CHINESE LITERATURE NOTES: ARE YOU DAO WITH IT?

1/8/14
Shang is pronounced as Shahng P' T' K' = means that they are true to how the letter sounds Generally, P=B T=D K=G in terms of pronunciation

TS TZ = ending of "heads" TS' TZ' = like "hats" Ch = J hs = Sh South/southeast China is mountainous, travel and communication difficult -creates dialectical differences Agriculture is the worst mistake in the history of human race, according to Jared Diamond -because it allows for the establishment of hierarchy, less egalitarian -facilitates overpopulation, accumulation of wealth -agricultural effects on environment can be severe -wars for land if limited space -bad for your health: on average, humans shorter because less balanced diet -more susceptible to droughts and floods if agricultural food source -much more work than hunting and gathering Native Americans: considered to be unadvanced because no agriculture, aceramic and simple architecture -however, very populous, so clearly they were doing something right. Agriculture as prerequisite for civilization -leisure class established: priests, kings, etc. -wants to increase production output -not a steady population growth, but steady production Gernet discusses dat OG agriculture, slash n' burn (swidden), not the kind practiced in cradles of civilization like Nile or Tigris + Euphrates or Indus. -Swidden tends to be in semi-tropical mountain areas, burns hillside brush, encourages growth by planting stuff, then moving on -Thought to be bad, but can actually foster vast biological diversity instead of simplification of essential grains

River valleys = good farming because fertile soil when land becomes flooded. Main crop in China: millet -also sold as bird seed -pretty heart, not hella nutritious Gernet, page 20, did Chinese civilization develop on own or product of influence? -rice and tea non-native to China -Connery assumes connections unless there is proof there isn't. DNA analysis on mummies in China shown to be westerners from Europe, circa 2000 B.C.E. Chinese writing, maybe developed from Mesopotamia/Egypt? -came after, but shares like no similarities Cherokee alphabet, 80 symbols, resmebles Roman's but not much -Cherokee chief was shown a book and he understood the concept of writing -possibly, writing develops from having the idea of writing? China was an agricultural base, but it is not an agricultural society -primarily, technological civilization -which has political and social consequences, -complex social organization comes with division of labor Our approach to ancient history is mediated through text In Chinese, history means the same thing as divination: telling or knowing of the present. 1765-1122 BCE = Shang Bronze = copper + tin and some lead -so for bronze objects, need access to those materials 1000 BCE = Iron age -Iron worse than bronze, but available, cheap and easy -Bronze expands as it hardens, can make almost anything with it in a mold T'AOT'IE = mythical animal, depicted in ornamentaiton Gernet 70-72, technology and implications of technology Shang was an urban civilization, lots of activity took place in cities

Yi = City Shang state was networked towns throughout China, added gods to pantheon -Shang king constantly traveling Mining done by slaves, happens closely to agriculture, peasants are very much close to slaves. One of the duties of the state is to exist. -Also, needs to produce things: people, food, brains -Managing authority Shang was clan based state Burial (Gernet 49) important because sacrifices Mirroring of human and divine realms Shang was replaced by the Zhou -current view is that they co-existed for a long time, then developed hegemony over Shang gradually. T'IAN = heaven, sky -moral principle, ordering of world -demands righteousness and good governance

1/13/14
Shang was a loose confederation of states Zhou have national nobility, feudal lords and royal houses with dukes controlling regions, certain amount given to royal house. The western Zhou (because capital in west) Wester Zhou, for Confucius, was utopia -1100-800 BCE -relatively decentralized pattern of governance prevented authoritarianism, leadership had local character If religious authority comes form divine, had to have hella gods, so t'ien emerges -became something like comsic principle, divine way, mandate of Heavens China doesn't have originary source of arbitrary laws based on ethical religion -Law in Zhou is governed by t'ien

-aware of the pressures it puts on people -like be filial, family, patriarchy, obedience Shang happened from 14th-11th BCE Western Zhou from 1050-771 BCE Spring and Autumn (named from Spring and Autumn Annals, Confucianism text) from 722-481 BCE Eastern Zhou from 481 - 256 BCE Warring states, 403 - 221 BCE In Spring and Autumn, bronzes were not as imaginative as earlier dynasties Spring and Autumn, t'ien became distance -warfare by chariot -war between nobility primarily, 200 chariots fighting in a battlefield Literati = lower level administrators, worked with textuality, reading and writing below, there are peasants, merchants, artists Theocracy lost pull in warring states 600 BCE = first mention of landless peasants When taxes begin, impoverishment of peasants begins 403-221 BCE, infantry used -rich period of time technologically, philosophically, etc. -administrators try to wrest power from lords -travel from states -rise of scholars, commerce, social mobility -philosophy arises to ask questions 551 - 471 BCE (roughly) was time of Confucius chn-tzu = lord, but word changes over time -relates to moral qualities In Warring States, most people don't use currency, they used grain. -When currency is used, it's used for amassing wealth. 221 BCE = Ch'in, first unified staes.

-emerged as victor of Warring States -were heavily against merchants, scholars Ideal state = rulers above peasants, founded on agriculture always challenges in administration avis spec = watching birds -root for "auspicious" Ts'ang Chen -mythological character, innovator, bird watcher writing is found by people Study as repetition, mimesis -seeing osmething, reproducing it In Confucianism, ritual is very important (I think?) Lots of feudal lords in China, bruh

1/15/14
Confucianism: Ritual is a key concept emphasizing the importance of sacrifice but also daily life practice. Note: Pay close attention to the handout given out last class Jen: Chinese word meaning the word ernel! as in nut! which signifies human heartedness. "mportant Passages: Page 25 of the reader: # only through $i can intermastery be developed. %aking virtue manifest through ritual is the only way to make it meaningful # $i&Ritual Propriety& 'uman 'eartedness and the key to confucianism $i is made present through behavior # Confucianism emerged in a civilized world and is not about the search for truth ! but rather it developed a way for philosophers to understand how

a state should be governed and how life should be led. $i is the actualization Page 18 of reader (4.3) # Confucius said ()nly the man of humanity knows how to love people and hate people*++,ociety is the standard of how you know what is right and what is wrong # -hat is learning. /o imitate. /o ritualize a practice. /o master a pattern! to repeat a pattern. 9.5 # Confucius says his goal is to transmit and not to create. /here is a body of received wisdom++culture means pattern 2.2 # 'ave no depraved thoughts 7.19 # $oves ancient teaching and seeks it # Culture! conduct! loyalty! poetry! history! performance and rules of propriety and key concepts /he classics have ritual practice! government and human life++you should study it to give out word forces that give shape to life 00,tudy to master proprietary to give actualization to humanity00 Jen: it is the goodness we all have inside but it has to be cultivated and worked on in order to e1ist. Confucius didn2t say much about human nature. "s humanity inherent or developed. Confucius: no e1plicit means to humanity3 $ao tzu: 4en is attainable3 can be cultivated. /hough Confucius would say people are born to study. 56:6 Confucius + "s it not a pleasure to study.7 Confucian virtues were not considered 8confucius8 until the 'an 9ynasty ++ after :;; <C "t was seen as a way to e1tend imperial virtues and let country govern itself 2.4 $ifetime of study Confucius breaks down the ages at which he attains certain knowledge e1: =; years old you can attain spontaneity which acts in accordance with confucian 1.1

Relations with people& you don2t need your friends to recognize you <eing recognized by others not as important as having recognition of oneself 16.4 /here are three kinds of friendships that can benefit you: 6. >pright :. /ruthful ?. well+informed /here are three kinds of friendships that can harm you: 6. friendships that flatter :. that are meek ?. those who compromise with principle 1.16 17.25 women and servants are the most difficult to deal with Politics 17.19 /he way is about according with moral powers and not doing things @or Chinese scholars and officials 8.13 whether the way prevails or not it is a conseAuence of the ruler "f the state is not in accordance with the way! don2t follow it 2.1 Ruler should be the north star which all people follow 18.6 ,ecuring state is more important when it2s virtuous! not when it2s not 13.3 Rectification of names are fundamental conservatism of Confucianism "t means making a son actually like a sun& making a king act like a king $aw! music and ceremony are all about rectifying human behavior 11.25 -hat is the biggest wish& goal among Confucius2 apostles . /o rule! to own land++but Confucius agrees with the apostle who

wants a day to go bathe in the river with other men and boys! coming back singing. ,ome scholars believe him to have been gay Page 33 knowledge is to behave in the world by one2s self /he world will go well because people will imitate you 282 $ao tzu "deas of separation of Barth and 'eaven Confucius: Reconciling human with the way %ohists: $ogic of ethics++no need for heaven! the world will save us all %encius: 9uring his time! state rulers gave the crown of the king and tried to unify states focusing on benevolence Confucius emphasized te1tual studying $ao /zu reveres the yin side! the passive side3 %ore about water in notes below titled (water* /aoist 9ualities 5$ao /zu7: 5yang7 5yin7 something nothing doing something doing nothing knowledge ignorance male female full empty above below Ch2u++,outh -est of warring states and place of more magic and shamanism 00Confucius is (the way* but he doesn2t really e1pand on what (the way* actually is.00 5 MINUTE B E!" :C; <C! reaction to Confucianism /ao # (the way*! (the way*! emptiness. "/ is central! rather than the truth. # $ao /zu attacked Confucianist values and critiAued their appearance as a

# D #

# # # #

sign of decline3 if the state is run according to the /ao then there is no need for li 5propriety7! 4en& pronounced ren 5humanity7! i 5sense of knowledge7 and chih 5knowledge7 uses uncarved wood as an e1ample 5section 2873 it contradicts Confucian wooden ob4ects which are carved! shaped! ground! polished lump of wood is more important than finished one because it e1ists in its natural state Confucius said politics should seek to rectify names by reforming the named thing or person to behave like the name but $ao /zu says they should simply stop being observed 5section 37) the /ao cannot be embodied by one teaching. valuing is wrong. /ao looks at what precedes the division created by value and seeks to relate all! this life! to the cosmos language imposes control and duality on the world. $anguage enables 4udgment %ore on valuing is wrong: /he /ao precedes divisons! like names. -hat is lesser valued is what the /ao is.

,implicity # it is key to finding /ao. # desires are bad3 spontaneity! which leads to awareness! is not e1actly like following a desire and can be good because it means one can live an unplanned life # however! encountering new things and new people is bad because it promotes desires! provides contrast 5dualities7 # following the /ao is a return to the origin3 not a warm! wealthy philosophy. the end result is not salvation or good feelings. there is coldness # the /ao is a reduction of life to minimal elements # the lack of dualities and seeing beyond the binary boundaries makes preferences fall away -ater # sections related to it: 78! 43! 8 # it is everywhere! it wears away at everything: the weak overcome the strong and strength does not last # people should all aspire to flow like water! like the /ao! no force! no action # pg. C; + -ater dwells in lowly places3 pp. =E Nothing is weaker than water

though water wears away. -eak wins. @emale ,e1ual Power # based on female cosmology # female se1 is powerful because it envelops3 it does not drain itself. the vagina is a symbol of comfort! of giving! of endless bounty 5i.e. children7 # there are many se1 manuals! the ma4ority written for men to teach them how to e1perience se1ual power by absorbing it from the female orgasm while trying to not e4aculate # @emale se1uality is a powerful trope in in Chinese ,e1ology with the notion of fertility& production and the receptive as the procreator. # the female&the womb! receptacle like bowl! productive 5producing babies7 F nurturer3 power to receiver: womb will never drain of power through use G:E # 9oing nothing is a key concept from $au Hi G?= # /ao thinks spontaneity results on truer and better actions as oppose to following one2s instincts++9oes not believe in following desires # $ao Hi also finds good in loneliness GE; /aoist utopia # -hy not visit those in the ne1t village. -hy visit those in the ne1t village. -ould promote desire! trade. /aoism pursues not a rich and varied life but a simple! cold life. -ith solitude comes the values and lack of making distinctions! reduction of life to minimal.

1/22/14
,ee P9@I

1/24/14
Daoism commenting on how we take language for reality -taking the unreal for actual things -world beyond langauge

Chuang Tzu: radical questioning of all qualities except regarding useful and useless Mohists = ethical, philosophers, logicians -centered around logic T'ien = way of heavens, Mandate of Heavesn, what heaven wants of human world Concept of heaven solves problem for Zhou Theodicy: attempt to answer the question of why evil exists Ritual specialists who conducted rituals including recitation of texts, chants, etc. -claimed special access to powers of heaven through ritual -became archaic, philosophy and textual study arose Confucius doesn't claim special access to heaven -when he performed rituals, his self was important Heaven and human realm, can be paradoxical Follow heaven's decrees! Chuang Tzu Chuang Tzu: Spontaneous movement in natural world. Spontaneous meaning not predetermined, not determined by previous moment. Chuang Tzu: Reflect the world as if you were a mirror Sensory perception and what leis outside it seems to be important in Chinese philosophy. Dao Te Ching = The way, and its power The core human disease is to differentiate, removes on from the flow. Be a blob in the world, formless, carry enough space within yourself. The sorting which evens things out

1/27/14
This is sort of a review lecture today. This Friday is Chinese New Year. Turn up.

Fireworks were one of the first uses of gunpowder. -I Ching = Book of Changes I Ching, book of guidance. -Fundamental idea of I Ching, can be expressed in a single word: resonance. When the Copper Mountain collapsed in the west, there was resonance in the east. Yin Yang, not simply contrast, but certain kind of dynamism. -When one side expands, the other side contracts -Cycle of expansion and contraction. Book of changes is about transformations, things are changing, growing, expanding, contracting, growing, etc. The kind of wisdom that is represented is one that is inside those changes. Dragons appear when important events are in motion -the spirit of a place -the embodiment of dynastic power -cause earthquakes, thunder You may find that when reading the Book of Changes with a question in mind, it may provide guidance for it. Book of Changes is central text in Chinese tradition, one of the five classics. Not about what the text means, but what it represents in terms of the cosmos. Trigrams in the Book of Changes Grand system of correspondence that, within limited form, represents the whole of the universe. In many ways, the I Ching is the root of poetry, association with images. Relationship with resonance. Things of the same kind activate each other. We have a cause, structure of causality that a principle that applies universally. There's a principle of combustion. There's gravity. But what is where is not causality, but affinity the relationality and the resonance. Water goes to where the water is.

When people are sad they want to lie down because the sadness and lying down seek each other. Always two parts complementing each other. Needham and Sivin, scholars re: book of changes. The style of thinking here is "correlative." -or, "associative." -so concepts are not causal, not "if/then" -They are placed side by side in a pattern. -Mutual relationship. -Pattern, order, organism, resonance. -Things are ever moving. -Any individual or separate things in this line of thinking is best understood as having its own place in a system.s Levy Bruhl -particulate, and circumambulant -a particle occupies a point in space time not because another particle pushed it there, but it took its place there Everything has a place. We're not setting up a primacy (cause and then result), but we're talking about, in a Chinese system, relationality, resonance, equivalence. Remember that this is a patriarchal, hierarchal, authoritarian society. This thinking does not run contrary to the state. -Causal thinkers can produce liberate political philosophy, this kind of thinking can fit very well with an authoritarian system. Totality of the system means that there is a system, the emperor's job is to (as we learned in Confucius) activate and serve as a sort of fulcrum for operationality.

1/29/14:
Question: Is The Book of Songs different with how it portrays the lives of common people, instead of the narratives of administrators and those of a higher class? What's the significance? The Book of Songs, poetry classic. We can look at it through poetry analysis: looking at formal structure, what it expresses -can also look at it as a classic, a textual system -original character of poem doesn't matter that much.

-what the lines mean, means less than the interpretative tradition that grows up around these lines Mimesis: representation, copying, to try to get a clear representation of something at a point in time Midterm question: What are the 5 classics? -Book of Changes -Book of Songs -Spring and Autumn Annals -Book of Documents -Book of Rites China is distinctive in having, early in its literary history, prominence given to lyric poetry -gets its force in music -musical tone, arrangement of sound -often about repetition, rhyme, sound qualities -parallelism: similar construction of syntax/grammar -Chinese poetry is distinguished by being image-centered -English Imagistic poetry movement, influenced by Chinese/Japanese poetry The capital "I" in Chinese poetry is important -can vary considerably over time -pay attention to repetition, patterning structures -pay attention to the nature of subjectivity What is writing? -visual representation of language -graphic representation of speech, official kinda definition Semasiology: representation of ideas, but not of words -like crosswalk depiction "Stages" of Writing: Zodiograph Multivalent Determinative "Poetry expresses the direction of the heart/mind" Idea that poetry is expressing something from wtihin feng = wind -important in the book of songs -like the "winds" of the different states in warring regions s

-why do they call it the wind? -sense that one function of the government was to collect folk songs as a way of diagnosing the situation in the country. -One synonym for this "wind" would be "mood" -Confucius has a section about the wind of a state, calling it "depraved" Writing circulated somehow in earlier days -through bronzes, bamboo strips, etc. Book of Songs includes ritual hymns to be sung at ceremonies Classification system of poems from Huang Dynasty -it's in Watson yo, just remember Hsing (Xing) Translation due on Monday! --2/3/14 Pronunciation, more! X = HS Q = Ch' Z = Ts (Tz) C = Ts' (Tz' JI = Chi Midterm coming up a week from Wednesday! -This Wednesday, we'll receive a study sheet Next Monday, we'll review a little bit in class. Same format as the last quiz. -There will be a map bit. -It's important that we know where the Ch'ien started, -where the old capitals were, -rivers, etc. -More information will be on study guide Midterm and short-answer final will be about factual things like names and dates, but also terms -philosophical concepts that we've spent time on -Literary and philosophy will be important -Will give us a line from a passage, we need to know what book it's from

-Or, can identify, and give reasons for identifying it -If enough justifications, can still get points. -So as we're reading, note differences between texts. -Not going to be a trick question, just typical. For this Wednesday's reading, read Gernet first, then do reading. -What's in joruney is history of Ch'ien dynasty -Remember, like the terra cotta warriors We'll be reading some ancient historiography stuff Ezra Pound's translation, 167 -"Aimless slowness, heart choked with grief. Acquaintances say: Ajh, melancholy! Strangers say: he hunts, but why." Ch'u = we're finding out more about Ch'u, in central China -In the Yangtze River area Chinese poetry, has allegorical content -an image-centered poem could be about a lot of things -gave it a classic sort of recognition The Ch'u poems, The Songs of the South, we essentially have the birth of the poet -a sense of a poet, biography, distinctive emotional cast -a poet who has a certain conception of self, how they fit in -the poet as an alienated official, an identity for a poet -applies for entirety of Chinese poetry tradition -these poems also give us an image bank: words, adjectives, plant names, etc. -takes a while for a new poetic language to be developed after that. Carving dragons as a metaphor for poetry: indicates that poetry takes language and adds embellishments and adornments to it, but there's always a chance it goes too far and dilutes the substance. -The literary mind should always come through in a good poem Book of Songs: mostly 4 characters per line We talk about couplets a lot in poems, how two lines go together in units, important in Chinese poetry. -2x2, key part of Chinese aesthetics Book of Songs is model for poems that are 4 characters per line -Watson says it dies out after Book of Songs -Connery says not true, just that kind of poetry wasn't as memorable

Parallelism: when lines are constructed similarly for an intentional effect -draws attention to certain things, emphasizes parts of a poem -hard to reproduce it from Chinese into English, but it's there. Motif of ruler understanding or trusting the minister, huge through history and literature -Confucius wanted to be an advisor to a ruler -Confucius was concerned about being known. Li Sao: Fame and name are related concepts, sexual and political imagery conflated, time and death are too. -In Chinese, word for name and fame is the same. -fame as way of negating death -preserved through text -much of it involves astral journeys, not an uncommon motif for China -"pacing the void" = tracing astral patterns on the ground There was no sense of time in the abstract until Warring States -appears in poems sometimes, like Li Sao -an essential component of subjectivity Li Sao, 184: -line 177: "Many a heavy sigh I heaved in my despair Grieving that I was born in such an unlucky time." -aesthetically summed up with "I would roam a little for my enjoyment." -roaming as free and easy wandering -journey is filled with parallel motion, back and forth, not going to any one location -denial of purpose. -backdrop is time -line 217: transfer into a quest for a woman. -line 297: time and flowers -line 364: "Borrowing the time to make a holiday" -doesn't really mean a holiday, but a good day, a perfect day New diet: air and stone, after Daoist magicians

There are 11 songs in the 9 songs

They're called the 9 songs because there's a hymn and a short poem in there too Another explanation says that it's a genre that the 9 songs are just a set of songs - the word "song" didn't mean "song" but it meant "ah" So basically we don't quite know but they're great

Clouds and rain depict female-centered sexuality -moisture

2/5/14
Gotta learn facts for the midterm, yafeelme TA's will have extra sections. Connery available in office hours. Study guide distributed today -if some terms are unclear, it's because we have covered it yet -Will continue learning material until Monday Today is important, we're talking about something rare: -the invention of an institution, the emperorship of China -one that lasts over 2000 years. -Very, very few of these things that last so long. Chairman Mao, said to be an emperor -in the vein of Chin Shi-huang, the first emperor -said that he admired him, had been unfairly judged -kind of contrary to what other people believed -but that's how he was portrayed that way, for a time afterwards Single most important event in this course: when emperorship begins with Chin Shihuang -interesting how the first emperor was a "bad" emperor, who pretty much did bad things. -despite the fact that many others acted similar to him. Psychological nexus in this founding moment, gets coded as a traumatic founding moment -becomes object of disavowal by other rulers The word that we have for emperor is Huang-ti -means "august emperor" Wang = king The first emperor very explicitly creates his own job, and names it There's a legend in history, that's false, that Ch'in Shi-huang did away with scholars and burned books -little more complicated than that -prohibition of private learning -against private authority, not scholars

-advocated "practical" learning but nothing else -Mohism and Confucianism, widely taught in private academies -students would learn the teaching of the teacher -textual tradition based on certain interpretation of books -most of what we get about him is written from a class of people who dislike him -always a screen of potential distortion in history -later in the Han dynasty, we have the elevation of Confucianism to state philosophy -in the Ch'in, there is no state philosophy -generally a legalist state -although elements of legalism exist for entirety of Chinese history, legalism is condemned -basically that you run the country based on firm law requiring people to do things. -Not without specialized punishment for transgressions. L Pu-wei, important dude during War of States period, schemed way into governing State of Qin -through bribes and machinations (there's a really good Wikipedia article on L Pu-wei at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_Buwei) story about him changing careers from commerce to government: On returning home, he said to his father, "What is the profit on investment that one can expect from plowing fields?" "Ten times the investment," replied his father."And the return on investment in pearls and jades is how much?""A hundredfold.""And the return on investment from establishing a ruler and securing the state would be how much?"" t would be incalculable." "!ow if devoted m" energies to laboring in the fields, would hardl" get enough to clothe and feed m"self# "et if secure a state and establish its lord, the benefits can be passed on to future generations. propose to go serve $rince %iren of &in who is hostage in 'hao and resides in the cit" of (iao" Prince Cheng, young king, son of L Pu-wei's concubine, -who becomes Queen Dowager, L Pu-wei appointed advisor How does a big state get governed? -When China unified in 221 BCE, not the size of what China is today, but was still huge Necessities for governing a state

-infrastructure -ability to collect taxes -communication -some ideological system -some reason for other powerful people to cooperate with how the empire works All empires get things from people in the empire One of the first acts of Ch'in is to center power in the emperor Gernet, page 78: -strong agricultural -built canals Shang Yang (Lord Shang), important dude militarized society in Warring States -movement from chariot to infantry warfare -10,000 people at most in a battle to 1 million Countries are made prosperous through agriculture and war Six Lice for Shang: Good food Longetivity Beauty Love Ambition Virtuous conduct Because, they infect farming, trade, and government office If farmers have a surplus, then they want to eat good and live a long time. -surplus means you care about taste and longevity If merchants have surplus, they want female beauty If officials have a surplus, they become concerned about their reputation 10 Evils rice ritual music odes history

virtue moral culture filial piety brotherly love sintegrity sophistry Ok, that list was read with the quickness so I don't know what's up with 12 Evils In Warring States with feudal system, the king was often first among equals -would give territory to allies and relatives, nepotism -sometimes the other people didn't like that, rebellions, etc. "All talented rulers must be able to oppose the world" Authority must be constructed over time Laws as an expression of the cosmic ordering of things Ch'in, militarized ordering of society, strict instructions for everything from cloth length to road width

2/10/14
Founding of the Han Ch'en She (Ch'en Sheng), Hsiang Y, Liu Pang -Said to each other, "The Ch'in is finished. Since we'll be killed when we show up late for work, let's revolt instead." -An oracle said that Ch'en Sheng's revolt would work, Hsiang Y agreed -One way to attract people: stuff silk saying "Ch'en Sheng will be the next emperor" into fish, fish get caught, people are hella amazed -Ch'en She had the sense of a mandate of heaven, but was paranoid, kinda cruel, didn't trust his people and died. -Hsiang Y was a rash, decisive warrior, was a general, did most of fighting against Ch'in -When captured Ch'in capital, he left the city and went back home because filial piety -Liu Pang took over the city, and was an emperor -When he was born there was a dragon above his head (says the legend) -In his life, never acknowledge human father as father -referred to himself as "dragon son" -wasn't a filial son, not loyal to homeland

or father Ch'in dynasty: 221 BCE 206 BCE Han Dynasty: 202 BCE 220 CE Former Han (Western Han): 202 BCE 8CE Wang Mang (Hsin Dynasty) Latter Han (Eastern Han): 25 CE 220 CE Corve labor: was unpaid labour imposed by the state on certain classes of people, such as peasants, for the performance of work on public projects Han is the central dynasty/historical phenomenon of this course China has no quasi-biological idea of race until 1200CE, Mughals (?) -Simply wasn't a category We call it the Eastern Han and the Western Han. -They move the capital, that's how it's distinguished. Han was a time when China expanded in all directions: north, to the west, into present day Korea, Vietnam, Burma, more. -developed administrative authority, bureaucracy, emperor From the big families, usually comes the empress -you have the bureaucrats also coming from big families -then you have eunuchs -castrated palace servants -owe their power to the person of the emperor In the Han, copper coins function as money for low-level stuff, but silk is way better -luxury fabric In 195BCE, 2/3rds of the coutnry was under the direct control of kings. -so like, military associates. that feudalism system though. -owed filial piety to 195 - 141, reduction of authority and power in kingdoms Emperor Wu, 141 - 87 BCE of the Han Dynasty -height of the Western Han, a long reign for one person 141 BCE, Emperor Wu wrote an edict: tried to find worthy men to be administrators

-135 BCE, there was an examination to determine best fits -First appearance of exam in Chinese History -Often subject to bribes and such -The sale of titles and such happened. -Punishments became source of revenue Overlapping administrative districts, more and more inspectors reporting to central government -Emperor Wu put down local kings Emperor remains a religious figure in Chinese history -intermediary between normal people and heavens, cosmic link Most empires spend hella monies on military -China didn't do that, half of it was on officials' salaries -Taxes on merchants, commerce, poll taxes, labor taxes, land taxes based on crop yields -Aim of government was control over individual peasants Our English word for barbarian comes from barba, beard -also imitation of how strange people talk "babababa" -sense of an other Why would the Chinese go to Rome? What's the point -many disadvantages, very few advantages -overextending yourself 100 BCE, Han Dynasty sent military campaigns into Central Asia to modern day Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan -found a lot of Chinese silk, goods, weapons, etc. -Chinese goods were popular as far away as Rome, Chinese didn't know -Chinese material had a lot of prestige all over Asia -Chinese gave many gifts to people, tribute system -symbolically represented superior civilization -glorification of China -Lost about 7% of revenue but established cultural authority