 An early Chinese description describes the Xianbei as nomads who both hunted and herded and who lived in temporary
dwellings with domes, probably a kind of yurt. The Xianbei chose their
leader for his bravery and judgment, this source notes, commenting that
the position could not be inherited. Terming this type of rule
tanistry,
a modern analyst defines it as rule of the tribe “by
the best qualified member of the chiefly house.” What this meant
in practice was that all contenders for power had to prove their
ability to lead by defeating their rivals in battle. Vanquishing one’s
rivals was a crucial sign that the gods approved of the new leader. A
competent leader
could attract thousands of followers, both from his own tribe and
others, while an incompetent ruler could quickly be deposed. Under the
system of tanistry, because there was no clear line of succession, a
son could replace his father, but so could a brother or an uncle.
Whenever a leader died, his sons and brothers would organize campaigns
against each other until a new leader could be selected, often at a
meeting of the tribal elders. (Open Empire, 158)
- What
are the strengths and weaknesses of this form of leadership transition
... and what might this tell us about the capacity of such peoples to
form a stable government?
 |
As the Tabgach gradually shifted their base from the
Yin Shan Mountains in Inner Mongolia to northern Shanxi province, they
derived more of their income from taxing the Chinese peasantry, and
they adopted a Chinese law code. A new ruler, known only by his Chinese
name, Tuoba Gui, took power in 386, the traditional date for the
founding of the Northern Wei dynasty. Following the custom of the
nomads, the young state established no permanent capital because the
capital was wherever the ruler pitched camp. In 396, Tuoba Gui assumed
the Chinese title of emperor, and in 398 he began to build a permanent
capital in northern Shanxi at Pingcheng. ...
As soon as Dowager Empress Feng gained power
she began systematically to appoint Chinese to office and just as
systematically to lessen Tabgach influence. ... In 493, Emperor Xiaowen
(reigned 471-499) implemented a series of measures designed to make his
empire Chinese, the most remarkable of which was to establish a new
capital in Luoyang, which had lain in ruins since 311. Even in
shambles, Luoyang represented the past glories of Chinese civilization.
To rebuild the city required ten years, and by the time workers doing
labor service had completed their task, the emperor had died. During
this decade of capital building, the emperor promulgated other
ambitious edicts as well. The royal family dropped their own family
name of Tabgach and adopted Chinese surname Yuan instead. They
ordered officials to take Chinese names, to speak Chinese at court, and
to wear Chinese clothing. Following the earlier Chinese precedent, the
emperor also appointed impartial judges who ranked Tabgach families
according to a nine-grade system that determined which offices they
could hold. (Open Empire, 158-62)
- Why
did Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen make such a radical
departure from the traditional Tabgach/Xianbei style of rule?
| Although historians have traditionally
interpreted Emperor Xiaowen’s policies as a step along the
inevitable process of becoming Chinese, the emperor’s moves to suppress native Tabgach ways masked a move
against the military, a group who retained significant power at the
Northern Wei court. The Chinese model of government granted the emperor
more power than did the traditional power-sharing practices of the
steppe, and Emperor Xiaowen wanted all the power he could get. (Open Empire, 163) |
Migrations to the South
Among the Chinese of the
north, South China harbored a fearsome reputation as an uncivilized,
malarial place far from the capital. Few Chinese speakers would have
chosen to live in the south, but the fall of Luoyang to the steppe
peoples prompted the first reluctant migrants to go there. ... From a modern vantage
point we know the climate of the south, with two to three times the rainfall of the north, was perfect for the cultivation
of rice. But the migrants fleeing the north viewed south China with
apprehension. The hot, wet climate provided the perfect home for
illnesses, including malaria and other dangerous fevers. Before the
lowlands of the south could be cultivated, dikes had to be built around
the rice fields so they could be flooded and drained as needed during
the growing season. The transformation of the swamps of the south into
rich rice paddies took long centuries and a great toll on those who
settled there. (Open Empire, 166)
Life in the North vs. Life in the South
The Family Counsels of Mr. Yan
We can see the
continuing influence of steppe culture on north Chinese life in the
memoir of a Chinese official, Yan Zhitui (531-after 590), who wrote The Family Counsels of Mr. Yan
sometime before China was reunified in 589 by the Sui dynasty. Yan’s
book of advice is directed to his children and reflects his experience
as an official under four different dynasties. In such difficult times,
the only strategy for survival, he felt, was complete mastery of both
spoken and written Chinese, the necessary tools for officials in
whichever dynasty came to power. Accordingly he urged his sons to speak
Chinese correctly and to study hard. Yan did not, however, think his
sons should learn the Xianbei language, for it was a secondary pursuit
that would only distract them from their core studies. (Open Empire, 165)
Yan Zhitui on Gender
In the south the husband must cut a good figure
in public, however impoverished the family may be. He would not scrimp
on his carriages or clothes, even if his extravagance causes his wife
and children to suffer hunger and cold.
In the north of the Yellow River it is
usually the wife who runs the household. She will not dispense with
good clothing or expensive jewelry. The husband has to settle for old
horses and sickly servants. The traditional niceties between husband
and wife are seldom observed, and from time to time he even has to put
up with her insults. (Open Empire, 165)
I had a distant relative [in the south] in whose household there
were many concubines. When any were pregnant and the time of delivery
drew near, janitors and servants were set to watch. As soon as the
birth pains were noticed, the watchers waited at the door and peered
through the windows. If a girl were born, it was snatched away at once;
though the mother screamed and cried, no one dared to save it; one
could not bear to listen. (Open Empire, 165-6)
- What
do these accounts regarding the treatment of women tell us about the
different cultures that were emerging in the north and in the south?
- How might this be related to the previous discussion of tanistry?
- How does it relate to the “One-Child Policy” in contemporary China?
|
Religion in the South
Mao Shan (Shangqing/Supreme Clarity) Daoism
 The
Mao Shan adherents continued some of the practices of the Five Pecks
Daoists, such as curing the ill, but they tried to distance themselves
from practices that had given the Daoists a bad name, specifically
certain sexual rites. Tao Hongjing systematized the many gods and
immortals into seven levels housing both
divine immortals as well as the spirits of the dead. The lowest level
lay under the earth, as did the level above it, which housed candidates
for immortality.
The lowest level in the Mao Shan
system, where the souls of the dead went to be judged, replicated the
indigenous Chinese view of the afterlife, which held that souls of the
dead would go to a series of courts in the underworld, where their
future would be decided and where they would most likely remain
forever. The Mao Shan Daoists offered a slightly more optimistic view
of the afterlife for they claimed the authority to intervene with the
officials of these underworld courts. They also taught that the dead
could lodge underworld suits against people who had wronged them when
they were still alive. If the targets of the suits had already died,
then their living relatives could suffer as well. The Daoists’ claim to intercede on behalf of the dead in the underworld courts brought them many adherents. (Open Empire, 167-8)
 |
The Sui Dynasty
589-618
 The
task of reuniting the empire proved far easier than anyone could have
predicted given the preceding two hundred fifty years of disunity. The
founder of the Sui dynasty, Yang Jian (reigned 581-604) was born into a
powerful military family and spent the first twelve years of his life
under the care of a nun in a monastery. A more traditional military
education followed, and he became a general under one of the regional
rulers, the Northern Zhou. In 566 he married a woman of mixed heritage,
whose ancestors included both Xiongnu and Chinese families. She did not
accept the Chinese tradition of taking concubines and insisted that he
have no children but those she bore. In 578, Yang Jian’s eldest
daughter was married to a crazed northern Zhou prince who subsequently
succeeded his father as regional ruler. The ruler insisted that Yang
Jian’s daughter commit suicide, presumably so that he could remarry,
and only the plea by Yang Jian’s wife saved the girl. Then the ruler
fell ill and died. At this point Yang Jian decided to seize
power, first posing as the regent of the child emperor and then
founding his own dynasty in 581, when he began his reign as Emperor
Wendi. In 589, the new dynasty, the Sui, conquered the south and reunified the empire.
The Sui dynasty, like the Qin, did not rule
for long. The people of the North and South had grown apart, and the
influence of the Turko-Mongol population was much stronger in the north
than in the more refined, aristocratic south. The first Sui emperor
took measures to try to eliminate those differences. He insisted that
all, regardless of background, be treated equally before the law, and
he promulgated a new streamlined law code. ... The first Sui emperor also
tried to heighten his subjects’ support for his rule through Buddhism. (Open Empire, 174-5)
 |
The Tang Dynasty
618-906
 The Tang (618-906) is known for the vitality and vibrancy of its culture — the
dynamic and cosmopolitan cultural life of the capital city of Changan,
 a flourishing trade and cultural contact with Western Asia, the
evolution of distinctively Chinese forms of Buddhism, the proliferation
of Buddhist sculpture and painting, the early development of the short
story and the fictional imagination, an unprecedented and dazzling
efflorescence in the art of poetry. In government too there were
remarkable developments that had a profound effect not only on Tang
political culture but also on the course of later Chinese civilization — the
revival of the civil service examination system as a basis for
recruiting an effective bureaucracy based on the principle of merit, a
far-reaching land reform designed to equalize landholding, the
establishment of an administrative structure of the central government
that would endure, with minor modifications, down to the twentieth
century. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 539)
Tang Confucianism
If today Chinese
civilization seems almost synonymous with Confucian culture, we need to
be reminded of the long centuries during which Buddhism and Daoism
exerted a powerful and formative influence. ... Indeed, it may be said
that during this period, though there were Confucian scholars, there
were virtually no Confucians — that
is, persons who adhered to the teachings of Confucius as a distinct
doctrine that set them apart from others. The sense of orthodoxy came
later and mostly to an educated elite. People followed Confucius in the
home or in the office, but this did not prevent them, high or low, from
turning to Buddhism or Daoism to find satisfaction of their spiritual
needs. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 540)
|
The Family Counsels of Mr. Yan
Preface
 The habits and teaching of our family have always
been regular and punctilious. In my childhood I received good
instruction from my parents. With my two elder brothers I went to greet
our parents each morning and evening to ask in winter whether they were
warm and in summer whether they were cool; we walked steadily with
regular steps, talked calmly with good manners, and moved about with as
much dignity and reverence as if we were visiting the awe-inspiring
rulers at court. They gave us good advice, asked about our particular
interests, criticized our defects and encouraged our good points — always
zealous and sincere. When I was just nine years old, my father died.
The family members were divided and scattered, every one of us living
in dire straits. I was brought up by my loving brothers; we went
through hardships and difficulties. They were kind but not exacting;
their guidance and advice to me were not strict. Though I read the
ritual texts, and was somewhat fond of composition, I tended to be
influenced by common practices; I was uncontrolled in feelings,
careless in speech, and slovenly in dress. When about eighteen or
nineteen years old I learned to refine my conduct a little, but these
bad habits had become second nature, and it was difficult to get rid of
them entirely. After my thirtieth year gross faults were few, but still
I have to be careful always, for in every instance my words are at odds
with my mind, and my emotions struggle with my nature. Each evening I
am conscious of the faults committed that morning, and today I regret
the errors of yesterday. How pitiful that the lack of instruction has
brought me to this condition! I would recall the experiences of my
youth long ago, for they are engraved on my flesh and bone; these are
not merely the admonitions of ancient books, but what has passed before
my eyes and reached my ears. Therefore I leave these twenty chapters to
serve as a warning to you boys. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 542-3)
The common people are indulgent and are
unable to [raise their children in the manner of the ancient sages].
But as soon as a baby can recognize facial expressions and understand
approval and disapproval, training should be begun so that he will do
what he is told to do and stop when so ordered. After a few years of
this, punishment with the bamboo can be minimized, as parental
strictness and dignity mingled with parental love will lead the boys
and girls to a feeling of respect and caution and give rise to filial
piety. I have noticed about me that where there is merely love without
training this result is never achieved. Children eat, drink, speak, and
act as they please. Instead of needed prohibitions they receive praise;
instead of urgent reprimands they receive smiles. Even when children
are old enough to learn, such treatment is still regarded as the proper
method. Only after the child has formed proud and arrogant habits do
they try to control him. But one may whip the child to death and he
will still not be respectful, while the growing anger of the parents
only increases his resentment. After he grows up, such a child becomes
at last nothing but a scoundrel. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 543)
- What does this tell us about Confucian education?
- How is this relevant to contemporary China? And what about America?
|
|
The Great Tang Code
One of the great achievements of the Tang dynasty was its legal system, especially the criminal code (Tanglü),
which, supplemented by civil statutes and regulations, became the basis
for later dynastic codes not only in China but elsewhere in East Asia.
The Code synthesizes the Legalist tradition, centered on the state, and
Confucian traditions, focused more on family relations and conflict
resolution in the local community. ... Overall, the Code
reflects an attempt by a centralized, bureaucratic, dynastic state (not
the decentralized “feudal” state idealized by the
Confucians) to assert its authority and protect its power over all
China. Yet the effective limits of their authority are acknowledged by
the Code’s heavy
reinforcement of Confucian ritual practice by which social order would
normally be maintained through the family system, without recourse to
law or the intervention of state power. Law was only the last resort
after other, more consensual mechanisms failed. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 546-7)
|
Preface
 In the beginning, the three powers [i.e. heaven,
earth and humans] were established, and only then were the myriad forms
divided. Among the creatures endowed with qi
and possessing consciousness, human beings may be considered the chief.
Never was a prime minister installed without the agreement of the
masses, nor were penal laws promulgated except in accord with the moral
teachings concerning government.
There were those, however, whose
passions were unrestrained and who acted stupidly, those whose
knowledge declined and who offended criminally. If great, then they
disrupted the entire world and, if small, they violated the standards
for their own group. Thus it would be unheard of not to establish
controls for such persons. Hence the statement
| “Punishments are used to stop punishments and killing is used to stop killing.” |
Punishments may not be discarded in a country; chastisements may not be
dispensed with within a home. Depending on whether the times are
virtuous or unprincipled, the use of punishments is great or small. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 547-8)
|
The Ten Abominations
Article 6
Subcommentary: The ten abominations (shie) are the most serious of those offenses that come within the five
punishments. They injure traditional norms and destroy ceremony. They
are specially placed near the head of this chapter [14b] in order to
serve as a clear warning. ... Article: The first is called plotting rebellion (moufan).
Subcommentary: The Gongyang Commentary states:
“The ruler or parent has no harborers [of plots]. If he does have
such harborers, he must put them to death.” This means that if
there are those who harbor rebellious hearts that would harm the ruler
or father, he must then put them to death. The Zuo Commentary (Zuozhuan)
states: “When the seasons are reversed, we have calamities ... when
the virtues of men are reversed, we have disorders.” 
Article: The second is called plotting great sedition (mou dani).
Subcommentary: This type of person breaks laws and destroys order, is against traditional norms, and goes contrary to virtue.
Article: The sixth is called great irreverence (da bujing).
Subcommentary: Rites are the root of reverence; reverence is the expression of rites. ... “Rites
are the great instrument of the ruler. It is by them that he resolves
what is doubtful and brings to light what is abstruse ... examines
institutions and regulations, and distinguishes humaneness and
rightness.” The responsibility of those who offend against ritual is great and their hearts lack reverence and respect. Article: The seventh is called lack of filiality (buxiao).
Subcommentary: Serving one’s parents well is called filiality. Disobeying them is called lack of filiality. (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 549-51)
|
- What does the Tang Code tell us about the premodern Chinese conception of law and its relation to the social order?
- How
is this different from contemporary Western conceptions of law ... and
what might this tell us about contemporary Chinese conceptions of the
relation between law and the social order?
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