week 4

Question 1

The Tianxia world view

Answer 1

• Human political power structures were understood as projection of gods in the heavenly realm competing for power among themselves on earth
• Cultural and economic competition , including wars among the states led to centralization of political power aspiring to one great nation
• The feudal practice of conferring land and power upon the aristocracy emerged
• Qin Shi Huang, in the yellow river plain made it his goal to unify all under heaven
• As emperor of the one nation he was the son of heaven and agent of the gods

Question 2

The Hua Yi dichotomy

Answer 2

• Establishment of the imperial system and standardization of the chinese script contributed to the creation of a persistent Han ethnocultural identity
• The elites claimed a difference between the Hua Chinese and Yi outsiders
• But outsiders could become Hua by adopting chinese values and customs