Making Empire LastThe Han Dynasty

Lecture reading: Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Chapter 3

In Sources of Chinese Tradition: *Jia Yi, “The Faults of Qin” (228), “The Primacy of the People”

(290)* Lu Jia, “The Natural Order and the Human Order” (285), *Dong Zhongshu, “The Conduct of Heaven and Earth” (295),

“Comprehending the State as the Body” (297),

“Interpreting

Omens” (305), *Five Phases of Change (346) *Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian (368), “The Sacred

Duty of the Historian” (370)

A selection from the Peking Opera: Zhan Jingtang -- The Beheading in the Hall of the Classics

Wu Han (sung by Zhou Xinfang 1895-1975) military commander at Dong-pass is the son of an official executed by Wang Mang, who has recently usurped the Han dynasty and established his Xin dynasty, but he grows up without being told about it. When Wang Mang marries his daughter to Wu, however, his mother tells him that he must avenge his father’s death by killing Wang’s daughter (who is a princess after all) and joining the rebel troops of Liu Xiu who is trying to restore the Han.

Wu thus finds himself with conflicting loyalties: between ruler and family and between wife/personal feeling and mother/moral duty. He does not want to kill his wife even though he agrees on the need for revenge. He tells his wife the situation. She, being a righteous women, kills herself, thus allowing him to fulfill his moral duty. His mother, seeing that Wu is likely to mourn over this, proceeds to kill herself as well. This frees Wu from his need to care for his mother. He quits his office, burns her corpse, collects her bones, puts them in his knapsack, and goes off with the rebel leader Liu Xiu.

Political Events of the PeriodThe Qin dynasty conquers the last of the feudal lords and

creates a centralized bureaucratic empire in 221 BCLiu Bang/Liu Pang is victorious in the civil war that begins in

206 BC and founds the Han dynasty; he is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu/Kao-tsu 202-195 B.C.The Former or Western Han dynasty, 202 B.C.-A.D. 9, capital at Chang'an

His wife, Empress Lü controls the government in 195-180 B.C.The height of Han power came during the reign of Emperor Wu in 141-87 B.C.Wang Mang usurps the Han throne in A.D. 9 and founds the Xin/Hsin (Xin="New") Dynasty, A.D. 9-23, capital at LuoyangThe Xin dynasty is destroyed, the Liu family recovers the throne, and the Han dynasty is restored: this is the Later or Eastern Han dynasty, A.D. 23-220, capital at Luo-yang

Macroregions of China

Population of Han, AD 2 60 million

http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~hsa13/tutorials/slideshows/qintomb/images/t_003.jpg

A. Balancing Tensions in the Imperial System: Qin and Han compared

1. Space2. Governance3. Recruitment4. Policy focus5. Locus of authority

A. Balancing Tensions in the Imperial System: Qin and Han compared1. Centralization versus regionalism2. Feudalism versus bureaucracy3. Hereditary right versus merit4. Military versus civil interests 5. Inner court versus outer court

Semi-autonomous

kingdoms and directly ruled

commanderies

Semi-autonomous kingdoms and directly ruled commanderies

A. Balancing Tensions in the Imperial System: Qin and Han compared1. Centralization versus regionalism2. Feudalism versus bureaucracy3. Hereditary right versus merit4. Military versus civil interests 5. Inner court versus outer court

B. Institutionalizing Knowledge and Limiting Imperial Power: Three Approaches

1. Sima Qian and the Records of the Historian (Shiji)

*Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian (368), “The Sacred Duty of the Historian” (370)

2. Dong Zhongshu and the Confucian Classics

The Classic of Documents, the record of the sage-kings' governance

The Classic of Songs, poems as emotional responses to the quality of rule

The Classic of Change, the universal process of dualistic change

The Spring and Autumn Annals, moral judgment on politics

The Record of Ritual, rituals and self-cultivation in public and private life

[The Music, music as the expression and vehicle of social and comic harmony]

3. Interpreting the "portents" from heaven

The theoretical foundation for “portents”

Yin and yang,

Five Phase theory“cosmic resonance”

*Lu Jia, “The Natural Order and the Human Order” (285)*Dong Zhongshu, “The Conduct of Heaven and Earth” (295),

“Comprehending the State as the Body” (297), “Interpreting Omens” (305)*Five Phases of Change (346)

Five Phase Correlations in the Second Century B. C.

PHASE wood fire earth metal water

SEASON spring summer midsummer fall winter

DIRECTION east south center west north

PLANET Jupiter Mars Saturn Venus Mercury

CROP wheat rice "grain" millet legumes

IMPLEMENT compass balance cord square plumb

EMBLEM blue-green dragon

vermillion bird

yellow dragon

white tiger dark warrior

COLOR blue-green vermillion yellow white black

METAL lead copper gold mercury iron

BEAST scaly feather naked hairy armored

NUMBER 3, 8 2, 7 5, 10 4, 9 1, 6

FLAVOR sour bitter sweet pungent salty

SMELL musty burnt fragrant rank putrid

GOD door stove drain gate well

ANIMAL goat chicken bovine dog pig

MEAT mutton chicken beef dog meat pork

GRAIN wheat legumes millet hempseed millet

OFFERING spleen lungs heart liver kidneys

MUSIC strings pipes [none] bells chimes

WEAPON spear glaive sword halberd partisan

SENSORY ORGAN

eyes ears mouth nose genitals

STRUCTURAL ORGAN

nerves blood vessels muscle skin bones

VISCERA liver heart stomach lungs kidneys

ATTRIBUTES wise strong clever daring stupid

AFFECT liberality beneficence prudence sternness ferocity