Magic and Rationalism in Ancient China

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Magic and Rationalism in Ancient China I. Hsia and Shang China

A. Yellow River
- 1. Cradle of Chinese civilization
- 2. Flows through a plain of loess soil
  - a. sandy soil hundreds of feet deep
  - b. produced by winds off the Gobi
  - c. Very fertile
  - d. but loose, very flat - prone to devastating floods
  - e. River frequently changes course after a flood
- 3. Combination of fertile soil and dangerous river spurs growth of civilization
B. Xia Dynasty
- 1. traditionally dated 2205-1776 BC
- 2. semi-mythical - only a small amount of archaeological evidence
C. Shang Dynasty (1766-1050 BC)
- 1. better known due to discovery in 1920s of capital at Anyang
  - a. tortoise shell oracle bones main source of information
  - b. oracle bones from Hsia period have no inscriptions
- 2. Ruled by warrior horsemen
- 3. City-state based society recognizing the overall authority of the Shang king
- 4. Cities built mostly of wood -- frequently moved due to war, floods
- 5. Highly stratified society where king lived in great opulence
  - a. Hundreds of servants, soldiers, sacrificed to be buried with king
  - b. military aristocracy kept power with monopoly on bronze weapons
- 6. Greatest artistic achievement in Shang bronzes
- 7. Religion -- shamanistic religion
  - a. recognized a Deity Above
  - b. several lesser deities of nature
  - c. sacrifice and prayers made to ancestors, who interceded with gods
  - d. Shangdi, ancestor god of the dynasty, main deity of ancestor cult
  - d. kings were high priests but not divine
  - e. religion closely tied to astronomy, celestial occurrences
  - f. emphasis on magic, fertility -- religious rites included drinking, dancing, human sacrifice

II. The Western Chou (1122-771 BC.)

A. Began when Chou kings invaded from western China, killed Shang king
- 1. King Wen, King Wu, Duke of Chou -- semi-mythical founders of dynasty
B. How to rule over a large land without communications? Feudalism
- 1. King bestowed land, its contents to a vassal
  - a. in Chou culture, usually a relative
  - b. also someone who had shown valor, intelligence, etc. (in theory)
  - c. done through legal contracts
- 2. In return for getting this,
  - a. vassal offered his allegiance to king
  - b. vassal paid taxes, other support for king
  - c. vassal defended king's lands for him
  - d. vassal acknowledged king as having a "mandate from heaven" to rule
- 3. Mandate of Heaven -- enunciated by Duke of Chou
  - a. new idea that included the first Chinese use of "heaven" (tien) as an idea
  - b. assumed that the king received power from heaven, not from descent from Shang-ti
  - c. if king did not act morally, he could lose the mandate -- this is why Shang lost control
  - d. thus linked heaven to the king
  - e. also made the king subservient to something--"heaven"
  - f. more rationalistic than the magic-based thought of Shang period
C. Feudalism maintained through etiquette, ritual created over centuries
D. Society was well-organized through the Chou feudal system
- 1. King on top as the "son of heaven" -- control of a large military force
- 2. vassals underneath king, but with almost complete local power
- 3. fighting men under them; court historians, etc.
- 4. artisans
- 5. farmer/peasants;
E. Extension of feudalism and the culture it brought with it created a unified "Chinese" culture
- 1. two most important things
  - a. emphasis on kinship to govern society and link generations
  - b. emphasis on a heaven-sent moral code to link god to humans
- 2. these two would be cornerstones of Chinese development
- 3. these two would make Chinese feel bound up in one unified, ancient culture

III. The Eastern Chou (771-256 BC)

A. Gradually, the feudal relationships between Chou kings and their vassals deteriorated
- 1. vassals gained more and more political power
- 2. as Chou lands extended, vassals actually held more land than the kings!
- 3. Also, the shi (men of service: bureaucrats, scribes, overseers) began to grow in influence
- 3. king retained some political power, but more influence as Son of Heaven
- 4. king forced to leave his capital, move eastward to safety
B. Two periods of the Eastern Chou
- 1. Spring and Autumn period 771-481 BC - in which feudal systems broke down as states competed
- 2. Warring States period 481-256 BC - when often three of every four years were taken up in warfare
C. Wars brought political and administrative centralization within each warring state
- 1. the goal was for stronger states to take over weaker ones
- 2. in feudalism, there were 70-100 feudal states all related to the Son of Heaven
- 3. at beginning of Warring States period, there were seven major states
- 4. at end of Warring States period, there was only one central state
- 5. this then introduced a centralized political system instead of decentralized feudalism
D. Of course, therefore, there was a breakdown in the feeling of unity through warfare
- 1. feudal ties lost their importance as the Eastern Chou period went on
- 2. culture, ritual, and etiquette lost their importance as well.
E. A major question, therefore, was -- how do you get out of this war-situation?
- 1. growth of philosophy of the "Hundred Schools"
- 2. Confucianism would have one answer
- 3. Taoism would have another

VI. Legalism as an Answer

A. Developed in Ch'in state
B. Legalism - like Chou thought, highly rationalistic
- 1. Ascribed to Lord Shang, d. 330 BC
- 2. Sought to create an powerful, centralized state
- 3. Rejects ethics and history as guides to rulership
- 4. Rather, a system of strict and detailed laws, impartially applied
  Han Fei-Tzu (d. 233 BC): "Rewards should be rich and certain so that people will be attracted by them; punishments should be severe and definite so that people will fear them; and laws should be familiar and steadfast so that people will be familiar with them.
- 5. All must serve the state, in peace and in war
  - a. creation of a regimented society
  - b. peasants organized into semi-militarized units
  - c. feudal lords replaced with bureaucracy
  - d. alliance with merchants helps give king power, wealth to do this
- 6. war is good
  - a. for strengthening the state and king and making the people
  - b. making people disciplined, submissive

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