers. The life-size and life-like army includes over 8,000 warriors along with hundreds of horses and chariots, all placed in precise military formation according to rank and duty. Local farmers drilling a water well found the emperor's secret tomb. Archaeologists have only uncovered part of the vast underground complex. This monumental undertaking is a stunning testament to the power of Qin.