Harrison - The Man Awakened from Dreams Flashcards
Liu locality background
Resident of Chiqiao in the Shanxi province of China
Liu ideology background
Firmly wedded to his role as the Confucian gentleman, whilst the country abandoned them in favour of nationalism
Lamented the rise of those who held the new philosophy
Shanxi province overall decline
Was gradually excluded from Western prosperity and its political power
Mongolian independence, Russian revolution and refocusing of security and trade transformed it from a major trading corridor to an isolated and inaccessible province
Transformed 1900-1980 from prosperous centre of commerce to an impoverished and largely agricultural area
Liu as a source
One man through which larger themes are conveyed, such as the growing gulf between urban and rural populations and the changing ideology of China
Was not normal - keeping a diary for 50 years is not- but his economic situation was (comfortable family to poor one)
Guofan’s rules
Had a set for everyday life which Liu copied down and followed - included instructions like keep a diary, do not get angry, do not talk too much, practice calligraphy every morning before breakfast
Purpose vs reality of Liu’s diary
Hoped that it might be published some day like Guofan’s, but it ended up mapping his downwards social mobility
Liu’s justification of agricultural work
Gave it value by relating it to loyalty to the fallen dynasty
The Man of Wohu Mountain
Based on the ancient ideal of a hermit (ignores Liu’s 10 years of teaching and his family as they do not fit the image)
Liked to imagine himself as rejecting public office when really it was never offered to him - he was really a farmer who imagined himself as a member of the ruling class
The Man Awakened from Dreams
Man is a compulsive dreamer, who dreams he is rich and successful, but on his awakening Lu Dongbin (a Daoist immortal) tells him that all worldly achievement is merely an empty dream
Liu imbues this story with Confucianism, and it is his expression of his exclusion from power, but also the complexity and fragility of the Confucian moral order
Moral value of early education
Education was seen as a form of moral indoctrination due to memorisation of textbooks like ‘the Classic of Filial Piety’, which were recited continuously
Liu’s tutor emphasised the moral value, teaching pupils to judge themselves and others based on the values learnt from the texts
Confucian classics ‘deeply ingrained’ by adulthood
Moral tension of early education
Liu’s father stated he was sending him to school to learn morals
Set up a tension between education as a means to social mobility and education as a form of moral indoctrination that would plague Liu for many years to come
Degree levels
Licentiate, Provincial and National
Initial drought
Occurred as Liu was revising for the 1877 exam - very dangerous in Shanxi, with the market for paper collapsing and grain prices rising
Famine of 1877
Whole families died of hunger in the mountain villages
Although many in the plains survived famine, disease took over after being weakened by 2 yeas of famine, killing 70% of the villagers by the end of summer
Government response to famine
Men were refused aid from magistrate - he eventually gave a small amount of millet
Famine as a national disaster was the government’s responsibility, but officials failed to understand local conditions, presuming villages irrigated by the Jin river needed no aid
Licentiate pass
Liu passed the county examinations in Taiyuan city aged 21
Move to Taiyuan city
Liu moved there aged 24 and attended the Chongxiu Academy to prepare for the provincial exams
Social differences at Chongxiu
Surrounded by people whose lives were focused around the structures of the state rather than family
Liu’s father was far less wealthy than the fathers of many men who Liu studied with - since his education was a far greater financial commitment, he had far more pressure to succeed
Others joked around more as they had other opportunities open to them, and teased Liu for his frugality
Moral commitment at Chongxiu
Became more morally committed to the texts, however saw a choice between literary studies geared towards examinations and practical studies that would prepare him for life as an official
Liu’s situation by 1891
He had sat and failed the exams 5 times, having spent 10 years in the academy
He was 34 and had spent 25 years of his life studying for a career that he feared he had no chance of entering
Time as a tutor
Spent 11 years tutoring, gradually making friends with other tutors and growing closer the family as the children got older
Unhappy due to his original ambitions clashing with his position as a tutor in a society where jobs in commerce and banking made far more money and had higher status
1893 dream
Dreamt of a divine figure who told him that the only important thing was to be sincere and respectful
Became determined to pass the exams (matter of fate) and concentrate on living out the Confucian values he had learned
Becoming the man awakened from dreams
In 1893, he decided to become the man who rejected the institutions as dreams and placed himself in a real, if unrecognized, world of Confucian values
‘Powerful conversion experience’ which made sense of his internal conflict, but alienated him further from his peers, who did not share his brand of personal Confucianism which emphasised self-improvement as the purpose of education
Passing provincial exams
On sixth attempt - Confucian commitment had paid off
Strengthened his new sense of identity, laying even heavier demands on him to behave as a model Confucian gentleman
1895 exam
Travelled to Beijing for national exams
Honoured on the way, but ultimately disappointing; he saw the customs displayed in the capital as an empty show, concerned only with adopting the correct form
Difficulty of national exam
Not transcribed, so there was a massive emphasis on calligraphy, which was not a strength of Liu’s
Also Liu had limited knowledge of statecraft texts and Western learning, which required years of study
Beijing in 1895 and 1898
Both times of high political drama
1895 - just defeated in war with Japan for Korea, disastrous settlement for Qing
1898 - shortly before Hundred Days’ Reform
Liu was mainly interested in how changes would affect his own prospects
Centrality of filial piety to Confucianism
It is the moral duty that requires all children to repay the love and affection shown to them by their parents
Men were expected to take three years off from the bureaucracy if either parent died; Zeng Guofan was widely admired for going into retirement at the height of his political career after the death of his father
Tension in filial piety
Tension for Liu between emotional and ritual (funerals and worship) obligation - depicts everyday affection and companionship between him and his parents
Story with father
When Liu made a point and his father agreed, he said ‘I respectfully accept your teaching’ - forced to subordinate himself despite superior education
Marriage for Liu
He was married three times - although affectionate towards his wives, they did not feature much in his life
9 surviving children, with the expectation that daughters in law would have a very close relationship with parents
Imperfect nature of filial piety
Due to it being expressed in relationships between individuals - disputed generated intense feelings of sin and guilt in Liu
Central to Liu’s guilt was his failure to live up to his parents’ expectations by making money or passing the civil service exams
Women and filial piety
Women often died of childbirth, due to poor diet and because of time spent inside due to having bound feet - Liu attributed any death and illness to a lack of filial piety
One friend divorced his wife due to her lack of respect with his mother
Liu’s Confucianism and popular opinion
Liu had to balance his Confucianism with popular opinion
He was always known and respected, with his behaviour admired as it related to shared values - however admiration did not mean the people imitated Liu
Filial piety after death of parents
Transformed - Liu had a nightmarish sense of abandonment, which eventually transitioned into a general justification for doing good
Attack on Confucianism
Intensified attack in the 1910s and 20s on Confucian morality and particularly its core value of filial piety
Condemned as feudal by modernizers
However Chiqiao’s family structures changed little, as support for Confucianism was gradually withdrawn and it became more associated with rural areas
Use of Liu’s Confucianism
Respect for his values meant that opportunities were open to Liu even when the modernizing state declared his classical education irrelevant
1901 dream
Liu dreamt that he passed the national examinations and his ideas were greeted warmly - unrealistic as conservatives at court had been overthrown and reformers were in the ascendancy
Conservative collapse at court
Fuelled by their support of the disastrous Boxer uprising, which was extremely violent (killing 100 people in a nearby village)
Aftermath of Boxers
Liu horrified by taxes raised to pay for the indemnity, and was angry with the government for abandoning its values, the very principles that justified its existence
1905
The examination system was abolished, transforming channels for social mobility and eliminating all hope of Liu and his friends holding government office
As education was transformed, many lost their jobs as teachers, with an emphasis on Western learning and science demanding more resources from fewer schools
Change in aims of state
Had gone from attempting to reproduce a Confucian state to attempting to mobilise wealth for the state to compete internationally
Government pursued modernization, completely abandoning Confucianism, and any resistance to policies played into the hands of the most radical modernizers who planned to overthrow the dynasty
1911
Revolution looked more like a military coup - many governors were overthrown or murdered, and general lawlessness ensued
Republican government ideals
Based its legitimacy on its commitment to modernity and democracy, ideals that were profoundly in conflict with Confucian values
Yuan Shikai as president
Shikai wanted to become Emperor, so decided to hold a referendum to change the constitution at the same time that a new National Assembly was being elected
Liu in Shikai election
Participated, identifying voters in various villages, and being elected as a representative
All voters were coerced to make Shikai president
Post-1905 routes to power
All legitimate routes destroyed - top officers came to power due to military connections, with elections consisting of bribery which went against Confucian principles of only appointing upright men as officials
Liu politics 1912
Liu attempted to adapt to modern politics by making speeches and taking part in elections - in 1912 he was elected head of the county assembly
Liu politics decline
Clear that the political value of his moral capital was declining - failed to spend effectively on Jinci temples, and prosecuted by Niu Yujian, ending his participation in local government
Liu later identification
As his degree was virtually worthless, Liu began to identify more with his neighbours than officials and local leaders
Liu 1913 status
Left unemployed with a family of eight adults and six children to support
Liu coal business
Able to enter due to his reputation - managed mines such as the Shimen mine, sorting out problems
Liu’s presentation of the mines
Began writing about them as an alternative world where ancient values were still respected, with their inhabitants leading a simple pastoral life
Liu coal resignation
Resigned after restrictive government registration legislation aimed at putting the mine out of business
Decided to live off the small family plot of land
Liu’s farm
6 acres, but rented all but 1.5 which Liu and his two grandsons tended
Farming in Liu’s intellectual tradition
Key part - the Classic of History contains a story emphasising the importance of an understanding of the painful toil of sowing and reaping
Metaphor of farming
One of the central metaphors of the neo-Confucian school
Fixing one’s determination was like sowing the seeds; the reverential attention needed for self-cultivation was like watering the plants
Liu’s agricultural income
Family typical as agricultural income made up an ever increasing proportion of their income
Recession in Shanxi, where prices dropped, exacerbated by good harvests across the north which could be imported along the new railway
Liu’s outdatedness
Confused by children in shorts and skirts
By the 1930s his Confucianism generated as much amusement as respect
People laughed at him for picking up cigarette wrappers (as all writing was sacred)
War outbreak
In 1937, when Liu was 80 years old
Abandonment in war
Magistrate and staff abandoned their posts and nearly everyone fled to the mountains
Liu refused to go - climbed onto the roof of house and made sure family made it safely
Liu’s role before occupation
Asked to draft a declaration of surrender to the Japanese by the prison warden
Waiting for the Japanese
Barricaded the main door of his house and waited
Japanese threatened to burn the house down, so the villagers opened the doors and the Japanese beat Liu
Status by death
Had lived his life on the basis that his education gave him the right to be heard on local matters, but it was clear that he was now a ‘relic of an earlier age’
Failure of filial piety
By 1940 his 3rd and 4th sons were both drug addicts, ruining the prospects of his other offspring
Filial devotion and brotherly love were supposed to bind the family together, but they did not
