China Academic Library Academic Advisory Board: Researcher Geng, Yunzhi, Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Professor Han, Zhen, Beijing Foreign Studies University, China Researcher Hao, Shiyuan, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Professor Li, Xueqin, Department of History, Tsinghua University, China Professor Li, Yining, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, China Researcher Lu, Xueyi, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Professor Tang, Yijie, Department of Philosophy, Peking University, China Professor Wong, Young-tsu, Department of History, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA Professor Yu, Keping, Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, China Professor Yue, Daiyun, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University, China Zhu, Yinghuang, China Daily Press, China Series Coordinators: Zitong Wu, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, China Yan Li, Springer
This book series collects, organizes and presents the master pieces in contemporary China studies. Titles in this series include those by Chinese authors who studied and worked abroad during early times whose works were originally in English and had already made great impacts in the Western world, such as Hu Shi, Fei Xiaotong and others; as well as works by more recent authors, Chinese and non-chinese, that are of critical intellectual importance in introducing and understanding the transformation of the modern Chinese society. A wide variety of topics are covered by the series, from philosophy, economics, and history to law, cultural geography and regional politics. This series is a key English language resource for researchers and students in China studies and related subjects, as well as for general interest readers. The book series is a cooperation project between Springer and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press of China. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11562
Qizhi Zhang An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture 123
Qizhi Zhang Northwest University Xi an, China Sponsored by Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences ( 本书由中华社会科学基金资助 ) ISSN 2195-1853 ISSN 2195-1861 (electronic) China Academic Library ISBN 978-3-662-46481-6 ISBN 978-3-662-46482-3 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-46482-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938308 Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publishers, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer. com)
Acknowledgements The publishers and contributors to this book would like to thank the Editor-in- Chief of the original volume, President Emeritus Zhang Qizhi, for permission to produce an English version of his work. The project was initiated and supported by President Professor Fang Guanghua, Vice-President Professor Li Hao, Professor Xie Yangju, Director Liu Feng, and Professor Hu Zongfeng. Associate Professor Ren Huilian directed the development of the translation. Together with vital assistance of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, she negotiated the contracts, selected samples of text for submission, recruited the team, and handled communications between the parties involved. The translators who contributed to the volume were as follows: Chapter 1: Liang Hongfei, Chapter 2: Yang Yu, Chapter 3: Tian Huifang and Paul Harris, Chapter 4: Liu Liwen, Chapter 5: Liang Hongfei, Chapter 6: Long Jingrong, Chapter 7: Sun Yan, Chapter 8: Zhang Hongrui and Hu Zongfeng, Chapter 9: He Jing, Chapter 10: Ren Huilian, Chapter 11: Zhang Min, Chapter 12: Liu Yining and Hu Zongfeng, Chapter 13: Gao Yu, Chapter 14: Yao Hongjuan, and Chapter 15: Chen Hanliang. Dr. Robin Gilbank led and oversaw the editing and proofreading of the English text, assisted by Richard Hutchinson and Dr. Zhang Min. Thanks are also due to Aled Gruffydd Jones, Chief Executive and National Librarian of the National Library of Wales, and Paul Harris of London for their help in tracing the more obscure references found in this volume. General thanks are extended to the families of the contributors and their colleagues at Northwest University and elsewhere for their support during the translation process. January 19, 2015 v
Contents 1 A Scientific Approach to the Origins of Chinese Civilization... 1 1.1 Emperors Huang and Yan: The Mythic Age of Chinese Ancient History... 1 1.2 EmperorsHuangandYan in the Eyes of ModernHistorians... 4 1.3 A Civilization of Multi-origin and Great Diversity... 8 1.4 Primitive Agricultureand the Progress of Civilization... 17 References... 21 2 Ancient Chinese Society and the Change of Dynasties... 23 2.1 The Succession of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties and the Shapingof the Chinese Nation... 23 2.2 The Social Composition of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties... 26 2.3 Social Changes in the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods... 29 2.4 Reflections upon the Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty... 34 2.5 Dynastic Changeand Peasant War... 40 3 The Golden Ages of the Han, Tang, and Qing Dynasties: A Comparative Analysis... 43 3.1 From the Wen-Jing Age of Orderto the Zhao-XuanRevival... 43 3.2 From the Zhenguan Age of Order to the Kaiyuan Golden Age... 49 3.3 The Golden Age of Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong 61 3.4 Overviewof the GoldenAges... 75 References... 80 4 Transportation Systems and Cultural Communication in Ancient China... 81 4.1 Traffic Constructionin Ancient China... 81 4.2 Standardization of Vehicles and Roads and Unification of Languages... 88 vii
viii Contents 4.3 Zhang Qian s Camel Caravan and Zheng He s Voyage to the Western Oceans... 93 4.4 Contacts with ForeignCivilizations in Ancient China... 102 Reference... 108 5 Ethnic Relations in Chinese History... 109 5.1 GeographicalEnvironmentand EthnicRelations... 109 5.2 Middle Kingdom and Land Under Heaven... 112 5.3 Boundary Between Han Chinese and Barbarians and TheirUnification... 115 5.4 Unified Economic Base... 117 5.5 The Political System of Diversity and Unity... 124 5.6 Process ofunification andnational Integration... 129 5.7 Several Issues About Ethnic Relations... 133 Reference... 137 6 The Systems of Politics, Law, and Selecting Officials in Ancient China... 139 6.1 Patriarchal Consanguinity and the System of State (the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties to the Spring and AutumnPeriod)... 140 6.2 The Naissance of the Central Authority and the Absolute Monarchy (the Warring States Period and the Qin and Han Dynasties)... 144 6.3 The Rise and Fall of Family Politics (the Wei and Jin Period andthe Southernand NorthernDynasties)... 153 6.4 The Improvement of Bureaucratic Politics and the Founding of the Imperial Examination (the Sui andtang Dynasties)... 156 6.5 The Consolidation of the Imperial Authority and the Perfection of the Imperial System (the NorthernandSouthernSongDynasties)... 166 6.6 The Features of the Political and Legal System in the Liao,Jin, andyuan Dynasties... 171 6.7 The Further Consolidation of Imperial Authority and the Disadvantages of the Political System (the Ming andqing Dynasties)... 175 Reference... 188 7 Agriculture, Handicraft, and Commerce in Ancient China... 189 7.1 The Developmentof AncientAgriculture... 189 7.2 AchievementsofAgriculturalTheories... 198 7.3 The AdministrationofAgriculturein Historical Dynasties... 200 7.4 The Characteristics of the Development of the Handicraft Industry... 204
Contents ix 7.5 The Preference for Agriculture over Commerce in Chinese History and the Difficult Development of Commerce... 208 Bibliography... 215 8 The Military Thought and Military Systems of Ancient China... 217 8.1 The Military Thought of Ancient China... 217 8.2 Famous Cases of Warfare fromancient China... 230 8.3 Military Systems of Ancient China... 239 9 The Rich and Colorful Social Life in Ancient China... 249 9.1 Life in the AncientAge... 250 9.2 Social Activities in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties... 253 9.3 Changes to Social Life in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods... 255 9.4 The Prevailing Social Customs in the Qin and Han Dynasties... 259 9.5 Social Life During the Wei, Jin, Southern, and NorthernDynasties... 264 9.6 Characteristics of Social Life in the Sui andtang Dynasties... 271 9.7 An Analysis of Aspects of Social Life in the Song and YuanDynasties... 273 9.8 Social Practice in the Ming and QingDynasties... 277 10 The Evolution of Ancient Chinese Thought... 283 10.1 Introduction... 283 10.2 Moral Doctrine in Ancient China: Confucian Foundations... 284 10.3 Natural Philosophy in Ancient China: Laozian Foundations... 289 10.4 The Debate over the Way of Heaven and the Way of HumanityDuringthe Warring States Period... 292 10.4.1 Mencius... 292 10.4.2 Xunzi... 295 10.4.3 Zhuangzi... 296 10.5 Attempts to Reconcile the Hundred Schools of Philosophical Thought... 298 10.6 Taoism, Buddhism, and Indigenous Chinese Thought... 302 10.7 Innovations and Points of Reconciliation Achieved Between Confucianism, Taoism, and (Siddhattha Gotama) Buddhism... 311 Bibliography... 317 11 The Treasure House of Ancient Chinese Literature and Art... 319 11.1 The LongHistory of China s LiteraryHeritage... 319 11.2 An Extraordinarily Diverse Legacy of Calligraphy and Painting... 330 11.3 The FlourishingScene of Musical Dance... 343
x Contents 12 The Emergence and Progress of Ancient Chinese Historiography... 353 12.1 The Pre-Qin Period:Historiographyand Its Characteristics... 353 12.2 The Eastern and Western Han Dynasties: History TheoryandHistorical Practice... 356 12.3 From the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties: Further Progressin Historiography... 364 12.4 The Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties: New Developmentsin Historiography... 370 12.5 From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Period of the Opium Wars... 376 13 Reflection on Ancient Chinese Science and Technology... 385 13.1 Achievements and Features of Ancient Chinese Science and Technology... 385 13.2 The Reasons for the Achievements in Ancient Chinese Science and Technology... 393 13.3 Why Ancient Chinese Science and Technology GraduallyDeclined... 402 References... 408 14 New Issues in the Modern History of China... 409 14.1 The Isolationist and Backward Qing Dynasty and the ModernizationTrendof the Western World... 410 14.2 The Westernization Movement and the Initiation of China s ModernizationProcess... 415 14.3 The Institutional Reform Attempted at the End of the Qing Dynasty and the Beginning of the Republic of China... 420 14.4 The New Culture Movement and the Flourishing and ContentiousIntellectualWorld... 428 14.5 Victory forchina s DemocraticRevolution... 433 15 A General Progression to the Socialist Modernization of the People s Republic of China... 441 15.1 Completing the Transition from New Democracy to Socialism... 441 15.2 The PreliminaryExplorationof Socialist Construction... 446 15.3 The Historic TurningPoint of the People s Republicof China... 452 15.4 Creation of Socialist Modernization with Chinese Characteristics... 457 15.5 A New Stage of Development at the Beginning of the New Century... 462