CHAPTER FOUR -
THE GOLDEN AGE OF CHINA
Following
the collapse of the Han Dynasty, China experienced fragmented
political leadership from 220 - 580 CE. However, unlike the fall of Rome
which resulted in the near collapse of Western civilization (called by
some the Dark Ages), China was able to sustain educational,
technical and even economic progress despite the collapse of effective central
political power. In fact, by the 6th century CE, a new
leadership was able to tie separate regions back together and a renewed Chinese
state and empire was able to continue its achievements, entering a golden age
of historical development and prosperity.
POLITICAL
DIVISIONS
After the Han collapsed, no
effective leadership or dynasty emerged to replace it. Rather than one
centralized leadership, three regional leaderships claimed power, competing and
checking each other. This period of division is referred to as the era of Three
Kingdoms (221-280 CE.) This breakdown of political central control,
however, did not result in a complete collapse. Many elements of
the Confucian bureaucracy continued, but were maintained and carried out
separately in three different kingdoms/political states. The Confucianist-based
educational system was sustained in these three kingdoms. The social
structure and traditional cohesion that Confucianism provided thus helped to
sustain stability even when there was loss of a unified state system.
Even more remarkable was
the next period. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Three
Kingdoms fragmented, resulting in even more divided local leadership. (see timeline)
In the north, nomadic peoples such as the Toba took advantage of political
weakness to invade and establish control of some northernmost regions - the
period is referred to as the "Barbarian invasions".
Interestingly, these "barbarian" leaders, far from destroying the
culture and achievements of China,
actually adopted the framework of a Confucian state including the civil service
exam. These local warlords adopted and maintained Confucian systems for
the simple reason that the bureaucracy worked in ruling a large number
of people. Thus the traditions that took root during the Han Dynasty
survived the collapse of dynastic rule, the emergence of local, competing
rulers, and even outside domination by tribal invaders - Chinese culture
survived and absorbed the invaders to the north. Although there was no unified
state between 221 - 580, there were several smaller-scale Confucian based
regional leaders. So, for the culture itself, even in the midst of
political turbulence, there was some stability and thus continuity.
THE SUI
DYNASTY
The
importance of this cultural and political continuity is clear in the history
after 580 CE. By the end of the 6th century, a leadership finally emerged
able to push back the "barbarian" presence and decisively defeat
competing local leaders. The Sui Dynasty,
which lay claim to the Mandate of Heaven by 580 CE repeated the pattern of the
Qin - it was a harsh, short but effective dynasty that tied China back
together again. Between 580 - 618 CE, Sui emperors reestablished a
centralized state, crushed rebellious regions, unified the military, and
reinstated one Confucian bureaucratic system. Sui leaders also
undertook a huge state construction project- the Grand
Canal. This was a massive construction effort to link the two great river
valleys - the Yellow and the Yangtze - to better facilitate economic
interaction. Given the technological abilities of the time, this awesome
project had constructive long-term economic benefits but cost the lives of
countless drafted Chinese peasants. The harsh Sui leadership suffered the
same fate as the Qin - rapid overthrow due to an excessively force and
brutality. The Sui Dynasty was succeeded by two more stable, longer-lasting, and
popular dynasties - the Tang and the Song Dynasties.
THE TANG AND
SONG DYNASTIES
The period during which China was ruled under the Tang Dynasty
(618 - 907 CE) and the Song (Sung) Dynasty
(970 - 1279 CE) is considered by historians as China's golden period. Building on
the centralized stability re-created by the Sui leaders, Tang emperors
attempted to rule in a more benevolent manner - to fulfill the Confucian ideal
of good government. The early period of this dynasty was one of the best
periods for peasants due to meaningful tax and land reforms. Political
reforms refined and broadened the Confucian bureaucratic system, making Tang
Dynasty China
the most sophisticated political state in the world at this time. The
Tang capital city - Chang-an
(today known as Xian) - was an immense and sprawling city drawing merchants and
travelers from Asia, the Near East and even the Mediterranean.
During the period between
220 - 580 CE, despite the political violence, China
had continued to benefit from the influences and connections along the Silk Road. Buddhism took firmer root in China, aided by the efforts of Chinese Buddhists
such as Fa
Hsien who made a journey to India
in the late 4th and early 5th centuries in search of original Buddhist
texts. He returned to China
with several texts and spent the rest of his life translating them. Thus,
important advances in religious thought occurred even during this time of
political upheaval. It was during the peace and stability of the
Tang leadership, however, that the imported religion of Buddhism
truly flourished. In many regions, Buddhism coexisted with the native ideas of
Taoism; in some regions, a blending of Chinese(Taoist) and Buddhist traditions
led to new sects or "paths" including the Pure Land Sect, Chan
Buddhism and the Tian-tai sect. Recognize, Chinese intellectuals at the time
debated about this imported religion - while some embraced its appearance in China (see
pro-Buddhist argument), others feared its effect on their traditional
society (see
criticism of Buddhism.) Because of broader trade links and increased
contact with other civilizations, Chinese civilization was enriched but also
now had to deal with the constant question of how to balance new ideas with
existing traditions. This is a tension that will continue throughout
Chinese history.
Even more vividly, the
stability and prosperity of the Tang, combined with the influences brought in
by Silk Road trade, resulted in the flowering
of Chinese culture in areas such as scholarship and especially the production
of fine arts including porcelain, remarkable sculptures
and paintings. The greatest achievement in the eyes of some was Tang
literature, in particular the poetry of this period. Poets such as Li
Bo (Li Po) and Tu Fu (Du Fu) are still
considered the greatest poets produced by Chinese civilization. These poets
blended traditional forms dating back to the Shang period, but also
incorporated more contemporary influences from other cultures in Central Asia
and even farther away. Tang era poetry has an emotional quality that is
still evocative to the present day. (see
examples)
Over time, due to
increasing political corruption and ineffectiveness, the Tang Dynasty also
collapsed - followed by a relatively brief period of political upheaval known
as the Era of Five Dynasties (907-960 CE.) In 960, the Mandate of Heaven
was effectively claimed by the Song Dynasty - which held onto power until 1279
CE, ruling over what some have called the peak of Chinese
civilization. Building on the achievements of the Tang Dynasty, the peak of Chinese civilization under the Song
leadership can be measured in terms of economic wealth, cultural achievements
and the fact that the state
was the most politically effective and sophisticated in the world.
During the golden age of
the Tang and Song dynasties, innovations such as block
printing and gunpowder
were developed. This was also the period when Chinese technology produced the
mariner's compass and the water clock. As a result of the tremendous
prosperity enabled by trade, paper
currency was developed (much more convenient than heavy coins!) as well as
sophisticated methods of banking. All this was occurring in China, while at the same time Europe
was still fragmented and undergoing the violence and upheaval of the Middle
Ages.
The important lesson emerging
from the political changes China
underwent after the formative Han Dynasty seems to be this: despite political
break down, China
did not degenerate into murderous civil war or anarchy. China did not
suffer from another Era of Warring States; Chinese civilization did not
collapse into a "Dark Ages". Instead, traditional Confucian
based patterns and politics were maintained on a regional basis and these
patterns even absorbed by northern invaders. Because of this continuity,
later Chinese leaders under the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties could readily reunite
China and in essence pick up
where China
had left off in terms of development. Bottom line - this degree of continuity
through the period 220 - 580 CE made possible the glory of the later Tang and
Song periods in Chinese history. China's
achievements were in fact so impressive that the civilizations of Korea, Japan
and cultures in Southeast Asia were profoundly
influenced by this culture.
Perhaps the
best way to show how impressive this continuity was is to compare China with the
West. The Roman and the Han empires are often compared - they emerged at
roughly the same time and both were powerful, wealthy states. However, (as we
will detail later in the course) when Rome fell in the West, Europe and Central
Mediterranean regions experienced centuries of extreme violence and
social and political break-down, known as the Middle Ages (or more judgmentally
as the "Dark Ages.") After the collapse of effective central control in
the West, from about 500 to 1400's CE, Western/Central
Europe lost the connection with and even knowledge of
earlier Classical scholastic, artistic and literary heritage. The wisdom of Greece and Rome
in fact had to be "rediscovered" during the Renaissance of the
1300-1400's - and some of it was lost forever. As a result, Europe fell
far behind the China and the
Near East in terms of economic development,
technology, and scientific knowledge. In comparison, Chinese culture and
knowledge survived the fall of the Han, and in fact the Chinese
continued their economic and cultural development despite political
instability, making possible the golden age and cultural peak of the Tang and
Song eras once political centralization was restored. It took
Europe/the West hundreds of years to catch up with the economic
stability, technological achievements and political sophistication exhibited by
China
during these two dynasties.
CONCLUSION
With this brief overview of
Indian and Chinese developments during these centuries, we see the effects in
those societies that emphasized tradition. In India, a traditional foundation
provided stability at the local level that was almost impossible to achieve at
the level of state/bureaucratic leadership. There were only brief periods
of peace under the Mauryan and Gupta leadership - and in fact these short
periods stand out as impressive golden ages for Indian. The norm,
however, was political turmoil, which led the Indians to turn more intently to
the caste system and the Vedic based religious beliefs to provide continuity
and stability.
In China,
political unification was achieved early on. During the Han Dynasty,
Confucian traditions were adopted and institutionalized which reinforced the
state; Confucianist ideas took deep root in the educational, political and
social realms. These traditions then held the society together - even when the
state fragmented - and made possible not only the reunification of China, but its continued
growth and evolution resulting in a sophistication unmatched by any society
in the 10th - 13th centuries.
While in modern times, traditional, conservative values made India and China
vulnerable to the aggression of the dynamic, industrial forces of the
West/Europe, it is important to remember that deeper in the past, these
traditional approaches proved quite successful in ensuring survival and
continuity in the face of severe political challenges. We have spent the
past three weeks tracing Asian developments from the BCE to the CE period,
noting important lessons and patterns. Next week we return to the BCE
period and trace the same centuries, but instead focus on the emergence and
development of those civilizations that became the foundations of
"Western" culture.
Interesting Related Web Sites
Buddhism
- Links
Chinese
Poetry
Internet East
Asia History Sourcebook
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