Churchill: Ancient China

* Along with Africa, China is one of the most ancient sites of human habitation. Even today, China continues to yield much archaeological material from Stone Age cultures.

Considerable fossil evidence of Homo erectus --("upright man"), immediate evolutionary predecessor of our own species (Homo sapiens)--exists in China at numerous Lower- (or Early-) Paleolithic-era sites [from ca. 2.6 million years ago to 200,000 years before the present]. Some hillside caves near Beijing show regular use by primitive peoples for more than 200,000 years. Over forty complete remains of "Peking Man/Woman" have been excavated from this area since the 1920s.

* Complex of developments in stone-tool technology, food production and storage, spread of settled agricultural communities, and social organization--often characterized as the "Neolithic Revolution"--was progressing in China by at least 6000 B.C. (Neolithic ["New Stone"] Age dates roughly from 10000 to 5000 B.C.).

* Neolithic farming techniques (originating in Middle East about 6500 B.C.) seem to have spread slowly across Asia, where they met and mingled in Yellow River Valley with "monsoon" agriculture from Asia.

* Archaeological remains from ca. 2000 B.C. (painted pottery) may suggest links between China and Middle East/Eastern Europe (until at least 1700 B.C.), when barbarian presence would have made such contacts unlikely. Such influences, however, are hotly debated by scholars.

* Even if such tenuous connections did exist, Chinese culture always exhibited strong independence, developing its own characteristics:

given existence of less land, for example, Chinese agriculture featured intensive farming of small plots, rather than extensive field cultivation of Middle East. In addition, Chinese seldom raised vast herds of livestock for food--no room for pasturage.

* Chinese "Neolithic Culture" is not one homogeneous entity; rather, it is a mosaic of as many as thirty regional cultures (appearing between 10000 - ca. 3000 B.C.), most distinguished by different pottery styles. Two of the most famous are Yangshao ("painted pottery") and Lungshan ("blackware").

* Archaeological remains--mostly goods buried in graves--suggest that, by mid- to late- Neolithic era (ca. 7000 to 2500 B.C..):

* 3000 - 2000 B.C.: appearance of increasing warfare; complex urban settlements; intense status differentiations; growth of religious and administrative hierarchies that controlled massive mobilization of workers for public works (building of cities and irrigation projects) and warfare. Casting of bronze--complex, sophisticated process even today unequaled in workmanship--is this culture's greatest technical achievement.

* This gradual shift into the Bronze Age (ca. 3500 - 2500 B.C..) ushers in era of China's "legendary" Three Dynasties--Hsia (Xia), Shang (also known as Yin), and Chou (Zhou).

* Although Shang bronzes survived, historians possessed written records from only the Chou dynasty. Documented information about Hsia and Shang dynasties was sparse and of doubtful historical value.

* Chinese historians (one from as early as 2nd century B. C.) wrote about Hsia and Shang dynasties. But modern scholars regarded such accounts, written 1000 to 2000 years after the ages they supposedly chronicled, as pious fables.

* In the 1970s, however, archaeologists uncovered six settlements full of artifacts, soon identified by scholars as sites of Hsia culture. Other major excavations (1928-37, 1950-59), as well as ancient writing on "oracle bones," have also provided invaluable information about Shang dynasty. Such discoveries suggest that "myth" may have a firmer basis in fact than historians are willing to admit.

* In order to span these gaps in its history, China thus offered many "myths" about the origins of its culture.

* One notable legend (recorded ca. 1000 B.C.) tells of Yu, the "Chinese Noah," who drained away the great flood, making China habitable. Yu also established the first Chinese dynasty--Hsia--probably ca. 2205 - 1766 B.C. Ancient records, now regarded as at least partially accurate, list seventeen Hsia kings.

* Hsia dynasty replaced by Shang (ca. 1766 - 1123 B. C.--but actual dates are disputed). Twenty-eight Shang rulers listed in several ancient documents, twenty-seven of whom have been authenticated by inscriptions on "oracle bones." Much of what now makes up modern-day China was ruled by Shang.

* Horse-drawn chariot, originating in Caucasus mountains of Eurasia, appears ca. 1200 B.C. (may suggest contact with Indo-Europeans).

* First Chinese writing appears around 1400 - 1200 B.C. Principles of written language established in Shang period retained until modern times.

* Religion of Shang--mixture of ancestor and nature worship. Gods connected with great forces of nature--rivers, wind, earth, sun--as well as with specific locales. But spirits of ancestors seem to have been more important in daily life than gods.

* Shang King was ruler of patriarchal state where royal authority was embedded in kinship ties. Thus, political administration based on kinship alliance, king's gifts of land/serfs to kinsmen, generational status, and personal charisma. Ties of affection, obligation, servitude more important than any other. Political state also religious--king a prophet, seer, priest. Everything held together by pervasive sense of social obligation.

* Shang dynasty played important part in development of Chinese civilization. But classical period of Chinese history, when ideas that would remain basic to Chinese life for over 2,000 years first took definite form, came only after Shang overthrow.

* In First Millenium B.C., invaders from west--Wei River Valley--established new dynasty: Chou (ca. 1123 - 249 B. C.--dates disputed).

(1) Western Chou (ca. 1123 - 770 B.C.). A time of peace, stability, and enlightened rule--ensured by military superiority, forced resettlement of opponents, and centralized control system which limited power of local feudal lords. This era ended by invading barbarians who destroyed old capital and murdered Emperor.

* Under Chou, Chinese literature first took shape. Three of these ancient classics remain:

* Early Chou instituted several political theories that influenced China down to 20th Century:

(1) "Mandate of Heaven"--Emperor appointed to rule by Heaven. Two corollaries of this theory:

made ruler a "universal" emperor. As "Son of Heaven," he held authority over all peoples, Chinese and barbarians. Belief made imperial consolidation easier, but complicated later relations with other civilized, powerful rulers.

as appointee of Heaven, Emperor held power only so long as he conformed to Heaven's will. Heaven pleased by moral conduct, good government, the people's happiness, and proper religious practices. Emperor's failure in any of these might justify his removal. Indeed, the Chou legitimized their conquest of Shang by maintaining that decadence of last Shang Emperor had caused his loss of "Mandate of Heaven."

* From this political theory grew a complementary cosmology (so Emperor could learn "Heaven's will":

* After destruction of Western Chou, however, feudal system disintegrated, and individual state bureaucracies took its place. In the end, four powerful states contended for ultimate sovereignty. Prolonged period of internal disorder, "Era of Warring States," followed.

* Amid this chaos, it was natural for educated classes to long nostalgically for "good old days"--when there was central authority, order, stability, and peace.

* From such nostalgia grew great intellectual ferment, in which many schools of thought competed for philosophical mastery. Eventually, the thought of Confucius (ca. 551 - 479 B.C.)--as expressed in Analects--became dominant social/cultural force, one that continues to influence China today.

World Literature Program Dr. Robert Churchill, Ancient China
WORLD LITERATURE PROGRAM \| ENGLISH DEPARTMENT \| CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY

PROGRAM Overview Director Faculty Authors and Works Special Events Contact Info COURSES World Literature I World Literature II	Dr. Robert Churchill's HANDBOOK FOR THE STUDY OF EASTERN LITERATURES ANCIENT CHINA Prehistory * Along with Africa, China is one of the most ancient sites of human habitation. Even today, China continues to yield much archaeological material from Stone Age cultures. Considerable fossil evidence of Homo erectus --("upright man"), immediate evolutionary predecessor of our own species (Homo sapiens)--exists in China at numerous Lower- (or Early-) Paleolithic-era sites [from ca. 2.6 million years ago to 200,000 years before the present]. Some hillside caves near Beijing show regular use by primitive peoples for more than 200,000 years. Over forty complete remains of "Peking Man/Woman" have been excavated from this area since the 1920s. By Middle-Paleolithic Period (dating between roughly 200,000 - 50,000 years B.C.), early Homo sapiens had appeared. By 50,000 to 12,000 years B. C.--Upper-(or Late-) Paleolithic era--Homo sapiens sapiens (the later model) was widely dispersed throughout China in more than half a dozen local cultures. From excavated evidence, scholars conclude that Old Stone Age humans in China were more than mere chippers of rocks; K. C. Chang suggests that basic ideas of kinship, authority, religion, and art--still found in China today--were already developing in Paleolithic cultures. * Complex of developments in stone-tool technology, food production and storage, spread of settled agricultural communities, and social organization--often characterized as the "Neolithic Revolution"--was progressing in China by at least 6000 B.C. (Neolithic ["New Stone"] Age dates roughly from 10000 to 5000 B.C.). * Neolithic farming techniques (originating in Middle East about 6500 B.C.) seem to have spread slowly across Asia, where they met and mingled in Yellow River Valley with "monsoon" agriculture from Asia. Primary Neolithic crops domesticated by 6000 - 5000 B.C.: drought-resistant millet (in Northwestern, Northern China) rice (in Southeastern wetlands). This evidence suggests at least two independent traditions of plant domestication in Neolithic China--each based on differing climates and geographies of north and south. Stone tools, dating from the Late-Paleolithic (ca. 5000 B.C.), suggest increasing dominance of permanent agriculture. * Archaeological remains from ca. 2000 B.C. (painted pottery) may suggest links between China and Middle East/Eastern Europe (until at least 1700 B.C.), when barbarian presence would have made such contacts unlikely. Such influences, however, are hotly debated by scholars. * Even if such tenuous connections did exist, Chinese culture always exhibited strong independence, developing its own characteristics: given existence of less land, for example, Chinese agriculture featured intensive farming of small plots, rather than extensive field cultivation of Middle East. In addition, Chinese seldom raised vast herds of livestock for food--no room for pasturage. ox-drawn plows (invented in Middle East before 3000 B.C.) do not appear in China until ca. 400 B.C. Silk production a stellar achievement of Neolithic Chinese agriculture. (Chinese held monopoly on silk production until 6th Century A. D., when silkworms were smuggled to the West). * Chinese "Neolithic Culture" is not one homogeneous entity; rather, it is a mosaic of as many as thirty regional cultures (appearing between 10000 - ca. 3000 B.C.), most distinguished by different pottery styles. Two of the most famous are Yangshao ("painted pottery") and Lungshan ("blackware"). * Archaeological remains--mostly goods buried in graves--suggest that, by mid- to late- Neolithic era (ca. 7000 to 2500 B.C..): (1) the Neolithic Chinese used ritualized burial practices and practiced ancestor worship; (2) general wealth increased; (3) private property gradually emerged; (4) social differentiation (social classes) increased; (5) work roles were distinguished by gender; (6) women's wealth and social status were reduced. * 3000 - 2000 B.C.: appearance of increasing warfare; complex urban settlements; intense status differentiations; growth of religious and administrative hierarchies that controlled massive mobilization of workers for public works (building of cities and irrigation projects) and warfare. Casting of bronze--complex, sophisticated process even today unequaled in workmanship--is this culture's greatest technical achievement. History * This gradual shift into the Bronze Age (ca. 3500 - 2500 B.C..) ushers in era of China's "legendary" Three Dynasties--Hsia (Xia), Shang (also known as Yin), and Chou (Zhou). * Although Shang bronzes survived, historians possessed written records from only the Chou dynasty. Documented information about Hsia and Shang dynasties was sparse and of doubtful historical value. * Chinese historians (one from as early as 2nd century B. C.) wrote about Hsia and Shang dynasties. But modern scholars regarded such accounts, written 1000 to 2000 years after the ages they supposedly chronicled, as pious fables. * In the 1970s, however, archaeologists uncovered six settlements full of artifacts, soon identified by scholars as sites of Hsia culture. Other major excavations (1928-37, 1950-59), as well as ancient writing on "oracle bones," have also provided invaluable information about Shang dynasty. Such discoveries suggest that "myth" may have a firmer basis in fact than historians are willing to admit. * In order to span these gaps in its history, China thus offered many "myths" about the origins of its culture. * One notable legend (recorded ca. 1000 B.C.) tells of Yu, the "Chinese Noah," who drained away the great flood, making China habitable. Yu also established the first Chinese dynasty--Hsia--probably ca. 2205 - 1766 B.C. Ancient records, now regarded as at least partially accurate, list seventeen Hsia kings. * Hsia dynasty replaced by Shang (ca. 1766 - 1123 B. C.--but actual dates are disputed). Twenty-eight Shang rulers listed in several ancient documents, twenty-seven of whom have been authenticated by inscriptions on "oracle bones." Much of what now makes up modern-day China was ruled by Shang. * Horse-drawn chariot, originating in Caucasus mountains of Eurasia, appears ca. 1200 B.C. (may suggest contact with Indo-Europeans). * First Chinese writing appears around 1400 - 1200 B.C. Principles of written language established in Shang period retained until modern times. * Age of Shang aristocratic: noble warriors exploited peasant classes. * Religion of Shang--mixture of ancestor and nature worship. Gods connected with great forces of nature--rivers, wind, earth, sun--as well as with specific locales. But spirits of ancestors seem to have been more important in daily life than gods. * Shang King was ruler of patriarchal state where royal authority was embedded in kinship ties. Thus, political administration based on kinship alliance, king's gifts of land/serfs to kinsmen, generational status, and personal charisma. Ties of affection, obligation, servitude more important than any other. Political state also religious--king a prophet, seer, priest. Everything held together by pervasive sense of social obligation. * Shang dynasty played important part in development of Chinese civilization. But classical period of Chinese history, when ideas that would remain basic to Chinese life for over 2,000 years first took definite form, came only after Shang overthrow. * In First Millenium B.C., invaders from west--Wei River Valley--established new dynasty: Chou (ca. 1123 - 249 B. C.--dates disputed). * Chou dynasty composed of several eras: (1) Western Chou (ca. 1123 - 770 B.C.). A time of peace, stability, and enlightened rule--ensured by military superiority, forced resettlement of opponents, and centralized control system which limited power of local feudal lords. This era ended by invading barbarians who destroyed old capital and murdered Emperor. (2) Eastern Chou (ca. 770 - 249 B.C.). Capital re-established farther east. Though the name of the Chou dynasty was maintained, effective control over the Empire was divided among more than fifteen major feudal states. (a) "Spring and Autumn" Period (ca. 770 - 464 B. C.). By now power of centralized authority had declined as king's family ties with feudal nobles was diluted. Power of feudal lords reached its zenith, leading to a time of warfare, shifting alignments, and conflicts. (b) "Era of Warring States" (ca. 464 - 221 B. C.). Feudal code of chivalrous conflict had given way to wars of mutual annihilation. Feudal system was destroying itself from within. Eventually, only seven states survived, then four. They engaged in a struggle for final victory, in which the winner eliminated all others and unified the realm. At end of this era (ca. 221 B. C.), ruler of state of Ch'in conquered and unified whole country, assuming title of Emperor--Ch'in Shi Huang Ti ("First Emperor of State of Ch'in" [China]) and establishing Ch'in Dynasty. The last Prince of Chou had been defeated twenty-eight years before (249 B. C.), formally ending the Chou Dynasty. * Under Chou, Chinese literature first took shape. Three of these ancient classics remain: --Book of Changes (I Ching)--divination/fortune-telling manual --Book of Documents--handbook of political rhetoric/speeches --Book of Songs--poems reflecting lives of Chou peoples * Early Chou instituted several political theories that influenced China down to 20th Century: (1) "Mandate of Heaven"--Emperor appointed to rule by Heaven. Two corollaries of this theory: made ruler a "universal" emperor. As "Son of Heaven," he held authority over all peoples, Chinese and barbarians. Belief made imperial consolidation easier, but complicated later relations with other civilized, powerful rulers. as appointee of Heaven, Emperor held power only so long as he conformed to Heaven's will. Heaven pleased by moral conduct, good government, the people's happiness, and proper religious practices. Emperor's failure in any of these might justify his removal. Indeed, the Chou legitimized their conquest of Shang by maintaining that decadence of last Shang Emperor had caused his loss of "Mandate of Heaven." * From this political theory grew a complementary cosmology (so Emperor could learn "Heaven's will": Earth = an image of Heaven (abode of ancestral spirits and good order); As "Son of Heaven," Emperor was link between two realms. Just as heavens revolved around the polestar, so earthly things ought to revolve around Emperor. Imperial scholars worked out elaborate system of correspondences between heavenly/earthly phenomena--resembled astrology. * Early Chou state was feudal monarchy, arranged hierarchically: Ruler Feudal Lords/Ministers Shih: gentlemen/warriors Commoners Slaves --Victorious Emperor parceled out conquered territory among relatives/allies. They, in turn, divided their lands among noble followers. Nobles lived in fortified enclosures (some later developed into cities), surrounded by farmland which supported nobles' domain. --Each noble had duty to support immediate superior in war and assist him in court rites/ceremonies. --Eldest sons of chief nobles often sent to school in capital where future emperor was also educated. Over ten-year schooling period, emperor formed intimate relationships with some of his future vassals. * After destruction of Western Chou, however, feudal system disintegrated, and individual state bureaucracies took its place. In the end, four powerful states contended for ultimate sovereignty. Prolonged period of internal disorder, "Era of Warring States," followed. * Amid this chaos, it was natural for educated classes to long nostalgically for "good old days"--when there was central authority, order, stability, and peace. * From such nostalgia grew great intellectual ferment, in which many schools of thought competed for philosophical mastery. Eventually, the thought of Confucius (ca. 551 - 479 B.C.)--as expressed in Analects--became dominant social/cultural force, one that continues to influence China today. To: Book of Songs To: Confucius Back to: Chinese Literature Resources Page last updated: 8/5/2003
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Dr. Robert Churchill's

HANDBOOK FOR THE STUDY OF EASTERN LITERATURES

ANCIENT CHINA