Divided China and the Rise of Buddhism Flashcards
Han economy and the magnates, rise of the local elite
*Han policies lead to rise of powerful magnate families (haozu)
*Emperor Wu tries to curtail power – magnates (and Confucians) fight back: Salt and Iron Debates
*Wang Mang also challenges magnates, they help overthrow him
*Technological change in Eastern Han reinforces magnate power, state gives up attempts to control
End of west han 1cent bce= aristoric family are weakend by polivy to restrict power
Eastern = concentrated
Peasants = tenants of land lords = policies
Qin = depends on rank
Early han = no cap, free trasnaction and land no matter rank = rich = taxation beneficies the rich = same taxe every year = good harvest, massive surplus & bad years, poor massive debt = pawn your land = more and more concentrated
50 percent = capitation tax = every person owns a tax & labor service = didnt depend on how rich you are
West han = wu = increase state income = war fiancing = state monopoly of salt and iron (necessary) = disadvantage to private producers
After death = wealthy family = challenged = salt and iron debates = scholars from those families = just like the qin, control state too much = dominate the state = officials by recommendations
Wang mang = xin dyansty = challenge = no heridetary, slavery + =not well cut out = rescentment of officials = didnt seak to implement ideas
East han = elites beneficing = ploows? =
Collapse of the Han + 3 Kingdoms
*Causes:
*Economic problems – rising population and concentration of wealth
*Breakdown of military system
*Use of non-Chinese peoples
*Three kingdoms: Wei, Wu and Shu
*Cao Cao, ruler of Wei, defeated at Battle of Red Cliffs
*Wei establishes system of nine ranks, reinforcing magnate power
*Sima family overthrows Cao family, establishes Jin
Wealth in family = poor ordinary people = banditary (cant by legal farming) = central army too weak to control = positions for sons of wealthy families = frontier armies = fall under private
32 ce = no conscrition = loyal to the generals
Policy agaisnt xiongnu = using barbarrians to control barbarians” = ally of the han to settle their,but would continue to pillage = nomads forces attacked = no more imperial power on local elites, not military strength = had to protect themselves = form own amries = kinship, tenants serving lanlords
Formal abolitions of emperor = 20 ce
Warlords took control = had lots of power = some of the welthy family
Cao cao = north = han court puppet master = south ward = 209 = battle of red cliffs = northern part of southern china = divinding line btw n and s (continue on) = hard to occupy south (lakes, rivers vs dry plains)
Lords = trouble passing power = prestige from military = not sons = authority to locally prominent families (same as
Caocao =9 ranks = assessment of their mer
Timeline
*266 – (Western) Jin formed under Sima family
*280 – Jin reunifies China
*290 – beginning of War of Eight Princes, unity collapses
*311 – sack of Luoyang by nomads led by Shi Le (part of “Upheaval of the Five Barbarians – 五胡亂華)
*317-420 – Eastern Jin, based in Jiankang (Nanjing)
*304-439 – 16 kingdoms in North
Jin broken up into civil war = kings / princes = breaks down again
Luoyang = sacked by northern noamds , mostly xiongnu troops led by shi le? = central of civilization = greatest city in the world = destroyed by barbarians = not equals
New capital in jian han? = eastern jin = southern state = nanjing = back water = yangtze river = not really chinese civilization = major shift = most prosperous and center of chinese
The jie? Non chinese group = could speak chinese = leader = service at a han (xiognu han dynasty) = justifiying = descendant of the han = first shangyu = married han princess = could reform han dynasty = claim ligemitacy in chinese political = doesnt really work & falls apart = attemps = states formed in the north that attempt to create chinese kind of dynasties
After western jin = devided N and S = est =S & N = plenty of dynasties =
Eastern jin = sima = loose power
Jiankang Empire (3rd-6th centuries)
*Not actually the name of a state – idea of scholar Andrew Chittick
*Sees continuities in southern dynasties based in Jiankang (Nanjing) – we should see succession of dynasties as single empire
*Importance of north/south division – no necessary sense that China needed to be unified (or was naturally one state)
*South defined by
*Ethnicity
*Language
*Political culture
*Economics
*Idea very controversial
Continuities =
5 majors dynasties w new power = thought as a single dynasty = jiankang
Court sponsorship of buddhism
Distinguish from the north = china is devide dinto 2 = separated = had no need to be part of northern state = chllenges unity = its own place = basic devide = geography and agriculture
Poeple having a major role = 2 local groups = didnt fled from the north = wu people = language around shanghai = older form of that = other groups = controllign it = the xiu? = near the wi river? = rice based agriculture = run by people didnt see as northerners = people from central plains = fairly small groups =nnot as important for identiy of the state
Ling = south languges will be dominant = not northern = influenced a bit
Wi river = border with the north = defend only this boundaries
North = taxation on kand
South = xin and han dynasty X = commercialisation = very different = alleyways and night markets = n curfews = commercial taxation = bureaucratic culture = still exist = political culture = tied to c
Northern Wei (386-535)
*Reunifies north
*Rulers are Xianbei (Serbi) of Tabgach (Tuoba) clan
*Capital in Datong (Pingcheng), later moved to Luoyang
*Tanistry as succession method
*Equal-field system
*Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen promote Chinese culture
*Survival of Xianbei identity (and development of “Han” as ethnonym)
Dates
Not chinese = xianbei = rulers of the Tabgach clan = xianbei passed power from inherenty = most qualified to run it = death of ruler = sons and brothers will compete = attract followers = everyone is competant
Important role of women in politics = involved in work (hunting, heads) = while war
Inner mogolia = taxing chine se peasentry, legal code, capital in datong = provision of goods for rulers around (crops etc..) = dont see a commercial economy (not even coins) = based on extraction of ressources = encslaved to produce goods = member of ruling families = marrying = mixed aristocracy = empress = regent of son and grand son = lots of reforms to construct a bureaucraty and land management ofr agricultural = worried of people abandonning farming = eauql field system = influencal for the next 200 years = xiaowen = spend 10 years rebuilding luoyang = takes chinese names and chinese in court and clothes = 9 ranks back = resist to policies = lots cant speak chinese = women wear non ch clothes = officials c
Buddhism
*Developed in India around 500 BCE (Siddharta Gautama – the Buddha), spreads via merchants to China beginning in early Eastern Han
*Difficulty in translating Buddhist ideas (linguistically, culturally)
*Chinese adaptations of Buddhism to better fit pre-existing beliefs/values
*Mahayana vs Hinayana/Theravada
*Translation project of Kumarajiva
*Links to Silk Road
Religion = followers of inidna prince = missionary impress by making miracles to leaders = differs from original form
Difficulties = translating text into chinese = ling and cultural = drop change discourse to match ideals
Nirvana = altered ideology = purland buddhism = different from earlier teachings
M and h = focuses on individual work vs salvations for all people = acceptance of buddhism in china = not abandoning family = salvation to otehr people = emphasise of trasnfer merit to family = adapted to fit with chinese family ideals
State Patronage of Buddhism
Focus of stsate support ??
Recap
*Period from 220-589 was one of division, especially between north and south, but also a large number of short-lived states in each region
*North dominated by non-Chinese nomads, though they adopt many aspects of Chinese governance
*Continuities in southern dynasties – Jiankang Empire?
*Buddhism spreads across China to become one of the leading religious traditions during this era
*Buddhism is adapted to Chinese environment, and supported by massive state patronage efforts
