An Outline History of China (Bai Shouyi, Fang Linggui, Gong Shuduo, Yang Zhao, Zhu Zhongyu)

An Outline History of China
Author	Bai Shouyi, Fang Linggui, Gong Shuduo, Yang Zhao, Zhu Zhongyu
First published	1982 Beijing
Type	Book
PDF	First Edition Second Edition

Introduction

A Land of 9,600,000 Square Kilometers

The People’s Republic of China is situated in East Asia, on the western shores of the Pacific Ocean. Its borders reach from the central line of the main navigation channel of the Heilongjiang (Heilungkiang) River near Mohe in the north to the Zengmu Reef in the Nansha Archipelago in the south, and from the Pamirs in the west to the confluence of the Heilong¬ jiang and the Wusuli (Ussuri) River in the east. The total area is about 9.6 million square kilometres, making China one of the largest countries in land size in the world. With a con¬ tinental land boundary of more than 20,000 kilometres, China adjoins Korea in the east, the People’s Republic of Mongolia in the north, the U.S.S.R. in the northeast and the northwest, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan in the west and southwest, and Burma, Laos and Viet Nam in the south. The continental coastline is more than 18,000 kilo¬ metres long, and looks across the seas towards Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The primary administrative divisions in China today are the three municipalities directly under the central govern¬ ment, the twenty-two provinces and the five autonomous re¬ gions (Table I). The capital of China is Beijing.

The Three Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government:

• Beijing
• Shanghai
• Tianjin

The Twenty-two Provinces:

• North: Hebei Shanxi
• Northeast: Liaoning Jilin Heilongjiang
• Northwest: Shaanxi Gansu Qinghai
• East Shandong: Jiangsu Zhejiang Anhui
• Southeast: Fujian Taiwan
• Southwest: Sichuan Guizhou
• Central South: Henan Hubei
• South: Jiangxi Yunnan Hunan Guangdong

The Five Autonomous Regions

• Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (north)
• Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (north)
• Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (northwest)
• Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (south)
• Tibet Autonomous Region (southwest)

Underneath the provinces and autonomous regions are cities, autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties and other divisions. The municipalities directly under the central government are subdivided into urban districts and suburban counties. China has many mountain ranges, most of the major ones being located in the western regions. Running west-east are the Altay, Tianshan, Kunlun, Qilian, Karakdrum, Gangdise, Himalaya, Yinshan, Qinling and Nanling mountains. Running north-south is the Hengduan Range, which is formed from the Daxue, Nushan and Gaoligong mountains lying side by side from east to west. In the eastern part of the country are mountain ranges running from the northeast to the southwest: to the west are the Greater Hinggan Range, the Taihang Mountains, and the Wushan, Wuling, Dalou and Xuefeng ranges; to the east are the Changbai Mountains and the Liao¬ dong, Shandong and Minzhe highlands. These mountain ranges and highlands determine the basic features of China’s topography. The Chinese terrain varies conspicuously in elevation and consists of three tiers descending from west to east. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest and largest plateau on earth, is commonly known as “the roof of the world”. To the north it is bounded by the northern branch of the Kunlun and Qilian mountain ranges and to the south and west by the Karakorum, Himalaya and Hengduan mountain ranges. Its average elevation is more than 4,000 metres above sea level. Mount Qomolangma in the Himalaya Mountains, located on the border between China and Nepal, is the world’s highest peak, with an elevation of 8,848.13 metres. The Qaidam (Tsaidam) Basin northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is somewhat lower even though it has an elevation of almost 3,000 metres. This area forms the highest tier in China’s topography. The northern and eastern faces of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau descend to plateaus and basins mostly between 1,000 and 2,000 metres above sea level.

They include the Yunnan-Guizhou

Plateau; the loess plateau which takes in central and eastern Gansu, eastern and southern Ningxia, northern Shaanxi, the whole province of Shanxi and western Henan; the Inner Mongolia Plateau; the Sichuan Basin; the Tarim Basin and the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang. These plateaus and basins form the second tier. East of the Greater Hinggan Range and the Xuefeng Range are hilly country with an elevation of less than 1,000 metres and plains of less than 200 metres. The three main plains of China, the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain and the Lower and Middle Changjiang (Yangtze River) Plain are all in this area. The coastal plains have an elevation of less than 50 metres above sea level. These hills and plains form the third tier in the Chinese terrain.

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Most Chinese rivers flow from west to east and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The major rivers all flow east along most of their courses, such as the Changjiang (Yangtze River), Huanghe (Yellow River), Heilongjiang, Zhujiang (Pearl River), Songhuajiang (Sungari River), Liaohe, Haihe and Huaihe. (Jiang and he are both Chinese words for medium-sized and large rivers.) Some of the south-flowing rivers, such as the Yarlung Zangbu Jiang (the Yalutsangpo or Brahmaputra) River and Nujiang (the Salween River), pass through India, Bangladesh and Burma to empty into the Indian Ocean; others, such as the Lancangjiang, the Mekong River and Yuanjiang, flow through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Kampuchea and Viet Nam into the Pacific Ocean. The Ertixhe (the Kara-Irtysh River) flows north from Xinjiang into the U.S.S.R.

There

are also inland rivers with no ocean outlet, such as the Tarimhe, Qaidamhe and Shulehe; these are mostly confined to Northwest and West China. The longest river in China is the Changjiang at 6,300 kilometres, which passes through Qinghai,

Sichuan,

Tibet,

Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shang¬ hai, with tributaries flowing through several other provinces including Guizhou, Shaanxi, Gansu and Henan. Huanghe, which passes through Qinghai,

Next is the

Sichuan,

Gansu,

Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shan¬ dong. The part of the Heilongjiang which lies within Chinese territory and forms the border between China and the U.S.S.R. has a drainage basin which covers the greater part of the northeastern provinces.

The Tarim which has few tributaries

has a relatively small drainage basin.

The Zhujiang, originat¬

ing in the Nanpanjiang in the upper reaches', of the Xijiang (Sikiang or West River), passes through Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Guangdong.

The Songhuajiang in the northeast

has a relatively large drainage basin, and the drainage basins of the Yarlung Zangbu Jiang (within China) and the Haihe are both more than 200,000 square kilometres.

TABLE

5

II

The Longest Rivers in China Name

Length

Drainage basin

Changjiang (Yangtze River)

6,300 km

1,800,000 km2

5,464 km

750,000 km2

Huanghe (Yellow River) Heilongjiang (Heilungkiang or Amur River)

2,965 km*

Tarimhe (Tarim River)

2,179 km

198,000 km2

2,129 km

425,700 km2

1,840 km

545,600 km2

Zhujiang (Pearl River) Songhuajiang (Sungari River)

Lakes of all sizes are scattered throughout China but are more concentrated on the Lower and Middle Changjiang Plain and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The largest fresh water lakes are the Poyang in Jiangxi, the Dongting in Hunan, the Hongze in western Jiangsu and Taihu in southern Jiangsu. The most important of the salt lakes are the Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) in Qinghai and the Lop Nur (Lob Nor) in Xinjiang; the latter covers an area of more than 2,500 square kilometres but is not fixed either in area or shape. Lake Xingkai (Hsingkai) is a fresh water lake which straddles the Sino-Soviet border.

• Length within China and along the Sino-Soviet border.

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TABLE

III

The Largest Lakes in China Name

Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) Poyang Lake Dongting Lake (Tungting Lake) Hongze Lake (Hungtse Lake) Taihu Lop Nur (Lob Nor or Lop Nor) Lake Xingkai* (Lake Hsingkai or Hanka) 1

Area

Type

salt fresh

more than 4,400 km2 3,976 km2

fresh

3,915 km2

fresh fresh

3,780 km2 more than 2,200 km2

salt

more than 2,500 km2

fresh

4,380 km2

In addition to the natural rivers and lakes, there are also many canals in China. The most famous is the Grand Canal between Beijing and Hangzhou (Hangchou), 1,782 kilometres in length, which passes through the city of Tianjin and four provinces (Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang) and links up with five major rivers: the Haihe, Huanghe, Huaihe, Changjiang and Qiantangjiang (Chientang River). The continent of China faces east and south towards the seas. In the east, the most northerly sea is known as Bohai (Po Hai): the Liaodong peninsula and the Shandong peninsula confront each other forming a natural gateway known as the Bohai straits. Southeast of Bohai is the Huanghai (Yellow Sea), south of the mouth of the Changjiang is Donghai (East China Sea), and south of the Taiwan Straits is Nanhai (South China Sea). Bohai is an inland sea of China while the other three are all marginal seas of the Pacific. Morg. than 5,000 islands are scattered across the seas, with half of them located in Donghai, forming a total area of about 80,000 square kilo* Belongs in part to China, in part to the U.S.S.R.

7

metres. The largest island is Taiwan (35,700 square km), followed by Hainan Island (over 34,000 square km) and Chongming Island (1,083 square km). Also well known are the Miaodao Archipelago at the entrance to the Bohai, the Zhoushan (Choushan or Chusan) Archipelago beyond the mouth of the Qiantangjiang, and the Penghu Islands (Pescadores) in the Taiwan Straits. The most southerly islands are the coral reefs or atolls known as the Dongsha (Tungsha), Xisha (Sisha), Zhongsha (Chungsha) and Nansha archipelagos. These Nanhai archipelagos are composed of varying numbers of islets, sandbars and reefs totalling more than 170; the Nansha Archipelago consists of close to a hundred of them, and the Xisha comes next with about thirty. Many seaports are strung out along China’s lengthy and winding coastline. The river estuary ports of Tianjin, Shang¬ hai and Guangzhou-Huangpu (Canton-Whampoa) are im¬ portant centres for foreign trade and economic exchange within China. The port of Tianjin stands on the western shores of Bohai Bay at the lower reaches of the Haihe; the port of Shanghai stands at the confluence of the Changjiang, Huangpujiang (Whangpoo River) and Wusongjiang (Woosung River); the ports of Guangzhou-Huangpu stand at the Zhujiang delta which is the confluence of the lower reaches of the Dong jiang, Beijiang and Xijiang (the East, North and West rivers). The bay ports of Dalian (Dairen) on the Liaodong peninsula, Qing¬ dao (Tsingtao) on the Shandong peninsula, Jilong (Keelung) in Taiwan and Zhanjiang (Chankiang) on the Leizhou (Leichow) peninsula all have good natural harbours and are key to sea and land communications. Due to the monsoon climate created by the difference in temperature between continent and ocean, plus the vastness of the land and the complexity of the terrain, there are con¬ siderable variations in air temperature and rainfall in different parts of China, and a wide variety of climates. In summer, the temperature throughout China is generally rather high. The average temperature in July is above 20°C in Heilongjiang,

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8

15°C in Lhasa and 28°C in Hangzhou. The average tempera¬ ture in winter is about minus 30°C in the most northerly part of Heilongjiang but above 10°C in places like Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, while in Hainan it can go as high as 15°C or more. When the north is a frozen land, coconut groves flourish in the south. The vastness of the land, the complexity of the terrain and the variation in climate, together with the related regional differences in natural characteristics, combine to make China’s natural

resources

extremely

rich

and

multifarious.

The

fertile plains produce cereal crops such as wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum (gaoliang) and soybean, and cash crops such as cotton, hemp, sugar and oil-bearing plants. The vast mountain areas produce, in addition to foodstuffs, tea, tea oil, tung oil, silk, wax and medicinal materials.

Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang,

Qinghai and Tibet have large areas of prairie land providing rich pastures for raising cattle, sheep, horses and camels, in¬ cluding many excellent breeds.

The forests are mostly con¬

centrated in the northeast and southwest, and are also to be found in Fujian and the eastern part of Taiwan.

The forests

are complex with many different types of plants:

there are

more than 2,800 species of trees alone, of which almost 1,000 provide timber of considerable economic value.

The fauna

that live wild in every region throughout China include about 1,150 bird species, more than 400 species of mammals, and over 420 species of reptiles and amphibians, many of them rare.

China is very rich in water resources.

According to

preliminary estimates, the total volume of flow of Chinese rivers is 2,700,000 million cubic metres, with reserves of 580 million kilowatts of hydro-electric power. All the major rivers are open to navigation, with a total of about 160,0.00 kilome¬ tres of navigable waters. Rich reserves of oil, coal and iron are found in various regions of the country. Non-ferrous minerals such as copper, aluminium, tungsten, antimony, molybdenum, tin, manganese, lead, zinc and mercury, along

�m

« as

t*

mm

■?

The Lake of Stars, the source of the Huanghe River, as seen from a distance.

�Mount Tomur of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Huanghe River skirts the southern frihge of the Tengger Desert as it flojys to Zhongwei County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In the middle of the river is a newly built bifurcation dam across the Meili Canal dug in the Han Dynasty.

�Grazing sheep in the foothills of the Yinshan Mountains, Inner Mongolia.

�A country scene in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefec¬ ture, Yunnan Province.

�The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

�A landscape in the Miaoling Moun¬ tains, southern Guizhou Province.

�Riyuetan Lake on a branch stream of the Zhuoshuixi River in the central part of Taiwan Island.

Chengyang Bridge in the Sanjiang Dong Autono¬ mous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

�Upper: An itinerant song and dance troupe in Inner Mongolia on one of its rounds. Lower right: Song of the Fisher¬ men in the Liangshan Mountains, a dance of the Yi people. Lower left: Drum dance of the Korean nationality.

9

with oil shale, phosphorus, sulphur, magnesite, salt, gypsum and so on are also widely distributed.

Fifty-five Nationalities and a Population of Nearly 1,000,000,000

The People’s Republic of China is a unitary multi-ethnic state, comprising the Han people and over fifty ethnic minori¬ ties. The Han people are the most numerous and live all over the country; their highest concentrations are in the Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang river basins and on the Songhuajiang-Liaohe Plain in the north-east, occupying forty to fifty per cent of the total area of China. According to 1978 statistics, the ethnic minorities have a total population of 55.8 million, which is believed to have increased by now. They inhabit fifty to sixty per cent of the country’s total area. TABLE

IV

China’s Ethnic Minorities (Based on 1978 Statistics) Region

Name

Northeast Manchu

Widely distributed, con¬ centrated in Liaoning Mainly in Jilin, Heilong¬ jiang, Liaoning

Korean Daur Ewenki Oroqen Hezhen North Mongolian

/

)

Mainly in Heilongjiang

Mainly in Inner Mongolia, also in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Xinjiang

Population

2,650,000 1,680,000 78,000 13,000 3,200 800

2,660,000

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TABLE

Region

Name

Northwest Uygur Kazak Kirgiz Xibe Tajik Ozbek Tartar Russian Hui

Dongxiang Yugur Bonan Tu Salar Southwest Tibetan Lhoba Moinba Yi

Miao

Bouyei

IV (cont.) Population

/

5,480,000 800,000 97,000 44,000 22,000 7,500 2,900 600

Widely distributed, but mostly in Ningxia and Gansu; also in Shandong, Yunnan, Qinghai, Hebei, Henan, etc. | Mainly in Gansu r ' Mainly in Qinghai | J

6,490,000 190,000 8,800 6,800 120,000 56,000

\

) In or mainly in Xinjiang

Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, etc. \ In Tibet, but mostly in Moinyii and Lhoyu regions ) now occupied by India Over one million in Sichuan and over two million in Yunnan More than half in Guizhou, the rest in Hunan, Yunnan, etc. Guizhou

3,450,000 Estimated at 200,000 Estimated at 40,000

^ 4,850,000

3,920,000 1,720,000

11

Table IV (cont.) Name

Dong Bai

Region

Population

Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi Mostly in Yunnan; small

1,110,000

numbers in Sichuan and Guizhou Hani Dai Lisu Lahu Va Jingpo Blang Achang Pumi Nu Jino Benglong Drung Naxi Shui Gelo Qiang

/

1,050,000 960,000 760,000 470,000 270,000 260,000 83,000 52,000 18,000 22,000 19,000 10,000 10,000 4,100

Mostly in Yunnan, also in Sichuan and Tibet ) Mostly in Guizhou, a small number in Guangxi J Sichuan

230,000 230,000 . 73,000 85,000

/

\

)

In or mainly in Yunnan

South and Central-south Mostly in Guangxi, small Zhuang numbers in Yunnan, Hunan, Guangdong, etc. In Guangxi and also in Hunan, Yao Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangxi, etc. Hunan and Hubei Tujia Guangdong Li Taiwan Gaoshan

12,090,000

1,240,000 770,000 680,000 Estimated at 300,000

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12 Name

Region

She

In Fujian and Zhejiang, also in Guangdong, Anhui, etc.

Mulam Maonan Jing

i l j

Guangxi

Population

330,000 73,000 31,000 5,400

Apart from the fifty-five ethnic minorities listed in the above table, there are still some groups whose ethnic status remains unclear. The language and script of the Han nationality are the most widely used in China, and are commonly known as the Chinese language and script. Each of the other nationalities, with the exception of the Hui which uses Chinese, has its own language. The language of the She is very close to Chinese. Increasing numbers of people among the ethnic minorities are using Chinese in addition to their own languages. Many of them have no script of their own and use either the Chinese script or the script of a related nationality. The Chinese (Han) language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family. It is often said to be monosyllabic because the smallest meaningful units of speech generally consist of one syllable each. However, very many words of the modern language are polysyllabic compounds of two or more of the one-syllable basic units. Chinese is also described as a tonal language, which means that a syllable generally is pronounced with a characteristic tone (even, rising, falling-rising or falling). On the whole, Chinese lacks the inflections (suffixes, prefixes etc.) that are characteristic of many other languages. These are partly replaced by grammatical “particles”, and the parts of speech in a sentence are chiefly determined by the word order. Over the vast area throughout which the Chinese language is spoken, there are many different dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible. In the last few decades a standard language has gradually been formed, based on the language of the north, with the Beijing pronunciation as the norm and

�CHAPTER 1

13

a grammar modelled on modern vernacular writing. This language is called putonghua and is gradually being populariz¬ ed. It will eventually become the form of spoken and written Chinese in universal use. The Han script consists of pictographs and ideographs com¬ monly known as Chinese characters, some of which go back more than three thousand years. The earliest characters con¬ sisted of a single pictographic or ideographic element: the characters 0 and M were, as they still are, pictographs for the sun and the moon, while JL(_h ) and T* (T) conveyed the meaning of “upper” and “lower” in terms of the relative posi¬ tion of the vertical stroke to the horizontal. The structure of such characters was relatively primitive and simple. A second step was taken when two or more simple characters were com¬ bined to form a more complex character to express a new meaning. For example, the characters 0 and A were com¬ bined to form meaning “bright”, and the character A (man) with the character A (spear) forms the character meaning “defend”. Still later a third type of character was developed, consisting of one element which stood for the mean¬ ing and another for the pronunciation, e.g.: 7j fang:

fragrance

fang: ■pfj fang:

house visit

fang:

fang: fang: U fang:

francium hinder pleasure boat

set down

The character A fang, which means direction, only indicates the pronunciation and does not contribute anything to the meaning; the other element indicates the meaning. Over a long period of time, Chinese characters have undergone very great changes in appearance, and many new characters have been invented, but the principles for the formation of new characters have persisted. In the development of Chinese culture, the Chinese or Han script has played a very great role in facilitating communication between different regions in China and strengthening the unity of the country. But because

�14

each character has its own separate form, the Chinese script is much more difficult to learn, write and print than an alpha¬ betic script. For this reason, the Chinese government has set up a committee for the reform of the Chinese script to study and carry out gradual reforms. Twenty-eight of the languages of China’s ethnic minorities belong to the Sino-Tibetan family, including Tibetan, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Dai, Miao and Yao. Another eighteen belong to the Altaic family, including Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian, Manchu and Korean. Va, Blang and Benglong belong to the Austroasiatic family, Gaoshan to the Austronesian family, and Tajik and Russian to the Indo-European family. Some people claim that the Jing language belongs to the Austroasiatic family, but this has not been fully established. Some national minorities, such as the Mongolians, Tibetans, Uygurs, Kazaks, Koreans, Xibes and Dais, have their own alphabetic scripts. The Tibetan script has a history of more than 1,300 years. The Uygurs and Mongolians have used dif¬ ferent alphabetic scripts over periods of more than a thousand years and seven or eight hundred years respectively. The Yi language has a syllabic script which also has a history of over a thousand years.

The Naxi script consists of two elements,

ideographs and a syllabary, and the ideographs go back more than a thousand years. Ethnic minorities which had no script or incomplete scripts have created or improved their scripts in recent years. Ten of them have devised their phonetic alphabets, and nine of these are being tried out. Both in economic and cultural life many of the nationali¬ ties have much in common with each other, yet each has its distinctive characteristics. Han people have had a very long history of agricultural production, and their handicrafts also reached a tairly high level at an early stage. Their inventions, such as printing, the compass, gunpowder and the manufacture of porcelain, tea, silk and paper, have long been famous throughout the world. Han culture is extremely rich in ancient books and records,

15

literature and history. Many great thinkers, scientists, in¬ ventors, statesmen, military strategists, writers and artists have appeared in the course of Chinese history, and great rev¬ olutionary movements have taken place. The Han people have made a very great contribution to the development of Chinese society. Of the twenty-one ethnic minorities that live in North Chi¬ na, twelve are mainly engaged in agriculture, including the Manchus, Koreans, Huis and Uygurs. Among them the Tus, Xibes and Yugurs turned from stock-breeding or fishing and hunting to agriculture only during the last few centuries. The achievements of the Koreans in rice paddy cultivation and im¬ provement are well known. The Uygurs are skilled in estab¬ lishing green oases on basin peripheries and at constructing karez (an irrigation system of wells connected by underground channels), demonstrating their mastery of agricultural pro¬ duction. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was one of the first area in China where cotton was planted. The Kazak, Kirgiz and Tajik minorities are mainly engaged in stockbreeding. The Kazak regions are famous for their livestock. Agricultural crops flourish in the Ili Basin, which is known as “the granary of northern Xinjiang”. The Mongolians on the northern plateau are mainly engaged in stock-breeding, while those on the Hetao Plain at the Yellow River Bend are mainly engaged in agriculture. The Mongolians raise famous breeds of horses, oxen, cows, sheep and camels.

The Hezhens

are mainly hunters and fishers, and the Oroqens are mainly hunters, but both also practise some agriculture. The Ozbeks and Tartars are for the most part engaged in commerce, but a few also practise agriculture. Of the thirty-four ethnic minorities in the south, the majority are chiefly engaged in agriculture, some in combina¬ tion with stock-breeding, hunting and fishing, or forestry. The Tibetans practise both stock-breeding and agriculture, the former on the extensive, high grasslands and the latter in the river valleys. The large and long-haired yak is unique to the

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16

Tibetan highlands. The Jings are the only minority which chiefly subsists on fishing, with some agriculture as well. Most of the ethnic minorities have a rich cultural tradition embracing song, dance, oral literature and art. The colourful dances of the Uygurs, Kazaks, Mongolians and Koreans are particularly well known. The Uygurs, Mongolians, Huis, Manchus, Tibetans, Bais and Dais all possess substantial bodies of literature and art as well as historical and technological works and religious classics. Modern industry began in China around the middle of the nineteenth century. After the founding of the People’s Repub¬ lic in 1D49, an all-round development of the national economy got underway, and all kinds of industries were established. At the same time education and cultural activities were im¬ proved and popularized.

The economic and cultural life of

each ethnic group took on a new look. Ethnic minorities which had lingered in a backward condition for a long period achieved a rapid development both economically and culturally, and ex¬ hibited striking changes. In Chinese history no one ethnic group has developed in isolation from the others. Each has contributed to the creation of Chinese history and each shares the destiny of the nation as a whole.

In the protracted struggle against feudalism, colo¬

nialism and imperialism, each group has battled side by side with the others.

In every aspect, economic, political and cul¬

tural, each group absorbs nourishment from its fraternal groups for its own enrichment, and each language is under the con¬ stant influence of the fraternal tongues.

Even the formation

and development of each ethnic group is a constant process of association, separation and fusion, a constant process of emigra¬ tion and immigration between different groups. j\fter the founding of the People’s Republic, a policy of equality and unity between its ethnic groups was put into effect, autono¬ mous areas for minorities living in compact communities were established, the languages and customs of the minorities were

17

respected, and the state helped each of them to develop its economy and culture. Unprecedented unity has been achieved.

1,700,000 Years and 3,600 Years

Human life existed in many parts of China in remote antiq¬ uity, leaving behind traces of primitive society. The earliest man discovered in China is Yuanmou Man, who lived roughly 1,700,000 years ago. The famous Peking Man lived approxi¬ mately 400,000 to 500,000 years ago. The gradual formation of a matriarchal commune took place approximately 40,000 or 50,000 years ago, and the patriarchal commune appeared more than 5,000 years ago. Because of low productivity, exploitation did not appear in primitive society; it was a society of communal production and consumption, and the productive relations were based on the public ownership of the means of production. Primitive socie¬ ty was followed by slave society, in which the relations of pro¬ duction were based on the slave-owners possessing both the means of production and the productive workers, the slaves. It was in slave society that exploitation, classes and the state ap¬ peared for the first time. We still lack concrete evidence to determine when slave society came into being in China. According to traditional ideas, the first dynasty in Chinese his¬ tory was the Xia, which ruled for more than four hundred years. Its activities were centred around the juncture of mod¬ ern Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan. It is generally thought that this dynasty lasted roughly from the 21st century to the 16th century B.C. and saw the beginning of slave society in China. Archaeologists are still trying to find out the truth about the Xia, which is now known to exist only in traditional legend. The first dynasty which can be traced from archaeological discoveries and from records corroborated by these discoveries was the Shang, having begun some 3,600 years ago when, ac¬ cording to our present knowledge, recorded history started in

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18

China. By the Shang, which lasted roughly from the 16th cen¬ tury to the 11th century B.C., China had entered the stage of slave society. The Western Zhou Dynasty, which succeeded the Shang in the 11th century B.C., was also based on the slave system. The centre of Shang activity was initially around Shangqiu in the southeast of modern Henan, but after repeat¬ ed moves the rulers finally settled around Anyang in modern Henan.

The Zhou capital, Hao, was on the western outskirts

of modern Xi’an in Shaanxi.

The centre of Zhou activity was

the region around the lower reaches of two rivers, the Jinghe and Weihe.

In addition, the Zhou had an eastern capital at

Luoyi, on the west bank of the Luoshui (present-day Luohe) near modern Luoyang in Henan, which formed another centre of activity around the lower reaches of the Yihe and Luoshui. The Jing-Wei plain and the Yi-Luo plain were both well suit¬ ed for agriculture, with fertile soil, a mild climate and relative¬ ly adequate rainfall. abundant there.

Other natural resources were also fairly

These two regions subsequently experienced

several periods of prosperity and decline, but they enjoyed an important political position up until the end of the 9th cen¬ tury.

Considerable bodies of cultural relics, legends and rec¬

ords have also been preserved in other regions within China. The period from 770 to 221 B.C. is known in traditional history as the early Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods. It was a time when slave society was gradually disintegrating and feudal society taking shape, a period of transition from slave to feudal society. The relations of production in feudal society were the landlords’ ownership of the means of production and their partial ownership of the productive workers. In addition, there was an individual econ¬ omy where peasants and artisans owned tools and other means of production on the basis of their own labour. But' these in¬ dividual labourers were the objects of landlord control and exploitation. The landlords and peasants were the two antag¬ onistic classes in feudal society, although the different ranks

19

into which the society was divided generally obscured the class division. . In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the feudal hierarchy of land ownership gradually replaced the land ownership by the slave-owning aristocracy; the labour of individual peasants replaced collective slave labour in agriculture, the dependence of the labour force on the land replaced an unstable relationship between the labour force and the land, and the individual peasant family combining plough¬ ing and weaving gradually became the dominant form of labour organization. As for the political system, the system of enfeoffment initiated in the early years of Western Zhou underwent changes, giving rise to a prefectural system of local administration: local government officials were appointed by the court to serve limited terms in a succession of different places, as opposed to the system of hereditary posts. With the appearance and development of the prefectural system, con¬ tacts between the various regions increased, the political or¬ ganization of each locality was strengthened and history pro¬ gressed further along the path to unification of the country. In 221 B.C., Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of the Qin) estab¬ lished the first imperial dynasty, marking the beginning of feudal predominance throughout the country. The period from 221 B.C. to A.D. 196 was a time when feudalism reached maturity under the three imperial dynasties of Qin, Western Han and Eastern Han. The hierarchical feudal order matured both economically and politically. The emperor possessed supreme political power, and at the same time was the supreme landowner. Under the emperor were landowners with different kinds of hereditary status and privileges, in¬ cluding the imperial relatives on the male and female lines and persons who had rendered meritorious services to the throne. These landed aristocrats with hereditary titles oc¬ cupied the dominant position in the landlord class. In addi¬ tion there were the landowners from powerful families and the mercantile landowners thriving on usury. Both possessed

�20

considerable they did not some even subjected to

strength in property and social influence, but belong to the higher ranks in social status, and ranked very low. The hereditary aristocrats exploitation peasants who were registered by

household and bestowed to them by the feudal state. This was the main type of peasant at the time. The registered peasants had a private economic sphere and a certain degree of personal freedom. Although they were exploited, they were better off than the slaves. But they too varied in socio¬ economic status. Their household registration status could not be altered after they were attached to hereditary aristo¬ crats by state decision. The land rent they paid to the landed aristocracy also served as their state tax, the two being com¬ bined in one. The relations of production stated above were established in the period of unity under the Qin and grew continuously under the Western and Eastern Han. Slavery did not vanish in the Qin and Han period but persisted in government and private handicraft industries, and existed in households throughout the feudal era. However, these rem¬ nants of the slave system were insignificant in social pro¬ duction. As for the political system, Qin Shi Huang started a unitary prefectural system of administration, but no historical records survive which describe how it was carried out. Under the Western and Eastern Han the system coexisted with the fiefs. Underneath the prefectures and fiefs were counties and un¬ derneath the counties were administrative organizations at the grassroots. These were the different levels in the political structure, each with some relative independence. Beginning in the 3rd century, the prefectural system gradually supersed¬ ed the fiefs and changed continually. But generally speaking, power became more and more concentrated in tl^e hands of the court and restricted at the local levels. The capital of the Qin Dynasty was Xianyang, and the capital of Western Han was Chang’an; the Eastern Han moved its capital east to Luoyang after Chang’an had been devastat-

21

ed by war. The Jing-Wei plain, the Yi-Luo plain and the lower reaches of the Huanghe were the most fertile regions in these periods. The sphere of activity of the Qin and Han was much wider than those of previous dynasties and included the Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang river basins. There were more extensive records of the history of the ethnic minorities than before. The Han people, the major ethnic group in China, was formed in the Qin and Han periods through the fusion of related tribes and ethnic groups. The name of the Han people is identical with that of a great dynasty. Chinese feudalism experienced its earlier period of ascend¬ ancy from 196 to 907, which covered a period of disunity — the Three Kingdoms, the Western and Eastern Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties — as well as the dynasties of Sui and Tang. The period witnessed protracted struggles as well as large-scale displacement and migration among the nationalities. As a result the territory shared by various groups expanded both northward and southward. The Han group replenished itself, and the ethnic minorities raised their production level and standard of living. A new phase in national fusion appeared, and feudalism developed among groups sharing the same territory. This is an important, feature of the earlier period of ascendancy of Chinese feudalism. The hereditary landed aristocracy of the previous era crumbled under the onslaught of peasant uprisings, and was replaced with the newly arisen landlords of privileged fami¬ lies. Like the landed aristocracy, the privileged families en¬ joyed political status and hereditary rights. But they built themselves up by relying on their traditional position in the feudal officialdom and not as a result of imperial fiat. Their land ownership had a more private character than had been the case with the landed aristocrats. The privileged landowners mainly controlled peasants who had attached them¬ selves to these manorial lords for protection against exorbitant taxes and levies.

These manorial peasants were omitted from

�

22

the household registers of the state and the land rent they paid was no longer part of the state tax. Their position in society was lower than the state-registered peasants, but they were relieved of state taxes which included a heavy burden of labour service. This change in the relations of production was favourable to the growth of the productive forces of society. It was another sign of the ascendancy of Chinese feudalism. The Wei (one of the Three Kingdoms), the Western Jin, and the Later Wei (one of the Northern Dynasties) all set up their capitals at Luoyang. The Sui and Tang had their capitals at Chang’an and maintained an eastern capital at Luoyang. The Wu (another of the Three Kindoms), Eastern Jin and the four Southern Dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang and Chen all had their capitals at Nanjing (Nanking).

The northerners who be¬

gan to move south in the Wei and Jin dynasties lent fresh im¬ petus to agricultural production in the southeast by increasing the labour force and spreading productive skills.

The lasting

prominence of Nanjing as a political centre was inseparable from the prosperity of the southeast.

The economic growth

in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang, emulating that in the fertile areas of the Huanghe river basin, was an¬ other feature of the ascendancy of Chinese feudalism. The years from 907 to 1368 were the later period of ascend¬ ancy of Chinese feudalism.

It began with the Five Dynasties

and Ten Kingdoms, followed by the Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties on one side and the Northern and Southern Song dynasties on another, and finally reunification under the Yuan Dynasty.

Extensive border regions from the north¬

east to the northwest and again in the southwest entered the stage of feudal society in most important Respects at this time.

This was a significant feature of Chinese feudalism in

the later period of its ascendancy. The economic growth in the southeast surpassed that in the north, and the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang became the most prosperous parts of the country.

23

The privileged stratum of landowners of the previous historical period crumbled under the onslaught of peasant uprisings. It was replaced, under the Northern and Southern Song, by bureaucrat landlords who enjoyed certain political status and privileges. With few hereditary privileges, these bureaucrat landlords obtained most of their land through purchase or seizure. The law put no limit on the amount of land they might hold. They were obliged by regulations to pay taxes to the state, and in their turn collected rent from the peasants. The distinction between taxes and rent became clearer. Apart from the bureaucrat landlords there were also the plutocrat landlords and mercantile landlords. Some of the peasants owned small amounts of land, but the majority were tenant-farmers who worked on the lands of the various kinds of landlords. They had a better social position in society and more personal freedom than the manorial peasants in the previous period. Listed in the state household registers, they had to contribute a poll tax and some labour services to the feudal state in addition to payment of rent to the landlords. But generally they were not registered with a certain landlord on the order of the feudal state. This was a major difference between them and the state-registered peasants of the Western and Eastern Han. The imprint of feudal bondage on both landlords and peasants tended to fade away, and the agrarian relations of exploitation in terms of property rights became more distinct. This marked the feudal relations of production in the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. The strength of the Southern Song landlord class was largely preserved after national unification under the Yuan Dynasty, and a most typical feudal economic order prevailed in the regions under its domination. The Yuan Dynasty saw the emergence of a huge stratum of Mongolian aristocratic landowners, many commoner households bearing feudal duties, and a greater number of slaves. This kind of relations of production was, however, confined to the north and was merely a partial phenomenon of retrogression. The feudaliza-

�24

tion of extensive border regions was a new phenomenon in the development of production in Yuan society. The states of Liang, Jin (936-946), Han and Zhou in the period of the Five Dynasties established their capitals at Kaifeng, which also served as the capital for the Northern Song and as a secondary capital for Jin (1115-1234). Modern Bei¬ jing was the capital for three dynasties: Liao, which called it Nanjing; Jin (1115-1234), which called it Zhongdu; and Yuan, which called it Dadu. Since ancient times this site has been of strategic, political and economic importance. After the Yuan, the Ming and Qing dynasties retained it as their capitals and today it is the capital of the People’s Republic. The de¬ velopment of Beijing is a joint creation of the Han, Qidan, Niizhen, Mongolian and other ethnic groups. Although the Song capital of Kaifeng and the Yuan capital of Beijing were father distant from the fertile regions of the Southeast, they both used the Grand Canal linking north and south to facilitate the transport of foodstuffs from the south to the north and to bring in the wealth of the southeast. The period from 1368 to 1840, which takes in the Ming Dynasty and a large part of the Qing, saw the decline of Chi¬ nese feudalism. The majority of peasants under the Ming were still tenant-farmers. From the legal point of view, the feudal dependence of the tenant-farmer on the landlord was somewhat weakened. Peasants could choose their own land¬ lords and could reject the landlords’ excessive demands for labour service. Hired labourers selling their labour power for material recompense also made their appearance. The tax law of the Qing converted the poll tax and the land tax into a single tax, so that those with land were taxed and those without were not, giving the tax the character, of a pure prop¬ erty tax. These conditions showed that feudgl bonds had eased considerably. But this did not arise from the kindness of the rulers, but from the necessities of socio-economic de¬ velopment and the fierce struggles of the labouring people. Nevertheless, this was only one aspect of the social phenomena

25

of that time. The other aspect was the rapacious plunder and oppression carried out by the landlord class, especially its ruling group, by using the power in their hands. The unscru¬ pulous use of eunuchs at the Ming court and the strength¬ ening of military rule during the Qing period were attempts to preserve a highly feudalized government. These two as¬ pects may appear to be in disagreement with each other, but they are simply different manifestations of the moribund condition of feudal society. The second manifestation by no means showed the vitality of the feudal landlord class, but revealed its weakness. The two apparently contradictory phenomena were precisely signs of decline. The bureaucrat landlords of the previous historical period and their successors, together with the Mongolian aristocratic landlords, crumbled as before under heavy attacks from peasant uprisings. Taking their position were the newly arisen scholar-official landlords. Apart from officials it included fairly large numbers of intellectuals who had passed the Ming and Qing civil service examinations. The wealthier members of this class not only owned much land but also took up trade, operated pawnshops and issued high-interest loans. This was a reflection of the development of commodity production and a money economy, which nevertheless could not be developed normally because those people were dependent on feudal power. The Ming court directly occupied large areas of land in the form of imperial estates. This, like its appointment of palace eunuchs to collect taxes on commerce and mining and to look for and store up tremendous amounts of gold and silver, re¬ vealed the greed of the rulers of a falling dynasty. The estates of the imperial clan and the nobles and bureaucrats, along with the grain allowance of the imperial clan, amounted to fantastic sums, growing into a malignant tumour on the social economy and national finance. Although the Qing court also had imperial estates, they were aware of the possible harmful effects and kept the area much smaller than under the Ming.

�26

However, for a fairly long period, the Manchu homeland of the Qing court in the northeast was a forbidden area, which largely hindered local economic development. “Sprouts of capitalism” could be found as early as the be¬ ginning of the Ming Dynasty. They appeared in greater quantity after mid-Ming and showed a further development in early Qing. But these “sprouts” could never grow to full maturity or break through the declining feudal system because of their insufficient strength. In external relations, the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan were all in a position to take the initiative, but under the Ming and Qing external relations took a distinct turn for the worse. In early Ming there were landings by “Japanese invaders” (wokou), pirates operating off the Chinese and Korean coasts from the 14th to the 16th century, but the Ming court did lit¬ tle against them. From mid-Ming on, coastal harassment by the “Japanese invaders” brought great destruction to the south. During the Ming and Qing period, capitalism had already arisen in the West, but Chinese feudalism hobbled along its own course, and the autocratic rulers knew nothing of world developments. By the beginning of the 16th century, the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and others had come east to carry out colonial activities and had invaded Chinese territory. They were subsequently followed by Tsarist Russia, England and the United States, whose ambitions in regard to China grew constantly.

The eunuch admiral Zheng He’s voyages to

Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean in early Ming and Chi¬ na’s resistance to Tsarist Russian invasion in early Qing were major events in external affairs, but the overall situation worsened continually, and it was not by chance that the Opium War was followed by a series of national disasters. The history of semi-feudal and semi-colonihl China lasted from 1840 to 1949. At the same time, this was aJi era of re¬ sistance to imperialism and feudalism by all of China’s ethnic groups. The first stage, up to the May Fourth Movement of 1919, was the period of the old democratic revolution. The

27

second stage, from 1919 on, was the period of the new-dem¬ ocratic revolution. The period of the old democratic revolution lasted almost eighty years, taking in the final years of the Qing Dynasty and the first years of the Republic. In this period, due to the invasion of foreign imperialism and its brutal rule over China, China’s social economy underwent major changes, becoming more complex than that in feudal society. In addition to the feudal landlord economy and the individual economy of the peasants and handicraftsmen, which continued to exist, the newly arisen capitalist economy became a major sector in the social economy. The capitalist economy comprised three parts: imperialist capital, bureaucrat-comprador capital and national capital. While imperialism gained control over China’s econom¬ ic lifelines, the feudal landlord class occupied a dominant position in the economy, and the two were in mutual collabora¬ tion. Bureaucrat-comprador capital was an appendage to the imperialist economy and was also closely connected with feudal exploitation. The national capitalist economy was ex¬ tremely weak. It did not form an independent economic system or occupy an important position in socio-economic life, and it also had ties with imperialism and feudalism. Foreign imperialist aggression brought ruin to the self-suf¬ ficient natural economy in the countryside; commodity pro¬ duction developed, but agricultural production and the peas¬ ants’ economic life was drawn deeper and deeper into the vortex of the world capitalist market. These were the main features of China’s semi-colonial, semi-feudal social economy. Along with the violent changes in the social economy, changes also developed in class relations. Following its penetration into China, the foreign bourgeoisie became a dom¬ inant power in Chinese social life, controlling the country’s economy, politics, military affairs and culture. It not only propped up the feudal landlord class as the mainstay of their rule over China, but also created a comprador class to serve the needs of their aggression. Within the feudal landlord class,

�28

the newly arisen warlord-bureaucrat landlords, with the sup¬ port of the international bourgeoisie, replaced the scholarofficial landowners as the dominant force. The warlordbureaucrat landlords were an appendage to the international bourgeoisie and were generally the earliest bureaucratcapitalists of a strong comprador character. They held the real power in the regime of the landlord class and became the de¬ cisive force. This was an important manifestation of the compradorization of the landlord regime. The peasant class mostly comprised owner-peasants, tenant-peasants and farm labourers, and accounted for about 70 or 80 per cent of the national population. Under the oppression and exploitation of feudalism and imperialism, the peasants became increasing¬ ly impoverished and bankrupt, so that the owner-peasants became ever fewer and the tenant-peasants ever more numerous. The national bourgeoisie and the proletariat were the two new classes arising in this period. The national bourgeoisie, as determined by their economic position, was a class with a dual character:

on the one hand it exhibited an

anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolutionary character in certain periods and to a certain extent, but on the other hand it tend¬ ed towards a compromise with the enemies of revolution.

The

proletariat was the greatest, most progressive and most rev¬ olutionary class. In the period of the old democratic revolu¬ tion, however, it did not constitute an independent political force, but took part in revolution as a follower of the petty bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie. The socio-economic conditions and class relations in semi¬ colonial, semi-feudal China determined that the basic task of the Chinese revolution was to overthrow the rule of imperial¬ ism and feudalism. In the period of the old democratic rev¬ olution, the people of all ethnic groups in Chftna carried out a bitter, unremitting struggle against the internal hnd external enemies and for the winning of national independence and freedom and happiness for the people. However, they did not find the road to liberation and did not gain the final victory.

29

After the May Fourth Movement of 1919, the proletariat grew in strength, Marxism-Leninism spread to China, the Chinese Communist Party was established and the Chinese revolution took on an entirely new appearance. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the people of each ethnic group in China gained the final victory in China’s democratic rev¬ olution. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was establish¬ ed and China entered a new age of socialism.

Traces of Remote Antiquity

From Yuanmou Man to Peking Man; the Making of Tools and the Use of Fire

The first primitive man so far known to have existed in China is Yuanmou Man, who lived about 1.70 million years ago. In 1965, two fossil front teeth of primitive ape men were discovered in Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province. Later, stone artifacts, pieces of animal bone showing signs of human work and ash from campfires were also dug up. The primi¬ tive ape man who had inhabited the site came to be known as Yuanmou Man. In 1963 and 1964, a fossil skullcap, the upper and lower jawbones, and three teeth of the ape man were discovered together with stone artifacts and animal fossils in Lantian County, Shaanxi Province. The “Lantian Man” inhabited this site 500,000 to 600,000 years ago.1 Other traces of the ape man have also been found in Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, and Guizhou. But the best-known of all is “Peking Man”. Peking Man, whose remains were discovered at Zhoukoudian to the southwest of Beijing (Peking), lived some 400,000 to 500,000 years ago. In excavations before and since libera¬ tion, a wealth of fossils and other evidence of this culture have been uncovered. In 1966, a relatively complete fossil skullcap was discovered at the site. To date, fossil bon^s deriving from more than forty individuals of both sexes and various ages, 1 Paleogeomagnetic examination reveals that the skullcap and the lower jawbone date from different periods. The former is a million years old, while the latter dates back 500,000 years.

30

31

and more than 100,000 pieces of stone worked by man, fossils of more than a hundred kinds of animals, and traces of campfires have been discovered there. Though still retaining some of the features of the ape, Peking Man’s physical structure already possessed the basic characteristics of man. He was relatively short, the male averaging 1.558 metres, the female 1.435. His face was shorter than that of modern man, his mouth protruded, and he had no chin, while his forehead was low, flat, and receding. His skull was about twice as thick as modern man’s, with the cap small¬ er at the top and widening towards the base. Cranial capacity averaged 1,075 cc., approximately 80 per cent of contemporary man’s, more than twice that of the modern anthropoid ape (415 cc.), and much greater than Lantian Man’s 780 cc. The brain structure was incomparably more advanced than that of present-day anthropoid apes. Peking Man had two inter¬ locking heavy brow bones above the eye sockets which screen¬ ed his eyes, his nose was flat, his cheekbones were prominent, his teeth strong and their grinding surfaces relatively complex. Peking Man’s lower limbs already had the basic form of those of modern man. In size, shape, proportion, and muscular attachment, his thighbones were similar to those of presentday man, though they still possessed some primitive features. The bone walls were thicker and the medullary cavities inside the bones smaller, while the transverse diameter of the middle section of the femur was slightly greater than the diameter measured front to back — more like that of the ape than of contemporary man, whose femoral cross-section is the reverse. But Peking Man could already walk and even run erect, though he was somewhat stooped. Through labour over long periods, Peking Man’s hands had become dexterous, as they had had to adapt to complex move¬ ments. The humerus and collar bone of the upper arm re¬ sembled those of modern man, though the humerus was still a bit primitive, with a relatively small medullary cavity and a thicker wall. Research on the inner surface of the cranium

�32

shows that the left cerebral hemisphere was bigger than the right, testifying to the fact that Peking Man normally used the right hand in labour. This point is verified by reference to the stone tools he used. It is clear that the uneven development of the various parts of Peking Man’s physique was due to the nature of the labour in which he was engaged. Hand labour led to the functional differentiation between the upper and lower limbs, with the upper limbs developing faster than the lower. The develop¬ ment of the brain occurred gradually as a result of hand labour and differentiation of the limbs, and thus the primitive character of Peking Man’s head is rather more pronounced. The role of labour in the physical development process proves the truth enunciated by Engels: “Labour created man.”1 Peking Man was already able to make and use tools: tools of wood and bone, but especially of stone. He already had several ways of making stone tools. He used one piece of stone to strike or hammer another stone to pieces, or broke a stone held in his hand by pounding it against a bigger stone, thus knocking off large numbers of usable sharp flakes which could be fashioned into various kinds of tools.

Most of the

tools were made of stone flakes worked on one edge. a few were made of unworked stone flakes.

Only

The stone tools

can be roughly classified as choppers, scrapers, or knife-shap¬ ed tools, according to their different forms and uses. Some were suitable for cutting and fashioning wooden hunting clubs, others for cutting animal skins or meat. The tools made and used by Peking Man prove that he was essentially different from the animals and had already come a long way on the road of human development. A great deal of ash, some of it in piles and some in layers, has been discovered in the caves once inhabited by Peking Man. The ash contains pieces of burnt animal bones and stones 1 Dialectics of Nature, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Mos¬ cow, 1966, p. 170.

X

33

of various colours, hackberry seeds, and charred Chinese red¬ bud wood, showing that animal meat was often roasted, and that Peking Man was already able to preserve, use, and con¬ trol fire. The use of fire allowed Peking Man to cook his food, and thus shorten the digestive process and promote the absorption of more nutrients, thereby spurring physical evolution and enhancing health. At the same time, fire could be used to ward off cold and defend against attacks by fierce animals. It could serve as an effective aid in hunting as well. In his mutual relations, Peking Man had already formed links which do not and cannot exist in the animal realm, namely, the links involved in the cooperative creation and use of tools, and the creation of speech through the common labour process. The size of the part of the brain where the speech centre is located shows that he could already speak. Speech originated in joint labour, and in turn promoted the evolution of man’s body; it had an especially great influence on the development of man’s brain. Peking Man’s main productive activities were hunting and gathering. The great quantities of smashed and burnt deer bones discovered in the caves where he lived indicate that deer were his principal game.

Probably his most effective

hunting weapons were the firebrand and the wooden club. Although no clubs have been preserved, the discovery of many choppers and big convex tools suitable for scraping wood, pro¬ vides indirect evidence of their existence. Peking Man led an extremely difficult life in primitive collectives.

He used his crude tools, his limited labour ex¬

perience, and his simple cooperative labour to confront every kind of natural hazard, to stave off repeated attacks by wild beasts, and to procure his essential food. His lifespan was generally not long; of the more than forty individuals whose remains have been discovered, approximately one-third died before the age of fourteen years.

Dingcun (Tingtsun) Man and Upper Cave Man; the Improvement of Tools and the Emergence of Ornaments

About 100,000 years ago, China’s ancient culture entered the “Neanderthaloid” stage.1 Human fossils from this period are relatively widely distributed in China, but the most significant among them are those of “Maba Man”, discovered in Qujiang County in South China’s Guangdong Province; “Changyang Man”, found in Changyang County in Central China’s Hubei Province; and “Dingcun Man”, uncovered in Xiangfen County in North China’s Shanxi Province. Their physical appearance was already different from that of Pe¬ king Man. Maba Man’s skull bones were thinner than those of Peking Man, and his forehead was higher. Changyang Man’s upper jawbone did not protrude so much as Peking Man’s. And both the roots and the crowns of Dingcun Man’s teeth were more advanced than those of Peking Man, closer to those of modern man. Dingcun Man lived in the Fenhe River basin to the west of the Taihang Mountains. His chief tools were still stone implements, but they were more advanced than those of Pe¬ king Man, both in terms of flaking and fashioning technique. In making the flakes, Dingcun Man commonly used a flinging technique, forcefully hurling a large piece of stone against another stone. Dingcun Man’s stone implements were also more clearly differentiated as to type than were those of Pe¬ king Man, with tools like the prismatic knife-edge and stone balls appearing for the first time. About 40,000 years ago, China’s ancient culture entered the stage of “modern man”. Starting then, the hunting and fish_

"H

1 The evolution of man may be roughly divided intO'-the Pithecanthropine (“Apeman”), Neanderthaloid, and “Modern” stages. Some scholars hold that beginning with the time man began to create tools, his morphological development may be divided into three stages, name¬ ly, the “Australopithecus” stage, a Homo erectus stage, and the Homo sapiens stage which includes contemporary man.

35

mg economy underwent a remarkable advance and the matriarchal commune gradually took shape. Traces of the peoples of that period have been found at many places across China’s wide territory. Typical examples are Liujiang Man and Qilinshan Man found in Liujiang and Laibin counties respectively in Guangxi, South China; Hetao Man found along . both banks of the Sjara-osso-gol River in Uxin Banner, Inner Mongolia and in Lingwu County in Ningxia; the Shiyu Culture which existed 28,000 years ago in what is now Shuoxian in North China’s Shanxi Province; and the Upper Cave Man who lived about 18,000 years ago in caves near the top of Dragon Bone Hill at Zhoukoudian, where Peking Man was discovered. Upper Cave Man’s physical make-up and outward ap¬ pearance were hardly different from those of present-day man. As a result of working with, the hands and walking erect, the load on the skeletal muscles had been diminishing. Thus the walls of the bones of the limbs had become thinner, and the medullary cavity larger. As for the head, the cranial capacity had expanded and the structure of the brain was reaching a higher level of complexity and perfection.

Peking

Man’s cranial capacity had averaged 1,075 cc., but Liujiang Man’s and Upper Cave Man’s was between 1,300 and 1,500 cc., similar to that of present man.

As the brain gradually grew,

the forehead became progressively higher, the cranium pro¬ gressively thinner, and the point of maximum breadth of the skull shifted from above the ears to the region where the parietal bones link up. The brow-ridges had become thinner and flatter, and the teeth smaller and less complex. The mouth had receded so that the lower jaw and nasal bridge were more prominent as in modern man. The cranium of Liu¬ jiang Man and Upper Cave Man possessed the basic character¬ istics of that of modern man. From the point of view of race, their heads bore the primeval features of the Mongoloid peo¬ ples, and they represent an important stage in the formation of Mongoloid physical characteristics.

�36

Upper Cave Man’s labour experience and skill surpassed that of his predecessors. Though his stone implements were still basically made by striking stones against each other and by rough fashioning, he had already acquired the new skills of polishing, scraping, drilling, carving and colouring. Among the tools he left behind were two bone implements, a polished dear antler and a lower jawbone. The polished antler bears carved designs consisting of both straight and curved lines. The best reflection of Upper Cave Man’s improved tool-mak¬ ing techniques is a bone needle. With a length of 82 mm and a diameter varying from 3.1 to 3.3 mm, the needle is round and sharp, and the eye small. To fashion such a needle, an animal bone had to be cut and scraped, the eye had to be goug¬ ed out, and then the whole thing had to be polished. By these complex techniques Upper Cave Man created a needle which could be used to sew animal skins into clothing. Among the ornaments belonging to Upper Cave Man that have been discovered are drilled stone beads, pebbles, the eyesocket bones of black carp, perforated animal teeth and clam shells, and carved tubes made of bird bones.

The making of

these ornaments involved selection of materials,

chipping,

drilling, abrading and colouring. Some of the ornaments were dyed red with.hematite. Upper Cave Man’s main economic activities were hunting and fishing. Hare, red deer, sika, wild boar, antelope, badger and fox were his chief game. He also caught ostrich and other birds. He caught various fish, including black carp a metre in length, and he collected fresh-water clams. He gathered fruit and roots as supplementary food. Upper Cave Man, or even his predecessors, probably already knew how to make fire. Making fireninstead of just preserving it marked another big step forward in man’s effort to control nature. Engels considered the discovery of the fire¬ making technique to be even more important than the dis¬ covery of the steam engine. He pointed out that “the genera¬ tion of fire by friction for the first time gave man command

37

over one of the forces of nature, and thus separated him for ever from the animal kingdom.”1 The invention of the fire¬ making technique paved the way for many subsequent inven¬ tions, such as the making of pottery and metal tools. The shells of salt-water clams found in the upper cave were not local, but could only be obtained at the seaside quite a dis¬ tance away. Whether obtained by exchange or collected directly, they show that man had expanded the scope of his activities and contacts, and was in a better position to do bat¬ tle with nature. The upper cave is approximately 12 metres long and about 8 metres wide, with an area of more than 90 square metres, and could accommodate a dozen or so inhabitants. The cave was divided naturally into “upper” and “lower” chambers. The upper chamber, near the cave mouth, was the common liv¬ ing quarters, while the lower, located deep inside, served as a burial ground.

A vast region around the cave served as the

base for hunting, fishing, and gathering activities. A young female, another of middle age, and an elderly male were interred in the lower chamber of the cave. Hematite powder was scattered around the dead, and stone implements and ornaments were interred with them. The arrangements for the dead give an idea of the activities of the living in the upper chamber. The burial of men and women, old and young together, with production tools and ornaments around them, reflects the closeness of a blood relationship and the produc¬ tion relations of communal labour and consumption. The fact that there is no great differentiation in burial objects suggests equality of the clan members. The hematite powder and ac¬ companying burial objects show that Upper Cave Man adhered to certain burial customs and that his thinking had developed to a new level at which he had begun to formulate primitive re¬ ligious beliefs with a superstitious tinge and ideas that went beyond actual existence.

The Yangshao Culture and Its Matriarchal Communes

Some 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, clans and tribes, big and small, were scattered across China, leaving behind rich cul¬ tural remains. A microlithic culture extended from the North¬ east through Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to Xinjiang and Tibet.1 There was the Yangshao culture2 on the middle reaches of the Huanghe (Yellow River), and the Majiayao culture3 on its upper reaches. Other primitive cultures were distributed elsewhere. The features of the matriarchal commune are displayed relatively distinctly by the Yangshao culture. Mainly dis¬ covered in central Shaanxi, western Henan and southern Shanxi, it stretched as far as the upper and middle reaches of the Hanshui River in the south and the Hetao (Yellow River Bend) region in the north, the upper reaches of the Weihe Riv¬ er in Gansu in the west, and Shandong in the east. The re¬ mains of many settlements have been found in these places, and in some cases they were clustered relatively close together. The inhabitants of the Huanghe River region were engaged mainly in a primitive agriculture, supplemented by animal husbandry. They used pointed wooden sticks for digging the earth, and their stone implements were no longer the roughly fashioned ones made by striking stones, but comparatively re¬ fined ones made primarily by abrading techniques. They had stone axes for cutting away the ground cover, stone and bone spades for loosening and levelling the soil, and various kinds of stone knives for harvesting grain. The main agricultural crop 1 The name “microlith” derives from the small size of the stone implements. The term “culture” is used here in Its archaeological sense, referring to an entire body of archaeological remains with common characteristics from a single period and a single region. Such a culture is commonly identified by the name of the spot of the first discovery or the name of a characteristic site or relic. 2 The name comes from Yangshao Village, Mianchi County, Henan Province, where the culture was first discovered. 3 First discovered in Majiayao, Lintao County, Gansu Province.

39

was grain,1 but they also planted vegetables. Some simple tools for processing crops had already been invented. Grain was placed on a millstone and ground with a hand-held stone pin or disc until it was husked or powdered. Once man took up agriculture, he was able to produce the food he needed, and thus could settle down. Of course, the methods of cultivation used in primitive agriculture were still in an early stage, and production was always subject to the whims of nature. The yields were low or even came to nothing. In such circumstances a part of or even an entire clan settle¬ ment had to move. Hunting and fishing was second only to agriculture in man’s productive activities, occupying a relatively important position in the economic life of the time. The principal weapons in¬ cluded bows and arrows, stone-tipped spears, fishing lances, fish-hooks, and nets with stone weights attached. Household animal husbandry developed as another sideline. From the pens and animal skeletons found at the Banpo site at Xi’an, we can see that the main livestock were pigs and dogs. Cattle, sheep, horses and chickens may also have been domesticated. But gathering was still an indispensable part of production. Many hazelnuts, pinenuts, chestnuts, hackberry seeds, snail and clam shells were discovered in the homes and cellars at the Banpo site. The rise in the quantity and quality of production and household implements is an indication of the advance of hand¬ icraft industry. The creation of large numbers of ground and polished tools provided man with new tools and spurred the overall development of social production. That cutting, par¬ ing, grinding and drilling techniques were being used can be seen from the axes, adzes, spades, chisels, knives, needles and 1 Between 1973 and 1978, archaeologists unearthed large quantities of carbonated rice remains and bone and wood spade-shaped imple¬ ments used in rice planting at the site of Hemudu Village in Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province. These remains go back approximately 7,000 years. To date, they are the first signs of the domestic cultiva¬ tion of rice in China.

�40

hairpins. The reflex-barbed fishing spear, the fish-hook and the perforated bone needle had already appeared, indicating the relatively high level of the bone-working techniques of primitive handicraft industry. Weaving and sewing had also made relatively rapid prog¬ ress. Fibre could be stripped from wild hemp and twisted into thread with the use of pottery or stone spinning wheels, and then be woven into cloth. Animal skins were also used to make clothing. The ingenious bone needles or bone and antler awls could be used to sew cloth and leather into various kinds of clothing. Pottery manufacture was a new, distinctive handicraft at the time. One of the characteristics of the Yangshao and Majiayao cultures was that they had various kinds of painted pottery. Remains of pottery kilns have been found at the sites of numerous clan settlements. The pottery paste was prepared from relatively fine loess soil to the proper degree of viscosity. After mixing, it was rolled into cords and then either folded to make a rough blank or coiled into an embryonic shape. Small pieces were molded directly into finished form. The next step was decoration of the blank and the addition of handles, ears, noses, etc. by adhesion or inlay. After the blanks were half dry, the inner and outer walls were again scraped and polished. Hematite and manganese oxide were applied with brush-like tools to paint pictures on finer household utensils. Sometimes, before applying the paint, a white or light red ground was ap¬ plied to make the whole image more colourful. As the kilns were not completely sealed, the iron oxides in the clay would oxidize fully, hence the bulk of the pottery is red or brown. Part of the pottery articles were production tools while most were household utensils: basic cooking utensils ssuch as stoves, steamers, footed vessels and cauldrons for steaming or boiling various kinds of foods; drinking and eating vessels like cups, basins, plates, bowls and tumblers; and jars and pots for stor¬ ing things in. There was an amphora-shaped bottle for drawing water which utilized the principle of equilibrium: placed on

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Upper: Yuanmou Man site, Yuanmou County, Yunnan. Lower right: Yuanmou Man’s teeth, found in Yuan¬ mou County, Yunnan. Low¬ er: The reconstructed cra¬ nium of Lantian Man.

�The bust of a reconstruction of Peking Man.

�Stone tools used by Peking Man, unearthed at Zhoukoudian, Beijing.

Lower animal jawbone, stone and earth burnt by Peking Man, found at Zhoukoudian.

�Stone tools used by Dingcun Man, unearthed at Dingcun Village, Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province.

Bone needle and ornaments used by Upper Cave Man, found at Zhoukoudian.

�A neolithic village site with remnants of Yangshao Culture, discovered at Banpo Village, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.

A reconstructed round house at the Banpo site,

�Upper: A stone pickaxe (restored) found at the Banpo site. Middle upper: Mill and pestle, unearthed in Xinzheng County, He¬ nan Province. Mid¬ dle lower: Painted spinning wheels, un¬ earthed in Jingshan County, Hubei Province, and Xichuan County, He¬ nan Province. Low¬ er: Pottery basin with human-mask and net-like de¬ signs, unearthed at the Banpo site.

1

�Black pottery stem¬ med cup with thin body, of Longshan Culture, unearthed in Weifang, Shan¬ dong Province.

A pottery wine con¬ tainer of Longshan Culture, unearthed in Linyi County, Shandong. It is of white clay mixed with fine sand.

�Bronzes of Qijia Culture, unearthed at Huangniangniangtai, Wuwei County, Gansu Province.

Oracle bones of Longshan Culture, kept in the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing.

41

the surface of the water, it would automatically tilt, allowing the water to flow in. Pottery was one of the most important inventions of the matriarchal commune period. It indicates that man’s wisdom was not limited to the working of natural objects, but could create entirely new things. Pottery could be used to cook food, thereby allowing the human body to absorb more fully the nutritious substances of foodstuffs, and it could be used to store liquids, which was beneficial to agricultural irrigation. This contributed to making the sedentary life style more stable. And the principles of pottery-making could also be applied in making ceramic spinning wheels, pellets for hunting, and sink¬ ers for fishing nets. Fire could also be used to bake the earth walls and foundations of primitive buildings.

All of this

had very great significance for the advance of human produc¬ tion and livelihood. Painted pottery was not only practical, but was also a fine handicraft art. The painted designs, patterns, birds and ani¬ mals on the pottery reflect the agricultural labour and hunting and fishing activities of the time with much liveliness and imagination. There are also many marks carved into the sur¬ faces of the pottery which may have been used as symbols for the utensils themselves. a kind of primitive script.

Some scholars believe that they are The birds, fish, deer and frogs de¬

picted on the pottery may have been the clan totems.1 The settlements of that era had a fixed layout in keeping with clan structure.

The Banpo site is a typical clan settle¬

ment. It covers an area of about 50,000 square metres and in¬ cludes three components: a residential section, a pottery-kiln quarter, and a common burial ground.

Cellars of various

1 Totems served as both the names and emblems of the clans. In general, names of animals, plants or inanimate objects were adopted. The function of the totem was to preserve the common pedigree of all clan members bearing its name, thereby serving to distinguish be¬ tween clans.

�42

shapes within the village were the clan’s common storehouses. The homes in the residential section are themselves arranged according to a pattern. There was one very large square build¬ ing, a place for public activities, while other medium- and small-sized buildings served as the clan members’ dwellings. A ditch, approximately five or six metres deep and wide, was dug around the residential section, and the clan’s common burial ground was to the north of the ditch, the kiln quarter to the east. This layout demonstrates that the clan members lived in equality, labouring and consuming in common, and the fact that they were buried together when they died shows that they all belonged to a single clan. Women enjoyed a high status in the clan. They played an important role in production and other activities. The custom of burying the females in the centre prevailed in some places: dozens of joint matriarchal clan graves have been discovered at Yuanjunmiao, Huaxian County, and Hengzhen Village, Huayin County, in Shaanxi Province. The bodies of the deceased, found in common pits, were all moved there to be buried to¬ gether; the number of bodies in each pit was uneven, and there were men and women, old and young. The removal and joint burial process was quite complex. When a person died, the corpse was probably first dealt with in an interim fashion, but when a woman of fairly high status in the matriarchal clan died, her body was immediately placed in one of these grave pits in a supine position. Then the remains of the predeceased of the same clan were brought, laid out together, and buried in the same grave. This burial custom, with the women at the centre, is one reflection of the important position women oc¬ cupied in the clans. But what is more, at the Banpo site and at the Jiangzhai site in Lintong County in Shaarixi, the buried objects accompanying the females generally outnumbered those of the males. This is further demonstration that the women’s social status was high. Collective labour and the public character of ownership of the means of production determined that the distribution of

43

goods within the matriarchal commune was perforce one of common consumption by all members. The cellars for storing things at the Banpo and Jiangzhai sites are distributed closely together around the dwellings. In some spots there are more than ten clustered together in one place, forming a cellar com¬ plex. This may have been a form of collective storage. From the graves we can see that after death the majority of clan members were buried in a common burial ground according to a basically similar burial style, and that the great majority of burial objects were ornaments and pottery used in daily life. The maximum number of burial objects in any one of the sev¬ enty-one graves containing such objects at Banpo was ten, the minimum one, and the average 4.3. Although by that time, people’s livelihood had improved somewhat, it was still very difficult. According to the result of a survey of human bones at the Yuanjunmiao site, the peo¬ ple of the time were afflicted with bone-compression spurs be¬ cause of the excessively heavy burdens they had to bear. And because their food was coarse and they had to expend a lot of energy in chewing, their lower jaws were still more sturdy than those of modern man and their teeth show serious wear and tear. The remains in the various grave groups reveal that the life expectancy of the majority was only around thirty or forty years, and that there was a high rate of infant mortality. Precisely because the level of the productive forces was still very low, and the means of livelihood very limited, it was only possible for them to maintain such an arduous, poor life for members of the clan by living, producing and consuming in common.

The Patriarchal Clan Society of the Longshan Culture

Approximately 5,000 years ago, the tribes of the Huanghe River and Changjiang (Yangtze River) valleys gradually en¬ tered the era of the patriarchal clan commune. In general, the

�44

Longshan, Qijia, Qujialing, Qingliangang, Liangzhu and Dawenkou tribal cultural remains belong to this period.1 The Longshanoid tribes were widely distributed, from the seacoast in the east to the middle reaches of the Weishui River in the west, from the Bohai Gulf coastline of the Liaodong Peninsula in the north to the northern parts of Hubei, Anhui and Jiangsu in the south. The principal area was Henan, Shan¬ dong and Hebei, the southern part of Shanxi, and the Weishui River basin in Shaanxi. Taken as a whole, it was greater in extent than the Yangshao culture, and the regional differences were more pronounced. Tribes belonging to the Qijia culture lived on the upper reaches of the Huanghe River in the east¬ ern part of Gansu and the northeastern part of Qinghai. The stone implements and pottery from the late New Stone Age sites found in Tibet have an affinity to those of Qijia; the jade

bi (a piece of jade for ceremonial purposes) and jade beads of the New Stone Age cultural remains of the Wusuli River ba¬ sin in the Northeast are also similar to those of the Huanghe River basin. The Qujialing culture was distributed mainly in the Hanshui River basin in Hubei, while the Qingliangang cul¬ ture was scattered along the lower reaches of the Changjiang River, principally within what is now Jiangsu Province.

The

Liangzhu culture extended along the lower reaches of the Qiantang River and the area around Lake Taihu. The Dawenkou culture was scattered mainly throughout Shandong and the northern parts of Jiangsu and Anhui. Production reached new levels of development, especially in agriculture and animal husbandry, during the Longshanoid period. The rise in handicraft levels was marked by the intro¬ duction of the potter’s wheel and by the beginning of the metal¬ lurgical manufacture of copper. Two new agricultural tools 1 These cultures take their names from their places of first dis¬ covery: Longshan Township, Zhangqiu County, Shandong; Qijia Green, Guanghe County, Gansu; Qujialing, Jingshan County, Hubei; Qing¬ liangang, Huaian County, Jiangsu; Liangzhu, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang; and Dawenkou, Taian County, Shandong.

45

appeared at this time: the wooden fork and the stone or clam¬ shell sickle. It was discovered that by using a stone or clam¬ shell sickle with handle attached, a change could be made from picking the ears of grain to harvesting it with the stems con¬ nected. This raised labour efficiency and made it possible to bring in fodder for the livestock. The development of Longshanoid agriculture is also reflected in the increase in the num¬ bers of reaping tools. At some sites in Hebei, Henan and Shaanxi, reaping tools in the form of stone knives have been found in numbers roughly equal to those of tools for clearing and planting, as represented by the stone axe and stone spade. In some places the reaping tools even outnumber the clearing and planting tools by two to four times. There was also an improvement in the stone knives, which became broader, long¬ er and sharper. By way of contrast, among the argicultural implements of the Yangshao culture, clearing and planting tools normally outnumbered reaping tools by a couple of times. The increase and improvement in the Longshanoid culture’s reaping tools indicate the better harvests in that period. The tribes of the Qujialing, Qingliangang and Liangzhu cultures living on the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang opened up the grass-covered marshy regions, turned them into paddy fields, and planted rice. The numbers and variety of domesticated animals also in¬ creased in this period. Herds of pigs and dogs were raised everywhere, and there were cattle and goats as well as horses and chickens. The bones of livestock excavated from twentysix firepits of the Longshanoid culture at Miaodigou, Shanxian County, Henan, are more plentiful than those from 168 Yang¬ shao firepits; among them, pig bones are especially numerous. Bones from twenty-one pigs were excavated from a single firepit in Jiangou, Handan County, Hebei. More than one-third of a total of 133 graves excavated at Dawenkou yielded pig bones which had been interred with the corpses, the richest tomb in this respect yielding fourteen pig skulls. Of the domesticated animals, pigs have the advantage of reproducing quickly and

�46

of tolerating coarse food. The growth of pig raising provided a source of meat for man and made him less reliant on hunting. Livestock raising had already become a new means of liveli¬ hood and it gradually took on increasing importance in eco¬ nomic life. While participating in agricultural labour, the males also devoted themselves to animal husbandry and thus the acquisition of means of livelihood became a primarily male affair. The products from such pursuits accrued more to the males, while the women were confined to labouring chiefly within the household. It was precisely these herds that be¬ came the major private property of the patriarchal family. The hunting-fishing-gathering economy served as a supple¬ mentary means of livelihood and underwent development to varying degrees. Of the hunting implements discovered, the stone, bone and shell arrowheads are highly polished, but in specific areas we still find a few struck flint ones. People of the Liangzhu culture of Shuitianfan at Hangzhou and Qianshanyang in Wuxing, Zhejiang, were already using fishing boats to go out into open waters to fish on a relatively large scale. At the time under discussion, the potter’s wheel had al¬ ready been created. The clay was fashioned into containers by using the force of the rapidly spinning wheel. Pottery made this way was regular in shape and of even thickness, but a more important result was the sharp rise in productivity. The structure of the pottery kilns had also been perfected and peo¬ ple had mastered the technique of sealing them. High temper¬ atures and sealing caused the reduction of the ferrites in the fired blanks, giving rise to a grey-coloured pottery. The wheel-thrown pottery of the Shandong Longshanoid clans was particularly well-developed. Because the blanks were pol¬ ished, the kilns were tightly sealed, and the smoke^was inten¬ tionally allowed to colour it, the fired pottery was pitch-black, with a glossy surface. Black pottery could even be made which was thin as eggshell. And kaolin clay was used to fire a small number of tripod pitchers with a very white surface.

47

The metallurgical industry was one of the outstanding pro¬ duction accomplishments of the patriarchal clan period. Copper tablets have been discovered at the Dacheng Mountain site near Tangshan in Hebei and such things have also been dis¬ covered in some quantity in several dwelling sites and grave of the Qijia culture which came a bit later than that of Longshan. Copper products — knives, awls, chisels and rings — and frag¬ ments of copper utensils have been found at Huangniangniangtai in Wuwei County in Gansu. Copper daggers, awls and rings have also been found at Qinweijia and Dahezhuang in Linxia County, Gansu. All these items were made of very pure cop¬ per; there were small amounts of impurities, but no tin or lead was added in the working process. Such copper was relatively soft and could be directly hammered into various kinds of tools and ornaments. Copper is malleable and can be shaped at will and even recast, and is thus much superior to stone. The dis¬ covery of copper marks a break with the several tens of thou¬ sands of years of stone tool technology of primitive Chinese society; it was a creative new technology which brought about a fresh rise in the productive forces. Making copper imple¬ ments involved a series of steps — mining, smelting, hammer¬ ing, pattern making and casting — which required much more complex production techniques than did the making of either stone implements or pottery. People came to specialize in this profession, furthering the division of handicraft labour. As those who turned out the copper utensils came to know the properties of metals, they also opened the road for subsequent metal manufacture. At the time of the patriarchal clan communes, people still lived under a primitive communal system with collective ownership and sharing, and the clans were still held together by blood ties. In the layout of the clan settlements, the dwell¬ ings and the cellars are still tightly interknit and there are com¬ mon graveyards close to the dwelling areas. The common bur¬ ial grounds of the clans are especially ordered and best reflect the characteristics of the clan system. The clan grave-

�48

site of the Longshanoid culture at Miaodigou is situated on the western edge of the site. Within an area of something over 1,100 square metres, 145 graves are laid out, aligned northsouth, the heads of the dead pointing invariably to the south. The public burial ground of the Qijia culture at Qinweijia has more than a hundred graves in six north-south rows and the heads of the dead all face northwest. Somewhat over twenty metres to the east is a smaller burial area with three east-west rows and twenty-nine graves, the heads of the deceased all facing west. These arrangements suggest that the different clans adhered strictly to their own traditional customs for bury¬ ing the dead and that .the members of the clans did not easily leave their own clans under normal circumstances. An important symbol of the patriarchal clan commune was the appearance in marriage relations of a more firm and en¬ during system of monogamy, with succession fixed through the male line. By that time they had adopted the formula of joint burial after death. There are quite a few joint graves of adult men and women at the Dawenkou cultural site and they are also found at the Longshanoid Hengzhencun site in Huayin County, Shaanxi.

In the joint graves of the Qijia culture at

Qinweijia, the males are invariably on the right-hand side, stretched out, their faces upward, while the females are always on the left, reclining on their sides facing the males, legs flexed. This burial style seems to show that the males were in the dominant position and the females in a position of submission and dependence. In the separate conjugal families, the diverse household chores had been transformed from the previous service to the commune to a kind of service to the individual — this marks them off completely from the matriarchal households. It has been discovered that in the graves of the Dawenkoq, culture at Dawenkou, Liulin and Dadunzi of Pixian in Jiangsu, all those whose heads are ornamented have spinning wheels, while those without ornaments have more production tools. In the graves of Majiayao culture discovered at Liuwan in Ledu County in

49

Qinghai, the majority of the burial objects with the males are ground stone axes, adzes, knives and chisels, while the majority of those with the females are pottery or stone spinning wheels, and bone awls and needles. These things all give expression to the division of labour between males and females, the women being excluded from social production and hence losing their previous social status. What is more, pottery and stone sculp¬ tures symbolizing male ancestor worship have been found at the Longshanoid sites at Keshengzhuang in Xi’an and Quanhucun, Huaxian County in Shaanxi, and the Qijia culture site at Zhangjiazui, Linxia County in Gansu. This too is an important sign of the formation of the patriarchal clan. The patriarchal clan commune represented a transitional social stage between primitive communal and slave society. Private ownership, polarization between rich and poor, class division, and the possession of slaves all made their appear¬ ance in the patriarchal clan commune period. As we have not¬ ed, the most important item of private property at the time was the livestock herd. It was the fashion for tribes in various places to use pig palate bones as a yardstick for measuring wealth. The private wealth which people accumulated while alive went into their graves as burial objects after their death. About one-third of 133 Dawenkou culture graves have pig skulls in them, the maximum number being fourteen. In a few graves belonging to the Dawenkou culture at Gangshangcun, Tengxian County, and Yaoguanzhuang, Weifang City in Shan¬ dong, there were also unequal numbers of pig palate bones. Fourteen such bones were found in a grave belonging to the Longshanoid culture at Qinglongquan, Yuanxian County in Hubei, thirty-six pieces were placed in a grave belonging to the Qijia culture at Dahezhuang and sixty-eight pieces were discovered in a grave at Qinweijia. Pig bones in varying num¬ bers have also been found in graves in other places. This shows both that the pigs were owned personally by the grave occupant while alive and that the accumulation of personal property had already reached substantial proportions.

�50

The beginning of private ownership was accompanied by polarization between rich and poor. Some wealthy people used grain to brew alcohol. A set of wine containers such as tripod pitchers, kettles and long-stemmed cups discovered in a Dawenkou grave testifies to this situation. There is a clearer re¬ flection of this division between rich and poor and of the in¬ equality in property in the Dawenkou burial grounds. The burials of the wealthy were very extravagant and the pits very big — more than four metres long and three metres wide. The pits were lined with wood, wooden floors were laid to form outer coffins, and some of the coffin bases were daubed with red pigment. The wealthy had fifty or sixty burial objects — the richest more than 160 — including elegant painted, jetblack and pure white pottery, delicate production tools, and various kinds of ornaments made of polished stone and bone. Some graves also had ivory combs and containers with per¬ forated patterns carved in them. In contrast to the lavish burials of the wealthy, of the 133 graves already excavated at Dawenkou, eighty employ only common production tools and household utensils as burial objects, and eight have no burial objects at all. In graves of the same age and style ex¬ cavated at Liuwan, differences in size and great disparities in number of grave objects also appear. The differences in num¬ ber of grave objects, their presence or absence, are a record of the wealth possessed by the grave occupants during their life¬ times, a reflection of the division into poor and wealthy, and evidence that some people expropriated the fruits of others’ labour and made them their own. In the patriarchal clans, relations of bondage were taking root. At the Huangniangniangtai site, one joint adult grave was discovered, containing one male and two females. The male lay face upward in the middle with a female^pn either side; both females lay on their sides facing the male with limbs bent, the lower limbs behind them and their two hands in front of their faces. In graves belonging to the Qijia culture at Liuwan, some males lay in coffins, face upwards with their

51

limbs straight, while young females lay on their sides outside the coffins, their limbs bent and facing towards the males. The women in these graves, whether their relations with the males were conjugal or not, were obviously in a subordinate position and seem to have been in the status of slaves. Oracle bones have been discovered in many of the Longshan and Qijia culture sites. They are the result of a method of divination which used fire to scorch the upper surface of pig, oxen or sheep scapulae to produce cracking patterns which were then used to determine good or bad fortune. The develop¬ ment of this kind of activity later led to the emergence of sorcerers who specialized in divination, becoming daily more divorced from physical labour. Their activities probably were not limited to making entreaties to nature, but may also gradu¬ ally have assumed the character of class oppression.

Myth and Legend

The Legends of Ancient Tribes

Tradition has it that in remote antiquity there were two famous tribes in the Huanghe River valley. One was Ji and had Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor) as its chief. The other, Jiang, was headed by Yan Di. Being closely related, they formed a tribal alliance. They lived at first in the Weihe (Wei River) area and later moved eastwards along the Huanghe Riv¬ er to areas belonging to today’s Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. In old Chinese books there are many legends and stories about Huang Di. He is described as a god resourceful in inventions as well as war, and is credited with the invention of many things, such as carts and boats, clothes, houses, writ¬ ing, and silkworm breeding and silk weaving. Yao and Shun are two leaders who have been much praised in historical tradition and are supposed to be descendants of Huang Di. In Yao’s time disastrous floods occurred and he called together some tribal chiefs to discuss what should be done. Some suggested that a man called Gun be sent to deal with the flooding and Yao followed their advice. Later Shun succeeded to Yao’s position and also summoned some of the tribal chiefs to discuss how their tasks should be assigned to different people. Shun agreed with the recommendation and only functioned as the chairman of the meetin'g. Stories like this give us an idea of the primitive democracy at meetings of tribal alliances. Tribes originally occupying East China were called Yi. They were first active in southern Shandong and later expanded 52

�CHAPTER

III

53

north to northern Shandong and southern Hebei, west to east¬ ern Henan, south to central Anhui, and east to the sea coast. They were famous for their workmanship in bows and arrows and the written character Yi (3ft) was originally a picture of a man (A) carrying a bow ). Taihao, Shaohao and Chiyou were renowned leaders among the Yi people. Chiyou once en¬ gaged in a long and fierce battle against Huang Di on the out¬ skirts of Zhuolu, which according to tradition was in present Hebei. Chiyou was very resourceful and could summon wind and rain. But Huang Di outdid him by sending goddesses to disperse the wind and rain and finally Chiyou was defeated. After he died, Chiyou ascended to Heaven, and became a con¬ stellation known as “the Banner of Chiyou”. Both Huang Di and Chiyou were worshipped later as gods of war. Another chief of the Yi people, according to legend, was the celebrated archer Yi. In his days, there were ten suns in the sky, which burned all the crops, so that the people had nothing to eat. There were also many evil demons harming mankind. The archer Yi shot down nine suns, leaving only one in the sky, and killed all the demons. Because of his great ex¬ ploits he became revered as a god. Along the Changjiang River valley down south, in modern Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces the Miao and other tribes once lived. Among the leaders of these tribes, Fuxi and Niiwa were the best known.

Fuxi was said to be the first man who

used ropes to make nets for hunting and fishing. In the days of Niiwa, the four pillars supporting heaven collapsed and the earth cracked. So flames spread wildly, torrential waters flood¬ ed all the land, while fierce birds and beasts preyed on men. Niiwa smelted rocks to make five-coloured stones with which she patched up heaven. To replace the broken pillars she cut off the four legs of a huge turtle and used them to prop up the fallen sky. With water and land restored to order and the fierce animals killed, the people could once again live in peace and happiness. Niiwa in return was regarded as a goddess for her great achievements.

�

54

The tribes mentioned earlier, namely, the Huang Di, Yan Di and Yi tribes, can be regarded as three tribal groups. Though it is difficult to separate legend and reality, we know for certain that they once did exist and had an influence on later historical development.

Tribal Chiefs, Gods and Their Sons

According to myth and tradition, chiefs made important contributions to their tribes, especially in flood control, farm¬ ing and animal husbandry. They were regarded as gods, the sons of gods or both. There was once a tribe called Jintian living in areas belong¬ ing to modern Shanxi. Both its chief, Mei, and his son Taitai, were skilful in water control work. Taitai dredged the Fenshui (Fen River) and constructed the storage lake of Daze so the people in the Taiyuan area could live a stable life. And Taitai became the god of Fenshui, enjoying sacrifices offered by the four states established by his descendants. Xiu and Xi, chiefs of the Shaohao tribe in Shandong, were likewise known for being good at flood control. Their work was carried on by their sons and grandsons while they themselves became water gods.

Gonggong in northern Henan was another tribe known

for its success in water control work.

The people of the tribe

invented the method of building dikes to prevent floods.

Due

to overdependence on the dikes, however, they suffered severe losses when their dikes eventually failed them. Nevertheless their chief, Houtu, was respected as a god of the soil. Later, when helping Yu the Great with water control work, the Gong¬ gong tribe adopted his method too with very good results. The above stories illustrate the fact that water conservation was of great importance in the lives of people in primitive- societies. When the chiefs brought relief to the sufferings of the people, they were deified. However, their achievements were limited by a tribal nature, and it was only Yao’s and Shun’s contem-

�CHAPTER

III

55

porary, Yu the Great, who made contributions in water works construction that affected a larger number of tribal groups. Yu was conceived by some mysterious force. According to one legend, Yu’s mother was called Xiuji, and bore her son after swallowing the Yiyi plant (Job’s-tears). According to an¬ other legend, Yu emerged into the world from the body of the above-mentioned Gun, who had been dead for three years, when his body, which had not decayed, was cut open. Both accounts agree in making the birth of Yu the Great a miracle. Yu was entrusted by Shun with the task of conquering floods in cooperation with fraternal tribes. Having learned from previous failures, Yu studied the characteristics of flow¬ ing water, the direction of its flow and the topography, and adopted the method of dredging the waterways.

Canals were

dug to direct flood water into proper water courses.

Further¬

more, he led people in digging irrigation canals which were beneficial to farm production. Thanks to all these efforts, peo¬ ple could settle down peacefully on the plains without the con¬ stant threat of floods. Yu was so devoted to his work that he did not visit his home for thirteen years, although he travelled nearby three times. He worked tirelessly, regardless of wind and rain, until his hands and feet were severely calloused. In order to open some water courses, he summoned a divine winged dragon.

Once,

while cutting through a mountain, he even turned himself into a bear so as to complete a task beyond man’s ability.

His

celebrated contributions won him the respect of the people who honoured him as “Yu the Great” and god of the soil. Stories about Yu’s exploits in water conservation spread far and wide beyond the boundaries of individual tribes. Shennong was one of those tribes that were good at farm¬ ing and it had a gifted man as its chief. Not only did he invent tools for turning over the soil and teach his men how to farm, but he also discovered many medicinal herbs by personal ex¬ perimentation. Zhu, chief of the Lieshan tribe, became god of

�56

agriculture because of his miraculous talent in growing grain crops and vegetables. Above all, Qi, chief of the Zhou tribe, was famous for his achievements in farming and was often compared to Yu the Great in fame. Qi was a son of god and a god himself. Once when walking in the wilderness, his mother, Jiang Yuan, step¬ ped onto a huge footprint of a giant and her body was jolted. She had become pregnant and later bore a son. At first she dared not keep the child so she abandoned him in small lanes, in the woods, and on frozen waterways. But to her great surprise, the child always remained protected and did not die. So she took it back and named it “Qi”, meaning “abandoned”. The child proved to be very handy in farm work when he was still very small. The beans, millet, hemp, wheat, melons and fruit he cultivated all grew well, and the crops he helped others grow were so heavy they bent. He was also good at discover¬ ing better varieties of plants and ways of processing grain. The food he made was so good it even pleased the Lord on High. Later he became god of agriculture under the name of Houji, Lord of Agriculture. Houji lived at the same time as Yu the Great and helped in the water control work together with Xie, Gaoyao, Boyi and Dafei. Gaoyao and Boyi were both from the Yi people in the east. Boyi invented the sinking of wells. Xie’s mother, Jiandi, was once standing on a high platform when she saw a swallow fly by. She swallowed an egg it had laid and later gave birth to Xie. Dafei, about whose birth a similar story is told, was an expert in animal husbandry and the animals under his care were very obedient. Shun married a woman from his clan to Dafei and said to him that his descendants would surely be promising. As it happened, descendants of Yu, Xie and Houji founded the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties respectively, while Dafei became the ancestor of the foundef'-mf the Qin Dynasty. That the tribal chiefs were said to be sons of gods actually reflects the fact that in a society of matriarchal clans people

�CHAPTER

III

57

knew only who their mothers were but not their fathers. An¬ other reason for men becoming gods was that they had dis¬ tinguished themselves by performing the most important social function in a primitive society with a low productivity, namely, the organization of work in water conservation, farm¬ ing and animal husbandry. Despite repeated changes made according to each story-teller’s imagination, these myths to some extent reflect the historical reality of primitive society. As historical conditions changed, so did the role played by the tribal chief.

He became less a public servant than a kind

of power above society. History entered a new stage as class¬ less primitive society changed into civilized society with its class distinctions.

The Hereditary Monarchy of the Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty is traditionally supposed to have begun with the reign of Yu the Great and ended with the fall of Jie, lasting for more than 400 years, from approximately the 21st century B.C. or a little earlier to the 16th century B.C. There were altogether seventeen kings in fourteen generations. Ac¬ cording to an ancient version of history, however, it was not Yu, but his son Qi, who founded the dynasty. The Xia people lived on loess plains formed by alluvial deposits suitable for primitive farming. Their territory extend¬ ed from western Henan and southern Shanxi eastwards along the Yellow River to the point where the borders of modern Henan, Hebei, and Shandong provinces meet and extended south to Hunan and north to Hebei next to the territory of other tribes living there. Since flooding had already been brought under control and people could settle down, we may suppose that animal husbandry and agriculture underwent further de¬ velopment. Development of animal husbandry and agriculture required more knowledge of astronomy and a better calendar to mark

�

58

seasonal changes. After carefully observing the movements of the sun, the moon and the stars, Yao is said to have worked out a calendar dividing a year into spring, summer, autumn and winter to coincide with the seasons of stockbreeding and farming. What was used in Yao’s time was a lunar calendar with the months determined by the phases of the moon.

Since

a year of twelve lunar months is shorter than the solar year, an intercalary month was inserted in certain years.

At the

time of Yao and Shun the solar year was thought to have 366 days which, of course, was not quite correct. It is not known whether the calendar of the Xia Dynasty represented an im¬ provement upon that of Yao but the so-called Xia calendar was much praised by people of later generations. Bronze vessels came into use at the time of the Xia. There was little opportunity to use bronze directly in farming but it could have been useful in the making of farm tools.

Some

tribes are said to have presented bronze to the Xia as tribute, Yu is supposed to have cast bronze tripods, and the Xia used bronze to make weapons. The Xia was an alliance formed by over a dozen closely related tribes of'which the Xiahou tribe was the leading one. Included in the alliance were also some more distantly related tribes and some of the Yi tribes in the east.

According to his¬

torical tradition, the leadership of the alliance originally alter¬ nated between the Yi and the Xia. Due to Yu’s great achieve¬ ments in water control and his victories over the Sanmiao tribes, his personal prestige increased so much that the chief of the clan wielded ever greater authority over the other clan members.

As Yu was getting old, the renowned chief Gaoyao

of the Eastern Yi was elected to succeed him. But Gaoyao un¬ expectedly died before Yu, so Boyi of the Eastern yi tribes was chosen to replace him. After Yu’s death, the Xia tribes, rely¬ ing on their great strength and Yu’s prestige, promoted Yu’s son Qi to the position of king. They asked Qi to grant them audiences and mediate in disputes, and praised him to the sky.

�CHAPTER

III

59

As a result the principle of electing leaders was violated and a new hereditary system came into being. In ancient times this was considered to be the beginning of a system whereby the ruler “takes all under Heaven as his family possession”. The founding of the Xia Dynasty is regarded as a major turning point in history. One tribe named Youhu criticized Qi for having violated the old system. But Youhu was defeated by Xia in a battle at Gan in modern Huxian in Shaanxi.

The defeated survivors

were made into “mushu”, which may be a term for prisoners of war who became slaves collectively owned by the victorious tribe. After attaining kingship, Qi turned out to be fond of drink¬ ing, hunting, singing and dancing.

Qi’s successor, Taikang,

cared nothing for state affairs but rather spent months on end hunting on the northern bank of the Luo River.

This be¬

haviour aroused strong resentment among the people. Houyi, known as a good archer from the Youqiong clan of the Eastern Yi, took the opportunity to attack Xia and made himself king. But the throne was again seized by Houyi’s trusted follower Hanzhuo who bribed Houyi’s family servants to kill him. Taikang, the overthrown ruler, had fled and died in exile, leaving as his heir his younger brother Zhongkang.

-Zhong-

kang’s son Xiang was attacked and killed by Hanzhuo while taking refuge with the Zhenguan and Zhenxun clans.

But

Xiang’s wife, already pregnant, climbed through a hole in the wall and escaped to her mother’s family of the Youreng tribe where she later bore her son Shaokang.

When the son grew

up, he was put in charge of stockbreeding in the clan, but being pursued again by Hanzhuo, he escaped to the Youyu clan which was descended from Shun. There he was made respon¬ sible for food preparation and the tribal chief Yusi married two daughters to him. Shaokang gathered together some other closely related tribes, defeated Hanzhou, and restored the Xia Dynasty.

�60

In order to counter the good marksmanship of the Yi peo¬ ple, Shaokang’s son Shu invented coats of mail which played an important role in the defeat of Hanzhuo. After he came to the throne, Shu went on a punitive expedition against the Eastern Yi and drove them back to the sea coast. Because of his great exploits, Shu was regarded by the Xia people as the only worthy heir of Yu, and they made magnificent sacrifices to him after his death. The Yi tribes were one by one brought under Xia’s control, and Yi chiefs even accepted noble titles and became officials of the Xia court offering tribute. After many long years of struggle, Xia’s ruling position was eventu¬ ally recognized by the other tribes, and the new hereditary monarchy had in effect replaced the traditional system of elec¬ tion. The establishment of hereditary monarchy eliminated the function of the tribe as an organization representing the will of its members and taking care of its own affairs. What was emerging instead was a state apparatus in which one class ruled over another. The Xia Dynasty by then had not only erected city walls with moats, but also established its own army, penal code and prisons.

The tribes conquered by Xia or forced to

recognize its position were made to pay tribute which usually consisted of local products. But some defeated tribes were forced to offer their sons and daughters as tribute. Towards the end of the Xia Dynasty, social conflict grew sharper. Tradition has it that in the 16th century B.C., the last ruler of Xia, Jie, abused his power.and increased oppression. He exhausted the resources of the people to build palaces and pavilions for himself. The people were also forced to go to war frequently to exact children, as well as jade and silk, from neighbouring tribes. Filled with hatred for J^ie, the people could no longer put up with his despotic rule and fled in large numbers. Even his court officials cursed him and wished his death, although that might mean that they themselves would perish. Jie, however, still thinking of restoring and strength¬ ening his control over other tribes, gathered all the tribal

�CHAPTER

III

61

chiefs together for a punitive expedition against the Youmin clan. But this made the existing conflicts more acute and alienated the tribes further. Shang Tang took this opportunity to revolt and overthrew the Xia Dynasty.

The Slave State of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties

The Earliest Written History

The Shang and Zhou dynasties were the earliest to have a written history. The Shang (c. 16th-llth century B.C.) lasted over 600 years, with 31 kings belonging to 17 generations. The early Zhou Dynasty is known as Western Zhou because the capital was located in the west. This period (c. mid-llth cen¬ tury to 771 B.C.) lasted more than 290 years, with 12 kings belonging to 11 generations. It was during these 900 years that historical records became consciously and systematically written instead of being spon¬ taneous and fragmentary. This was made possible by the emer¬ gence of two essential conditions, a written script and a cal¬ endar, during the Shang Dynasty. The Shang nobles were superstitious and believed that everything in the world was controlled by gods. They often sought the divine will through oracles and used a method of divination by which a spot on a tortoise shell or an animal bone was heated until it cracked and the oracle was then inter¬ preted on the basis of the pattern of the cracks. This method has been called scapulimancy, since the scapulae or shoulder blades of cattle were often used. In many cases the question and the answer and sometimes the subsequent events were written on the bone or shell and these records ar^'known as oracle-bone inscriptions. Oracle-bone inscriptions were first discovered in Xiaotun Village, in the northwest of Anyang County in Henan. People 62

�CHAPTER

IV

63

began to collect and identify them in 1899, and there have since been more discoveries. According to preliminary research, these inscriptions contain about 4,500 characters, of which some 1,700 have been deciphered. The written characters were already formed in four different ways; there were pictographs, ideographs, associative compounds and phonetic compounds. A method of “borrowing” was used, that is, a synonym or homonym was adopted to express a different thing. For exam¬ ple, the character lai which gave the image of wheat, was borrowed for a homophonous word meaning “to come”; feng M, meaning phoenix, was borrowed to write the word feng meaning wind (now written Jxl). Compared with later Han characters, the oracle-bone script was more detailed in making distinctions between animals of different species and sexes. For instance, the character yu meaning “to drive a chariot”, would take the radical ma 3r (horse) or xiang (elephant), depending on which animal was used. Again, the character mu ft (herding) would take the radical ft tizu (cat¬ tle) or ft yang (sheep), depending on whether the herd was cattle or sheep. The characters 3; ma (horse), ft yang (sheep), ^ shi (pig), quan (dog) and jfg lu (deer) might have addi¬ tional marks to indicate whether the animal was male or female. The characters ft pin and fi mu, which at first meant male and female cattle, were later applied to the males and females of all animals. Some of the oracle-bone characters did not have a fixed form, such as that for the character fi, gui (tortoise). The character sometimes depicted the figure of a turtle from the front and sometimes from the side, with or without a tail. In general, however, the oracle-bone script is the foundation of later Han characters. Judging from the forms of the oracle-bone characters and the grammar of the inscriptions, they must have gone through a rather long period of development, but the origin of this script remains to be ascertained. The number of characters on any given piece of oracle bone could range from a handful to over a hundred. The actual con-

�

64

tent of the oracles was related to various activities of the ruling house, indicating the circumstances at the time. As divinations of good or evil, the oracle-bone inscriptions are the earliest historical records known to us and are invaluable in a study of the Shang Dynasty. From these inscriptions we know that the Shang used a lunar calendar which was combined with the

solar

year

through the addition of an intercalary month, once in a few years, to make up the difference between a year of twelve lunar months and a solar year. The number of days in a month was fixed at 30 for a long month and 29 for a short one.

The

intercalary month was at first added at the end of the year as a 13th month, but later inserted in the middle of the year. Years and months were recorded by numerals in oracle-bone inscriptions.

Ten characters known as “heavenly stems” and

twelve others known as “earthly branches” were used to name the days in a cycle of sixty days. The stems are jia Ep, yi Z3, bing H, ding T> wu jj£, ji £, geng J^, xin 5^, and the branches are zi

ren {£, gui

chou 31, yin If, mao tip, chen

jg, si E, wu wei shen Ep, you Hf> xu jg,, hai -%■ Calendar-making has since gone through many changes and the calculations have become increasingly exact, but the lunar calendar bound to the solar year, and the 60-day cycles con¬ tinued in use for over 3,000 years. The use of a calendar was of great significance to the de¬ velopment of historical records.

Most of the oracle-bone in¬

scriptions only recorded the day and not the year or month. Some recorded all three, but with the day preceding the recorded event, followed by the month and then the year. A record of the year alone, however, did not indicate which king’s reign it referred to. Such information has to besought by other means. In other words, while records of some form did exist, they were incomplete. Only through a study of both written sources and archaeological finds are we able to obtain more comprehensive information on the Shang Dynasty.

�CHAPTER

IV

65

The engravings on Shang bronzes are an important form of documentation. A vessel may have one or a few characters, while some late Shang bronzes are inscribed with as many as 45 characters. These inscriptions are generally called jin wen (writings on bronzes) or zhong ding wen (writings on bells and tripods). Up till now, not very many of such inscriptions have been found, but they are a primary source of historical ma¬ terial for the Shang period. Oracle-bone inscriptions of the Zhou Dynasty have been discovered in recent years. The characters are so small that they can only be read with a magnifier. The content of these inscriptions are still under study, but there is a clear increase in writing on bronze vessels from the Zhou period, not only in the number of pieces but in the length of the inscriptions. For example, ling yi, an inscription dating from the early Zhou, has 187 characters; Mao gong ding of the late Zhou has 499 characters. A large number of the bronze inscriptions from the Zhou Dynasty had 100-300 characters each, and show a wider vocabulary than the oracle-bone inscriptions. Most of the Zhou Dynasty bronze inscriptions are written in praise of great achievements or to celebrate grants and re¬ wards. Detailed descriptions are often given on military ex¬ peditions, the capture of war prisoners, and grants of servants and slaves, land, chariots, horses, banners, dresses, ceremonial vessels, and gold and shell articles. Some famous inscriptions contain data about the scale of warfare and number of ser¬ vants bestowed; others record the circumstances concerning grants of land and enfeoffment. The Zhou inscriptions frequently end with the words: “For eternal preservation by our descendants.” This is clearly an expression of hope for the handing down of the inscribed bronzes from generation to generation, and of the fact that the inscriptions were written in a way to suit such a purpose. In other words, they were deliberately written as historical rec¬ ords and, in this sense, represent an advance over the oraclebone texts. Some of the bronzes do not record the time, but

�66

there are more bronzes than oracle bones which give years and dates. Unlike the oracle bones, the bronzes indicate the time by using the month-day-year or year-month-day sequence, the latter subsequently becoming the common practice in Chinese historical records. There were also some Shang and Zhou historical records written on bamboo slips or silk. The main part of what has been preserved is contained in the Book of History (Shang Shu) and the Book of Odes (Shijing). The Book of History is a col¬ lection of political documents from the Shang, the Western Zhou and the Spring and Autumn periods. The Book of Odes dates from the Western Zhou and the Spring and Autumn periods. These two works had a far-reaching influence on the philosophy, political ideas and literature of later times. From the point of view of historical value, the Book of History has about twenty papers on Shang and Zhou history that are com¬ paratively reliable and more or less contemporaneous with the historical events they covered. These include accounts of his¬ torical figures, speeches and events. The way in which the material is presented shows a further step forward in making conscious historical records as compared to the bronze inscrip¬ tions. The Book of Odes contains 74 “Lesser Odes”, 31 “Great¬ er Odes” and 31 “Sacrificial Odes of Zhou”. Most of these odes deal with events, and some with offerings to gods, and they were written mainly during the Zhou Dynasty. The book also includes 160 “Lessons from the States”, 4 “Praise-odes of Lu” and 5 “Sacrificial Odes of Shang”, most of which were works of later times. The odes throw light on the historical conditions and are highly valuable for an understanding of history. It can be seen that the various sources for Sfyang and early Zhou history, whether the oracle-bone inscriptions^bronze in¬ scriptions or the Book of History and Book of Odes, all devel¬ oped independently of each other and do not give a complete year by year record of these periods. The situation started to change towards the end of the Western Zhou.

From 841 B.C.,

�CHAPTER

IV

67

the Zhou royal house began to keep annals, and some vassal states did the same about this time. Henceforth China had his¬ torical records for each year. Thus the year 841 B.C. marked the beginning of conscious, systematic records. Although historical records of the Shang and Western Zhou are still rather inadequate to help us understand the history of this period, they nevertheless free us from dependence on legends.

The Slave-Owning Shang Dynasty

According to legend the Shang Dynasty traced its origin to an ancient tribe on the lower reaches of the Huanghe River. As stated in the previous chapter, the founder of the Shang Dynasty, Xie, had assisted Yu in harnessing rivers. The leg¬ endary accounts tell us that Xie was also an official in charge of education during the reign of Shun.

This may be attribu¬

table to the fact that the Shang tribe had a relatively high cultural level. The Shang moved its centre of activities five times under the three kings from Xie to Xiang Tu, and three times after Xiang Tu, during the eleven generations from Chang Ruo to Tang. These moves occurred mainly along the Huanghe River in present-day Shandong and Henan provinces. Shang rule became powerful under Xiang Tu, its influence extending eastward to Mount Tai and north to the coast of Bohai Sea. It grew still stronger under Tang, who was also called Tai Yi. State organization already existed under Tang. He had two men, Yi Yin and Zhong Hui, as his ministers, both known as capable officials. At that times Jie, the ruler of the Xia Dynasty, was opposed by the people. From Bo, a place south of present-day Caoxian in Shandong, Tang launched at¬ tacks against Xia rule. He first conquered a dozen nearby tribes and small states and then started an expedition against

�68

the Xia king, Jie. He issued a proclamation denouncing Jie for his misrule and the harm he had done to the people’s pro¬ ductive pursuits. He said that the house of Xia had committed such crimes that the Lord on High had commanded him to destroy it, and since he feared the Lord on High, he dared not disobey. Tang also told people that they would be richly rewarded if they followed him and succeeded in their god-giv¬ en task. If they did not follow him, he would enslave them or kill them and they should not expect to be able to save them¬ selves. Tang’s words show that the soldiers were free men and not slaves but that Tang himself behaved in the manner of a slave-owner. Jie was defeated in a battle fought at Mingtiao (present-day Fengqiu in Henan) and fled to Nanchao (presentday Chaoxian in Anhui), where he died. The Xia Dynasty was overthrown, and the Shang Dynasty established, with presentday Shangqiu city in Henan Province as the centre of its activities. The state power of the Shang Dynasty was exercised by the king and the slave-owning nobility. The king was assisted by ministers and vice-ministers.

Other officials with religious

functions were the shamans, the recorders and the diviners. Actually the ministers were also religious officials.

Others

took charge of military affairs, production, etc. The numerous official posts were mostly hereditary for members of noble families. The dynasty had a large and powerful army. Oracle-bone inscriptions state that “the king has set up three army units, right, centre and left.” The core of the army consisted of members of the nobility, while the soldiers were mainly com¬ moners. A number of slaves were pressed into the service as foot-soldiers or for the performance of miscellaneous duties. Sometimes a clan constituted a unit of the army. The oracles record orders for “three clans”, “five clans” or “a clan with many sons” to go to battle. The army was armed with bronze weapons, the commonly used ones being axe, battle-axe, lance, spear, sword, javelin, helmet, bronze battle-axe with iron edge

69

and leather shield. Tn late Shang chariots became the principal combat force. Each chariot was drawn by two horses and carried three soldiers clad in armour — one driving, one holding a lance or spear, and the third carrying bow and ar¬ rows; alongside the chariots marched foot-soldiers. The number of soldiers in war usually varied from three to five thousand, and could reach thirty thousand. Prisons were set up and punishments were instituted for more than ten different crimes. The Shang kings claimed that their first ancestor was the son of the Lord on High on whose command the dynasty had been founded. Thus a central element in Shang religion was the identification of the earliest royal ancestor with the su¬ preme god. The Shang kings were bom to become masters of the people and became gods after death. While they lived they ruled over the living, and after they died they ruled over the dead. In remote antiquity, the tribal heads who had worked for the good of the people and made contributions to their common cause were venerated as gods. The Shang still regard¬ ed their chiefs as gods, but these were gods who stood above the people and ruled them as kings and so were no longer the servants of the people. The Shang possessed a complete set of instruments of violence and weapons of spiritual control as well as a welldeveloped written language. It was already a slave-owning state of considerable scale but retained a great many customs of primitive society. Special sacrifices were offered to a per¬ son’s deceased mother and the heavenly stems were used for the titles of deceased grandmothers. This shows the great respect the Shang people paid to matriarchal authority. After the death of Tang, as his eldest son Tai Ding had died young, he was succeeded by Tai Ding’s younger brother Wai Bing who was in turn succeeded by another brother, Zhong Ren. A few years later, Tai Ding’s son Tai Jia became the fourth king of Shang. He refused to take the advice of Yi Yin, the prime minister, who then dethroned him, but

�70

restored him when he changed for the better a few years later. Another story says that Tai Jia was at first put under house arrest by Yi Yin. He escaped, killed Yi Yin and seized the throne. This restoration marked the beginning of a period of stability under six kings from Tai Jia to Tai Wu. After Zhong Ding succeeded Tai Wu, struggles for the throne occurred many times, and the internal contradictions of the nobility intensified. Misery spread wide among the people, and the dynasty declined. Small states that had submitted to the Shang now renounced their allegiance. Con¬ ditions improved somewhat under the rule of King Zu Yi, the fourth successor of Zhong Ding. Oracle-bone inscriptions show that sacrifices were offered to three kings together — Tai Yi, Tai Jia and Zu Yi, the last posthumously given the title of Zhong Zong. To honour them, 300 heads of cattle and sheep were used in the sacrifices. However, struggles for the throne continued in the whole period from Zhong Ding to Yang Jia. During the reign of King Pan Geng, the Shang removed its capital to Yin (modern Anyang in Henan), laying a new foun¬ dation for Shang rule which from then on was also called the Yin Dynasty (or Yin-Shang). One of the next kings, Wu Ding, is supposed to have spent his early years among the common people and was therefore familiar with their difficulties in making a living. After becoming king he appointed Gan Pan and Fu Yue as ministers and made great efforts to consolidate his rule. Wu Ding also launched many military expeditions against the surroYmding tribes and states. These campaigns centred on present Shanxi, northern Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. The Tu Fang tribe and another nomadic tribe north of the Hetao (the Yellow River Bend) had joined forces to attack the Shang. For each campaign Wu Ding conscripted three to fiye thousand men. The more powerful nomadic tribe Gui Fang, which lived in present Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and further north, resisted the forces of Wu Ding for three years before they were con¬ quered. In the northwest there was also the Qiang Fang tribe

�CHAPTER

IV

71

against which Wu Ding once employed 13,000 men. In the south he also attacked the Jing Chu people and extended his influence to the Changjiang basin. His reign lasted 59 years and he received the posthumous title of Gao Zong. Wu Ding was succeeded by Zu Geng and then by Zu Jia. The rulers after Zu Jia were mostly pleasure-seeking and paid little attention to state affairs while social contradictions deepened. The last two kings were Di Yi and Di Xin. Di Yi launched many expeditions against the Yi (Eastern Yi) tribes between the Changjiang and Huai rivers and was victorious. He moved the capital to Zhaoge, present-day Qixian in Henan. Di Xin or Zhou is known in history as an infamous tyrant. He devised many cruel laws and means of torture, oppressing and exploiting the slaves and common people. Building luxurious palaces and gardens, he led a life of debauchery with com¬ panions from the nobility. By tradition, the old nobles held power in Shang. But by the end of the dynasty, particularly under King Zhou, the centralized autocracy had the effect of setting aside the “elders” and only favouring those congenial to the king. This aggravated the contradictions among the nobility and caused internal dissension. Zhou also spent nearly a year personally leading a war against the Yi. Although he won a victory after one year’s bitter fighting, he exhausted much of the resources of his realm and increased the burdens of the people. The intensification of class contradictions brought about great confusion. Taking advantage of the op¬ portunity, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty launched an attack and overthrow the Shang Dynasty.

The Social Economy of the Shang Dynasty

Animal husbandry had a long history already in Shang times. In the late Shang period, the number of cattle and sheep used in a single sacrifice might be 300-400, sometimes up to a thousand. The oracle-bone inscriptions many times mention hunting, e.g., in one hunting trip 384 deer were

�72

captured, and hunting was common for quite a long period. The inscriptions also record the kind and sexes of the animals, showing the developed state of animal husbandry. Agriculture was the principal part of production with many kinds of crops. In the ruins of the Shang capital at Zhengzhou in Henan, remains of rice have been found. In the oracle-bone inscriptions we find the names of the main cereals and some other plants, e.g., he 7^, meaning growing grain; shu HI, sticky millet; su M, rice or millet in husk; mai wheat; ji W., millet; mi yft, rice; sang mulberry; and ma$$, hemp. In the ruins of Yin at Anyang have been discovered cellars for storing grain. Some of the walls and floors of these cellars had been plastered with a mixture of mud and straw. The character ling JJl in the oracle-bone inscriptions, which means granary, applied to such cellars. Different kinds of wine were brewed — sweet wine was made of rice and fragrant wine was made of black millet. The many wine vessels found in the Yin ruins show that drinking wine was common among the nobility. Wine making and drinking were a result of the advances in agriculture. Iron had been discovered and was already in use. Ironblade bronze battle-axes of the Shang have been unearthed recently but not yet iron farm implements. Tools were mainly made of wood or stone, such as wooden spades to dig earth, stone hoes for weeding grass and stone sickles for harvesting. Hundreds of sickles have been found near the royal palace among the Yin ruins, mostly showing signs of having been used. The handicraft tools included axe, adze, knife, saw, chisel, drill, awl, needle, shovel, etc. — all made of bronze. Bronze metallurgy was the most highly developed among the handicrafts. Remains of bronze foundries upder the direct control of the royal house have been discovered at Zhengzhou, Anyang and other places. The raw material consisted of mala¬ chite (copper oxide ore), tin and lead, and charcoal was used for fuel. Pottery moulds were first made, into which molten bronze was poured. The mould was removed after the liquid

�CHAPTER

IV

73

had cooled off and solidified. The bronze was then decorated by carving to make it more attractive. The famous large rec¬ tangular cauldron si mu wu ding can be taken as a representa¬ tive of the advanced bronze metallurgy of the late Shang. The height is 133 cm to the top of the handles, the opening 110 X 78 cm, and the weight 875 kgs. The furnace used for smelting bronze was made of red pottery with a thick inside wall and could stand high temperature without breaking. Usually it could only take 12.5 kgs of molten bronze. To make the above-mentioned, large cauldron, 70-80 furnaces were re¬ quired. A couple of hundred skilled craftsmen performing different tasks were needed, not including those making the mould and handling transport. Chemical analysis has shown the tripod to contain 84.77 per cent of copper, 11.64 per cent of tin and 2.79 per cent of lead. Separate moulds were made for the ears, the body and the legs, each requiring from two to eight pieces. Besides the common gray, black and red pottery, there were white and hard pottery and primitive porcelain made of por¬ celain clay fired in a kiln. These were highly heated, so that they became hard and did not easily absorb water.

The white

pottery has a clear pure colour with fine texture and beautiful decorations. The surface has a thin, blue or yellowish green glaze, the body is greyish white, the structure is solid, and the vessels emit a metallic sound when struck. Experimental analysis has shown that the temperature of firing was about 1,200 ± 30° C. The vessels were still quite rough, but may be said to be primitive porcelain. The Shang people already had linen and silk textiles. On the bronzes traces of silk fabrics have been found — rough silk with plain design and damask with lozenge design. Cowrie shells and a small number of copper shells have been unearthed from Shang ruins. The oracle-bone inscrip¬ tions record the acquisition and bestowal of shells. The shell was at first used as an ornament. It began to be used as money with the growth of exchange. Documents of the

�

74

early period of the Zhou Dynasty mention traders driving ox¬ carts carrying goods to distant places. At Zhengzhou and An¬ yang, hard pottery with impressed design, sea shells, clam shells, whale and tortoise scapulae (used for divination) have been found to have come from far away. The development of production was closely connected with the advance of scientific knowledge.

Astronomy was needed

to determine the seasons for farming and animal husbandry. And mathematics and mechanics helped water conservancy planning and design and construction in the cities. The oraclebone inscriptions have records of solar and lunar eclipses and of some constellations and newly discovered stars. The Shang calendar shows the important results of astronomy and mathe¬ matics of that time.

Numerals from one to ten thousand with

a decimal system were used. Tradition says that Xie, the founder of the Shang royal lineage, worked together with Yu in harnessing the rivers and that Ming,

Tang’s ancestor eight generations

drowned while doing the same work.

before,

was

In its early period the

Shang people had inhabited the lower reaches of the Huanghe River and had much to do with water control. There must have been many records concerning this, but now they are no longer available. The Shang capital cities were built according to a plan that determined the arrangement of palaces, temples and various workshops.

The characteristic of Chinese architecture based

on wooden structures had already taken shape.

The founda¬

tions of the palaces and temples of Yin ruins were generally of pounded earth, one of them as large as 46.7 by 10.7 metres. The remains of the stone or bronze bases of the rows of columns allow us to see the complicated structure of the palaces with heavy gates and compound rooms. These building foundations, with a north-south or east-west direction, formed groups of mutually compatible structures. Their style and technique exercised a far-reaching influence on the architecture of later ages, and the knowledge of applied mechanics was already fairly advanced. In the relations of production, the Shang Dynasty had entered slave society.

The slaves were engaged in farming,

domestication of animals and primitive handicrafts, or did household work for slave-owners. The oracle-bone inscriptions record using war prisoners for farming and animal husbandry. There is not much historical material on the actual conditions under the slave system. In the oracle-bone inscriptions the character ^ zhong, (meaning many people), resembles a picture of three men under the sun and has commonly been interpreted as slaves labouring in the fields.

In a large tomb

at Wuguan Village at Anyang, which had been twice plun¬ dered, 79 skeletons were found, buried with the man the tomb was made for.

The other tombs of the Yin ruins also contain

the remains of people buried alive with the dead or killed as sacrifices.

It is generally explained that these people were

slaves. That is more or less guesswork and does not clarify the position of slaves in social production. Not until the Zhou Dynasty did more factual data on the slave system appear.

The Rise of the Zhou and the Establishment of the Slave-Owning Zhou Dynasty

The people of Zhou were an ancient tribe on the loess plateau in the middle reaches of the Weishui (the Wei River). The ruling clan’s family name was Ji. Their earliest ancestor, Qi, was worshipped as the god of agriculture. Qi lived in Tai, which is said to be present Wugong County in Shaanxi.

His great-grandson Gongliu started a settlement

in Bin, the area around Binxian and Xunyi counties'in Shaan¬ xi. He studied the topography, found the water sources and organized production, developing agriculture and the domes¬ tication of animals.

Ten generations from Gongliu to Gugong

77

Tanfu lived in Bin. Threatened by the Rong and Di* tribes from the northwest, Gugong Tanfu led his people to Zhouyuan (the Zhou plain) at the foot of Mount Qi (now Qishan County in Shaanxi). People in his time gave up cave-dwelling and built houses and city walls and began to live in cities called yi, which were administered by officials. Making use of the rich soil of Zhouyuan, the people developed farm production and laid the foundation for the rise of the Zhou. About this time Zhou began to have contacts with the Shang. Gugong Tanfu was later honoured as Great King. He was succeeded by Ji Li, or King Ji, during whose reign the Zhou state grew strong. In the wars against the Rong Di tribes the captured prisoners were made slaves. The relations between the Zhou and the Shang became closer; Ji Li married the Shang woman Tai Ren and was received in court by the Shang king who granted him some land and gave him horses, jade and other valuables. He was also appointed an official in charge of livestock. However, later he was killed by King Wen Ding of the Shang. Ji Li was succeeded by his son Chang, who later became the celebrated King Wen of the Zhou.

Seeing that the Shang

king, Zhou, had earned the hatred of the nobility by his efforts to win over and recruit the slaves of certain tribes and states, Chang proposed an agreement among the slave-owners. It au¬ thorized searches for escaped slaves, who should be returned to their respective owners and must not be hidden by anyone. This agreement won the support of the nobility and raised King Wen’s prestige among the tribes and states. He carried out a series of campaigns against hostile tribes and states and subdued them. Then he attacked Chong (now Huxian in Shaanxi), a powerful state on the Zhou’s eastern

• “Rong” or “Xi Rong” was the ancient name applied to ethnic

groups in Northwest China, while “Di” or “Bei Di” was the name used for ethnic groups in North China. The groups in both Northwest and North China were also generally referred to under the name of “Rong Di”.

�78

border. Chong was friendly to the Shang and was treated as an enemy by the Zhou. With the help of his allies King Wen subdued Chong, capturing many of its people. He then moved his capital to Fengyi (on the west bank of the Feng River in Shaanxi), ready for eastward expansion. The many rivers and rich soil in this area favoured agriculture. In King Wen’s last years, his power extended to the southwestern part of present Shanxi and the western part of present Henan, posing a threat to Zhaoge, the Shang capital. Ji Fa, King Wen’s son, succeeded as King Wu. He moved the capital to Hao (southwest of present-day Xi’an in Shaanxi). In the ninth year of his reign when the contradictions in Shang society sharpened, he attacked Shang which had been ex¬ hausted in its wars against the Eastern Yi tribes. When his forces reached Mengjin (now Mengxian, Henan), 800 enfeoffed lords spontaneously joined him, but he did not continue his drive until two years later. Then he advanced eastward with 300 war chariots, a shock brigade of 3,000 men and 45,000 armoured soldiers.

The forces of the tribes of the southwest

also joined in when he started the campaign against King Zhou of the Shang.

At Muye to the southwest of the Shang capital

of Zhaoge, he and his men took an oath denouncing King Zhou for failing to offer sacrifices to ancestors and distrusting his kinsmen and for shielding people who had committed crimes and slaves who had escaped from their masters. The Zhou and Shang armies fought a battle at Muye. As the Shang soldiers turned against their ruler, King Wu quickly captured Zhaoge, where the Shang king burnt himself to death. Having vanquished the Shang, King Wu established the Zhou Dynasty. Among his chief ministers were Dan, the Duke of Zhou; Shi, the Duke of Zhao; and the Venerable Duke Jiang (Lti Shang, also known as Taigong Wang or Jian& Taigong). He enfeoffed Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of the Shang, at Yin and appointed his own brothers Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu to watch over Wu Geng. King Wu died two years later and was succeeded by his young son Song as King Cheng

V

79

with his uncle, the Duke of Zhou, as regent.

Guan Shu and

Cai Shu and other nobles were dissatisfied and Wu Geng took this opportunity to rebel against Zhou rule in collaboration with these nobles and some tribes and small states in the east. The Duke of Zhou led his forces in an eastern expedition, crushed the rebellion in three years, and extended the in.fluence of the Zhou Dynasty to the lower reaches of the Huanghe and Huaihe rivers. The Zhou capital city, Hao, was far removed from the east where the Duke of Zhou was carrying on his military cam¬ paign.

Luoyi, now Luoyang city in Henan, was then chosen

as the eastern capital and as a strategic centre from which the east could be controlled politically and militarily.

Here many

people who remained loyal to the Shang were forced to move and troops were stationed to watch them.

The new dynasty

was stabilized only after the eastern expedition of the Duke of Zhou and the building of the eastern capital. The Zhou regime was a dictatorship by the slave-owning nobility.

It was based on a coalition of the royal clan and

other noble clans, with or without the same surname as the royal family, under the supreme authority of the king. In each of the fiefs, power was based on a similar coalition of the ruling family and other noble clans, with or without the same surname, under the supreme authority of the fiefholder. Under Zhou rule there were many fiefdoms, some ruled by clans with the same surname as the royal house and some ruled by clans with other surnames. Of the latter there were those who were related by marriage to the Zhou rulers, leading clans surviving from the Shang period, and also fiefdoms trans¬ formed from old tribes. Some had been set up before and were then recognized by the Zhou ruling house; others were estab¬ lished after the reclamation of land and construction of city walls and ancestral temples. The Zhou enfeoffment policy had a positive significance in the development of production.

The

principal fiefdoms were Jin, Wei and Yan to the north of the

�

80

Huanghe River, and Xu, Cai, Chen, Song, Cao, Lu and Qi to the south of the river. The state of Wu in the far southeast gradual¬ ly became important, and so did Qin and Zheng which were established later. This enfeoffment policy benefited vassals who were related to the royal house in one way or another. It also preserved the power of the noble clans which, though unrelated to the new dynasty, did not challenge its authority.

In this way the Zhou

Dynasty won the general support of the nobility. At the height of its power, the Zhou domain extended south across the Changjiang River, northeast to present-day Liao¬ ning, west to Gansu, and east to Shandong.

In the northeast

the Su Shen tribe inhabiting the vast area from the Songhuajiang to the Heilongjiang rivers presented King Wu with an arrow that had a head made of stone and a shaft made of wood. King Wu inscribed some words on the shaft and gave it to the state of Chen which kept it in its treasury down to the Spring and Autumn period.

After the successful eastern expedition

of the Duke of Zhou, this tribe again sent an emissary to offer congratulations. The Zhou Dynasty established a patriarchal clan system. Within the clan there was a distinction between major and minor lineages. The king made the eldest son born of his wife heir to the throne — this was the major lineage.

The other

sons born of his wife and of his concubines became the heads of minor lineages. The vassal lords with the royal surname be¬ longed to minor lineages in relation to the king, but in their own states they established the same kind of lineage system with a major lineage and many minor ones.

A dafu (great

officer) belonged to a minor lineage in relatiop to the vassal lord, but within his own fief he also maintained a system under which the first son of his wife was his legitimate heir representing the major lineage.

Thus by combining blood re¬

lationship with an enfeoffment policy, the nobles bearing the same surname were united. At the same time, the royal house

81

intermarried with the ruling families of the fiefdoms and be¬ came related to those with different surnames. The king of Zhou of a younger generation called the vassal lords with the same surname paternal uncles and those with different sur¬ names maternal uncles. Such a clan relationship, coupled with intermarriages, strengthened the ties between the royal house and the vassal lords. Of the various officials under the king the taislni or taibao (prime minister) was the most powerful. There were a minister of civil administration and land affairs (situ), a minister of military affairs (sima), a minister of construction (sikong), a minister of justice (sikou), and officials in charge of agricul¬ ture. Most of the official posts were held by nobles by heredi¬ tary right; the fiefs were, of course, also hereditary.

The

political organization in each fiefdom was similar to that at the royal court. The king and the vassal lords each had his own armed forces.

As in the Shang Dynasty, the main fighting force

was composed of soldiers riding in chariots. To maintain the rule of the dynasty, rites and laws were formulated.

Punishments were used to control the slaves and

common people while the function of ritual was to maintain the hierarchy within the nobility.

Mainly an expression of

different political status, the ranks also indicated seniority and the relative position of men and women. The power of the king was bestowed by Heaven or the Lord on High.

Like the Shang, the Zhou Dynasty identified

its ancestral god with the supreme god.

The Zhou admitted

that the Shang kings were the elder sons of the Lord on High, but since they had failed to live up to his expectations, the Lord on High shifted his favour from the east to the west.

As

the Zhou Dynasty embodied the divine will, it was given supreme power over the human world. But the mandate of Heaven was not permanent; it depended on whether the con¬ duct of posterity met with the approval of Heaven. Here again the ancestral god became separated from the supreme god, because the former was not the only son of the latter. It seems that the supreme god of the Shang was autocratic, while that of the Zhou, though autocratic, was also rational. The Shang god belonged to the Shang alone, while the Zhou god did not, but stood above dynasties and tribes. In this respect the Zhou religion was more developed than the Shang religion, and this also reflected the political ideas of the Zhou Dynasty in its early period.

Economic Development Under Zhou Slavery

The slave system was well developed under Zhou rule. The king, vassals and high officials owned slaves of different status and under different names and forced them to create great wealth for them. The slave-owners held power and were also dominant economically. The common people living in the capital cities were called guo ren, also interpreted as “freemen”. The peasants in rural communes were called ye ren or “people in the fields”. After the Zhou conquest a large number of the Shang peo¬ ple and their slaves became slaves of the new rulers. An¬ cient records state that King Wu attacked 99 states, taking prisoner large numbers of people who possibly became slaves. The kings of Zhou conducted expeditions to the east and the south and frequently fought against the Gui Fang tribe in the north. In one battle 13,081 men and many chariots, horses, cattle and sheep were captured. Convicts were another source of slaves. The common people who revolted against the nobles were considered to have “committed crimes” and criminals were often converted into slaves and forced to per¬ form all sorts of labour. But they were not necessarily slaves for life, and were generally released after serving their sen¬ tences. Bronze inscriptions record the grants by the Zhou kings and nobles of tens, hundreds or thousands of slave families.

�84

One of the characteristics of the slave system in ancient China was the organization of the slaves on a family basis, although this was not the case with all slaves. In these inscriptions gifts of slaves are often mentioned along with gifts of all kinds of utensils, money, cattle, horses and land. This shows that slaves were treated in the same way as utensils or animals. They could be bought and sold. According to one inscription, five slaves were worth a horse and a bundle of silk. There were fewer cases of slaughtering slaves and pris¬ oners of war under Zhou rule than under the Shang, but it was still rather common to bury people alive to accompany the dead, though in smaller numbers. This shows that, under the Zhou slave system, production could obviously absorb a greater labour force than under the Shang. In the bronze inscriptions there are many examples of slaves being forced to perform productive labour — mostly farming and in some cases handicraft work. The royal house was nominally the owner of all land in the country. The royal domain around the capital was directly owned while the nobles and officials each had his own fief. These fiefs were hereditary and, to a large extent, could be handled freely by their owners.

The land system was one

of ownership by the slave-holding nobility. A poem from the Zhou Dynasty describes thousands of people working in the fields.

The grain of the slave-owner

piled high on the farms. The poem says that a thousand granaries and ten thousand baskets should be prepared to handle the grain. This is probably a description of a bumper harvest with the slaves working collectively on the land. Within the rural commune, farmland was periodically dis¬ tributed on the basis of fertility. An able-bodied peasant could use 100 mu of the best land and 50 mu of fallow; or 100 mu of middle-grade land and 100 mu of fallow;'or 100 mu of poor land and 200 mu of fallow. The peasant worked a piece of land distributed to him and let another piece lie fallow. Land was redistributed after several years. Between

85

the fields were irrigation canals along which roads were built. Although there is no definitive proof, this may have been the farming system that was later referred to as the “well fields” (jingtian Eight households are supposed to have cultivated one plot of land each with a common field in the middle. According to one interpretation, the crops from the central field were given to a lord. The character jing #, “well”, resembles such a group of nine fields. The peasant clans lived together in the rural communes. The settlements were called yi or she and were surrounded by open fields. They had their own houses, gardens or orchards. Between them there was equality, but the neigh¬ bourhood leaders controlled who was joining or leaving these communities. Women were brought together for “making ropes at night”. The peasants were given land by the com¬ mune to produce grain, vegetables, fruits, domestic animals, fuel and clothing to support themselves. Tools for farm production used during the Zhou period were not much different from those of the Shang Dynasty. But production was improved as the slaves and the peasants of the communes had accumulated much experience over a long period. The main method of farming was called ou geng, or “two men working together”.

This was probably designed

to make deeper ploughing possible.

The system of' fallow

was a progressive development and gradually replaced the slash and burn method. The technique of simple drainage and irrigation was also improved as were weeding, seed breed¬ ing and pest control. People grew rice, sorghum, sticky millet, wheat, beans, millet, mulberry, hemp, melons and fruits. There was a greater variety than in the Shang period, covering nearly all the principal crops we have today. Handicrafts continued to develop. After conquering Shang, the Zhou kings sent the “six clans of Yin people” and “seven clans of Yin people” to the states of Lu and Wei, and among these there were rope-makers, makers of two different kinds of vessels and potters as well as makers of flags, horse har-

�

86

nesses, files and axes, fences and mallets. These captured handicraftsmen played an important role in the development of Zhou handicrafts. Bronze casting continued to be an important handicraft, especially the building of chariots which were not only a means of conveyance for the nobility but, more importantly, a kind of military equipment. As more fiefs were established, the construction of buildings also developed. Zhou handicrafts and trade were mainly controlled by the nobles or officials and served the nobility. The status of the workers and their leaders was inherited. At this time slaves, cattle and horses, arms and jewellery were exchanged through barter, and in the capital there were markets under state control. Cowries were still used as money, with strings of shells as the units of calculation. Metals were also used as means of exchange. Among the common people barter mostly involved daily necessities.

The Zhou Dynasty from Prosperity to Decline

After the death of King Wu, the Duke of Zhou was in charge of state affairs for seven years until King Cheng came of age. The four decades under King Cheng and his son King Kang were marked by political stability and economic pros¬ perity. Under the next rulers, King Zhao and King Mu, the strength of the dynasty was at its height and wars were fought against the peoples of the surrounding areas. These conflicts intensified with the Zhou side enjoying the initiative. King Mu, powerful and ambitious, is said to have toured the regions far out in the west. After King Mu and throughout the reigns" of King Gong, King Yi, King Xiao, King Yi and King Li, thevprestige of the dynasty gradually declined and contradictions between the royal house and the people began to surface. King Li exploited the capital residents or freemen more mercilessly

87

than ever and that roused general opposition. His ministers advised him to stop his oppression, but he refused to listen. Instead, he suppressed all public discussion. His tyranny continued for three years; then the capital residents could no longer tolerate it and rose in armed revolt. the royal palace and forced the king to flee.

They attacked Then they sur¬

rounded the residence of the Duke of Zhao where they had heard that Prince Jing, heir to the throne, was hiding.

The

Duke made his own son take the place of the prince, thus saving the heir who later became King Xuan. After King Li had fled, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Zhao, descendants of the two mentioned earlier, took charge of the government; this period was called the gonghe.

One

account says that the man in power was Duke He of the state of Gong, hence the name gonghe. The first year of gonghe was 841 B.C.

From that year on, we have accurate dates of

recorded Chinese history. King Li died in Zhi (now Huoxian in Shanxi) 14 years after his flight. The Dukes of Zhou and Zhao had Prince Jing enthroned as King Xuan.

In the first years of his rule severe

droughts occurred, but they did not develop into a serious situation. Later King Xuan carried out wars against some neighbouring tribes and states and won some victories, but was defeated in wars against the Jiang Rong tribe1 and against the Tiao Rong and the Ben Rong tribes.2

For a time during

King Xuan’s reign there were signs of prosperity.

But the

contradictions between the Zhou state and the neighbouring peoples and the social contradictions in the Zhou-controlled areas were not resolved. Moreover, continuous wars consumed much of the dynasty’s manpower and material resources. lrrhe Jiang Rong tribe first inhabited Gua Zhou (west of presentday Dunhuang County in Gansu Province) and later moved eastward. 2 The Tiao Rong and Ben Rong tribes lived in the area around present-day Mingtiaogang north of the Zhongtiao Mountains near Yuncheng County in Shanxi Province.

�88

King You, who succeeded King Xuan, was a stupid, selfindulgent and cruel ruler. The existing contradictions grew worse. As the Book of Odes pointed out: “Some people leisurely stay at home, some work untiringly for the country, some lie in bed doing nothing, some always have to go to war, some drink and make merry, some are fearful of meeting disaster, some talk nonsense or gossip, some have to do all kinds of work.” The struggles between big and small slave¬ owners became sharper with the small slave-owners complain¬ ing: “People have land, you take it away; people own slaves, you seize them!” Uninterrupted famine and severe earth¬ quakes compelled people to leave their homes and wander about. Those who were politically sharp used the earthquakes as a pretext to warn that “high cliffs may turn into deep valleys, while valleys may become hills and mountains.” The Zhou Dynasty faced a crisis. During King You’s reign the neighbouring peoples made continuous attacks. He dismissed Queen Shen and the crown prince Yi Jia and made his favourite concubine Bao Si queen and her son heir to the throne. Marquis Shen, father of Queen Shen, attacked the king in collaboration with the Quan Rong tribe1 and Lti, Zeng and other states. As the vassals refused to send him reinforcements, King You was killed at the foot of Mount Li. The capital was sacked and its treasures plun¬ dered. Under the threat of the Quan Rong and their allies, the Zhou ruler had lost control of the old capital by 771 B.C. In the following year King You’s successor, King Ping, moved the capital to Luoyi with the support of some of the nobles and vassals. From this year the dynasty is known as Eastern Zhou. The dynasty’s power and prestige had declined sharply, and history entered a new stage.

1 The Quan Rong tribe led a nomadic life in the Jing and Wei river valleys, or present-day Binxian and Qishan counties in Shaanxi Prov¬ ince, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

The Early Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States Periods: Transition from Slavery to Feudalism

The Early Eastern Zhou and the Spring and Autumn Period: Contention for Supremacy Among the Major States

In 770 B.C., King Ping moved the centre of political power eastward to Luoyi (present-day Luoyang), and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty came into being. In 256 B.C. the Eastern Zhou came to an end after 514 years of existence under 25 succes¬ sive kings. The period from 722 B.C., 49 years after the Zhou capital was moved east, to 481 B.C. is known to his¬ torians as the Spring and Autumn Period and the subsequent period, to 221 B.C., is known as the Warring States Period.1 The eastward move by the Zhou was an important polit¬ ical event. This was followed by annexation among the vassal states. During the Spring and Autumn Period, big states conquered 30 or more small states, some as many as 40 or 50 small states. It is said that there were 1,800 states under the Western Zhou, but the number dwindled to 100 by the Spring and Autumn Period as the result of conquest and an¬ nexation. Of the 100 only about a dozen were politically 1 The term “Spring and Autumn Period” refers to the period covered by the book The Spring and Autumn Annals, namely from 722 to 481 B.C. There are three definitions, however, for the Warring States Period. Some hold that it began in 475 B.C., others say 476 B.C., and still others cite 403 B.C. The third definition is used in the present book. The 76 years (480 B.C. to 404 B.C.) lying between the two periods are regarded as part of the Spring and Autumn Period. 89

�90

significant. During the Warring States Period, only 7 states, plus a few smaller ones, remained before they were finally absorbed by the Qin. The early years of the Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Warring States Period were all marked by great upheaval. After moving his capital to the east, King Ping reestab¬ lished the power of the dynasty with the help of such states as Jin, Zheng, Wei and Qin. He relied particularly on Jin and Zheng for support. The capital of Zheng was located at modern Huaxian, Shaanxi Province; it was then moved to modern Xinzheng, Henan Province, at the time when the Eastern Zhou moved its capital. Duke Zhuang of Zheng was active politically during the first two decades of the Spring and Autumn Period. Jin, located in the southern section of modem Shaanxi Province, was a state of fertile land where Han communities were interspersed with Rong and Di tribes. It gained considerable strength during the first few years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Qin, a newcomer among the states, grew in power amidst struggles against the Rong; it extended its jurisdiction to the eastern section of modern Gansu Province and the central section of modern Shaanxi Province.

Among the strong powers of this time were Jin,

Qin, Qi (in today’s Shandong Province) and Chu (in the Changjiang and Huanghe river basins and the southern section of modern Henan Province). Because of its continuing expansion to the north, Chu became a formidable threat to the northern states and an object of their defence. In 679 B.C., Duke Huan of Qi stopped the civil war in Song; then he called a meeting that was attended by the various states and thus established the supremacy of his state. The stage was set for the contention of power, of which the previous 90 years had been only a preparatory stage. Duke Huan designated a statesman named Guan Zhong to carry out reforms, the purpose of which was to build up a rich state with strong armed forces. He succeeded in uniting some of the vassal lords by invoking the slogan of “loyalty

91

to the King of Zhou” and by putting up strong resistance against Chu, Rong, and Di that had been a menace to the allied states. As the Bei Rong (Northern Rong) was harassing the state of Yan and as the Di was attacking the state of Xing after having conquered the state of Wei, Qi supported Yan in defeating the Bei Rong and helped Wei to reestablish itself, besides moving Xing to a safer region. In 656 B.C., Duke Huan led an alliance of Qi, Lu, Song, Zheng, Chen, Wei, Xu, and Cao to attack Cai and Chu. The allied army fought its way to Zhaoling (modern Yancheng, Henan Province) and forced Chu to pay tribute to the king of Zhou. Qi’s supremacy had now reached its apex. It is said that the great alliance headed by the duke met on nine occasions. At the well-known con¬ ference held at Kuiqiu (to the east of modern Lankao, Henan Province) in 651 B.C., a treaty to be observed by all the par¬ ticipants was signed. In 643 B.C., Duke Huan died, and his death was followed by intense contention for succession. Be¬ fore long, hegemony passed to the state of Jin. Duke Wen of Jin was the second overlord of this period. He became the sovereign of his state when he was over 60, after nineteen years of exile during which he learned to understand contemporary society better than any other sov¬ ereign of his time.

Hu Yan, Zhao Cui and others who had

accompanied him during the exile were all outstanding polit¬ ical figures. Duke Wen ascended the throne in 636 B.C. and, the very next year, raised the slogan of “loyalty to the King of Zhou”. He brought back to the capital King Xiang of Zhou who had left the capital because of fratricidal fighting within the court itself. He also succeeded in putting down rebellions. In 632 B.C., the state of Chu led an alliance with Chen, Cai, Zheng and Xu in an attack against Song on account of the latter’s pro-Jin policies. In response, Jin led the forces of Song, Qi and Qin and met the invaders at Chengpu (today’s Linpu township to the southwest of Juancheng County, Shan¬ dong Province) and decisively defeated them. For the first time, Chu suffered a serious setback in its expansion towards

�92

the north. The successful encounter enabled Duke Wen to enjoy a fame more widespread than that of Duke Huan of Qi. For next 80 years and more, the contention between Jin and Chu for supremacy was the dominant feature of Chinese history and each side had victories and losses. In 597 B.C. Chu defeated Jin’s forces at Bi (near modern Zhengzhou, Henan Province), and the victory made Duke Zhuang of Chu an overlord of the states. Duke Mu of Qin, aided by able statesmen, was also ambi¬ tious. He assisted two princes of Jin to return to their home¬ land as rulers, and Duke Wen of Jin was one of the two. In 627 B.C., Duke Mu took the advantage of Duke Wen’s death to launch a surprise attack on Zheng. He was defeated by Jin, and all his three generals were captured. From then on as Qin could not expand much to the east, it concentrated its efforts on the west. As a result, Duke Mu became famous as an overlord in the western regions. Wars among big states in the Huanghe River valley brought nothing but disasters to the small states which, as the bones of contention, could not cope with the situation. In the mean¬ time, the intermittent wars intensified the fighting within the ruling classes in each state, and the resulting rise and fall of different political forces left it powerless to cope with a big state’s aggression. longing for a change.

Not surprisingly, many states were

In 579 B.C. and again in 546 B.C., the

state of Song, which had suffered enormously from the war¬ fare among the big states, called a peace conference. It suc¬ ceeded in attaining its goal during the second conference. It was agreed that the eight small states of Song, Lu, Zheng, Wei, Cao, Xu, Chen and Cai would pay tribute to both Jin and Chu, and that the two big states of Qi and Qin would enter into an alliance relationship with Jin and Chu respec¬ tively. Thus Jin and Chu had an equal share of the suprem¬ acy. The agreement temporarily put an end to the conten¬ tion for hegemony among the states in the Huanghe River valley.

93

After the peace conference, China entered the late Spring and Autumn Period, which was marked by two important events: the intensification of struggle between the leading noble families and the houses of the sovereigns within each state and expansion to the Huanghe River area by two new states, Wu and Yue, that rose to prominence in the lower reaches of the Changjiang River. Like the overlords among rulers of the states, the leading noble families held real power within each state.

After the

death of Duke Wen, some nobles in Jin gradually attained prominence during wars against foreign states.

By the late

Spring and Autumn Period, political power in each state had passed from the sovereign to the nobles.

Having no control

over generals and soldiers, the sovereign led a life of luxury and self-indulgence and paid little attention to the lot of the common people. The nobles, on the other hand, were stronger than the ruler because they were supported by able advisers and armed forces. They also attached some importance to the winning of the masses. As a result, contradictions continued to sharpen between the sovereign and the nobles and among the nobles themselves. In the state of Jin, six noble families, Zhi, Zhao, Wei, Han, Fan and Zhonghang emerged and ruled the state among them. Later the Fan and Zhonghang families collapsed as a political force, and only four families remained active. In 453 B.C., Zhao, Wei and Han divided Zhi among them. The ground was then set for the three remaining fami¬ lies to divide the state of Jin whenever they liked. Like Jin, the noble families in Qi grew in power after the death of Duke Huan.

Among them were Guo, Gao, Luan,

Bao, Cui, Qing, Yan and Tian, the last one eventually over¬ whelming all the others by intrigues and brutal force. B.C., the Tians went as far as They did the same thing again political power in Qi beginning they could replace the sovereign

In 489

killing the sovereign of Qi. in 481 B.C. They held the in 480 B.C. From then on, of Qi anytime they wished.

�

94

Smaller states had their noble families, too. In Lu, for example, there were the families of Jisun, Mengsun, and Shusun, all of whom had originally belonged to the ruling house. In 562 B.C., they divided the land and labourers of the ruling duke,

virtually partitioning Lu into three separate

states. The duke could only live on the tributes paid by the noble families. The capital of Wu was located in today’s Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

The ruling family of Wu had the same surname as

the king of Zhou’s, but the state later became a dependency of Chu.

In 584 B.C., having learned archery and the use of

war horses and chariots from the people of Jin, Wu strength¬ ened its armed forces and began to communicate with the northern states. The relationship between Wu and Chu also underwent a change.

The prince of Wu, He Lii, appointed Wu

Zixu to be his military adviser and Sun Wu commander of the army.

In 506 B.C., Wu launched five separate attacks

against Chu and won them all.

It captured Chu’s capital Ying-

du (now Jiangling County, Hubei Province). King Zhao of Chu fled, and the whole state was on the verge of being exter¬ minated.

Qin then sent troops to help Chu; meanwhile, in¬

fighting broke out among the Wu aristocrats. Yue took advan¬ tage of the situation to attack Wu, and the latter was com¬ pelled to withdraw from Chu. Yue, whose capital was located at modern Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province, grew quickly in power with the help of Chu.

Led by Prince Gou Jian, it defeated Wu in a decisive

battle, in which Prince He Lii suffered an injury which led to his death. He was succeeded by his son Fu Chai, who sought revenge. In 494 B.C., Wu defeated Yue an$ reduced the latter to a dependency. Debasing himself as a ^Vu subject, Prince Gou Jian prepared to restore his state. In 482 B.C., when Prince Fu Chai was in the north to confer with other princes, Yue attacked and captured Wu’s capital. In 473 B.C., it ended Wu’s existence altogether.

9S

After victory over Yue, Prince Fu Chai of Wu had met with other princes at Huangchi (modern Fengqiu County, Henan Province) in his attempt to seize hegemony from the prince of Jin. After Yue defeated Wu, Prince Gou Jian also went to the north to confer with other princes for the same purpose. Both journeys indicated that the relationship be¬ tween the north and the south had been greatly strengthened by then. The attempt of Wu and Yue to seize hegemony nevertheless marked the last, days of the Spring and Autumn Period when the struggle for supremacy was no longer as significant as before.

The Seven Powers of the Warring States Period

In 403 B.C., Jin was divided into three independent states, Han, Zhao and Wei. In 386 B.C., the Tian family openly seized state power in Qi. These four states plus Qin, Chu and Yan are referred to by historians as the seven powers of the Warring States Period. Geographically Chu was located in the south, Zhao in the north, Yan in the northeast, Qin in the west, Qi in the east, and Han and Wei in the centre. By this time, none of the states used the slogan of “loyalty to the King of Zhou” any more as Zhou had become a much smaller state. Instead of confrontation between Chu and the northern states of the Spring and Autumn Period, the seven powers of the Warring States Period contended with one another. Fierce fighting went on among the seven as each tried to an¬ nex its neighbours until Qin succeeded in conquering all the rival powers. Greater social changes took place during the Warring States Period than in the preceding period. Far-sighted states¬ men perceived these changes and took the initiative to ex¬ pedite them politically. This brought up the issue of political reforms. During the earlier stage of this period there were men like Li Kui in Wei, Wu Qi in Chu, and later Shang Yang in Qin, whose reforms had a great impact on history.

�96

In the early Warring States Period, Wei was a powerful and prosperous state. Marquis Wen of Wei, as a monarch of high aspirations, searched for talented men and found Li Kui whom he put in charge of reforms. Li Kui, in his turn, ap¬ pointed people according to their abilities instead of their so¬ cial status, and gave high positions to those who had rendered meritorious services to the state. Having studied the budg¬ et of farmers, he realized their financial difficulties and pro¬ posed measures to raise production. He introduced a system of stabilizing grain prices whereby the government bought grain at a reasonable price during a good harvest and sold it at a rea¬ sonable price during a bad harvest. In this way, grain prices would not rise or fall drastically, and both producer and con¬ sumer would benefit and lead a more secure life. Measures of this kind played a significant role in maintaining social stability, strengthening the government, and building a rich and powerful Wei. Wu Qi, a famous statesman and strategist, had won vic¬ tories on the battlefield for both Lu and Wei. He had also distinguished himself as an administrator in Wei. Yet the aristocrats in both states rejected and persecuted him, and he had to leave Wei for Chu in 382 B.C. In Chu King Dao made him his chief minister.

As chief minister, Wu Qi introduced

new laws, invalidated sinecure, and abolished the privileges of the king’s distant relatives. Money thus saved was used for the strengthening of the armed forces. He also stipulated that the enfeoffed land of the nobles must be returned to the s state after three generations. These reform measures certain¬ ly benefited the state, but they aroused the resentment of the nobles. As soon as King Dao died in 381 B.C., the nobles sought him out and wanted to kill him. He diefl taking refuge behind the king’s corpse, and some of the arrows aimed at him pierced the king’s body as well. When the crown prince ascended the throne and became King Su of Chu, he ordered the execution of all the nobles who desecrated the late king’s body while killing Wu Qi, and more than seventy families were

97

eliminated as a result. The execution dealt a heavy blow to the conservative forces of Chu and provided new impetus to the development of the state. In 359 B.C., Shang Yang launched his reform in Qin, a reform that historians regard as the most significant event in the Warring States Period. The reform also indicated that the middle stage of the Warring States Period had arrived. Shang Yang was a native of Wei, and his surname was Gongsun. Shang was the title of his fief, and Yang his personal name. Having won the confidence of Duke Xiao of Qin, he began to introduce reforms. He made clear what the laws were, rewarding those who had distinguished themselves in farming or on the battlefield. The purpose was to strengthen monarchal rule. He abolished the land-owning system of the past, promoted production by individual peasants, and carried out a policy of “elevating agriculture and downgrading com¬ merce”. Land now could be sold or bought. Measures were adopted for a full utilization of labour power for agricultural development. For instance, families with two or more male adults living in the same house were required to pay twice the amount of taxes compared to families with only one male adult. Those who harvested more grain or produced more silk would be exempted from corvee, while merchants and those too lazy to work would be condemned to slavery together with their wives and children. Shang Yang abolished the tradi¬ tional privileges of the nobles and introduced a new system in which there were 20 ranks of honour, which were granted to those who deserved them. Social hierarchy was clearily defined, and a person with rank would be entitled to an appro¬ priate amount of land, houses, retainers, concubines, and clothing. A member of nobility who had not distinguished himself on the battlefield would see his name deleted from the royal roster. On the other hand, he who had distinguished himself on the battlefield would be rewarded with honour, which was denied to those without military credit, no matter how wealthy they were. To establish a political system of

�98

autocratic monarchy, Shang Yang grouped all villages and towns of the state into 30 to 40’ counties governed by magis¬ trates and their deputies, who were appointed and removed by the sovereign himself. He also divided households into groups of five or ten, responsible for one another’s behaviour. Those who failed to report a criminal act would be cut in two at the waist; those who reported would be rewarded as if they had killed an enemy; those who harboured a criminal would be severely punished as if they had surrended to an enemy. Shang Yang also standardized and made uniform weights and measures. These reforms were opposed by many people. When the crown prince Si broke the law, Shang Yang said that since the resistance to law enforcement came from above, the crown prince must be punished. However, since the culprit was the heir apparent and could not be punished, he punished the prince’s two tutors instead. Those who opposed his reform were also punished. From then on, his reform became very effective. However, like Wu Qi, he aroused resentment as well. After the death of Duke Xiao, those who had opposed the reform wrongly accused him of having started a rebellion. Subsequently he and his whole family were put to death. The reform of Shang Yang lasted more than twenty years and greatly strengthened Qin. Qin became a power held in awe by all other states. The reform also paved the way for the Qin rulers to realize their imperial ambition. In the third year of Shang Yang’s reform, Prince Wei ascended the throne in Qi. He rewarded the officials who had reclaimed wasteland and made people wealthy; he punished those who had failed to promote production, driven people to poverty, accepted bribes, or lied to the sovereign. He appointed Zou Ji to be the prime minister and put the strategist Sun Bin in charge of military reform. The purpose was to strengthen the state of Qi both politically and militarily. As Qin and Qi became powerful, Wei, which had held a superior position during the early Warring States Period, now

99

became a victim of attacks by both Qin and Qi and grew weak daily. However, Wei launched an attack on Zhao in the year 354 B.C. The next year Qi sent out troops to rescue Zhao at the latter’s request. Qi’s army, adopting Sun Bin’s strategy, launched a sudden attack on Daliang (modern Kaifeng City, Henan Province), Wei’s capital. The Wei forces were com¬ pelled to withdraw so as to defend their capital. The Qi army intercepted and routed Wei forces at Kuiling (to the west of modern Changyuan County, Henan Province). The strategy has come to be known in Chinese military history as “besieging Wei in order to rescue Zhao”, or rescuing the besieged by attacking the base of the besiegers. In 342 B.C. Wei attacked Han; once again, Qi dispatched troops to help the victim. This time, Sun Bin lured the enemy to as far as Maling (to the southwest of modern Darning County, Hebei Province) where the Qi army dealt him a severe blow. Wei’s crown prince, Shen, was captured; Wei’s general, Pang Juan, committed suicide. During the time when Shang Yang was carrying out his reforms, Qin made repeated attacks on Wei. In 352 B.C., Qin captured Anyi (modern Xiaxian County, Shanxi Province) of Wei. In 340 B.C., the Qin army, led by Shang Yang himself, attacked again and this time captured Wei’s top commander, Prince Qiong. From then on, the Qin army repeatedly marched eastward, and Wei was forced to cede Yinjin (modern Huayin County, Shaanxi Province) to Qin. The occupation of Yinjin provided the Qin army with a strategic passageway for ad¬ vancing eastward. Wei was forced to cede its land west of the Huanghe, enabling Qin to use the river as natural barrier. The war between Wei on one side and Qi and Qin on the other weakened Wei considerably and gave Qin footholds in its march eastward. Qin also defeated Yiqurong1 to its west and exterminated Shu2 in the south, and grew more powerful 1 “Yigurong” was a nationality in ancient China, residing in an area around today’s Qingyang and Jingchuan counties in Gansu Province. 2 “Shu” was also a nationality in ancient China, residing in the cen¬ tral and western section of modern Sichuan Province. It was also the name of the state.

�

100

as a result.

The six other states, threatened by Qin, were

susceptible to the idea that they should form an alliance for defence.

As the allies had contradictions among themselves,

the alliance was anything but solid.

Qin took advantage of

this situation and tried to separate them from one another. It persuaded each of them to form an alliance with it instead. Qi and Chu had a treaty of alliance between them, but Qin succeeded in making the treaty ineffective and repeatedly at¬ tacked Chu, which lost both men and territory in the process. In 299 B.C., Prince Huai of Chu went to Qin with which he was hoping to form an alliance, but he was held as a captive at Qin’s capital Xianyang, where he later died.

From then on,

Chu became weaker and weaker. As Qin and Chu fought against each other, changes also took place in Zhao, Qi and Yan. In 307 B.C., Prince Wuling of Zhao carried out military reforms by organizing a powerful cavalry and clothing the cavalry men in the style of nomadic peoples, making it easier for them to ride and to shoot their arrows. Qi, taking advantage of the internal turmoil of Yan, attacked and captured its capital in 314 B.C. The invader killed Prince Kuai and stationed troops on Yan’s soil. In 284 B.C., Prince Zhao of Yan dispatched general Yue Yi to attack Qi and, in five years, took more than seventy cities, leaving only two cities still in Qi’s control.

Prince Zhao died in 279 B.C.,

and his successor, being suspicious of Yue Yi, replaced him with Qi Jie as commander.

Qi’s

general Tian

Dan

took

advantage of Yue Yi’s absence by launching an offensive and succeeded in routing Yan’s army.

He killed Qi Jie and re¬

covered the lost territories. The war between Qi and Yan, lasting 35 years, exhausted the strength of both,nweakening the eastern states in their confrontation with Qin in ttje west. As the war between Qi and Yan lingered on, Qin launched an allout offensive against Chu and succeeded in taking over half of the latter’s territory. Finally, in 278 B.C., Qin’s army marched into Chu’s capital, Ying. By then the later stage of the Warring

101

States Period had arrived, a stage in which Qin tried to unify the country by its own strength. During the late stage of the Warring States Period, Qin first concentrated on attacking Han, Zhao and Wei. In 260 B.C., Qin and Zhao fought at Changping (modern Gaoping County, Shanxi Province). Before the battle, Qin succeeded in sowing discord in the enemy’s ranks, making Zhao replace the experienced general Lian Po with the armchair strategist Zhao Kuo. Then General Bao Qi of Qin lured the Zhao forces into a trap where they were surrounded on all sides and their route of retreat cut off.

When the battle was over, Zhao lost

more than 400,000 men, including Zhao Kuo who was killed in action. Apart from military offensives, Qin also adopted a policy of befriending distant states while attacking those nearby.

It

bought support in the enemy’s ranks with cash and resorted to assassination as well. In 246 B.C., Prince Ying Zheng ascended the throne, and the new ruler was later known as the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty. In 230 B.C., Qin conquered Han and, in nine years, conquered Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi as well. Since the nobles in Qi had taken more gold from Qin than those in any other state, Qi surrendered to Qin without a fight in 221 B.C.

The Transition from Slavery to Feudalism

Great changes had taken place in productive forces during the early period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. When consequent changes took place in production relations, the time had arrived for the slave society to be transformed into a feudal society. The development of social productive forces in the period that covered the early Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods was marked by the increasing popular¬ ity of iron tools. Iron had been discovered and used as early as

�102

the Shang Dynasty. By the late period of the Western Zhou Dynasty, iron tools were in common use. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, people knew quite a bit about exploring and mining iron. It was recorded then that wherever reddish-brown objects were seen in the mountains, there might be iron deposits underneath. The record also said that there were 3,609 mountains yielding iron. The iron¬ smelting site in Linzi County, Shandong Province, covered an area of over 100,000 square metres. At the iron mining site of Tonglu Mountains, in Daye County, Hubei Province, the mine tunnel supports since discovered were quite advanced and complete. Facilities and installations for transportation, ven¬ tilation, and water drainage have also been found. Normally, the ore first went through a selection process in the pit before it was brought up by winches. As part of the iron-smelting equipment, the bellows were made of leather, connected to the furnace by a tube at one end and a handle made of porcelain at the other end. The turning of the handle forced air into the furnace, causing the charcoal to burn and the heat of the furnace to go up. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, craftsmen in the state of Wu already knew how to cast iron into sharp swords. In 513 B.C., with iron collected as tax, the state of Jin made a tripod on which the entire criminal code was cast. All this demonstrated that iron instruments had become quite popular among the common people after a considerable period of development. Iron weapons dating back to the Warring States Period include armours, sticks, swords, broad swords, awls, halberds and daggers. A study of the steel swords and halberds unearth¬ ed at the secondary capital of Yan, located in modern Yixian County, Hebei Province shows that the final^ product came about through carbonization and repeated heating and ham¬ mering, followed by a sudden immersion in water. The steel thus obtained was martensitic, noted for its hardness and strength. At this time, people also discovered that a magnet attracted iron and that a magnetic needle always ran in a

103

north-south direction. They invented the early form of a compass, known as Sinan.

i In the middle Spring and Autumn Period, farm tools made of iron were in use in Qi. The iron farm tools in common use during the Warring States Period included plough, pick, hoe, spade and sickle and the common iron-made tools for handicraft work were axe, chopper, saw, awl, chisel and hammer. For women, the iron-made tools were needle, knife, awl, etc. People in Yan used iron moulds to mass-produce farming tools, handicraft tools, and spare parts for wagons. The use of iron tools made it possible to employ draught animals for agricultural production. Oxen ploughing the fields became a common sight in the Spring and Autumn Period. Horses were also employed for ploughing during the Warring States Period. All this helped intensive farming and did much to increase agricultural productivity. Closely related to the development of agricultural pro¬ ductivity in the Warring States Period was the construction of water conservancy projects. In 486 B.C., King Fu Chai of Wu, in an attempt to seek supremacy in the north, constructed the Han Canal from Jiangdu to Huai’an, both in modern Jiangsu Province, so that the Huaihe River was linked with the Changjiang River.

Later, he constructed a deeper canal

connecting the Yishui River in the north with the Jishui River in the west, joining the drainage of the Huaihe and the Huanghe. This was a gigantic project constructed primarily for water transportation. Ximen Bao of Wei in the Warring States Period irrigated farmland in Ye (modern Linzhang County, Hebei Province) with water from the Zhanghe River, turning large tracts of saline-alkaline soil into fertile fields, demonstrating the important role that water conservancy proj¬ ects could play in improving agriculture. Li Bing of Qin built in modern Guanxian County, Sichuan Province, the Dujiang Weir, cutting Minjiang River into an inner and an outer tributary. The project prevented flood and facilitated water transportation, and provided irrigation which turned the

�104

Chengdu Plain into a vast expanse of rich farmland. The state of Qin also employed Zheng Guo, an expert in water con¬ servancy from the state of Han, to build a 150-kilometre-long canal connecting the Jingshui with the Beiluoshui rivers. The use of silt-laden water from these two rivers for irrigation transformed over 40,000 hectares of saline land into fertile fields. At this time, well sweeps were in use to bring water from low to high areas. Farmers in the Warring States Period could already tell the differences among various types of soil and knew how to transform one type of soil into another. They classified soil into 9 categories and selected the suitable crops. They used a variety of manure, ranging from animal droppings to wood ashes and green manure. They mixed crop seeds with animal bones and called the mixture “fertilized seeds”. In crop management, they paid attention to the right distance between plants, straight rows, selection of healthy young plants and root protection. They knew the importance of weeding and the elimination of locusts and snout moths. Books on agricul¬ ture were in existence. The ancient book Lu’s Almanac and some other works all contained chapters on agriculture. During the Warring States Period, progress was made in salt making, lacquerware manufacturing and the casting of bronzes. Sea salt in Qi and Yan, lake salt in Anyi of Wei, and well salt in Ba and Shu were well-known. Beginning with the middle of the Warring States Period, musical instruments, weapons, outer coffins, and many utensils for daily household use were coated with lacquer. In the casting of bronzes, such new techniques as etching, inlaying of gold and silver, en¬ chasing and gilding were all used. The increase of social productivity in agriculture during the early Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Auturqn, and the Warring States periods gradually changed the nature of the productive forces. Apart from the newly invented farming tools, slaves who had been engaged in collective farming were now replaced as labourers by peasants each working on his

��Left: Tortoise shell with inscrip¬ tion (Shang Dynasty). Upper right: Inscription on an ox shoul¬ der blade (Shang Dynasty). Lower right: The Heavenly Stems and

Earthly Branches for designating years (remnant, Shang Dynasty).

�3W-

The Yu tripod of the reign of King Kang of the Zhou Dynasty.

�•V,

�* •

A pledge on jade chips, of the Spring and Autumn Period, unearthed in Houma, Shanxi Province.

Inscribed bamboo strips of the Warring States Period, unearthed at Yangtianhu, Changsha, Hunan Province.

�A bronze wine con¬ tainer of the Warring States Period, unearthed in Cheng¬ du, Sichuan Province. It is engraved with designs rep¬ resenting various aspects of human activity: feasting, music playing and battling on land and water. Lower: The designs in detail. Upper:

�A tiger-shaped tally of the States Period, unearthed in Province. Such tallies were token authority for troop

State of Qin in the Warring the suburbs of Xi’an, Shaanxi issued to generals as a ruler’s movement in ancient China.

Coins of the Spring and Autumn-Warring States Period, kept in the Department of History of Beijing Teachers’ University.

�An iron mould for casting a pair of sickles of the Warring States Period, unearthed in Xinglong County, Hebei Province.

A chime of bells of the Warring States Period, un¬ earthed in Suixian County, Hubei Province.

105

own. Independent peasants also replaced those who formerly worked in communal villages. The inadequate manpower resulting from slowdown or the escape of slaves worried the slave-owners during the late stage of slave society. A poem from Qi in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period says: “Stop ploughing the fields, for wild grass is shooting up.” Touring the state of Chen, an envoy from the Eastern Zhou complained that the crops there had all been covered up by weeds. Clearly, land lay waste in some areas owing to the shortage of manpower. Under these circum¬ stances, slave-owners were compelled to give up the practice of using slave labour, as they realized that it was more advantageous to exploit individual peasants. The old practice of distributing land according to its fertility gradually lost its appeal. Now peasants could make their own arrangement regarding land rotation, since it was no longer necessary to rotate land on a community basis. A special relationship was thus established between a peasant and the land he tilled permanently. This in turn gave birth to the concept of the family as a productive unit. We now know that Jin was the first state to use administrative power to promote such a practice in 645 B.C. The individual peasant had two distinct features. First, he was tied to land, unlike the relationship between slaves and land or between a village commune and land.

Secondly, an

individual family, where the husband tilled and the wife wove became known as a “household”, or a productive unit. All this further increased the peasants’ dependence on land. The change in social productive forces inevitably led to changes in production relations. The production relations of the slave system could no longer suit the new productive forces and had to be replaced by the production relations of the feudal system. The representative of the new productive forces must be one who had a certain degree of freedom and was engaged in private economy, not simply a tool that could speak. When exploiters took individual peasants as their main target

�

106

of exploitation, they could no longer own the producer as com¬ pletely as they did the slave. Now the ownership was only partial. Under these conditions, the exploiters became land¬ lords. The beginning of confrontation between peasants and landlords marked the appearance of the feudal relations of production. Beginning with the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period and particularly during the Warring States Period, some princes and dukes changed from slave-owners to land¬ lords.

Most of the landlords acquired land through grants as

a reward for their military deeds.

Some of the individual

peasants might also grow into landlords. In places where land could be traded, merchants might also become landlords. Feudal landownership was a system where land was owned by landlords.

Different landlords occupied different political

and social positions.

Such ranks were merely a reflection of

different grades of landownership. Spring

and

After its inception in the

Autumn and Warring

States

periods,

feudal

landownership in China always represented a hierarchy. In all of the reforms carried out by Shang Yang in the state of Qin, including the encouragement of married sons to live in separate households, the rewarding of those who had done well in farming and weaving, the registration and organi¬ zation of households, and the suppression of commerce, he tried to transform a household into a production unit where men tilled and women wove, thus tying the labour force to the land.

His other measures of reform, such as the granting

of the twenty ranks of honour according to military deeds, the distribution of land and houses according to merit, and the downgrading of nobles who had failed to distinguish them¬ selves in war, were all aimed at the replacement ofjdie slave¬ owning class by the new landlord class. The reform, enforced through administrative power, accelerated the development of the new productive forces and the corresponding feudal landownership based on a system of ranks.

107

The change in production relationship was no easy matter and was bound to be accompanied by complicated struggle. Class struggle, including the struggle among the exploiting classes, was inevitable. The reforms of Wu Qi and Shang Yang posed, from the very beginning, a confrontation with the nobility of the old order. The fact that they were killed for their reforms indicated the harshness of the struggle. The running away of slaves, the roaming about of “thieves and robbers” and the “fleeing of citizens” in general were actually different forms of class struggle that went on all the time. History recorded the “fleeing of male and female slaves” and the “fleeing of masses”; all this indicated that ordinary citi¬ zens or slaves ran away because they could no longer bear the heavy burden of military and labour services imposed upon them by the ruling classes. In 641 B.C., rulers of Liang (to the south of modern Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province) forced people to build the city walls. When they ordered the weary labourers to dig a moat, they caused a “mass fleeing of citizens”.

Qin seized

the occasion to attack Liang and succeeded in conquering it. A hundred and twenty-two years later, when Chu built its capital at Yingcheng in 519 B.C., the above incident was still regarded ' as a lesson to be avoided, indicating its far-reaching impact. “Thieves and robbers” were a serious threat to the ruling classes of various states. They could be found on the highways of Chu, or in the capital city of Jin. According to legends, there was a leader of a mass uprising named Zhi, referred to by rulers of various states as Thief Zhi. He had a strong force of several thousand people under his command and dealt telling blows to the ruling classes. Struggles of this kind might be small in scale and did not have many slaves as participators, but whoever participated fought bravely against the slave¬ owning class, weakened the rule of the slave system, and paved the way for the rise of feudalism. Industry and commerce during the early Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Autumn, and the Warring States periods, unlike

�108

agriculture, did not play a dominant role in the social economy as a whole. As far as the record goes, the traders and the industrialists all had considerable influence. Two stories about merchants during the Spring and Autumn Period deserve special mention. In 627 B.C., while journeying to Zhou on a business trip, Xuan Gao, a merchant of Zheng, encountered Qin’s army on its way to attack Zheng by surprise. He gave four pieces of tanned leather and twelve oxen to the Qin army in the name of the sovereign of Zheng. The Qin army mistakenly thought that news of their projected attack must have leaked out, and it decided to withdraw. During the battle at Bi between Jin and Chu in 597 B.C., an official of Jin, Xun Ying, was captured. Merchants of Zheng planned to smuggle him out of Chu in a cart loaded with merchandise. Before the plan was carried out, Chu released him. The Zheng merchants in these two stories might not be ordinary businessmen but people with political status. Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius, was not a professional merchant, and all his commercial activ¬ ities were closely related to politics.

Lii Buwei was not only

a successful merchant of the late Warring States Period, but also a political manipulator.

He masterminded and financed

the return to Qin of Prince Yi Ren, who had been held in Zhao as a hostage. After Zi Chu ascended the throne as Prince Zhuangxiang, Lii Buwei became his prime minister. Agricultural and side-line products were the main trade items during the Warring States Period. They included grain, silk, bast fibre, textile, ko-hemp cloth, special local products of various regions, and luxuries used by the ruling class. Bai Gui, a merchant of Wei, amassed a huge fortune by purchasing grain and selling silk and lacquerware in years of good harvest and by selling grain and buying textile and cQtton goods in years of bad harvest. Iron-smelting and salt-makingjwere both profitable trades. Guo Zong and the Zhuo family' of Zhao, Cheng Zheng of Qi, the Kong family of Liang, and the Bing family of Cao all made fortunes by smelting iron. Yi Dun of Lu and Diao Jian of Qi became rich by making salt or trading

109

in fish. All of them employed slaves for production. Slavery persisted for a long time in the iron-smelting and salt-manu¬ facturing industries.

Confucius, Mo Zi, Other Thinkers and the Elegies of Chu

During the early Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Autumn, and the Warring States periods, persistent social upheavals gradually broke up the monopoly of culture and literature by members of the nobility, a monopoly that began as early as the Western Zhou. Private schools became a trendy development. During the late Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius started the trend by providing private teaching. Then, in the Warring States Period, many schools of thought came into existence and began to contend with one another. Ci, a new form of litera¬ ture reflecting the trend of the time, appeared in the middle of the Warring States Period. Confucius, whose personal name was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was born in 551 B.C., in Zhou Yi, modern Qufu County, Shandong Province, then a part of the state of Lu. He died in 479 B.C. His ancestors used to be slave-owners in Song, but his great grandfather fled to Lu due to failure, in his political career.

By his father’s time, the noble family had

declined financially.

During his youth, Confucius was for a

time a low-ranking official managing warehouses; then he tended sheep and oxen. For the most part of his life, however, he was a private teacher.

It is said that he had more than

3,000 students, 70 of whom were considered to be excellent. He often took some of his students with him while touring the various states. The rulers of these states all received him courteously and consulted him. Nevertheless, Confucius never had the opportunity to put his theory of government into practice. Not until his fifties did he become an official in charge of criminal punishment and the maintenance of social order in

�110

the state of Lu. He was then able to participate in state admin¬ istration, but held the post for only three months. He devoted his later years to the collation and editing of literary works. He was said to have edited the Book of History and the Book of Odes. He added explanatory notes to the Book of Changes, a work on divination. He compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Book of Rites and the Book of Music were examined and revised by him, too. Except for the Book of Music which has been lost, the other five books, in later years, became known as the Confucian classics which followers of Confucianism must read and abide by. The Spring and Autumn Annals was the earliest and more or less complete chronicle, which had great impact on later historical works. After Con¬ fucius’ death, his disciples compiled his statements to form a book entitled The Analects. His lectures and tours indicated clearly that, like many others who did not enjoy the political status of the nobles, Con¬ fucius intended to take part in politics. These people were a rising force in a time of turmoil. Most of them were com¬ moners, but some may have been nobles in origin who had lost their status.

Confucius said that those who did well in

studies could become officials.

Thus

the

purpose

of

his

teaching was to help his students acquire the necessary skill to get into politics.

He often praised his students by saying

that this one would do well in politics and that one could become a prime minister. The content of Confucius’ private teaching was antagonistic to that taught by the official schools of the nobles. He held that men were alike in nature, a teaching that was contrary to the basic concept of a slave society where social status was preordained. Speaking about politics, Confuciu^ proposed that good and capable people should be appointed to official posts, a proposal that was contrary to the practice of hereditary rule. All this reflects the progressive aspect of his thinking. As for the rites that supposedly governed the behaviour of the nobles beginning with the Western Zhou Dynasty, Confu-

111

cius believed that they should not be merely a formality but should instead be combined with benevolence. Rites without benevolence would be totally meaningless. Confucius, nevertheless, was only a reformist. He did not carry his ideas to their logical conclusion. Though he initiated private teaching, what he taught was nevertheless the same as the nobles used to learn. He did not believe that the noble status was preordained, but he defended the hierarchy of the nobility. He advocated the elevation of good and capable peo¬ ple, but he never raised objection to the official hereditary system, even advising good and capable men to be satisfied with their poverty and lowly position. He emphasized the importance of benevolence and regarded it as the highest ideal of morality. Yet, according to him, benevolence meant differ¬ ent grades of love — more love for those who were close and less for those who were distant, more for the highly placed and less for the lowly. Only the socially elevated could be loving, he said, while those below were merely objects of love. On the one hand, he stressed that rites should be combined with benevolence. On the other, he held that benevolence should be practised within the strict boundary of rites. Attempting to solve problems involving rites and benevolence, Confucius failed to use the new ideas to replace the old formality; in¬ stead, he adhered to the old formality as a means of reshaping old ideas.

While his activities contained some progressive

elements, such as his aspiration to be a statesman, basically, he defended the interests of the slave-owning nobles without being able to break through the shackles of the old order. Con¬ fucius viewed the upheavals of the Spring and Autumn Period as an abnormal situation in which society was not guided by right principles; he longed for the return of the Western Zhou times when society was guided by such principles. Rationally he knew that the Western Zhou times would never return; emotionally, however, he could not bring himself to face the fact. Many described him as a man who “does what he knows is impossible”.

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As the first private teacher who brought education to a large number of people, Confucius was properly regarded as having made great contributions in the cultural history of China. We must be reminded, however, that being politically conservative, he worked against the tide of history. The school of thought founded by Confucius was known as Confucianism. A later school of thought which had equal influence was the school of Mohism founded by Mo Zi. Mo Zi, whose personal name was Di, was a native of either Lu or Song. He was active during the period of 468-376 B.C. More in line with the interest of the common people, some of his important theories were in direct conflict with those of Confucius. His ideas could be found in a book entitled Mo Zi. Mo Zi advocated universal love, the love for all without discrimination. One must treat another person, his family and his country in the same way as one treated oneself, one’s own family, and one’s own country. Thus Mo Zi’s love was totally different from the concept of benevolence taught by Confucius. Mo Zi had no use for rites and music; his teaching of frugality on funerals and other occasions was in sharp contrast with the kind of life the nobles had and the kind of advice Confucius gave. In politics, Mo Zi believed that people with ability should be elevated; he was opposed to inherited wealth or nobility. He said that a man with ability should become a government official even though he might be a lowly peasant or an ordi¬ nary worker. This idea of his was different from that of Con¬ fucius who did not clearly oppose the hereditary system in the officialdom. According to Mo Zi, heaven and the demons rewarded the good and punished the evil. King Jie of Xia,-,King Zhou of Shang, and King You and King Li of Zhou, being, tyrannical rulers, were punished for their opposition to the will of heaven, while Great Yu of Xia, King Tang of Shang, and King Wen and King Wu of Zhou, being saintly leaders, were reward¬ ed for their compliance with the wishes of heaven. He believed

113

that reward and punishment were meted out by heaven and the demons in accordance with the way people behaved. Poverty and wealth and people’s status were neither preor¬ dained nor immutable. He invoked the will of heaven to per¬ suade rulers to display kindness, so that “the starving may have food, those suffering from cold may have clothes, and the toilers may have some rest”.

Though all this was merely a

wish, his opposition to fatalism was nevertheless progressive. Ideologically speaking, both Confucius and Mo Zi were idealists. But there are noteworthy elements of materialism in Mo Zi’s theory of knowledge. Some of his criteria of authentic knowledge had to do with proof by facts and objective result. Mohists of later days inherited this fine tradition and devel¬ oped the materialistic view of the theory of knowledge. They made their contributions in the realm of natural sciences. Mohism was an organized school of philosophers.

After

the death of Mo Zi, Ju Zi emerged as the leader of the school, which not only enforced its own discipline but also put its beliefs into practice. During the Warring States Period, apart from Confucian¬ ism and Mohism, there were also Taoism and Legalism. In ad¬ dition, there was the school of Logicians that studied the distinction between name and reality — a school that empha¬ sized the importance of logic and debate. The yin-yang school, on the other hand, tried to explain natural and social phenom¬ ena by an analysis of yin and yang — the negative and the positive forces in the universe. The author of the book Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi of the Taoist school, Mencius and Xun Zi of the Confucian school, and Han Fei of the Legalist school were the best known scholars. Lao Zi, whose surname was Li and personal name Er, was also known as Lao Dan. Roughly a contemporary of Confu¬ cius, he hailed from the state of Chu. The book Lao Zi, which has been attributed to him, was actually a work of the Warring States Period. It may not fully express his ideas.

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The book repudiated the theory of a god, a heaven, or a supreme authority that had been popular since the Shang Dynasty. It replaced the theory with the Way, an absolute, overriding spirit transcending time and space and encompass¬ ing the whole universe. The Way had existed long before the physical universe came into being; it was in fact the source of everything in the universe. This represented the standpoint of objective idealism. j In the area of political thought, the book Lao Zi refuted the Confucian theory of benevolence and the Mohist concept of elevating good, virtuous people. It was in favour of letting nature take its own course and of non-interference in people’s life. People would be better off without knowledge or desire. An ideal society was one small in population and territory, where there were no advanced implements and tools, no boats or vehicles, and no wars. People recorded events by making knots with ropes, and they never visited people of a neighbour state for the duration of their lives even though “they could hear the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs on the other side of the border”. The idea expressed above reflected the pessimism among rulers of the village communes in decline. The book Lao Zi contained some naive ideas of dialectics. It unveiled the unity of opposites in the objective world such as disaster and fortune, soft and hard, strong and weak, more and less, above and below, early and late, true and false, honour and shame, clever and stupid, etc.

Lao Zi realized the

contradictions in things and the transformation of the oppo¬ sites. In his view, however, the changes in things did not develop in a forward fashion; instead, it went on in an endless cycle. Besides, the transformation of the opposites was abso¬ lute and unconditional. He attempted to resolve contradictions in a subjective way, and this attempt gave birth to the idea of “acting without striving” in politics. Zhuang Zi (c. 369 B.C.-286 B.C.), whose personal name was Zhou, hailed from the state of Song. Among the over 30 chapters in the book Zhuang Zi, some were his own writing.

115

Like the author of Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi regarded the Way as the substance of the universe. By claiming that he had identi¬ fied himself with the Way, he changed the objective idealism in Lao Zi into a subjective idealism. From Zhuang Zi’s point of view, only the Way was absolute, while everything else was relative. He equated the subject with the object, life with death, longevity with short life, right with wrong, and disaster with fortune. He dismissed all difference between opposites and advanced a theory of rel¬ ativism or nihilism. He denied the validity of the concepts of right and wrong debated between Confucians and Mohists, and regarded all cultural progress as meaningless. He once said that there would be peace and order if the learned men gave up their knowledge, and all fighting would stop with the aboli¬ tion of weights and measures. His ideal society was one in which people lived in harmony with animals and birds. Zhuang Zi’s denial of the differences between right and wrong, life and death, oneself and others, illusion and reality, his antagonism to progress and his longing for a return to the prehistoric times, reflected a deep sense of pessimism, similar to that expressed in Lao Zi. The pessimistic view of both struck a sympathetic chord among the classes in decline throughout Chinese history. By refusing to recognize reality, however, the author of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi also took a negative view of the “early kings”, including Great Yu, King Tang of Shang, and King Wen and King Wu of Zhou, revered and extolled by Confucians and Mohists. In so doing they helped people, albeit unconsciously, to emancipate their minds. Mencius, active during 372-289 B.C., was a native of Zou (modern Zouxian County in Shandong Province). His personal name was Ke and courtesy name Ziyu. His life experience was similar to that of Confucius. He too was a private teacher and took his students with him while touring the various states. While travelling, he was at one time accompanied by several hundred disciples and scores of chariots. He was also received with courtesy by rulers of various states, but none

�

116

accepted his political ideas.

His teachings were contained in

a book entitled Mencius. Mencius condemned tyranny, describing it as a system that “directs beasts to eat people”. He was concerned with the sharpening of social contradictions, especially the fleeing of labour from productive pursuits. He inherited the Confucian concept of benevolence and developed it further by emphasiz¬ ing its importance as a governmental policy. He believed that every person should have his own immovable property. A family of eight should have 100 mu of land in order to grow enough food to eat. It should raise domestic animals for meat, and plant mulberry trees and cultivate silk worms for clothing. In addition, there should be schools to teach people to be dutiful towards their parents and respectful towards all elders. If all this was done, people would be “friendly towards one another, helping one another in difficulties or in poor health.” In that case, they would have no desire to move to other places all their lives.

All this, in Mencius’ opinion, would be benefi¬

cial to the building of a strong state.

The purpose of having

immovable property for everyone, as proposed by Mencius, was to combine tilling with weaving to create a small-scale agricultural economy where labour would be permanently tied to land. This meant the feudalization of the socio-economy that had apparently taken place during the time of Mencius.

He

wanted to promote it by administrative method. The basis for Mencius’ theory of a government by benevo¬ lence was that man was born with goodness.

Man possessed

the inherent quality of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, which some people were able to preserve, while others could not.

In Mencius’ view, every sovereign was able

to rule by a policy of benevolence, and every citizen was able to accept it. Both the rulers and the ruled were able to be good. In other words, the moral standards for two different classes were preordained. He made this point even clearer when he said that “those who labour with their minds govern

117

others; those who labour with their hands are governed by others.” The constant wars of annexation were strongly opposed by Mencius. He maintained that those who loved to wage wars should be severely punished. As he realized that the trend during the period of the Warring States was towards unifica¬ tion, he stated, “only those who hate killing will be able to unify the country”. He meant that one could unify the country only through benevolence, not by violence. Mencius advocated the democratic principle that the people were more important than kings.

A king enjoying popular

support deserved to be called a king; a king who had lost popu¬ lar support would be a lonely tyrant, who deserved to be put to death by anyone.

A king who had done harm to the state

should be replaced. Representing the landlord class, Mencius was an idealist in thought, and the measures he preached were those of recon¬ ciliation.

Nevertheless, he was progressive in the sense that

he hated despotic rule and attached great importance to peo¬ ple’s economic life and their importance to the government. Xun Zi, also known as Xun Kuang or Xun Qing, hailed from the state of Zhao.

He was active during 298-238 B.C.

He travelled to the state of Qi twice as a visiting teacher and served on two occasions in Chu as magistrate of Lanling (located to the southwest of Zaozhuang City, modern Shan¬ dong Province).

While touring Qin, he met with King Zhao

whose political system he admired.

In his old age, he retired

to Chu, where he concentrated on writing. The extant Xun Zi contains his works. Han Fei, a student of Xun Zi, was a native of the state of Han. He died in 233 B.C., but the year of birth is not known. Seeing the decline of his native state, he repeatedly presented ideas of reform to the king of Han. But none was accepted. When his written works were brought to Qin, the king of Qin admired it greatly. Han Fei went to Qin, only to be mur-

�118

dered by Li Si and other Qin officials. His written works were preserved in a book entitled Han Fei Zi. Xun Zi and Han Fei lived in the late Warring States Period, shortly before the state of Qin unified China. By this time, the feudal landlord class had already established its position of supremacy, and the political trend was clearly the development of an autocratic monarchy and the unifica¬ tion of China. This trend showed itself in academic and political thought in the predominance of the school of Legalism and in comprehensive criticism of previous schools. Both Xun Zi and Han Fei had evaluated and criticized the various schools of thought before their time. “Criticism of the Twelve Schools” in Xun Zi, and “Prominent Schools of Learning” and “Five Evils” in Han Fei Zi are well-written examples of this kind. Xun Zi’s concept of nature was a step forward compared to the naive materialism or atheism initiated during the Spring and Autumn Period. He viewed the stars, days and months, the four seasons, wind and rain, cold and heat, yin and yang as phenomena of change in nature.

They were governed by

their own rules, without will or aim. Nature could not dis¬ pense with winter no matter how much human beings were afraid of cold, and land would not shrink no matter how much people wanted to hurry from one place to another.

The laws

that governed the motion of nature did not come about be¬ cause of the existence of a wise king named Yao; they would not disappear because of the rise of a tyrant named Jie. Xun Zi noted that people were afraid of the falling of meteors or the strange sound caused by wind blowing against trees, but these phenomena indicated nothing but some rare changes in the yin-yang equilibrium that governed the normal function of the universe. They were not something to be afraid of. He believed that if people would work harder in agriculture and practise frugality, nature could not make them poor; if people would wear enough clothes, eat properly, and do physical exercise, nature could not make them ill. On the

119

other hand, if people gave up agricultural production and were given to extravagance nature could in no way bring them prosperity. If they did not have enough food or clothes and did not do much physical exercise, nature could not do much about their health. Man, in his view, had the capacity of adapting himself to his environment and of making good use of natural laws so as to make everything in the universe serve his own ends. The idea of Xun Zi represented the upward movement of a feudal society dominated by landlords; it was different from that of Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Zi, Mo Zi and the author of Lao Zi. Xun Zi also spoke of benevolence, but he emphasized the importance of rites. He believed that learning should begin with the study of the Book of Odes, the Book of History, and other classics; it should end with a study of rites, which marked the apex of the learning process. He carried forward Confucius’ view on rites, though with some reservation. On the one hand, he realized that the purpose of emphasizing the importance of rites was to maintain the class difference be¬ tween the rich and the poor, the noble and the humble. On the other hand, he often mentioned law and rites in the same breath and considered them almost synonymous.

In partic¬

ular, he emphasized the importance of law, saying that no country could be governed without it. He explained the origin of rites with the supposition that man was born with evil. Beginning with his birth, man desired material things and sought among themselves for the satisfaction of such a desire, and the fight, in turn, caused social disorder. The need to maintain social order gave rise to rites. Xun Zi’s view on rites showed his preference, sometimes, for Legalist ideas. His disciple Han Fei carried the argument further and became an important Legalist. According to Xun Zi’s theory of innate evil, the good qual¬ ities man had were acquired through learning after birth. He held that studying hard would enable one to change from being foolish to being wise and that those who studied most

�120

diligently might even become “sages”. Though Xun Zi’s theory was in direct conflict with that of Mencius who maintained that people were born with goodness, both philosophers talked about man’s nature in the abstract without taking into con¬ sideration the factor of class influence. Both were idealists. Nevertheless, Xun Zi explained his theory from the viewpoint of material desire, emphasized learning after one’s birth, and paid particular attention to the influence of environment on man. As a philosopher, he tended towards materialism. He was a progressive in his time. According to him, a major reason for the chaos during the Warring States Period was “too many schools of thought expressing too many different ideologies”. To ensure social stability, there should be no more than one school of thought, from which even sages should not differ. By this point of view, he was in favour of thought control under an autocratic feudal government. Han Fei held that history was evolutionary, each era being more progressive than the preceding one.

He classified his¬

tory into three stages, the early ancient times, the middle an¬ cient times, and the late ancient times. In the early ancient times, wild animals outnumbered human beings.

To protect

humans from attack by wild animals, one sage invented a tree house that was very much like a bird’s nest, so humans had a place to live in. To prevent diseases caused by food, an¬ other sage invented fire by drilling wood, so they could cook their food and eat better. In the middle ancient times, there was a big flood, which Gun and Yu succeeded in controlling, eventually. In the late ancient times, King Jie of Xia and King Zhou of Shang imposed such despotic rule upon humans that King Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou led uprisings to depose them. If, at the time of the Xia Dynasty, someone still lived in trees and made fire by drilling wood, he would be laughed at by Gun and Yu. If, at the time of thelShang Dyn¬ asty, someone still regarded flood control as the most press¬ ing priority, he would be laughed at by King Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou. If, at the present time, someone still

121

eulogized Yao, Shun, Gun, Yu, Tang, and Wu as perfect sages, he would and should be laughed at by all of today’s sages. Han Fei concluded that today’s sages should neither long for the past nor copy obsolete rules. They should, instead, take a long, hard look at today’s social conditions and adopt ap¬ propriate measures. Having studied political history and learned its lessons, Han Fei made a political proposal for the purpose of strength¬ ening feudal rule, a proposal that combined the use of law, tactics, and power. “Law”, enacted by the monarch, consisted of written regulations whereby the people were subjected to his rule. “Tactics” were the means by which the monarch governed his citizens. Han Fei maintained that law and tactics were equally important. Ruling with laws minus tactics could not prevent officials from building up their own power at the expense of the monarch’s authority. On the other hand, ruling with tactics minus law would weaken the stability of the gov¬ ernment. In addition to law and tactics, power was necessary. By power was meant the monarch’s supreme authority, which alone could make law and tactics effective. All the three — law, tactics, and power — were the indispensable tools for the monarchy. Han Fei proposed that all power be concen¬ trated in the hands of the monarch who would then use a combination of the three to govern the people effectively. Han Fei’s opposition to conservatism was clear-cut and his advocacy of reform positive. Representing the interests of the feudal landlord class, he was laying the ideological foundation for the advent of feudal autocracy. New successes in art and literature were achieved during the later part of the middle Warring States Period. A typical example was the Elegies of Chu, a collection of poetic verses and songs written in the local dialect and tone of Chu. It possessed strong regional characteristics and a unique style. Qu Yuan, whose personal name was Ping, became famous as the author of these works. A native of Chu, he was born around 340 B.C. and died in 278 B.C. In his works, he told

�122

impressive stories of Chu’s mountains and rivers, products, local customs, and songs and dances. He narrated many fairy tales and popular legends. More significantly, his works por¬ trayed vividly the actual situation in Chu during the drastic changes in the late Warring States Period. They reflected his sincere love for his country and people. Chu was still powerful and prosperous when Qu Yuan was young. With an aristocratic family background, he intended to pursue a political career. He won the trust of the Prince of Chu and was appointed the Left Minister. As an senior official, he was able to participate in the making of deci¬ sions involving the state’s internal and foreign affairs. He advocated the choosing of virtuous and capable men as officials and the enactment of good laws to strengthen the state. In foreign affairs, he was in favour of a military alliance with the state of Qi against the state of Qin. However, the prince soon distrusted him and banished him from the capital. Mean¬ while, corruption and incompetence, combined with repeated defeat by Qin, gradually weakened Chu.

Refusing to be as

corrupt as other members of Chu’s nobility, he was hoping that he could regain the prince’s trust and receive an appoint¬ ment again.

But he hoped in vain.

He was so worried that

he wanted to give up everything. Yet there was the suffering of the people a patriot must face. Where should Chu stand, now that the unification of China had become a distinctive trend? Torn by all these contradictions, he could not help feeling irritated and frustrated. When he poured out his sorrows and anger in the form of poems, the splendid works of the Elegies oj Chu were born. When Chu’s capital Ying was captured by Qin and when his state was on the verge of extinction, he committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Unlike poets before his time who were anonymous, Qu Yuan was the first poet to leave his name in the history of Chinese literature. His works exerted tremendous influence on the development of Chinese literature.

The Qin and Han Dynasties: the Growth of Feudal Society

The Qin, China’s First Feudal Dynasty

Feudal society reached maturity in the Qin and Han dyn¬ asties. The Qin Dynasty, the first feudal empire in China, unified the country on a scale unknown in China since the Shang and Zhou dynasties and established a form of govern¬ ment which had a lasting influence on Chinese feudalism. Among the accomplishments of the Qin Dynasty was the con¬ struction of the Great Wall. In power only 15 years (c. 221207 B.C.) through the reigns of two emperors, the Qin Dynasty gave way to four years of Chu-Han conflict before the Han Dynasty was established which lasted over 400 years. Historians divide the Han Dynasty into Western Han (c. 202 B.C.-A.D. 5) which continued through 11 emperors and an empress regent belonging to ten generations and Eastern Han (c. 25-220) which was ruled by 14 emperors through eight generations. There was a short interval of 18 years between the Western and Eastern Han when Wang Mang, then Liu Xuan ruled. Starting in 196, as the Three Kingdoms — Wei, Shu and Wu — began to evolve, the Han Dynasty existed in name only. The Qin in 221 B.C. conquered its six rival states (Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi) at the end of the Warring States Period, a period in which all seven states contributed to a trend of regional unification. In fact, the Qin was able to prevail not only through war but, more significantly, through this existing unity and its own developed productive forces and political organization. The Qin then further expanded along the lands 123

�124

of the middle and lower Huanghe and Changjiang rivers, as well as the Zhujiang River. Given the scope of the Qin domain, King Ying Zheng of Qin decided to give himself a more distinguished title, the First Emperor (Shi Huang Di), and decreed that his succes¬ sors be titled the Second Emperor, the Third Emperor, and so on. He hoped that the Qin empire would be passed on in this way forever through his descendants. He also devised some exclusive terminology for the emperor’s use only in issuing edicts and in addressing himself. The First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang, as he is generally known) set up a complete autocratic system of state administra¬ tion extending from the central court to the local levels. In the imperial court, the cheng xiang (prime minister) assisted the emperor in governing the country, the tai wei (marshal) took charge of military affairs, and the yu shi (censor) super¬ vised officials of all ranks. The whole empire was divided into 36 prefectures (later increased to more than 40), each of which comprised a number of counties. These prefectures and coun¬ ties had officials who were counterparts of the prime minister, marshal and censor at the central level. Under the counties, township officials administered education, justice and taxation, and pubic security. And under the townships, households, consisting of individual families in which men farmed and women wove at home, were organized in groups of five or ten. This administrative set-up was like a pyramid. Perched on top, the imperial court extended its control right down to the grass-roots units of the household groups which supplied la¬ bour, grains and draftees. The First Emperor understood the basic importance of the individual families to the feudal em¬ pire. “Men are satisfied with farming their land and women are engaged at home” was a phrase he coined to describe the foundation of Qin rule. The prefecture-county system instituted by the First Em¬ peror had gradually evolved in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

This system was different from the

125

feudal fiefdoms in the Western Zhou Dynasty in that, in the first place, the throne and offices held by the nobles in the fiefdoms were hereditary while officials under the prefecturecounty system were appointed and dismissed by the imperial court; secondly, the prefectures and counties had to accept orders from the central government which was not necessarily so with the hereditary fiefdoms. Devised to meet the require¬ ments of feudal autocracy, the Qin system was to have a lasting influence on government in China’s feudal society. However, records give no details on the extent to which the prefecturecounty system was actually carried out during the reign of the First Emperor. For instance, the state of Wei, born in the be¬ ginning of the Western Zhou period, disappeared as a state as late as 12 years after the introduction of the Qin government system. This indicates that the First Emperor’s new system could not have prevailed in the whole country within a short time. To rule more effectively, the First Emperor ordered that the written language and weights and measures be standardized. The first step was aimed at simplifying communication in official documents, and the second at making easier the col¬ lection of grain, silk and other materials as tax in kind and tribute, and metrological calculations for construction projects. These standards all proved helpful for cultural, production and trade development. The First Emperor also ordered large-scale road and canal building. Two broad highways with pines planted on both sides, called “imperial chariot roads”, were constructed with Xianyang, the capital, as centre, one stretching eastwards through present-day Hebei and Shandong provinces to the seacoast, and the other southwards to modern Jiangsu and Zhe¬ jiang provinces. Roads were also built between Hunan, Jiang¬ xi, Guangdong and Guangxi, and in the remote provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. The First Emperor ordered his general, Meng Tian, to build another road leading from Xianyang through Yunyang (north of today’s Chunhua County in Shaan-

�126

xi Province) and Shangjun (in north Shaanxi) to Jiuyuan (northwest of present-day Baotou in the Inner Mongolia Auton¬ omous Region). Besides roads, the First Emperor also built the Lingqu Canal, dug in the northeast part of modern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to connect the Lijiang and Xiang¬ jiang rivers and serve as a passage between the Changjiang and Zhujiang river systems. Although inspired by the military and political needs of the First Emperor, the opening up of land and water routes developed a transport network which fur¬ thered communications throughout the country. The First Emperor took various measures to suppress or forestall anti-Qin activities. He collected and destroyed weap¬ ons from the vanquished states. Fortifications that might be of military use, and even some city walls, were demolished. He had 120,000 rich families from all over the country moved to the imperial capital, weakening the old local powers and strengthening the court’s command over them. Primarily as a show of strength, he often toured the empire, mostly to the ter¬ ritories of the former states of Qi and Chu. At a court banquet in 213 B.C., some scholars spoke in fa¬ vour of tbe fief system. Li Si, the Prime Minister, held that any dissension over the emperor’s decrees could hurt the authority of the sovereign. So he proposed that all historical records in the imperial archives except those written by Qin historians be burned; that the Book of Odes, the Book of His¬ tory and works by scholars of different schools be handed in to the local authorities for burning; that anyone discussing these two particular books be executed; that those using ancient examples to satirize contemporary politics be put to death and their families killed; and that those who had not burned the listed books within 30 days of the decree be sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. The First Emperor accepted all these proposals to exercise autocratic control over thinking and cul¬ ture. But critics of the imperial regime were not silenced. In the second year of the burning of books, the First Emperor heard of people criticizing him. Regarding this as slander, he

127

ordered an investigation and finally had more than 460 im¬ plicated scholars buried alive. During the Warring States Period, a powerful nomadic people called the Xiongnu (the Huns) lived north of the states of Qin, Zhao and Yan. To keep out these nomads who often clashed with them, the three states built wall fortifications along their northern frontiers. The First Emperor had these defence works linked together to form the Great Wall extend¬ ing from Lintao (present-day Minxian County, Gansu Province) in the west to the Liaodong Peninsula in the east. Although this engineering feat did not check the southward invasions of the Xiongnu, it stands as a monument to the knowledge and creative powers of the labouring people in ancient China. Li Si, the First Emperor’s trusted Prime Minister, came from Shangcai (in present-day Henan Province) of the state of Chu. As a Legalist, he was responsible for many of the policies under the feudal dynasty of Qin.

Peasant Uprisings in the Late Qin Dynasty

The First Emperor played a progressive role in establishing the unified Qin Dynasty, promoting the growth of social pro¬ ductive forces and developing production. On the other hand, he became increasingly tyrannical. Peasants were forced to fight expeditionary wars, guard frontiers, transport provisions for the army and build the Great Wall. The emperor ordered a string of palaces to be built. For the construction of the Epang (Efang) Palace alone, some 700,000 peasants were con¬ scripted, and the same number laboured to build the First Em¬ peror’s mausoleum. Many peasants died working on these projects. Moreover, they never knew when they might be punished at any moment on any pretext under the harsh laws of the Qin Dynasty. Though progressive in nature compared with slave society, feudal society is a prison for labouring people, especially when

�128

a despotic ruler is on the throne. Even though the First Em¬ peror of the Qin was aware of the importance of the individual families to his feudal empire, he enslaved the common people. In his later years, people began to organize against the Qin Dynasty. They were like kindling, ready to be ignited to de¬ stroy the imperial regime. In 210 B.C., the First Emperor died in Shaqiu (northeast of modern Pingxiang County, Hebei Province) while on an in¬ spection tour. The eunuch Zhao Gao and Prime Minister Li Si conspired to forge an imperial decree ordering their opponents, the Crown Prince Fu Su, and General Meng Tian, to commit suicide, and declaring as successor the emperor’s second son, Hu Hai, who was then placed on the throne as the Second Em¬ peror. Zhao Gao encouraged the new emperor to indulge in debauchery and to deal harshly with those he disliked or suspected. All this sharpened the class contradictions in so¬ ciety and the contradictions within the ranks of the ruling class. Not to mention the labouring people, many members of the imperial house, many ministers and even some of the First Emperor’s sons and daughters were killed. In 209 B.C., when the Second Emperor had been barely 10 months on the throne, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang hoisted the anti-Qin standard at the head of an insurgent peasant army. Chen Sheng, whose other name was Chen She, was a na¬ tive of Yangcheng (southeast of modern Dengfeng County, Henan Province) while Wu Guang, also known as Wu Shu, came from Yangxia (modern Taikang County, also in Henan). Chen and Wu were among the 900 conscripted peasants as¬ sembled in Daze Township (part of today’s Suxian County in Anhui Province). While heading for Yuyang (in modern Miyun County, Beijing), they were delayed by heavy rain that made the roads impassable, which meant they could not ar¬ rive on time. The law required those failing to report on time to be executed. At this point, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang considered their options. According to the Han Dynasty historian, Sima Qian, in his Records of the Historian, Wu

129

argued: “Since we will have to die anyway, why not rise in revolt?” And Chen said, “the common people have suffered more than enough. So we have only to raise the standard of rebellion for them to answer like an echo.” They then thought up a plan to lay the foundation for an uprising. Not long afterwards, one of the conscripts found in the belly of a fish he had bought a piece of silk with the vermilion characters, “Chen Sheng will be the king”. This amazed the other conscripts. Late that night, somebody saw a sort of willo’-the-wisp in a temple in the nearby woods and then heard, amid a howl like a fox, a voice saying, “The great State of Chu has been restored. Chen Sheng has become its king.” The voice was so loud that it woke the peasant conscripts. When they saw Chen Sheng the next morning, they quietly exchang¬ ed remarks about him. And so he became the centre of atten¬ tion. One day, Wu Guang intentionally quarrelled with the of¬ ficer in charge of the conscripts when the officer was drunk. The infuriated man beat Wu and threatened him by drawing his sword. Wu seized his weapon and killed him. Meanwhile, Chen Sheng killed two other officers.

Then, again according

to the historian Sima Qian, Chen and Wu said to the other con¬ scripts, “We were delayed by rain and will be executed accord¬ ing to law.

Even though we are able to survive this time, we

would most likely die when we are put on guard duty later on. We will die like men and for a worthy cause, if we have to. We can be great men, too. For no kings, dukes, generals and ministers are such by birth.” The soldiers responded by vowing to fight together for the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty and made Chen their general and Wu their field commander. The anti-Qin war led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang was the first large-scale peasant rebellion ever recorded in Chinese history. The idea advanced by Chen, that royalty, officers and ministers were not so by birth, was a revolutionary political thought negating the idea of hereditary aristocracy that had been in existence since the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

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130

Having first occupied Daze, Qi (south of present-day Suxian in Anhui) and several other neighbouring towns, the in¬ surgent army took Chenxian County (modern Huaiyang County in Henan). Now it had 600-700 war chariots, more than 1,000 mounted soldiers and several tens of thousands of foot soldiers. The insurgents set up the state of Zhang Chu and made Chen Sheng king. Peasants all over the country respond¬ ed, rising and killing local officials.

Chen’s army quickly

grew. Basing himself in Chenxian County, Chen Sheng divided his forces for attacks on government-held areas.

One route,

commanded by Wu Guang, launched an attack on the stra¬ tegically important Xingyang (in modern Henan).

Another

route, under Wu Chen, Zhang Er and Chen Yu, crossed the Huanghe River and advanced on Hebei Province.

A third

route, directed by Zhou Wen, pushed towards the imperial capital of Xianyang. Many smaller detachments of peasant insurgents occupied lesser towns. Zhou Wen’s troops swiftly expanded their ranks along the way until they numberd several hundred thousand armed men with

1,000 war chariots.

Crossing the Hangu Pass

(southwest of modern Lingbao County, Henan Province), they came to the Xishui River (east of modern Lintong County, Shaanxi Province) in the vicinity of Xianyang.

But they

failed to withstand the counter-attacks by the imperial army under General Zhang Han.

Badly defeated, Zhou Wen fled

to Mianchi (west of the modern county of the same name in Henan) with Zhang in hot pursuit. suicide, and his troops scattered.

Finally, he committed Zhang followed up his

victory by marching eastwards to Xingyang.

‘ B^ then Wu

Guang had been killed by a subordinate named Tian Zang. Zhang defeated Tian’s detachment, occupied Xingyang and approached Chenxian. Chen Sheng retreated to Chengfu (northwest of present-day Mengcheng County in Anhui), where he was murdered by a carriage driver. This was in the

131

beginning of 208 B.C., only six months after the outbreak of his uprising. Though the rebellious army suffered setbacks in Zhou Wen’s defeat and Chen Sheng’s murder, the movement went on to bring down the Qin regime in less than two years after Chen’s death. After Chen, two men — Xiang Yu and Liu Bang — emerged as leaders of the two strongest peasant forces. With the defeat of the Qin, they would become rivals themselves for power. Liu, a native of Peixian County (in modern Jiang¬ su Province), came from a peasant family (or the family of a small landlord, according to other historical records). Re¬ sponding to the call of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, he gathered a number of peasant rebels around himself and occupied his native county with the help of Xiao He and Cao Can, local petty officials. Unlike Xiang Yu, who slaughtered people in the cities he captured and killed surrendering enemy soldiers and commanders, Liu Bang respected the welfare of the people and treated well those Qin military commanders who sur¬ rendered. Xiang Yu was a noble of the former state of Chu and his uncle, Xiang Liang, was the son of a Chu general nam¬ ed Xiang Yan. Uncle and nephew staged an uprising in Guiji (modern Suzhou in Jiangsu Province) and then led 8,000 men northwards across the Changjiang River. Learning of the death of Chen Sheng, they put the grandson of King Huai of the former state of Chu on the throne and addressed him as “King Huai of Chu”. They allied themselves with some other insurgent forces, including those under Liu Bang, and quickly gained in influence and prestige. Growing arrogant and off guard in his northward march against the Qin empire, Xiang Liang was defeated and killed in Dingtao (in modern Shandong Province) after the Qin general Zhang Han hit his army in a surprise attack. Soon afterwards, Zhang surrounded the peasant force in Julu (modern Pingxiang County in Hebei). Song Yi and Xiang Yu were ordered by King Huai to lead their troops to the

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132

rescue of the encircled rebels. However, Song refused to advance after arriving at Anyang (in modern Henan Province), whereupon Xiang Yu had him executed. Then Xiang led his unit across the Zhanghe River where — to make clear that no one could turn back unless victorious — he had all the boats and cooking vessels destroyed and ordered his soldiers to carry enough rations for only three days. With this mandate, the rebel soldiers drove forward with resounding battle cries against Zhang Han’s army. After nine engagements, in which the peasant army pitted one against ten, the imperial army was routed and Zhang Han surrendered with his 200,000 re¬ maining forces. This marked the virtual annihilation of the military strength of the Qin Dynasty. When Song Yi was advancing north, Liu Bang was march¬ ing west, also on the order of King Huai of Chu. He fought his way forward almost unopposed. In a year’s time his troops took the Wuguan Pass (west of modern Shaanxian, Henan), gateway to the heartland of the Qin regime, threatening the capital city of Xianyang. It was during this period that the Qin Prime Minister, Li Si, died at the hands of his eunuch colleague Zhao Gao, who also murdered the Second Emperor and placed the emperor’s nephew, Zi Ying, on the throne. Be¬ fore long, Zi Ying, who assumed the title “King of Qin” in¬ stead of the Third Emperor, had the chief eunuch killed. Then Liu Bang laid siege to the imperial capital, forcing Zi Ying to surrender at Bashang (east of modern Xi’an in Shaanxi). This finished the Qin regime in the winter of 207 B.C. and marked for the first time in Chinese history the overthrow of a feudal dynasty by peasant insurgents.

Establishment and Consolidation of the Western Han Dynasty

Following the downfall of the Qin Dynasty, the struggle for power began among the leaders of the victorious rebel armies. Although Liu Bang prevailed in 202 B.C. to become

133

the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, the struggle to establish and consolidate the feudal dynasty of Han went on about 66 years (207-141 B.C.), beginning with Liu Bang’s entry into Xianyang and going through the reigns of Emperor Hui Di, Empress Lii, Emperor Wen Di and Emperor Jing Di. A characteristic of these early days of the Western Han Dynasty was that the emperor and most of his subordinate rulers were of humble origin, a marked change — which proved Chen Sheng’s view that royalty was not a matter of birthright — in China’s political life from the time of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. After he entered Xianyang, Liu Bang declined with thanks all gifts presented by the people as a token of respect to his army and further won acclaim by assembling the local people to announce the repeal of the harsh laws of the Qin government. He wanted them to observe only this law: “Let those who kill be executed, and those who inflict injuries on or rob others be punished.” This announcement was of great political significance in that it reflected the popular demand of the time for personal safety and the right to survival. Liu Bang’s first confrontation with Xiang Yu following the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty came when Xiang Yu reached the Hangu Pass.

Earlier, King Huai of Chu had promised the

territory west of the pass to the first man who entered it. Having had the good fortune to be that man, Liu Bang made himself supreme in the region and ordered his men to guard against intrusions by other forces. When Xiang Yu reached there with an army of 400,000 — claimed to be a mil¬ lion strong — and found his way barred, he was furious and prepared to attack Liu Bang. Because Liu Bang had only 100,000 men, he was forced to sue for peace. This helped to stabilize the situation for the time being. A few days later, Xiang Yu marched into Xianyang where he slaughtered people and burned houses. The fires raged for three months. He called himself the “Hegemonic King of Western Chu” and made Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu) the capital of his dominion. He called King Huai “Righteous

�134

Emperor”, but later got rid of him while King Huai was being moved from Pengcheng to Chenxian (in present-day Hunan). Altogether, Xiang Yu named 18 princes, some of whom, how¬ ever, were given territories much smaller than their former domains. With regard to Liu Bang, he ignored the promise of King Huai and accorded him, instead, the title of “Prince of Han”, with a diminished fief covering Hanzhong, Ba and Shu. In making these allocations, Xiang Yu aggravated the con¬ tradiction between himself and Liu Bang, as well as the armed forces under others. In 206 B.C., within less than six months after Xiang Yu had granted fiefdoms to the various princes, Liu Bang marched east from Hanzhong and took the Hangu Pass and the area west of it. The following year, he attacked Xiang Yu with the collaboration of other armies, with a combined force of 560,000 men. He entered Pengcheng but was thoroughly de¬ feated when Xiang Yu counter-attacked. Liu Bang escaped with a few scores of his cavalrymen. This was followed up by fierce battles between the two sides, centring on Xingyang and Chenggao (the Hulaoguan Pass to the northwest of today’s Xingyang, Henan). In 203 B.C., Liu Bang seized Chenggao and surrounded Xingyang. By then, his army had gained superioity, thanks to ample provisions and increased morale, while Xiang’s army suffered from lack of supplies and decreased morale. Liu took this opportunity to make peace with his rival. An agreement was reached that Honggou (“Deep Chasm”) Canal (in modern Zhongmou, Henan) be made the demarcation line, with the territory on the east going to Chu and on the west to Han. When Xiang Yu led his men back eastwards, Liu Bang ordered a surprise attack on him in Guling (northwest of modern Huaiyang, Henan), onty to be rout¬ ed. Later, Liu Bang joined hands with Han Xin and^Peng Yue and surrounded Xiang Yu in Gaixia (southeast of modern Lingbi, Anhui). Xiang Yu’s army had decreased in number and was now running out of provisions. But he managed to collect 800 cavalrymen and fight his way to a ferry named

135

Wujiang (modern Wujiangpu northeast of Hexian, Anhui) where, in the year 202 B.C. at the age of 32, he committed suicide. With his chief rival gone, Liu Bang proceeded to build his feudal dynasty, i.e., the feudal regime of the Western Han Dynasty. He ascended the throne two months after Xiang Yu’s death, to become known posthumously as Emperor Gao Zu of the Han Dynasty. He first chose Luoyang as his capital but shortly afterwards moved it to Chang’an. Liu Bang had the valuable help of “the Three Heroes of the Early Han”: Xiao He, a native of Fengxian (in modern Jiangsu), who was made Prime Minister; Zhang Liang, the chief counsellor, who was a descendant of a noble family in the former state of Han; and Grand General Han Xin, who came from Huaiyin (also in modern Jiangsu). During its first 60 years, the Western Han rulers took two major steps to consolidate their feudal regime. The first step was taken in the economic field, aimed to alleviate class con¬ tradictions and ensure revenue for the imperial treasury so as to strengthen the foundation of the empire. The second step was to eliminate the menace which the fiefdoms present¬ ed to the imperial court. Fifteen years of ruthless oppression and exploitation under the Qin Dynasty, followed by eight years of incessant wars, caused a heavy toll on the common people. Population in major cities dwindled by 70-80 per cent, and people could barely make both ends meet. Even the emperor couldn’t find four horses of the same colour to draw his carriage; the prime minister and generals had to travel in cars drawn by oxen. In this situation, the need for restoring and developing so¬ ciety’s productive forces was more than obvious. The emperors, from Emperor Gao Zu down to Emperor Jing Di, all devoted themselves to this task. In half a century or more, population in some areas doubled or even showed a five-fold increase. Life in general became easier for the peas¬ ants. Landlords gained much more and could even get official

�136

ranks according to the amount of grain they voluntarily de¬ livered to the frontier regions and grain-deficient areas. Dur¬ ing the reign of Emperor Wen Di, two economists, Jia Yi and Chao Cuo, developed theories which were to become the basis of the economic thinking of landlord-class statesmen for centuries. Jia Yi (200-168 B.C.), a native of Luoyang who wrote New Political Views, advanced the idea that agriculture was the foundation of the nation, and that only when grain was in abundant supply could an offensive or defensive war be fought with success. Chao Cuo (?-154 B.C.), a native of Yingchuan (modern Yuxian County, Henan), proposed measures against commerce in favour of agriculture. He also maintained that the peasants should be attached to the land to enable the feudal state to win their support and thus con¬ solidate its power. The ideas of Jia Yi and Chao Cuo were clearly an advance on the thinking of Shang Yang of the War¬ ring States Period. After the founding of the dynasty, the Western Han ruling clique was worried about the growth of the power of the various fiefdoms, particularly seven principalities under men who were not members of the imperial Liu family. The administrative system consisted of prefectures and counties as well as fiefdoms, including principalities and marquisates. In the principalities the officials, except for the prime minister, were all appointed by the princes. Each principality might embrace from 30 to more than 100 towns, and during the early days of the Western Han, the combined territory of the seven above-mentioned principalities was greater than the prefectures and counties directly under central authority. Among the princes were Han Xin, an outstandfpg strategist, and Peng Yue and Ying Bu, who were excellent generals. Each of them had made important contributions to the found¬ ing of the dynasty. What worried the imperial court most was that they all had armed forces of their own. In 196 B.C., Han Xin was killed by the throne, as were Peng Yue and Ying Bu afterwards. Three other princes either escaped or were

137

displaced so that by the time immediately before Liu Bang’s death in 195 B.C., principalities controlled by those not bearing the royal surnames had practically been wiped out. Only the principality of Changsha remained, but it came to an end in 157 B.C. when the prince died without issue. Hoping to perpetuate the supremacy of the imperial court, Liu Bang installed nine princes of royal blood to head fiefdoms formerly under persons who were not members of the royal family. He regarded this as representing his ideal that “the whole empire is under one family”. He commanded, “Let anyone not of the Liu family who dares proclaim himself prince suffer universal attack.” But the territories of the Liu princes were also extensive and their power formidable. Their fiefdoms grew in economic strength with rises in productivity. So the principalities still posed a threat to the central govern¬ ment. In 177 B.C., Liu Xingju, Prince of Jibei, rebelled. In 174 B.C., Liu Zhang, Prince of Huainan, also plotted a rebel¬ lion. These events took place less than 20 years after the death of Liu Bang, during the reign of Emperor Wen Di (ISO157 B.C.). The scholar Jia Yi recommended to the court that more princes be installed in each principality to divide its strength. In regard to the powerful fiefs, Jia Yi made an analogy to the body of a person who had swollen and could hardly move be¬ cause both legs had become as thick as the waist and the fingers as big as the arms. He argued that by installing more princes the central authority could control all of the prin¬ cipalities in the same way as a person controls his limbs. Jia Yi’s proposal was accepted and put into practice, though no serious effort was ever made for its thorough implementation. During the reign of Emperor Jing Di (157-141 B.C.), Chao Cuo proposed reducing the territories of the various fiefdoms, and this was carried out. He predicted that such a measure would invite resistance on the part of the kings, but argued: “There will be revolts, whether you cut their territories or not. Cut¬ ting their territories will quickly lead to revolts which might

�138

bring smaller calamities in their wake, while not cutting them will only delay revolts which, once they occur, may entail greater calamities.” In 154 B.C. Liu Bi, Prince of Wu, in alliance with the kingdoms of Chu, Zhao, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Jinan and Zichuan, staged a revolt, which he had been plotting for a long time, in the name of getting rid of Chao Cuo.

Emperor Jing Di re¬

sponded by sending Marshal Zhou Yafu on a punitive expedi¬ tion which was successful within less than three months. Taking advantage of this victory, the emperor took steps to relieve the princes of their administrative powers, reduce the number of officials in the principalities and change the title of their prime ministers to minister.

These steps drastically

restricted the power of the princes while strengthening the imperial government.

Golden Age of the Western Han Dynasty

In 139 B.C., Emperor Wu Di succeeded to the throne to rule until his death in 87 B.C., a reign that became known as the golden age of the Western Han Dynasty. Socio-economic conditions had already taken a marked change for the better, thanks to the gradual rehabilitation of the social productive forces during the preceding 60 or so years. Historical records say that in those days most people were decently fed and clad, granaries were filled to overflowing, and the state budget showed a surplus. Countless strings of cash were stored in the imperial treasury, tied by cords mildewed with age. Emperor Wu Di took further steps to weakep the local au¬ thorities and strengthen the hands of the central government, carrying out the recommendation made by Jia Yi in the time of Emperor Wen Di. He decreed that when a prince died, his eldest son by his first wife was to succeed him, and the territory of his principality was to be divided among all of his sons who would thus be co-heirs of their father and, with the

�CHAPTER

VI

139

exception of the eldest son, each would be granted the status of a marquis. This meant that the power of the principalities was dispersed without their enfeoffed land being taken back by the imperial court. The emperor divided the whole coun¬ try, including the prefectures and fiefdoms, into 13 regions. To tighten control over the localities, he appointed an itinerant inspector for each of these regions to keep a watchful eye on the powerful families as well as the prefects and the ministers of the various fiefdoms. At the imperial court a secretariat was set up to handle the memorials presented by court ministers. This reinforced the autocratic monarchy in that it stripped the prime minister of his power to handle such papers. In economic matters, Emperor Wu Di enlisted the services of Sang Hongyang on whose suggestion a series of measures were adopted to increase state revenues and curtail the finan¬ cial pressures put on the central government by local authori¬ ties. By law anyone could engage in minting coins, boiling salt and smelting iron without restrictions. In reality, how¬ ever, these rights were monopolized by the rich, the princes and the influential ministers to victimize the peasants and disrupt social economy.

Emperor Wu Di decreed a state mo¬

nopoly on mintage — all five-zhu* coins were to be made by the central government — and forbade minting by local au¬ thorities or individuals. Government offices were set up in specified places for state sales of iron and salt. Offices handl¬ ing tribute from various districts were also established. They picked the goods which could easily be damaged and those in¬ volving a high cost of transportation, shipped them to needy areas, and sold them at high prices, the profit going to the state. Official departments in the capital were created to buy up certain surplus commodities when prices fell and to sell them at higher prices when there was a scarcity.

• Zhu was a unit of weight in ancient China. During Han Dynasty,

24 zhu made a Hang (tael), and 16 Hang made a jin (catty). — Trans.

�140

In 119 B.C., Emperor Wu Di imposed a heavier property tax on merchants and usurers. Handicraftsmen were required to pay one unit of tax (120 copper coins) on every 4,000 copper coins’ worth of possessions while the merchants had to pay two units of tax for the same amount. The common people paid one unit of tax for each horse-drawn cart they owned, as compared to two units for the merchants. Merchants were also ordered to send in an account on their property. Anyone giving a false report had his property confiscated and was sent to guard duty on the frontiers for two years. Huge quantities of property and large numbers of bondservants and houses belonging to merchants were expropriated. The economic measures instituted by Emperor Wu Di helped to strengthen the autocratic monarchy. Meanwhile, he also broadened his dynasty’s relations with the ethnic minorities to an extent never seen before. The Xiongnu (Hun) nomads were very powerful in the initial period of the Western Han. In 200 B.C., Liu Bang was even hemmed in by them in Pingcheng (modern Datong City, Shanxi Province) for seven days and nights and broke through only after strenuous effort. Rebellious forces within the Western Han ruling clique also allied themselves with the Xiongnu to oppose the court. The chief policy to prevent Xiongnu invasion in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty was to try to maintain peace by arranging marriages between the royal family and the Xiongnu chieftains or sending enormous quantities of gifts. But this had been unsuccessful and Emperor Wu Di tried a new tact. He repeatedly sent Generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing on large-scale expeditions against the Xiongnu, forcing them to move to the far north so that it became im¬ possible for them to re-establish their rule south of the Gobi. Of course, war could not resolve the differences between the Han Dynasty and the various nationalities. Nevertheless, these expeditions dealt a crushing blow to the intruders from the north and thus defended the agricultural regions in the Central Plains.

141

To conquer the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu Di planned to form an alliance with the Dayuezhi, which would make possible a converging attack on them from the east and west. Originally living in the Gansu Corridor, the Dayuezhi had been driven to Daxia (Bactria) in the north part of modern Afghanistan. In the beginning of his reign, Emperor Wu Di sent Zhang Qian as envoy to the land of the Dayuezhi, but he was captured en route by the Xiongnu. He was kept prisoner for more than 10 years before managing to escape to make his way to his destination where, however, he failed to achieve his mission. In 119 B.C., Zhang Qian was again chosen as the Han emissary, this time to the land of the Wusun who were settled in the Ili River valley. His aim was to form a common front with this people to cut the right flank of the Xiongnu.

Though Zhang

Qian failed a second time, his visits promoted understanding between the Western Han Dynasty and the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. The countries there began to send goodwill missions to the Han court, which on its part opened up military colonies for land reclamation along their frontiers. All this helped to spread the influence of the Han empire and to cement its links with adjoining regions. The minority nationalities in Sichuan, Yunnan and Gui¬ zhou provinces were then collectively known as the South¬ western Yi. Some of them — for instance, the Yelang peo¬ ple around modern Zunyi City in Guizhou and the Dian peo¬ ple near what is now Kunming City in Yunnan — already had entered a slave society. During Emperor Wu Di’s reign, prefectural and county governments were set up in these regions, and the chieftain of the Dian was elevated to the status of king and given a royal seal. As a result, contacts increased further between southwest China and the interior. The reign of Emperor Wu Di also saw new developments in China’s foreign relations. Zhang Qian’s journeys marked the beginning of contacts between China and some countries of Central and West Asia. He and his deputies reached the countries of Dayuan (Ferghana, in the eastern part of the

�142

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in the U.S.S.R.), Kangju (along the lower reaches of Syr Darya in the U.S.S.R.), Daxia (Bactria), Anxi (Parthia, or modern Iran) and Yuandu (the modern In¬ dian Subcontinent). From then on, the Han court every year sent from five to a dozen missions to the West, each including one to several hundred members. After Zhang Qian’s west¬ ward trips, many Han products, notably silks, were brought to the Western countries. And introduced to China were thoroughbreds, grape vines, pomegranates, glazed tiles, woollen carpets, etc. Sea routes were charted to link China with Korea and Japan. At the time, merchant ships sailed between China’s Xuwen County (in present-day Guangdong Province) and Hepu County (in modern Guangxi) on the one hand, and India’s east coast and some Southeast Asian ports on the other. Emperor Wu Di’s period witnessed significant academic and cultural achievements. It was in his time that Confucian¬ ism gained supremacy as the ideological weapon of the feudal dynasties. Emperor Wu Di was keenly interested in literature. Among those attending to him were some famous men of let¬ ters, for example, Yan Zhu, Dongfang Shuo, Mei Gao and Sima Xiangru.

Sima Xiangru (179-118 B.C.), a native of Chengdu

in modern Sichuan Province, excelled in writing prose-poems which had developed out of the songs of the state of Chu. His representative prose-poems include Zi Xu Fu and Shang Lin Fu, both masterpieces in the Western Han time. During Emperor Wu Di’s reign, yueju poems appeared. (Yuefu was an official department of music whose duty it was to collect and process folk songs.) These poems were composed of sen¬ tences of varying lengths, common for folk son^s of the Han time, and were intended to be set to music and son^at the im¬ perial court. However, more of the folk songs of the Han Dynasty consisted of five-character lines. Sima Qian (c. 145-90 B.C.), from Longmen (modern Hancheng County in Shaanxi Province), was a great historian in

the time of Emperor Wu Di.

143

His major work, Records of the

Historian, is a 130-juan* general history of China which de¬ scribes legends from the time of the mythical Emperor Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor), events in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, upheavals of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty and the birth and consolidation of the Han Dynasty.

Records of the

Historian is unique in its accounts on different historical stages and their characteristics, its portrayal and appraisal of historical figures and its description of social conditions. Sima Qian showed originality in editing historical data and working out a style for historical writings.

Though he regarded em¬

perors, kings, generals and ministers as the creators of history, he was progressive in recognizing the role played by the peo¬ ple, such as in the peasant uprisings, in the making of history. He also recognized the influence of social status in determin¬ ing individual consciousness. His writings had a tremendous impact on later Chinese historiography. Despite the burning of books in the Qin Dynasty, the teachings of the various schools that had emerged in the not too distant Warring States Period continued to spread in the early Han Dynasty. In 140 B.C. —that is, not long after Em¬ peror Wu Di’s ascension — Dong Zhongshu (c. 179-104 B.C.) proposed the task of the “grand unification” of the empire in political philosophy, and consequently the institution of an ideological system serving the autocratic feudal regime. Em¬ peror Wu Di accepted his proposal, adopted Confucianism as official philosophy, and denied scholars of all other schools the opportunity to enter the civil service. Confucian classics gradually became the main reading of scholars, and Con¬ fucianism became predominant. Comparing social to natural phenomena formalistically, Dong Zhongshu theorized that the relationship between ruler and subject was something eternal,

• A traditional thread-bound volume, usually containing a much

shorter text than a volume in modern book publishing.— Trans.

�144

a natural order. He advanced the doctrine of the ‘ Three Cardinal Guides”, which later Confucians summarized as “the sovereign guides the subject, the father guides the son, and the husband guides the wife”. The mainstay of Confucianism, these were a severe mental constraint on the masses of peo¬ ple in the long years of feudal society. Dong Zhongshu, a na¬ tive of Guangchuan (to the southwest of modern Jingxian County in Hebei Province), had a number of books to his credit, among them the Chun Qiu Fan Lu (Spring and Autumn Studies). To suit the needs of building a feudal autocratic dynasty, Emperor Wu Di organized many battles and launched a series of big engineering projects. He made repeated inspection tours, gave generous gifts to his favourites and formulated harsh laws. Things became more and more intolerable for the com¬ mon people until, in his late years, a number of uprisings broke out in Shandong Province.

When Emperor Wu Di died in

87 B.C., he was succeeded by Emperor Zhao Di who was then only eight years old and had to be assisted by Grand General Huo Guang, Chancellor of Military Affairs.1 In 74 B.C., Emperor Xuan Di ascended to the throne. He paid great attention to improving the local administration and, according to historical records, “officials were competent, and the people pursued their occupations peacefully” during his reign. This period was marked by sharpening differences within the Xiongnu tribe so that in 54 B.C., it split into two sections, the northern and the southern. Huhanye, Chieftain of the Southern Xiongnu, occupied the whole tribal territory after the Han had defeated the Northern Xiongnu. Since he had pledged allegiance to the Han court the ne^t 40 years or 4The official titles in the Western Han Dynasty were inherited from those of the Qin Dynasty, during which the prime minister, the chancellor of military affairs and the great censor were the three top officials. In the later period of the Western Han, the chancellor of military affairs who was concurrently the grand general became the top man in charge of both civil and military affairs.

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more were a period of rapprochement between the Han empire and the Xiongnu. Emperor Xuan Di carried on the cause of Emperor Wu Di, maintaining the power and prosperity created by his predeces¬ sors. Though he greatly valued the services of the Confucians, he spoke his mind when he said, “The Han house knows how to rule the country, that is, by combining the hegemon’s way and the king’s way.” He was referring to government by the Legalist method, by force and political trickery, and to gov¬ ernment by the Confucian method, by conquering the minds of the ruled. These dual tactics were to be employed by the rulers of the succeeding feudal regimes.

Decline of the Western Han Dynasty; Uprisings of the Green Woodsmen and Red Eyebrows

In 48 B.C., Emperor Yuan Di came to the throne. His reign, followed by those of Emperors Cheng Di, Ai Di and Ping Di, marked the beginning of the decline of the Western Han until in 6 A.D., Wang Mang, a nephew of the wife of Emperor Yuan Di, usurped the throne and three years later founded the Xin Dynasty. Not long afterwards, peasant uprisings broke out throughout the country which led to Wang Mang’s downfall, the restoration of the Han regime in A.D. 25 and the period Chinese historians call the Eastern Han Dynasty. Giving high official positions to family members of the em¬ presses was a tradition of the Han period. From the time of Liu Bang through the reigns of Empress Lii and Emperor Wu Di to those of Emperors Zhao Di and Xuan Di, the influence of the relatives of the court women increased continuously. When Emperor Yuan Di was on the throne, palace eunuchs Hong Gong and Shi Xian collaborated with the Shis and Xus, all relatives on the empress’ side, in controlling the government. Family members of Empress Wang also began to interfere in state affairs until they became a dominant group in the time of Emperor Cheng Di. During the period of Emperor Ping Di,

�146

who was only 9 years old when placed on the throne, Empress Wang assumed the reins of government as one belonging to the generation of the reigning emperor’s grandmother.* As the old lady’s nephew Wang Mang was appointed Chancellor of Military Affairs who was also in charge of civil administra¬ tion throughout the empire. Emperor Ping Di became a pup¬ pet of Wang, who poisoned the youth to death five years later. In A.D. 6, Wang was made imperial regent and took charge of the government as “Substitute Emperor”. He proclaimed himself emperor proper in A.D. 9 and named his regime the Xin Dynasty. Wang Mang was aided by a mystical theory of the time following Emperor Yuan Di’s rule which indicated some lack of confidence in the future of the Western Han Dynasty and which helped prepare public opinion for the usurping of power by a careerist. The theory held that no dynasty could exist forever because, by the mandate of Heaven, another one soon¬ er or later would emerge to replace it. This led some people to comment that the Han house was nearing its end and that it was time to hand over power to others. After the reign of Yuan Di, the difference between rich and poor in terms of property became even more glaring than be¬ fore. Appropriation of land by influential officials and nobles meant misery for the peasants who, moreover, had to shoulder many other burdens. In the first years of the rule of Emperor Yuan Di, 11 prefectures and fiefdoms suffered floods in which the common people faced starvation. But the feudal nobles, the wealthy landlords and merchants, and corrupt officials con¬ tinued to lead a life of luxury and debauchery. Class contra¬ dictions intensified in the time of Emperor Cheng Di which witnessed a number of uprisings by peasants in different re¬ gions and by prisoners doing hard labour. The social crisis

• Empress Wang was the Queen of Emperor Yuan Di and the

mother of Emperor Cheng Di. As Emperor Cheng Di had no son, two nephews were chosen successively to become Emperor Ai Di and Ping Di — Trans.

147

grew even more serious during the reign of Emperor Ai Di. Feudal oppression threatened the personal freedom and even the lives of the common people, relegating the difference be¬ tween rich and poor to a secondary place. Country-wide peas¬ ant uprisings could break out any moment. The Western Han Dynasty achieved little in the academic field during the years following Emperor Yuan Di’s rule. But among the famous scholars of the time were Liu Xiang (79-8 B.C.), Liu Xin (?-A.D. 23) and Yang Xiong (53 B.C.A.D.18), all of whom had great achievements to their credit. When Emperor Cheng Di was on the throne, Liu Xiang, of im¬ perial ancestry, was ordered to collate important books kept in the imperial library, such as the Confucian classics, works of the different schools of thought written in the pre-Qin period, collections of poems and prose-poems and military and medical writings.

He wrote a report to the emperor about each book

collated, listing its contents and giving a synopsis of it. During the period of Emperor Ai Di, Liu Xin, son of Liu Xiang, took over his father’s job.

He classified all the books under seven

headings and briefly described the contents of each, and the summaries were later incorporated into the Seven Categories of Writings.

The painstaking efforts of the Lius contributed to

the preservation, classification and dissemination of China’s ancient works. Though Liu Xiang and his son propagated the mystical theory on the non-permanence of dynasties, they took differing political stands on it. The father used mysticism as a means of remonstrating with Emperor Cheng Di on the need to guard against the ambitious family members of Em¬ press Dowager Wang, while the son spread such views to help Wang Mang seize power from the Han house. A native of Chengdu, Yang Xiong wrote Tai Xuan, a book on philosophy modelled after The Book of Changes, and Fa Yan, which was an exposition of Confucianism modelled after The Analects. Though his writings were not innovative, he did disagree with the theory that there was a “God” who controlled

�148

everything on earth.

He was progressive in as much as he

opposed the prevalent mysticism. Having usurped the throne, Wang Mang carried out succes¬ sive reforms of the officials system, currency, land tenures, taxation and state monopolies of commodities. Most of his new measures were impractical, and some were merely copied from books of antiquity. Because the reforms were too numerous and revised too frequently, general uncertainty was felt in so¬ ciety. This presented an opportunity for the officials to swindle and oppress the people who were liable to be declared guilty on trumped-up charges, which meant bankruptcy, im¬ prisonment and even death. To flaunt his power and prestige, Wang Mang repeatedly organized provocative activities against the ethnic minorities in north and southwest China. Apart from worsening the friendly relations between China’s various nationalities, this increased the burdens on the people in the Central Plains who had to do conscripted labour more and more often. Many peasants went bankrupt as a consequence. Peasant uprisings gathered momentum in A.D. 17 when Lu Mu of Haiqu (to the west of modem Rizhao County, Shan¬ dong Province) led the local peasants in taking up arms.

In

Xinshi (to the northwest of modern Jingshan County, Hubei Province), peasant insurgents under Wang Kuang and Wang Feng joined forces with those in the neighbouring areas. Mak¬ ing Lulin (Green-Wooded) Hills (modern Dangyang County, Hubei Province) their operational base, they became one of the most well-known insurgent groups in Chinese history and are referred to in history as the Greenwood Army. The following year, Fan Chong of Langya (modern Zhucheng County, Shan¬ dong Province), led an uprising at Ju (modern Juxian County, Shandong). With its headquarters in Mt. Taishan, his contin¬ gent quickly grew to be several tens of thousands strong. Called the army of the Red Eyebrows because their brows were painted red as a mark of identification, this group, too, is wellknown in Chinese history. Meanwhile, scores of big and small insurgent groups rose on the great plain in present-day Hebei

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and Shandong provinces north of the Huanghe River. At Yuan (modern Nanyang City, Henan Province), 7,000-8,000 peasants led by Liu Xiu and his older brother Liu Yan hoisted the ban¬ ner of reconstructing the Han empire. The armies of the Green Woodsmen and the Red Eyebrows were the largest among the peasant armed forces of the period. Later, Liu Xiu’s men and a number of Lii Mu’s men joined hands with the Green Woodsmen and the Red Eyebrows re¬ spectively. Among the Green Woodsmen there were some landlord elements, like Liu Xiu, a native of Caiyang County (modern Zaoyang County, Hubei) and his brother who were both scions of the Han house. On the other hand, the Red Eye¬ brows were simple peasants who announced, “He who kills shall pay with his own life, and he who injures others shall be dealt with accordingly.” This is roughly the same law Liu Bang announced when he entered Chang’an: “Those who kill be executed, and those who inflict injuries on or rob others be punished.” That the Red Eyebrows did not mention robbery but stressed personal safety and the right to survival is a re¬ flection of the most pressing issue concerning the peasants at the time. In late A.D. 20, Wang Mang sent troops to attack the Red Eyebrows. Defeated after one year’s fight, he tried again by mustering more than 100,000 picked men. In the winter of A.D. 22, the two hostile armies fought it out in Chengchang (west of modern Dongping County, Shandong) where Wang’s forces were routed. This changed the situation on the east China front, and Wang Mang had to shift to the defensive. On the southern front, in A.D. 21 Wang Mang attacked the Green Woodsmen with 20,000 men, but lost several thousand soldiers and all his materiel. The Green Woodsmen steadily grew stronger. In A.D. 23, Wang Mang dispatched his generals Wang Yi and Wang Xun at the head of a crack unit of 420,000 in yet another offensive on the Green Woodsmen. Purported to be one million strong, his army made a show of force when it marched to the battlefield, with its colours and transport

�

150

vehicles stretching as long as 1,000 li (500 kilometres). The Green Woodsmen defended their besieged city, Kunyang (mod¬ ern Yexian County, Henan), with about 90,000 men while Liu Xiu went enlisting reinforcements elsewhere. He mustered all the forces he could, organized a vanguard unit of 1,000 or more, and put it under his own command. The Green Woods¬ men fought bravely, pitting one against a hundred and kill¬ ing large numbers of enemy soldiers.

Exploiting the succes¬

sive victories, Liu Xiu led a “do-or-die” unit of 3,000 men to strike at Wang Mang’s main force, which was put to rout. General Wang Xun was killed.

Then the Green Woodsmen

defending Kunyang came out to join in a converging attack on Wang Mang’s men who ran over each other in a helterskelter retreat. A rainstorm happened to have caused the river outside Kunyang to rise, and several tens of thousands of Wang Mang’s soldiers were drowned trying to cross it. Wang Yi and a few other generals escaped on horseback over the corpses of their men. The Kunyang campaign is one of the well-known examples in the annals of war showing how a small army can overcome a big one.

Dealing a crushing blow to Wang Mang both mili¬

tarily and politically, it gave impetus to the anti-Wang up¬ risings across the country. One month before the Kunyang campaign,

the

Green

Woodsmen installed Liu Xuan, a member of the Han royal house, as emperor, using the reign title of Gengshi. They pur¬ posely adopted the name of the Han house for the new regime, and formally proclaimed their objective of restoring the Han Dynasty after their victory in Kunyang. This meant that some changes were taking place within the ranks of the rebellious army as well as in the character of the peasant uprisings. But in any case, the Kunyang battle added to the prestige of Liu Xiu. The Green Woodsmen followed up their Kunyang success with attacks on the Wuguan Pass and the city of Luoyang.

�CHAPTER

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VI

Aided by uprisings against Wang Mang within the city, the troops marching on the pass took it with comparative ease. Then they thrust towards Chang’an.

Fishing in troubled

waters, the armed forces of the landlords around Chang’an tried to enter the Han capital where people were also ready to rise in revolt. Wang Mang fled for life, but was killed en route from the capital by a merchant.

His death, which marked the

end of the Xin Dynasty, came only three months after the Kunyang campaign, that is, in the ninth month on the lunar calendar in the year A.D. 23.

In the same month, a detach¬

ment of the Green Woodsmen took Luoyang. Following the fall of the Xin Dynasty, the Gengshi regime made Luoyang its capital.

It sent emissaries to pursuade the

Red Eyebrows to surrender, asking Liu Xiu to go to Hebei with the task of enlisting the services of the rebellious armies operating there.

But when Fan Chong came to Luoyang with

a score of his generals, the Gengshi authorities failed to unite with them.

Conflicts began to appear between Gengshi and

the Red Eyebrows until they assumed serious proportions.

In

A.D. 25 the Gengshi government moved its capital to Chang’an, from which Liu Xuan had to flee when the Red Eyebrows cap¬ tured it the next year. The downfall of his regime came short¬ ly afterwards when he was killed by the Red Eyebrows. Meanwhile, Liu Xiu was successful in his activities in Hebei. He gradually detached himself from Liu Xuan and ex¬ tended his own influence, so that in A.D. 25 he proclaimed himself emperor in Haonan (modern Baixiang County, Hebei) and

is

known

in

history

as

Emperor

Guang

Wu.

The

next two years saw him defeating the Red Eyebrows and the remnant forces of the Green Woodsmen until they were basic¬ ally wiped out.

Thus Liu Xiu appropriated the fruits of the

peasant struggle and finally restored the Han house, henceforth known as the Eastern Han Dynasty because the capital, Luo¬ yang, was to the east of the Western Han capital of Chang’an.

The Establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Prolonged Turbulence, and the Yellow Turban Uprising

The opening years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) were a period of establishing relative stability through the 40 plus years between 25 and 88 when emperors Guang Wu (Liu Xiu), Ming Di and Zhang Di ruled. At the outset between A.D. 25 and A.D. 36, Liu Xiu put down the rival regimes in various localities and asserted his authority over the whole territory of the former Western Han Dynasty. The dynasty established by Liu Xiu was even more auto¬ cratic than the Western Han. Although he gave titles and fiefs to his followers, he did not allow them to share in real power. He also took direct control of the department handling imperial documents, making it an office directed by the em¬ peror which could decide on policy and issue orders to the whole country. The reputed three chancellors, i.e., the chan¬ cellor of civil administration, the chancellor of military affairs and the great censor, no longer had any real power, while the inspectors in the localities were empowered by Liu Xiu to watch over or impeach officials in the prefectures and counties and the lords of the fiefdoms by circumventing the chancellors and approaching the court directly. He also made use. of the current Taoist practice of making prophecies, which was very popular among politicians, to add a mystical colour to his regime. After long years of war, Liu Xiu had to pay attention to the problems of landholdings and agricultural labour which had an important bearing on state revenues. In A.D. 39, he ordered a country-wide check-up on land reclamation and census. But the local officials shielded the big landlords and cheated on fig¬ ures so as to shift the tax burden onto the peasants. Liu Xiu had a dozen of the most notorious officials executed, but to no avail. Both the peasants and landlords put up a violent re¬ sistance to the order — each group having its own ax to grind, the peasants whose interests were encroached upon and the big

�

154

landlords who concealed the true amount of their land. The emperor, who could do nothing effective, had to let the matter ride.

Later he issued a number of rescripts decreeing the im¬

provement of the status of bondservants before the law and the emancipation of some of them.

This was also designed to

increase the labour force. After Liu Xiu died in A.D. 57, the throne was occupied first by Emperor Ming Di and then by Emperor Zhang Di, both of whom carried on and contributed to the work of the founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

They also set store by Taoist

divination, and did much to spread the already theologized Confucianism, calling themselves “prophets” to deceive the masses.

In A.D. 59 Emperor Ming Di personally lectured in

the imperial academy and discussed Confucian classics with scholars. Nearly 100,000 people are said to have attended.

In

A.D. 79 Emperor Zhang Di brought together the famous East¬ ern Han scholars in the White Tiger Hall in Luoyang to discuss the different versions of the Five Classics. He himself made the conclusions, which were later incorporated into Bai Hu Tong Yi (Comprehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall), a book serving to deify and consolidate imperial authority. In foreign relations, the Han court received a Japanese goodwill envoy in A.D. 57, to whom Emperor Guang Wu gave a seal inscribed with a title of honour.

Later, Han iron and

bronze wares and silk goods found their way to Japan.

The

year A.D. 67 marked the beginning of the spread of Buddhism in China

when

the

Indian

monks

Kasyapa-matanga

and

Dharmaranya came to Luoyang at the invitation of the Han emissary to their country. Emperor Ming Di ordered the White Horse Monastery built in their honour and asked them to translate Buddhist sutras into Chinese. They whre followed by the Parthian monk An Shigao (An Shih-kao), who came to China in A.D. 148 and stayed for more than 20 years. He be¬ came a well-known translator, rendering into Chinese 95 Buddhist works comprising 115 juan during his stay.

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The Eastern Han period witnessed a steady rise in the ex¬ port of Chinese silks to the Western world. To maintain its monopoly of the trade, Parthia kept trying to obstruct China’s contacts with Daqin (the Roman Empire). In A.D. 97 the East¬ ern Han court dispatched an emissary, Gan Ying, to Daqin. As the most famous traveller after Zhang Qian, Gan Ying re¬ turned with a wealth of information about many regions in West Asia. However he never reached Daqin. When he reached the Persian Gulf, he was warned by the Parthians of the “insurmountable” difficulties of the voyage across it to reach Daqin. Nonetheless, Chinese silks were in great demand in the Roman Empire. In 166, the ambassador of King An Tun (thought to be the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) of Daqin arrived in China, bringing with him gifts of ivory, rhinoceros horns and tortoise shells for the reigning Han emperor. The Eastern Han Dynasty entered its middle period when Emperor He Di, at the age of ten, ascended to the throne in A.D. 88. By then, the Xiongnu tribe had again split into two groups, the northern and the southern. But by 91, the northern group had practically been wiped out during both Han and Southern Xiongnu expeditions, and the surviving forces either migrated west or surrendered to the Chinese court. This vic¬ tory over the Northern Xiongnu, a major event in the early years of Emperor He Di’s reign, enabled Dou Xian, commanderin-chief of the Han forces and a relative of the empress’, to take advantage of his military successes to seize power. This threw the court into prolonged turmoil. There was nothing unusual in Emperor He Di’s beginning his reign as a 10-year-old boy. Eight of the occupants of the throne after him became sovereigns when they were less than 15 years, or were even under 10. Therefore, reins of govern¬ ment had to be held by empress regents. As the empress moth¬ ers had more faith in their own relatives than others, power fell into the hands of their clansmen. When an emperor grew up, he tried to break away from the control of the empress’

�156

family, seeking the support of eunuchs close to him. His suc¬ cessor also depended on his mother for state administration and, upon attaining majority, took measures to clip the wings of the consort families with the help of his eunuch confidants. This pattern was repeated until the power of the eunuchs grew formidable. Generally speaking, the years A.D. 88-146 (be¬ tween the reign of Emperor He Di and that of Emperor Zhi Di) were marked by the predominance of the families of court women. The year 146, when Emperor Huan Di came to the throne, was a turning point at which the palace eunuchs began to rise to supremacy, causing even greater upheavals in the court. The Eastern Han Dynasty entered its last stage. For more than a century, the struggles raged between, on the one hand, an emperor and his eunuch supporters, and on the other, members of the empress’ family. The court officials either attached themselves to the dominant party or resisted it, often unable to perform their normal functions and powers. Supreme imperial authority, once the objective of Liu Xiu, had now proved to be a dilemma in which the emperor was power¬ less to do anything significant. And this was the logical out¬ come of the development of the contradictions inherent in autocratic monarchy. Between the closing years of its first period and the early part of its second period, the Eastern Han produced three out¬ standing scholars: the historian Ban Gu, the ideologist Wang Chong and the scientist Zhang Heng. Ban Gu (A.D. 32-92), a native of Anting (east of present-day Xianyang County, Shaanxi Province), was the editor of Com¬ prehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall. He theologized and systematized the teachings of Confucianism. But what earned him lasting academic fame is his Histdry of the Han Dynasty. Tracing history from the peasant uprisihgs towards the end of the Qin Dynasty to the defeat of Wang Mang, this voluminous work follows Sima Qian’s Records of the Historian in reflecting the official views. But it describes the various events in detail, incorporates some of the texts of the state-

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VI

157

ments by important figures, and blazes a trail in the method of delineating geography, waterways, agriculture, currency, the penal code and other official documents. His prose-poem, The Western and Eastern Capitals, ranks among the best literary works of the Han period. A native of modern Shangyu County in modern Zhejiang Province, Wang Chong (c. A.D. 27-97) was a militant mate¬ rialist whose main work, Lun Heng (Discourses Weighed in the Balance), lashes out at orthodox theology. Regarding yuan qi (primordial substance) as the original material basis of all things, heaven and earth included, he took matter as the point of departure in interpreting natural phenomena and life itself. This was a criticism of the prevailing Confucian theology which took a certain mystical spirit as the dominant force in everything. Wang Chong maintained that there was no differ¬ ence in human nature, and that the difference between man (kings and princes being no exception) and an inanimate thing lay in that the former possessed knowledge and wisdom while the latter did not. This repudiated the Confucian theory that there were different grades of human nature and that some persons were born sages. Wang Chong was against the view that Confucius and Mencius were above criticism, and he ex¬ posed many contradictions between what they said and what they did. His Discourses Weighed in the Balance was written only shortly after the completion of Comprehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall, and was, in fact, a challenge to the dominant ideology of the imperial court. Zhang Heng (78-139), a native of Xi’e (west of modern Nanyang County, Henan), was a multi-talented scientist who invented the seismograph and was also skilled in other dis¬ ciplines. In politics, he pointed to the crisis resulting from the carving up of power at the time and laid bare the absurdity of Taoist divination. In astronomy, he held that the universe was oval in shape, that the earth was like the yolk of an egg suspended in its centre, and that the universe revolved around the earth once every day. Making use of the achievements in

�158

mechanical engineering, he created an armillary sphere (celestial globe) operated by water power. It revolved at the same speed as the sun and other celestial bodies, showing their positions and the courses of their movement automatically and rather correctly. Zhang Heng’s seismograph was an urn-like instrument with a central pendulum. An earth tremor would cause the pendulum to loose balance and activate a set of levers. Then, each of the eight dragons placed in eight direc¬ tions on the outside of the urn would release a bronze ball held in its mouth, emitting a sound in the mean time. Thus people could know when and in which direction an earthquake had occurred. Zhang Heng wrote Ling Xian (Law of the Universe), a theoretical work on astronomy. Dealing severe blows at the official theology of the time, this book and his astronomical instruments claim an important place in the history of natural science in China. The work of Wang Chong and Zhang Heng and the differ¬ ences between their beliefs and those of Ban Gu reflected, in the realm of ideas, the ever-sharpening social contradictions of the period. In 107, not long after the death of Wang Chong and when Zhang Heng was still in his prime, peasant uprisings began to break out up and down the country.

The subsequent

70-80 years saw more than 100 uprisings, each involving a few hundred or a few thousand people and some even tens of thou¬ sands.

The Qiangs in northwest China and some of the tribes

in the southwest also launched struggles against feudal oppres¬ sion. The sustained development of these insurgent activities culminated in the Yellow Turban uprising in 184. The leader of the Yellow Turban Army (named after the colour of their headdresses) was Zhang Jiao of Julu (south of present-day Ningjin County, Hebei), who founded a secret re¬ ligious sect named “Taiping Tao” (Doctrine of Justice). His travels propagating his faith and dispensing free treatment to the sick brought him into contact with the masses. He also sent men to enlist followers in other places in present-day Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui. In time he

�CHAPTER

VI

159

built up an organization of several hundred thousand. He divided it into 36 fang (section), a bigger fang comprising more than 10,000 members and a smaller one 6,000-7,000. Zhang Jiao spread the idea that the “Blue Heaven” (refer¬ ring to the Eastern Han government) had already “passed away” and it was time for the “Yellow Heaven” (referring to the Yellow Turbans) to take over. He said that the whole coun¬ try would be “blessed” in the cyclical year of Jia Zi (i.e., the year 184), an obvious call for an uprising against the Eastern Han court to establish a peasant regime. Ma Yuanyi, who was in charge of organizing the effort, travelled between the cap¬ ital Luoyang and other places to see that everything was in order.

He succeeded in winning the support of some court

eunuchs who undertook to help the uprising from within. But shortly before the day set for joint action, the fifth day of the third month on the lunar calendar in the year 184, a turncoat informed against the Yellow Turbans.

Ma was arrested and

murdered, as were more than a thousand others in the capital. Zhang Jiao, calling himself “Heavenly General”, had to order the launching of the long-awaited uprising one month ahead of schedule. He was aided by his younger brothers Zhang Bao, “General of the Earth”, and Zhang Liang, “General of Men”. In less than a month, the movement took hold with people responding from all over the country, and the uprising pro¬ gressed rapidly. This was big shock to the Eastern Han court. Emperor Ling Di appointed He Jin, brother of the empress, commander-in-chief of the imperial army and ordered him to defend Luoyang by stationing troops in its suburbs. General Lu Zhi was sent to Hebei to fight Zhang Jiao while two other generals, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, proceeded to Yingchuan in Henan, leading an expeditionary army against the Yellow Turban detachment of Bo Cai. Bo Cai first defeated Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun. But the tables were turned when the government troops organized a joint attack during which they made use of a windstorm and

�/

100

set fire to the camps of the peasant army. The Yellow Tur¬ bans suffered casualties of several tens of thousands, and Bo Cai died in action. On the Hebei front, Zhang Jiao stationed his men in Guangzong (east of modern Weixian County) and held out against the attacks by Lu Zhi’s unit. The unsuccessful Lu was later re¬ placed by Dong Zhuo, who in turn was succeeded by Huangfu Song. Having lulled the vigilance of the peasant rebels by a ruse, Huangfu sprang a surprise attack and put more than 80,000 insurgents out of action. The Yellow Turbans retreated to Xiayangqu (west of modern Jinxian County, Hebei), only to suffer more defeats in encounters with Huangfu’s army there. Another 100,000 or more were killed, and Zhang Jiao and his two brothers either died of illness or in battle. After nearly nine months of fierce battles, the main force of the Yellow Turban Army was wiped out and its chief leaders killed. But the flames of peasant uprisings were far from ex¬ tinguished. Many armed insurgent units kept on fighting. By 192, there were still 300,000 or more Yellow Turbans operating in present-day Shandong. Thirteen years later, the Heishan (Black Hill) Army in central-south Hebei, an ally of the Yellow Turbans, still numbered upwards of 100,000. Despite the failure of the Yellow Turban uprising, it shook the Eastern Han regime to its foundations. numbered.

Its days were

On the death of Emperor Ling Di in 189, Emperor Shao Di ascended to the throne. Because the court continued to be plagued by eunuchs who now possessed even greater power, Grand General He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, who was then in control of Hedong (the southwest part of modern Shanxi Province), to the capital to deal with them. However, informa¬ tion was leaked to the eunuchs who acted first andliad He Jin killed. In retaliation, Yuan Shao, another warlord, marched with "his forces into the palace, killing more than 2,000 eunuchs. Not long after that, Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, where he deposed Emperor Shao Di and put Emperor Xian Di on the throne. Dong who was extraordinarily cruel to the common people, despising the court ministers who soon came to see through his wild ambition to seize supreme power. Many careerists tried to expand their own forces and influence in the name of launching punitive expeditions against Dong. In 196, Cao Cao, one of the most powerful warlords, brought Emperor Xian Di to Xuchang, which was then made capital of the em¬ pire. From then on, Cao used the name of the puppet emperor to legalize his acts. The Eastern Han Dynasty endured only nominally, soon to give way to the Three Kingdoms.

The Development of Social Productive Forces

The Qin-Han period witnessed advances in many fields including agriculture, science and handicraft industry, medi¬ cine, engineering, city planning and architecture. It was a period which saw the invention of paper. Farming methods were improved through new implements like hydraulic water lifting devices; the building of canals and dams promoted irri¬ gation and water conservation; and advanced iron-smelting techniques led to the mass-production of cheap, high-grade steel. In the meantime, physicians mastered acupuncture and the prescribing of herbal medicines, astronomers worked out a 385

new calendar based on the formula of 365——

looy

days to a

solar year and craftsmen produced exquisite wool, cotton and silk fabrics. And above all, perhaps, stands the engineering wonder of the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall of China. In agriculture, special treatises by Si Shengzhi reflected the level of development reached at the time by summarizing both technical and theoretical questions about farm production. To begin with, iron ploughs and ox farming were popularized and improved while a wide range of farm implements — many of them innovations — were in use.

Plough frames were

equipped with the main parts of animal-drawn ploughs. Al¬ ready in extensive use was a plough for turning up earth,

163

crushing stones, building up ridges between furrows and regu¬ lating the depth of ploughing. During the latter period of Em¬ peror Wu Di, Zhao Guo, an army provisions official, invented and popularized a plough of a new type which was drawn by two oxen and operated by three people, one guiding the ani¬ mals, one manipulating the plough shafts and one steering the plough itself. As time went on, the plough was adapted to fit into a team first of two oxen and one man and later of one ox and one man to save manpower and facilitate deep ploughing. The seed plough used at the time saved labour and improved the quality of sowing through the three-fold action of furrowing, sowing and covering the furrows with earth. Besides the hydraulic water lifting devices, winnowers and water-powered mills were introduced and raised efficiency by a wide margin. Iron farm tools came into much wider use in the mid-Western Han period. New methods of farming were also introduced, such as the “alternation method” by Zhao Guo and the “small plot method” by Si Shengzhi. In the “alternation method” the land was ploughed into furrows and the earth turned up to make ridges. Crop seeds were sown into the furrows.

As the young plants

grew, the earth of the ridges, together with weeds, was piled around their roots so that they grew up fast and sturdy.

To

maintain the fertility of the land, the ridges and furrows were alternated every year so that the ridges of this year became furrows of the next, and vice Versa. This method raised the per-unit-area yield by one to two-thirds and was best suited to dry regions. In the “small plot method”, deep ploughing and close planting were applied on small plots, where water and manure were used effectively and in a concentrated way and field management was intensified to ensure high crop yields. Water conservancy projects were undertaken for agricul¬ ture, animal husbandry and navigation. The Linqu Canal built during the time of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty was an engineering success. Many of the water conservancy works of the Western Han period were constructed during the reign

�164

of Emperor Wu Di. The Caoqu Canal, dug in 129 B.C. by tens of thousands of people under the supervision of the noted water conservancy expert Xu Bo, channelled the Weihe River water east from the metropolis of Chang’an to the Huanghe River. This shortened the route of water transport of grain to the cap¬ ital and brought irrigation to large tracts of farmland. Many more canals were dug later in present-day Shaanxi which irri¬ gated the fields and improved the soil. Irrigation was also well developed in present-day Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shanxi and, in particular, the Ningxia Plain. In the Eastern Han period, efforts were concentrated on repairing and rebuilding the old water conservancy works.

In A.D. 69, hundreds of thousands

of people were recruited to harness the Huanghe River under the supervision of the famous specialist Wang Jing. As a re¬ sult, no major breaks in the dykes or change in the river course occurred through the following 800 years. Salt-making, iron-smelting and cloth-weaving were the three principal handicraft trades. There were sea, lake and well salts. In the mid-Han period, natural gas was used to boil salt in present-day Qionglai County, Sichuan Province. Iron¬ smelting was well developed both in scale and technique during the Qin and Han dynasties, especially after the mid-Western Han period. Grey cast iron, which is better than white iron, appeared around the mid-Western Han period. The invention of fettling and the improvement of the repeated tempering technique, two important indications of the progress of iron¬ smelting in the Qin-Han period, opened the way for the mass production of cheap, high-grade steel. By, the Eastern Han Dynasty, iron and steel had replaced bronze in making the principal weapons. Cloth-weaving, the main household side-occupation in the Qin-Han period, covered silk, flax, ko-hemp and woollen fab¬ rics. The silk fabrics used by aristocrats were of fine work¬ manship and exquisite design. The cotton cloth from the prefecture of Shu (Sichuan) and the silk from the prefecture of Qi (Shandong) were famous at the time. Chinese brocade,

165

which was characteristic of the high standards of Chinese textiles, found a brisk market in Home. The hand-operated spinning wheels, weaving looms and figured fabric weaving looms of the time had lasting influence over China’s textile industry. There was an elaborate division of labour in the making of . lacquerware during the Han Dynasty. Present-day Sichuan was known for its gold- or silver-decorated lacquers. A kind of paper-like material was made for writing in the early days of the Western Han. But the type of paper we know today was not invented until the Eastern Han Dynasty, in A.D. 105, by Cai Lun who made it of rags, old fishing nets and tree bark. It was called Marquis Cai’s paper in honour of the inventor. The use of these materials greatly raised the quality and effi¬ ciency of paper-making, enlarged the source of raw materials, reduced cost, put an end to the use of bamboo and silk as writ¬ ing materials and created a favourable condition for the spread of culture. As techniques improved, Chinese lacquerware was introduced into Asian and European countries where it was .

favourably received.

Chinese paper-making spread to Japan

from Korea in the 7th century, to Arabia in the 8th and to Europe in the 12th, contributing greatly to the development of world culture. The Qin-Han period witnessed new achievements in civil engineering. Besides the Great Wall, engineers during the Qin Dynasty built imperial chariot roads, the Zhidao Highway across mountains and valleys, the Epang (Efang) Palace, im¬ perial villas, temporary imperial residences, and the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. With a circumference of 25 kilometres, Chang’an, the capital of Western Han, was a model of city plan¬ ning. It had 160 neighbourhoods, 8 main streets where 12 car¬ riages could run abreast, the Weiyang Palace that occupied one-fourth of the city area, and separate residential districts for dignitaries and commoners. The famous Zhandao plank road built along treacherous chiff faces during the Qin-Han period shortened the distance between Sichuan and Shaanxi.

�

166

High terraces and multi-storyed buildings were designed in such a way that their wooden structure formed an intergrated whole by itself. Special components were used for beams and beam supports, bricks and tiles were of varied shapes, and new bricklaying methods were introduced. All these laid the foun¬ dation for further development in Chinese architecture. In shipbuilding, vessels from 3.6 to 8.4 metres in width were made. In the Western Han period, the water-borne army at its strongest had 250,000 men and its vessels had two to four decks. Ten-deckers appeared later in the Eastern Han Dyn¬ asty. Han boats were equipped with rudders, sculls and cloth sails. Development in production brought in its wake a corre¬ sponding development in astronomy, mathematics and medical science. The “Chapter on Astronomers” in Records oj the Historian by Sima Qian is a systematic account of the astronomical knowledge of ancient China.

On orders from Emperor Wu Di

in 104 B.C., Sima Qian, Gongsun Qing and Hu Sui, basing their work on surveys by instruments and calculations by Tang Du and Luo Xiahong, developed a new calendar that had far-reach¬ ing influence in the history of Chinese calendrical science. The number of days of a solar year was calculated by the formula 365

385

and that of a lunar month by the formula 29

43

. The

new calendar contained the 24 solar terms and reasonable arrangements of the intercalary month. The first lunar month became the beginning of the year, whereas it was the tenth in the calendar of Qin and early Han. The Mathematical Classic on the Gnomon, written around late Western Han, is the earliest extant treatise^of its kind in China. The Mathematics in Nine Sections, completed in early Eastern Han after repeated revisions over a long period, sys¬ tematically summarized the important achievements in this field since the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. The book contained 246 applied mathematics prob-

167

lems and was divided into nine sections according to the meth¬ ods of solution and the fields of application. Its appearance demonstrated that mathematics in China had developed into a scientific system. In the medical field, as early as the Warring States Period the noted physician Bian Que had mastered the methods of diagnosis of feeling the patient’s pulse, observing his symp¬ toms and listening to his voice and the methods of treatment of acupuncture, medical potions and hot compression. To con¬ solidate his rule, Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty ordered the burning of all the books except medical classics. Another indication of the level of medical science at the time is a section in Records of the Historian on Chunyu Yi, a noted physician of the period of the Western Han’s Emperor Wen Di. The chapter describes 25 of his cases in terms of pathology, examination of symptoms, methods of treatment, and prognosis. The Yellow Emperor’s Classics of Internal Medicine, written in a question-and-answer form around the early West¬ ern Han period, explains the physiological signs and patholog¬ ical changes of the human body, gives the earliest elucidation of its blood circulation and points out the importance of pulse¬ feeling in diagnosis.

Apart from suggesting the methods of

treatment for 311 ailments and illnesses of 44 categories, it emphasizes disease prevention and getting at the root of a disease to seek a permanent cure. Emperor Shen Nong’s Materia Medica, a pharmaceutical work of the Eastern Han, records 365 medicines — 252 medicinal herbs, 67 animal drugs and 46 mineral drugs — their functions, their time and meth¬ ods of collection, their efficacy and their mixed application. The two works are monuments to the beginnings of traditional Chinese medical and pharmaceutical systems. In the Qin-Han period agriculture with its wide areas of application continued to occupy the predominant position in the social economy. The agricultural labour force at that time was formed by individual peasants who enjoyed personal free¬ dom to a certain degree and showed tremendous interest in pro-

�

168

duction under the private economy. This labour force had two characteristics. First, the peasants were dependent upon the land, which meant a guarantee of work hands for the landlords and the use or ownership of the land for the peasants. Second, the production unit was formed by the household and combined farming and weaving, a system which, though making it hard to get separate households organized, made it possible for them to achieve self-sufficiency in food and clothing.

In this way,

the peasants enjoyed better working conditions than the serfs, which meant a change in the character of the labour force. This new labour force combined with the developed production tools and technique to form a new social productive force that accelerated the development of feudal relations.

The Growth of Feudal Relations

The Qin-Han period was one in which feudal relations reached maturity in China. The feudal landownership and the corresponding structure of the landlord class, both character¬ ized by a hierarchy, were basically established in the middlelower Huanghe, middle-lower Changjiang and Zhujiang river valleys. The hierarchy in landownership was, in the order of im¬ portance, composed of the following strata: 1. The emperor 2. 3. 4.

The landed aristocrats with hereditary titles The landowners of powerful families The mercantile landowners

The emperor, the supreme landowner, embodied a unity of landownership and political power. After his conquest of the six states, Qin Shi Huang had a stele erected which con¬ tained the inscriptions: “The land in all corners of the earth belongs to the emperor” and “Where there is human habitation, there is the rule of emperor.” These inscriptions showed that no distinction was made between land ownership and political

�Upper left: A bronze weight of the Qin Dynasty, unearthed in Qinan County, Gansu Province, inscribed with impe¬ rial edicts of the 26th year of the first emperor and the first year of the second emperor. Upper right: A pottery meas¬ ure of the Qin Dynasty, unearthed in Zouxian County, Shandong Province, imprinted with an edict of the 26th year of the first Qin emperor, on the unifica¬ tion of weights and measures. Lower: Life-size terracotta figures of warriors, unearthed at Qin Shi Huang’s mauso¬ leum in Lintong County, Shaanxi.

-1;

�Rubbing from an inscribed Qin Dynasty stone tablet at Langyatai, made during the reign of Emperor Tong Zhi of the Qing Dynasty.

UK

A hand-copied inscription from the Langyatai stone tablet.

�Upper: Painted brocade of the Western Han Dynasty, un¬ earthed at Mawangdui, Chang¬ sha, Hunan Prov¬ ince. Middle: Embroidery on orange silk of the Western Han Dynasty, un¬ earthed at Mawangdui. Lower: Embroidery on light brown silk of the Western Han Dynasty, unearthed at Mawangdui.

�Upper: Legs of an iron seed plough of the Western Han Dynasty, unearthed at Qinghe, Beijing. Lower: A Western Han pottery grain bin inscribed with four characters * meaning, “Ten Thousand Piculs of Wheat”, kept in the Museum of Chi¬ nese History, Beijing.

�Upper: A brick recording the marriage of a Western Han princess to a chan yu (chief of Xiongnu). Lower: A tile inscribed with “Heaven-Mandated Chan Yu” of Western Han, unearthed near Baotou, Inner Mongolia.

�complete cortege of bronze figurines of warriors, chariots and horses the Eastern Han Dynasty, unearthed in Wuwei County, Gansu Province,

�Upper: An Eastern Han stone fresco of the tilling of land by oxen-drawn plough, unearthed in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province. Middle: Rubbing from an Eastern Han stone fresco of the same theme, unearthed in Tengxian County, Shandong Province. Lower: Rubbing from an Eastern Han stone fresco of the same theme, unearthed in Suining Coun¬ ty, Jiangsu Province.

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An Eastern Han stone fresco featuring a weaving scene, unearthed in Tongshan County, Jiangsu.

An Eastern Han brick painting of a salt-field, unearthed in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

169

domination. Private ownership of land did exist, but it took the form of a hierarchy, with universal recognition of the em¬ peror’s supreme ownership. While toasting his father at a grand banquet, Emperor Gao Zu of the Western Han, i.e. Liu Bang, said to the old man, “You used to say that I was a goodfor-nothing, unlike Second Brother who knew how to build up family property. Who do you think has built up more proper¬ ty, I or Second Brother?” The courtiers attending the banquet greeted these remarks with deafening cheers of “wan sui!” (“May the Emperor live ten thousand years!”) Clearly, both the emperor and his subjects regarded the entire country as the monarch’s private property. This way of merging the private with the public and the imperial household with the state also found expression in the functions of the officials. The nine ministers in both the Qin and Han dynasties mainly took care of the daily needs and property of the emperor, being respon¬ sible separately for the ancestral temples of the ruling house, the imperial palaces, the security of the ruling house, the im¬ perial stable, the welfare of the members of the royal house, and the imperial treasury and granary. Even the highestranking officials, the three chancellors, were in a way retainers of the royal house. No matter who were in power, eunuchs or royal relatives on the side of the court ladies, the changes in the political situations in the Qin-Han period always took the form of internal disputes within the ruling house.

This su¬

preme authority of the emperor far exceeded the kingly authority in the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the power of the princes in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Next to the emperor were the landed aristocrats with hereditary titles. Each of them had a fief embracing a great number of households. The powerful landlords had a deeprooted local influence, but enjoyed no political prestige. The mercantile landlords, otherwise called “rich people”, had much social influence but were discriminated against politically. As a short-lived dynasty, the Qin left few records about these

�170

ranks among the landlords, and the stratification was not so clear until the Western Han. Among the landed aristocrats in the Qin and Han dynasties there were relatives of the royal house bearing the same sur¬ name as the emperor and those from families that had rendered outstanding service to the court. In the Han Dynasty the landed aristocracy was augmented by relatives of the emperor on the side of his mother or wife as well as some of the descendants of Confucius and well-known teachers of Confu¬ cianism. Although Qin Shi Huang granted no fiefs after his conquest of the six states, he did create a feudal aristocracy by providing descendants of the royal house with food, clothing and a regular income from land rent and tax. Also, merito¬ rious officials could be granted the title of marquis and could request land. The Han Dynasty saw the rise of large numbers of princes, marquises, etc. among members of the ruling house and the meritorious. There were many influential families among the royal relatives on the side of the emperor’s mother or wife. Liang Ji of the Eastern Han, for one, was granted ter¬ ritories with a total of 30,000 households.

His brothers and

sons were granted fiefs each with 10,000 households. In all, seven members of the Liang family were made marquises. According to History of the Han Dynasty, the number of house¬ holds during the late Western Han Dynasty was 12,233,062 with a total population of 59,594,978, of which 23 principalities accounted for 1,343,390 households with a total population of 6,382,205. The book contains no records of the number of households in the 187 marquisates, but it was estimated at 1,510,000 with a total population exceeding 7,050,000. Accord¬ ing to Sequel to the History of the Han Dynasty, the number of households during the middle period of th^ Eastern Han Dynasty was 9,698,630 with a total population of 49*150,220, of which 19 principalities accounted for 1,694,690 households with a total population of 10,314,523. The book makes no mention of the number of households in the 95 marquisates, but it was estimated at 930,000 with a total population of more than

171

4,700,000. The statistics of the two books show that the prin¬ cipalities and marquisates accounted for approximately onefourth of the country’s total number of households in the Western Han period and more than one-fourth in the Eastern Han period. These figures, however, did not include the la¬ bourers forced to work on the land illegally incorporated into these principalities and marquisates. The landlords of powerful families included the descend¬ ants of the nobilities of the six states and influential local families. Although the former had lost their noble status after the fall of the six states, they remained an influential social force during the Qin and early Han periods. They also partic¬ ipated in the anti-Qin struggle of the late Qin peasant insur¬ gents. Mindful of their prestige, both Qin and Han rulers moved many of these families from the east to the areas around the capitals so as to put them under control. It is hard to pinpoint the time at which these influential local families appeared in history. Around the time of the uprisings of the Red Eyebrows and Green Woodsmen, Ru Yinshi, with a clan of over 1,000 people and some proteges, and Gongsun Shu, with' a clan of 10,000 people, ranked among the most powerful local landlords. Liu Xiu, founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was assisted by a number of generals from influential local families who later became aristocrats.

During the Eastern Han period,

although the powerful local families had steadily gained strength, they could not yet overshadow the feudal aristocrats. Some of the wealthy people in frontier regions were also counted among the powerful families. One of them was Ban Yi, an ancestor of the noted historian Ban Gu and a big herdsowner who possessed thousands of flocks of cattle and sheep. The mercantile landlords generally got rich by branching out into commerce or handicraft industry. Around the West¬ ern Han period, people with wealth amounting to three mil¬ lion five-zhit coins were regarded as wealthy while those be¬ low that level were regarded as middle class. A small number of people had amassed wealth to the tune of fifty million or

�

172

even a hundred million five-zhu coins.

Some people, such as

a descendant of the powerful Tian family in one of the six states, was a big landlord as well as a wealthy merchant.

In

the social economic conditions of the time, a rich person was invariably wedded to the land, however wealthy he might be. In the words of the famous historian Sima Qian, the practice was to “acquire fortune by attending to the non-essential and preserve it by attending to the essential.”

In contemporary

usage, the “non-essential” meant handicraft industry and com¬ merce and the “essential” meant farming.

It was generally

believed that a landowner was in a more secure position than a man with money alone. The fact that the emperor co-existed with the three categories of landlords as well as numerous medium and small landholders reflected the existence of ranks in agrarian relations.

The emperor’s undisputed possession of

the nation’s land was shared by the hereditary aristocrats, the powerful families enjoyed royal recognition of their landownership,

while

the

mercantile

landlords

acquired

land

mainly through illegal channels, as acquisition of land through one’s wealth was forbidden by law. landownership

of

the

Qin-Han

In the stratified feudal period,

the

hereditary

aristocrats held a dominant position, second only to that of the emperor. In addition to paying the agricultural tax in grain and dif¬ ferent kinds of poll tax, peasants in the Qin-Han period had 'to perform corvee and military service. These feudal burdens were in essence land rent paid by the direct producers to the landlords, partly in kind and mostly in corvee, the poll tax be¬ ing a form of the latter. State tax was identical with land rent — there were no other forms of state tax. The exploitation of peasants by hereditary aristocrats mainly consisted of a share in the rent paid to the royal house. The exploitation of peas¬ ants by powerful landlords was heavier than that by the royal house in terms of rent in kind, but was probably lighter in terms of corvee because peasants in this category did not have

173

to perform military service and excessive corvee and the land rent they paid to landlords was not part of the state tax. To ensure its sources of soldiers and food grain and to en¬ force its rule and exploitation, the feudal state organized the scattered peasants on a tithing basis. These peasants were called “registered people”. Polarization between rich and poor constantly occurred among these “registered people”. Some became big or small landlords, but most of them were impoverished. Stratification of peasants took place not only through polarization but also through the practice of conferring titles of honour on them. There were twenty such titles in the Qin-Han period, each in¬ dicating a certain status of the titleholder. Peasants with cer¬ tain titles were exempted from corvee. The feudal hierarchy in the Qin-Han period was complicated; it often covered up the true features of classes. The growth of feudal relations in this period brought closer in economic life people scattered over wide areas who spoke more or less the same language and enhanced their na¬ tional consciousness. It was in these historical conditions that the Han nationality came into existence.

The Three Kingdoms, the Jin, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and the Tang: the Earlier Period of Ascendancy of Chinese Feudalism

The Three Kingdoms

Feudal society developed through a period of disunity in China in the Three Kingdoms, Western Jin and Eastern Jin, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the short-lived Sui Dynasty to the reunification of the country in the 289-year-old Tang Dynasty, one of the most glorious eras in Chinese history. The Three Kingdoms period, in which the rival states of Wei, Shu and Wu existed side by side, dates approximately from 220 to 266 (or as far back as 196 if calculated from the time that the Wei rose as a political entity). The Western Jin, ruled by four emperors of three generations, lasted 51 years, from 266 to 316; the Eastern Jin, ruled by 11 emperors of four gen¬ erations, extended over 103 years, from 317 to 420.

The

Southern and Northern Dynasties period, 420-589, covers 169 years, starting from the two rival dynasties of Song and North¬ ern Wei and ending with the conquest of the Chen by the Sui, and going through the intertwining period of the Qi and the Liang in the south and the Eastern Wei, the Western Wei, the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou in the north. Thq dynasty of Sui, 581-618, had just two emperors of two generations on the throne for only 37 years. The 289-year-old Tang Dynasty, 618907, was ruled by 20 emperors and 1 empress belonging to 14 generations. The Western and Eastern Jin dynasties also saw 174

175

a number of independent local regimes, known in Chinese his¬ tory as the Sixteen States. The defeat of the Yellow Turban uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was followed by a tangled warfare of more than ten years between the various local feudal lords which was to end with the country divided and ruled by three of them. Cao Cao, who had been building up his political and military strength in the middle and lower Huanghe River val¬ ley, forced Emperor Xian Di to move his capital to Xuchang (in present-day Henan Province) in 196 and, in the emperor’s name, continued to expand his influence. However, Cao Cao found a formidable obstacle in Yuan Shao who had grown strong in Jizhou and Youzhou, both in present-day Hebei Prov¬ ince. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought a decisive battle in 200 at Guandu (now Zhongmou County, Henan Province), where Cao Cao’s smaller forces bested those of Yuan Shao. In the two or three years that followed, Cao Cao cleared off Yuan Shao’s remaining forces and brought the entire middle and lower Huanghe River valley under his control. Around the time of the Battle of Guandu, the southernbased Sun Quan, who had carried on the cause pioneered by his father and elder brother, was ruling in the lower Changjiang River valley. Liu Bei, who claimed to be connected with the Han royal house, was also preparing for a bid for power. He had in his brain-trust the great statesman and military strategist Zhuge Liang and the services of the renowned gen¬ erals Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.

However, without

a stable political base, Liu Bei had to bide his time by seeking the patronage of Liu Biao, the Prefect of Jingzhou (the greater parts of modern Hubei and Hunan provinces and southwestern Henan Province). In 208, Cao Cao led a massive force southward to capture Jingzhou, chase Liu Bei around, and pose a direct menace to Sun Quan. At Zhuge Liang’s instance, Liu Bei and Sun Quan decided to put up joint resistance to Cao Cao. Sun Quan’s army, led by its field marshal Zhou Yu, set fire to scores of

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176

Cao Cao’s war vessels on the Changjiang River at Chibi* *. Taking advantage of the ensuing confusion, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei, totalling less than 50,000, launched an all-out attack and crushed the hostile army that boasted more than 200,000 men. After Cao Cao pulled back to his northern base, Sun Quan consolidated his position in the south while Liu Bei seized part of the regions under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Prefecture and later took Yizhou (mostly in pres¬ ent-day Sichuan Province) in the west. And so a situation arose in which the country was divided and ruled by the three feudal lords. After Cao Cao’s death in -220, his son, Cao Pi, deposed the Eastern Han emperor Xian Di and proclaimed himself Em¬ peror of Wei, with Luoyang as. his capital.

The following

year, Liu Bei declared himself Emperor of Han, historically known as the Kingdom of Shu or Shu Han, and made Cheng¬ du his capital.

In 229, following the examples of Cao Pi and

Liu Bei, Sun Quan called himself Emperor of Wu with the capital at Jianye (now Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province).

These

kingdoms — Wei, Shu and Wu — are known as the Three Kingdoms in Chinese history. Before the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had introduced a land reclamation system** in the Xuchang area with excellent results. After setting up the Kingdom of Wei, Cao Pi enforced the system on a larger scale, had large numbers of water con¬ servancy works built and many paddy fields opened up, quickly reviving and developing the war-torn economy in the Huanghe River valley. Politically, the Wei had many more talented people in its service than the two other states because

• • 1

• The site is identified as Chijishan to the west of present-day

Wuchang County, Hubei, or Chibishan to the northwest of^Puqi County, also in Hubei.

• • A system whereby destitute peasants placed under military

officers were organized into civilian colonies to work the land while soldiers, when not fighting, were encouraged to grow crops in military colonies. — Trans.

177

Cao Cao promoted people to important posts on their merit rather than on their family background. In the Kingdom of Wu the land reclamation system was also introduced extensively in the Changjiang and Huaihe river valleys. Irrigation works were built in what is now Zhe¬ jiang Province and advanced production technique was brought from the north to develop the lower Chang jiang River areas. The Kingdom of Wu was also enthusiastic about forg¬ ing ties with the outside world. Under orders from Sun Quan in 230, Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi led a large fleet with 10,000 soldiers aboard to Yizhou (now Taiwan). Three years later, another Wu fleet of the same size called at Liaodong along the northeastern coast and brought back some of the local finebreed horses. Sun Quan also sent Kang Tai and Zhu Ying as his envoys to various states on the South China Sea. Upon their return, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying wrote books on their travels. Merchants from the Roman Empire came by the South China Sea route to trade in Wu, some of them staying as long as seven or eight years. As Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Shu, Zhuge Liang worked hard to develop agricultural production in Sichuan. He appointed special officials in charge of the ancient Dujiang Weir and had many more water works built. To secure a peaceful environment for the kingdom, he took care to im¬ prove relations with the ethnic minorities inhabiting presentday Guizhou and Yunnan provinces and to strengthen the political, economic and cultural ties between the Han people and these nationalities. The Wei reached a higher level of cultural development than the other two states. A new sect appeared in the realm of philosophy, called xuan xue (a school of Taoism) which took the three books — Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi and the Book of Changes — as its “Three Classics”. The founder of this school was Wang Pi (226-49), a native of Shanyang (now Jiaozuo City, Henan) and author of Annotations to “Lao Zi”, Notes on the “Book of Changes” and A Brief Exposition of the “Book

�178

of Changes”. Wang Pi preached that Non-being was more im¬ portant than Being and the world of Being took Non-being as its substance. This theory of objective idealism boiled down to “acting without striving” or “letting things take their na¬ tural courses”. In other words, it aimed to relegate feudal moral codes to a secondary position and provided members of the feudal upper strata with excuses for their greediness and indulgence. An ideological reflection of the depraved life of the upper strata at that time, Wang Pi’s works nevertheless had extensive influence in the history of Chinese philosophy. Cao Cao (155-220) and his sons Cao Pi (187-226) and Cao Zhi (192-232) were all great names in literature. Cao Cao’s poems, A Short Song and A Stroll Out of Summer Gate, written in a plaintive style at once virile and unrestrained, rank among the most famous in Chinese poetry. The Historical Allusions and Essays by Cao Pi is the earliest piece of literary criticism extant in China. The poems of Cao Zhi have left their mark on the development of the wu yan shi (poems with five characters to a line). The relationship between the three states began with Wu and Shu joining hands against Wei. Later the two allies fell out in their scramble over Jingzhou. In 220, when Guan Yu, commander of the Shu garrison in Jingzhou, was locked in bat¬ tle with the Wei forces, Wu sprang a surprise attack, captured Jingzhou and killed Guan Yu. In 222, Liu Bei led a huge force out of Shu in an expedition against Wu. A decisive battle was fought at Yiling (north of Yidu County, Hubei Province), in which the Shu troops were routed. Liu Bei died the following year, and his son, Liu Shan, succeeded to the throne with the help of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang switched back to the earlier policy of alliance with Wu against Wei, his aim being to drive north to occupy the Central Plaips and re¬ cover the cause of the Han house. But the several northern expeditions he did undertake failed. In the last expedition in 234, Zhuge Liang died on his sickbed at the front at a time when his army was fighting to a stalemate with the Wei forces under the command of Field Marshal Sima Yi at Wuzhangyuan (southwest of Meixian County, Shaanxi Province). The Shu troops then pulle.d back to Sichuan. From then on, Shu de¬ clined while the state power of Wei gradually passed into the hands of the Sima family. After the death of Sima Yi, his sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, successively held the reins of the Wei government, relegating the Wei emperor to the status of a figurehead. In 263, Wei vanquished Shu. Three years later, Sima Yan dethroned the Wei emperor and established the Jin Dynasty (historically known as the Western Jin), with the capital re¬ maining at Luoyang as during the Wei Dynasty. In 280, Sima Yan, later known as Emperor Wu Di of Jin, defeated Wu and unified — though only for a short period — the China that had remained divided for scores of years after the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The Western Jin, the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen States

The 25-year reign (266-290) of Emperor Wu Di was a com¬ paratively quiet period in the Western Jin Dynasty. His measures, such as relief for refugees, lessening of and exemp¬ tion from corvee and compulsory marriage between' men and women of age, led to a rapid increase in the country’s population. In the 15 years from 266, both the number of households and population in the north rose by more than 100 per cent — an important indicator of social stability at the time. Another indicator was the wholesale migration to the hinterland of the people of the ethnic minorities in the frontier regions, such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di'and Qiang. The changes in the throne in the Wei-Jin period had been brought about through palace coups. Emperor Wu Di believ¬ ed he could avoid this by building up the influence of the royal family in the localities as a reliable force to shore up the court. He enfeoffed large numbers of the members of the Jin house,

n

181

27 of them with princely titles and their own principalities, armed forces and the power to appoint and remove their civil and military officers. This practice of Wu Di did change the situation prevailing in the kingdom of Wei, in which the various princes were mere figureheads. But he had not fore¬ seen that it would open the way for new power struggles. During Wu Di’s time, the Jia and Yang families — both relatives of court ladies — gradually came into political prom¬ inence. After Emperor Hui Di succeeded to the throne, Em¬ press Dowager Yang and her father, Yang Jun, took over state power by a joint scheme and so set the stage for a great turmoil that was to sweep across the country. In 291, Empress Jia, the wife of Emperor Hui Di, ganged up with the Prince of Chu, Sima Wei, and killed Yang Jun, his family members, relatives and followers — several thousand all told — and ap¬ pointed the Prince of Runan, Sima Liang, as regent. Shortly afterwards, on Empress Jia’s order, Sima Liang was murdered by Sima Wei whom, in his turn, was put to death by the Em¬ press. Large-scale internecine wars then ensued, involving, one time or another, eight princes of the Sima family for a period of 16 years (291-306).

These wars, known as the

“Disturbances of the Eight Princes”, dislocated the social econ¬ omy and devastated the nation’s population, rending millions homeless. The Western Jin government was paralysed. The last few years of the “Disturbances of the Eight Princes” saw refugees and immigrants of the ethnic minorities rising against the Western Jin regime in one rebellion after another. In 301, the officials of Yizhou aroused a storm of protest when they ordered refugees to return to their home towns and villages. .Led by Li Te, a Di immigrant, the refugees rebelled and occupied Guanghan (in modern Sichuan Prov¬ ince). In 304, Li Xiong, Li Te’s son, captured Chengdu and declared himself King of Chengdu. Two years later, he pro¬ claimed himself emperor and called his domain Kingdom of Dacheng. The Xiongnu (Hun) noble, Liu Yuan, also assumed the title of king in the same year Li Xiong claimed himself

�182

King of Chengdu. Four years later, he declared himself em¬ peror and called his domain Kingdom of Han, with the capital at Pingyang (southwest of present-day Linfen City, Shanxi). The two independent regimes were the earliest of the Sixteen States. Beginning in 309, Liu Yuan and his son Liu Cong, launched a series of unsuccessful attacks on Luoyang, the Western Jin capital. In 311 Liu Cong occupied Luoyang, and in 316 captured Chang’an. He took prisoner both Emperor Huai Di and his successor, Emperor Min Di, which spelled the end of the Western Jin Dynasty. Subsequently, the Kingdom of Dacheng was renamed Han, historically known as the Cheng Han.

The Kingdom of Han

established by Liu Yuan moved its capital to Chang’an and was renamed Zhao, historically known as the Former Zhao. In the north, there were the Later Zhao, Former Liang, Former Yan, Former Qin and other independent regimes. In the south, an Eastern Jin Dynasty was set up by Sima Rui, a member of the Jin royal house. The Later Zhao was set up in 319 by Shi Le, a Jie tribes¬ man and previously general in Liu Yuan’s service, its capital being first at Xiangguo (southwest of present-day Xingtai City, Hebei) and then at Ye (southwest of present-day Linzhang County, Hebei).

At its height, the Later Zhao occupied

present-day Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi and Henan provinces as well as parts of Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Liaoning provinces, making itself the largest of the Sixteen States. The Former Liang, founded by Zhang Mao, a Han, in 320, covered northwestern Gansu, southern Xinjiang and a part of Qinghai, with its capital at Guzang (now Wpwei County, Gansu Province). v The Former Yan, established by the Xianbei noble Murong Huang in 337, dominated Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan and a part of Liaoning, with its capital first at Longcheng (now Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province) and then

183

at Ye. A powerful state in the north the Former Yan enjoyed political stability for a time. The Former Qin was founded in 351, with its capital in Chang’an, by the Di tribesman Fu Jian who was succeeded by Fu Jian a year later, in 352. Fu Jian’s prime minister Wang Meng, a Han statesman, adopted a policy of restraining the big landlords and easing the burden of the people, which enabled the Former Qin to enjoy a stability virtually denied to China since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Over the years, Fu Jian annexed the lands of the Later Zhao, Former Liang and Former Yan to unify the greater part of northern China. In 317, Sima Rui proclaimed himself emperor of Eastern Jin (known in history as Emperor Yuan Di), making Jiankang (previously called Jianye, now Nanjing City) his capital. As he had little to start out with, he enlisted the support of the statesman Wang Dao, who brought together the big immigrant northern landlords and the southern landholders in a joint ef¬ fort to prop up the Eastern Jin regime in southern China. Of the ranking Eastern Jin officials, Zu Di was the most insistent on a northern expedition to recover the Central Plain.

With

little backing from the court, he led a small expeditionary force north which, after eight years’ bitter fighting, regained some of the lost territories. The expedition stopped in 321 after Zu Di’s death. Twenty-six years later, the Eastern Jin general Huan Wen vanquished Cheng Han. In 354, he led a force against the Former Qin and fought his way straight to Bashang at the doorstep of its capital, Chang’an. In 369, he drove as far north as Fangtou (southwest of present-day Junxian County, Henan) in an expedition against the Former Yan. These victories, though unprecedented in the military history of the Eastern Jin, were soon followed by a series of setbacks. This, combined with Huan Wen’s ambition to usurp the throne, gave rise to sharp contradictions and power strug¬ gles within the Eastern Jin ruling clique. After Huan Wen’s death in 373, Xie An became the chief minister. Although

�184

peace reigned in Eastern Jin, the menace of Former Qin loom¬ ed. In 383, the ruler of the Former Qin, Fu Jian, led an in¬ fantry force of 600,000 and a cavalry force of 270,000 in a march on the Eastern Jin. Obsessed with the desire to swal¬ low up the Eastern Jin, Fu Jian boasted, “We can stop the flow of any river by throwing our riding whips into it!” The op¬ posing army was much smaller, with only 80,000 men under the command of Xie Shi and Xie Xuan. But the Qin army, outwardly strong, was actually a force with low morale. Many of its men had been conscripted against their will; the Han officers and men in the ranks were half-hearted about the war and the Xianbei and Liang tribal chiefs each had his own axe to grind. Liu Laozhi, a subordinate general of Xie Shi, led a 5,000-strong crack force in a skirmish against the Qin vanguard unit at Luojian (east of present-day Huainan County, Anhui). The Qin unit suffered 15,000 casualties. When the Jin army advanced to the east bank of the Feishui (now Feihe River south of Shouxian County, Anhui), it asked the Qin troops to move back a little for it to cross the river for a decisive battle. Fu Jian complied, hoping to strike his blow home when the Jin troops were half-way across.

But when the order of

withdrawal was issued, the Qin troops panicked and ran. Jumping at the opportunity, the Eastern Jin troops launched a full-scale offensive, scattering the enemy. By the time Fu Jian reached Luoyang, his army was down to only a little more than 100,000 men. The Battle of Feishui was followed by a great change in the situation in northern China. Between 384 and 385, a num¬ ber of states appeared in what had been the Former Qin’s territory, such as the Later Qin set up by the Q4ang tribesman Yao Chang, the Later Yan by the Xianbei tribesman Murong Chui, the Western Qin by another Xianbei tribesman Qifu Guoren, and the Later Liang by the Di tribesman Lii Guang. Fu Jian was captured and killed by Yao Chang in 385. In the 12 years between 397 and 409, six more states emerged as the

�Tomb brick paintings of the Wei-Jin period unearthed at Jiayuguan, Gansu Province. Tilling land by oxen-draw plough.

Winnowing.

Gathering mulberry leaves.

�Painted clay figurines of the Tang Dynasty (9.7-16 cm. high), unearthed at Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. From left to right: husking rice with mortar and pestle, separating grain from chaff and waste by a dust-pan, milling flour, and making pancakes.

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A three-colour glaz¬ ed camel of the Tang Dynasty, un¬ earthed in Luoyang, Henan Province.

�Upper: A celadon covered bowl of Eastern Jin, unearthed in Nanjing. Lower: A glazed porcelain jar of Northern Qi, unearthed in Puyang, Henan.

�Tang Dynasty damask with a de¬ sign of confronting birds, un¬ earthed at Turpan, Xinjiang.

Eight-colour silk damask of the Tang Dynasty, unearthed at Tur¬ pan, Xinjiang.

Tang Dynasty damask with de¬ signs of birds, sheep, and trees, unearthed at Turpan, Xinjiang.

�Upper left: Model of a south-pointing device with a magnetic ladle men¬ tioned in records of the third century B.C. Upper: Model of a chariot with a south-pointing device, invented by Ma Jun early in the third century. Lower: Model of a chariot with a distance-counting device, third century.

�The single-arch stone bridge at Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province, built in the Sui Dynasty.

�Stele commemorating the union between the Tang Dynasty and Tufan (modern Tibet) in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

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�Nestorian Tablet in China (Tang Dynasty) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.

Nestorian Tablet in the old Syrian language.

�Sitting Buddha on the right side of Cave 6 in the Yungang Grottoes.

Sculptures of the North¬ ern Wei Dynasty on the north wall in the ante¬ chamber of Cave 12 of the Yungang Grottoes in the western suburbs of Da¬ tong, Shanxi Province.

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�Tang Dynasty niche to Lokesvararadja Buddha at Fengxian Temple in the Longmen Grottoes in the southern suburbs of Luoyang, Henan Province.

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Painted sculptures of the Tang Dynasty in Cave 32g in the Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

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185

Northern Liang, the Southern Liang and the Western Liang split off from the Later Liang; the Southern Yan and Northern Yan from Later Yan; and the Xia from Later Qin. These ten states were the last independent regimes to emerge among the sixteen states. Plagued by internecine wars among these states, northern China was thrown into confusion which ended only in 439 when the Northern Wei reunified that part of the country. Exploiting its victory in the Battle of Feishui, the Eastern Jin launched a northern expedition and regained some of the lost territories. General Liu Laozhi fought all the way to the city of Ye, the former capital of Later Zhao and Former Yan. These victories, however, failed to resolve the internal con¬ tradictions of the Eastern Jin regime. After Xie An died in 385, Sima Daozi, a member of the royal house, and his son, Sima Yuanxian, were placed in power, setting off a struggle within the ruling house as well as between the royal house and the influential households. In 389, Huan Xuan, General Huan Wen’s son, rebelled against the Simas and carved out his sphere of influence in Jiangzhou Prefecture (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi), not far upstream from the Eastern Jin capital Jiankang.

In 399, the people of Guiji (now Shaoxing

County, Zhejiang), unable to bear the misrule of the Simas, rebelled in force and, led by Sun En, inflicted one defeat after another on the government forces. After Sun En died in 402, his cause was carried on by Lu Xun. That same year, Huan Xuan stormed into Jiankang and killed the Simas. In 404, Huan Xuan deposed Emperor An Di and proclaimed himself em¬ peror. But three or four months later, Liu Yu, Liu Laozhi’s subordinate general, drove him out of Jiankang and placed Emperor An Di back on the throne. Then Liu Yu sent an ex¬ peditionary force north against the Southern Yan and the Later Qin and another to suppress the insurgents led by Lu Xun. Having built up his own prestige, Liu Yu decided in 420 to take over the throne. He dismissed the emperor and replaced the Eastern Jin with his Song Dynasty.

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186

During the tumultuous years from the Western Jin to the Sixteen States, the ruling classes needed something to take their minds off the harsh realities and to lull the will of the people. Buddhism with its tenets of reincarnation and transmigration enabled people to find an escape from their cares by pinning their hopes for happiness on a next life. For the time, its doctrines were more attractive than those of Confucianism and the Xuan Xue School. Famous Buddhist monks in this period included Zhu Fa Hu of the Western Jin and Fo Tu Cheng, Dao An, Hui Yuan and Jiu Mo Luc Shi of the Eastern Jin. Jiu Mo Luo Shi (Kumarajiva) was a wellknown Buddhist author and translator. In 399, the monk Fa Xian went west in search of Buddhist scriptures. When he returned to China 14 years later, he wrote of his travels in A Record of the Buddhist Countries in which he described the Buddhist developments, natural landscapes and customs in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The book is the earliest detailed account of China’s sea and land communications with the

outside

world

and

provides

important

material

for

historical studies. While it was an appendage to the Xuan Xue School during the Western Jin period, Buddhism enjoyed greater influence in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and more so in the north than in the south. The Western and Eastern Jin period also witnessed the spread of the Xuan Xue School. Its principal exponent in this period, Pei Wei (267-300), author of On the Importance of Being, opposed Wang Bi’s doctrine of Non-being. He argued that Non-being could not produce Being, by which he meant the feudal ethical code, which was indispensable to the land¬ lord class for maintaining its rule. Guo Xiang (252-312), author of Annotations to “Zhuang Zi”, identified Beipg (the feudal ethical code) with Non-being (real nature). According to him, the feudal distinctions between the high and the low and be¬ tween the rich and the poor are only natural, and the different classes should accept things as they are. It followed that it should be taken for granted that people of rank were free to

187

enjoy a dissipated life while the poor should suffer under feu¬ dal exploitation. In the world of literature, Lu Ji (261-303) and Zuo Si (c. 250-305) of the Western Jin excelled in poetry. Lu Ji’s spe¬ cial treatise, On Poetry Writing, contributed to the development of China’s literary thought. The Ode to the Three Captals (of the Three Kingdoms), written by Zuo Si in a vigorous style, created such a stir among the men of letters that it was copied and passed from hand to hand, causing a shortage of paper sup¬ ply in the capital city of Luoyang. Tao Yuanming (365-427), the poet and prose writer of the Eastern Jin, was famous for his five-character poems full of poetic imagination and the flavor of rustic life. Formerly an Eastern Jin official, Tao Yuanming resigned after becoming disillusioned with the cor¬ rupt government to lead a secluded life in the countryside. His outstanding prose piece, Peach Blossom Stream, a descrip¬ tion of a Chinese Arcadia, expressed his longing for a society without power struggle,

cut-throat competition, lying and

cheating. During the Western and Eastern Jin period, the pian ti wen (a flowery antithetic style of writing) was very popular. It was gorgeous in form but lacked depth. Calligraphy and painting reached a high level of develop¬ ment in the Eastern Jin.

Wang Xizhi (321-379 or 306-61) ab¬

sorbed the essence of calligraphy of the Han-Wei period and created a style of his own to earn his fame as the “Sage Cal¬ ligrapher”. Gu Kaizhi (345-406) was noted for his portraits of human figures with highly expressive eyes. The mural paint¬ ing of Vimalakirti, a lay Buddhist, done for the Waguan Tem¬ ple of Jiankang, impressed art-lovers with its brightly coloured and finely drawn lines. His work, On the Art of Painting, was a masterpiece on painting techniques. The Western and Eastern Jin period turned out more his¬ torical works than ever. There were an outpouring of history books on the Eastern Han, the Three Kingdoms, the Jin and the Sixteen States, notably the History of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou (233-297), An Extension of the History of the Han Dynasty by Sima Biao (?-c. 306) and Records of the Later Han Dynasty by Yuan Hong (328-376). The History of the Three Kingdoms enjoys a fame only next to that of Records of the Historian and History of the Han Dynasty. Written in biographical form, it describes the rise, growth and fall of the Three Kingdoms. An Extension of the History of the Han Dynasty originally had 80 juan but only 30, about the in¬ stitutions and statutes of the Eastern Han Dynasty, survive. Records of the Later Han Dynasty, annals of the Eastern Han, shows innovation in the preservation and compilation of his¬ torical material. The period from the Western Jin to the Sixteen States, though a period of turmoil in Chinese history, established the preliminary conditions for the re-unification of China — con¬ ditions which further developed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Song established by Liu Yu and the three successive dynasties of Southern Qi, Liang and Chen are known as the Southern Dynasties. They all had their capital at Jiankang. In its early days Song controlled a domain much larger than the other three, its northern territory stretching from Tongguan in Shaanxi in the west to Qingzhou (now Yidu County, Shandong Province) in the east. Liu Yu, later known as Em¬ peror Wu Di, was the most powerful ruler of the South since the Eastern Jin period. After he ascended the throne in 424, Em¬ peror Wen Di continued Liu Yu’s policy and concentrated on strengthening the court, so that the economy in the Changjiang River valley enjoyed relative stability during hi^ 30-year reign. In the early Song period, there were five states in the north, the Western Liang, Northern Liang, Northern Yan, Western Qin and Xia. In 386, Tuoba Gui, a member of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe, set up the state of Northern Wei. In 398, he made Pingcheng (east of present Datong City, Shanxi) his

191

capital and, the following year, proclaimed himself emperor, later known as Dao Wu Di. In 423, Emperor Ming Yuan Di of the Northern Wei crossed the Huanghe River in a march on the Song and seized Luoyang and other places south of the river. In 439, Emperor Tai Wu Di of the Northern Wei con¬ quered Northern Liang and unified the north that had been divided and ruled by the Sixteen States. The more than 30 years after 420 marked the early, golden, period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In 450, a large-scale war broke out between the Song and the Northern Wei. The following year, although the Northern Wei troops had swept all the way to Guabu (now Liuhe County, Jiangsu), many of the towns and cities on the route of their march remained in the Song’s hands. The war ended with tremendous losses to both sides. In 452, Emperor Tai Wu Di of the Northern Wei was murdered by the eunuch Zong Ai and the following year Emperor Wen Di of Song was killed by Liu Shao, the heirapparent.

These events were harbingers of constant turmoil

and gradual decline for both the southern and northern states and marked the beginning of the middle period of the South¬ ern and Northern Dynasties. In the 26 years after Emperor Wen Di’s death Song went through the reign of six sovereigns, three of whom were mur¬ dered. In 479, Xiao Daocheng, Commander of the Imperial Guards, usurped the power of the Song and changed its name to Qi, or the Southern Qi as historians call it. Xiao Daocheng was later known as Emperor Gao Di of Qi. The Southern Qi was the most unstable of the Southern Dynasties. In 22 years, it was ruled by seven emperors, three of whom were either de¬ posed or murdered. In 486, Tang Yuzhi led an uprising in Fuyang (in present-day Zhejiang), which touched off a series of other uprisings. In 501, Xiao Yan, Garrison Commander of Xiangyang (near present-day Xiangfan City, Hubei Province), who had long been on the lookout for his chances, took advan¬ tage of disturbances in the Southern Qi to seize power. In one fell swoop, he renamed the dynasty Liang. Xiao Yan, later

�192

known as Emperor Wu Di, reigned for 48 years without em¬ broiling his state in sizable wars. However, the rule of Liang, while outwardly stable, rested on a weak foundation as the peasants, ground down by ruthless exploitation, started one riot after another. After Emperor Tai Wu Di’s murder, the Northern Wei was torn by even sharper conflicts between classes and nationali¬ ties as well as by contradictions within the ruling class and the ruling tribe of Xianbei. In 471, when Xiao Wen Di ascend¬ ed the throne as a baby, state power fell into the hands of Empress Dowager Feng. The Empress Dowager adopted a policy — a policy carried on after her death by Emperor Xiao Wen Di — that helped fuse the Xianbei with the Han people. Between 484 and 486, Emperor Xiao Wen Di carried out a num¬ ber of political reforms geared to the social customs of the Han people, including the introduction of regular salaries* for government officials and the system of land equalization for peasants. After moving his capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang in 493, the emperor issued an order banning tribal lan¬ guages and the wearing of tribal dress and encouraging the Xianbeis to adopt Han surnames and marry the Hans. This policy helped to win the support of the Han landlords for the Northern Wei regime and consequently to consolidate the foundation of its rule. But for the Xianbei, the policy created a gap in political treatment and material benefits between the Xianbei nobles who had moved south to the Huanghe River valley and the Xianbei garrison commanders in the northern frontiers. A process of impoverishment was going on among the Xianbei soldiers guarding the northern frontiers. This, coupled with the compulsory nature of the policy of the assim¬ ilation of Han culture, sharpened the contradictions within the Xianbei tribe and tended to weaken the foundation of the Northern Wei regime. Incessant uprisings of the people took

• The Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe was a backward, predatory

group, and its officials had received no regular pay but lived on plunder and embezzlement. — Trans.

place during unsuccessful this showed flabbiness of

193

the reign of Emperor Xiao Wen Di and, after 497, wars were waged against the Southern Qi. All the instability of the political situation and the the government.

In 523, mutinies were staged by the garrison soldiers of Woye, Huaishuo, Wuchuan, Fuming, Rouxuan (all in modern Inner Mongolia) and Huaifang (north of Zhangjiakou, Hebei), followed by many others in present-day Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu. The insurgent leaders included Poliuhanbaling, Du Luozhou, Xianyuxiuli and Ge Rong. Taking ad¬ vantage of the turmoil, frontier commanders seized control of the Northern Wei government. In 534, Northern Wei was di¬ vided into the eastern and western parts. The Eastern Wei came under the control of General Gao Huan, a Han who had adapted himself to Xianbei customs and practices, while power in the Western Wei fell into the hands of General Yuwen Tai, a member of the Yuwen clan of the Xianbei tribe. In 550, Gao Huan’s son, Gao Yang, declared himself emperor and changed the Eastern Wei to the Northern Qi. In 557, Yuwen Tai’s son, Yuwen Jue, deposed the Western Wei emperor and set up the Northern Zhou. Both the Eastern Wei and the Northern Qi had their capital at Ye while both the Western Wei and the Northern Zhou had their capital at Chang’an. The areas east of Luoyang were successively held by the Eastern Wei and the Northern Qi which both controlled Luoyang itself, while those west of it by the Western Wei and the Northern Zhou. The split of Northern Wei which marked the beginning of the later period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, tipped the scale in favour of the south. The rulers of the Liang Dyn¬ asty could have seized this golden opportunity to launch an expedition against the north, but they let it slip through their v fingers. In 547, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing, who was stationed south of the Huanghe River and had a personal grudge against Gao Cheng, another son of General Gao Huan, surrendered to the Liang. Emperor Wu Di of the Liang then ordered him to attack the Eastern Wei with a supporting force

�194

dispatched by the court. Defeated by the Eastern Wei, Hou Jing saw an opportunity to turn this situation to his own ad¬ vantage as he pulled his army back in a southward drive. The following year, he marched on Jiankang, and laid siege to the palace city of Taicheng, where Emperor Wu Di starved to death. Hou Jing’s troops ravaged Jiankang and some of the other richest places in the south, looting or burning much of the wealth accumulated from the time of the Eastern Jin. In 552, General Chen Baxian defeated Hou Jing, recovered Jian¬ kang and, in 555, placed Xiao Fangzhi on the throne of the Liang. In 557, Chen Baxian deposed the emperor and estab¬ lished the Chen Dynasty. He was later known as Emperor Wu Di of the Chen. Rising from the ruins of Liang, the Chen gov¬ ernment directed all its efforts towards the rehabilitation of the social economy in its early period. The Chen was the small¬ est of the Southern Dynasties, its domain smaller than all its precursors — the Song, the Qi and the Liang, and its northern border reaching only the southern bank of the Changjiang Riv¬ er. However, it was strong enough to resist the incursions of the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou. In 573, it allied with the Northern Zhou in a successful expedition against the Northern Qi. Generally speaking, neither the Liang nor the Chen of the south was in a position to make anything out of the divisions in the north. In the north, there was a negligible gap in strength between the Eastern and the Western Wei and be¬ tween the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou. But the North¬ ern Zhou rested on sounder political ground and its military strength had grown steadily. On the other hand, the North¬ ern Qi after the reign of Gao Yang had been ruled by tyrants, each worse than the previous one, until finally not even the ruling clique could close its own ranks. The nqrth was re¬ unified in 577 when Emperor Wu Di of the Northern Zhou conquered Northern Qi. Emperor Wu Di died in 578, and was succeeded by Emperor Xuan Di, a corrupt and fatuous monarch. When his son, Emperor Jing Di, succeeded to the

195

throne at the age of eight, power fell into the hands of Yang Jian, a royal relative on the female line. In 581, Yang Jian proclaimed himself emperor and set up the Sui Dynasty in place of the Northern Zhou. In 589, Yang Jian, later known as Emperor Wen Di of the Sui, wiped out the Chen in the south and brought the whole of China under his unified control. From the time of Emperor Wen Di of Song, many venerable Buddhist monks came to China from the west, and Buddhism of various sects flourished during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. were

Large numbers of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures

translated

into

Chinese.

Among

the

emperors

and

princes, the most devout Buddhists were Xiao Ziliang, Prince of Jingling of the Qi, and Emperor Wu Di of the Liang.

Em¬

peror Wu Di many times retired to a Buddhist temple to be¬ come a novice and each time had to be bought out of the temple by his ministers.

At one time, Jiankang alone boasted more

than 500 Buddhist monasteries housing upwards of 100,000 monks and nuns.

Famous Buddhist monks were held in awe

by people of rank and title.

Monks such as Fa Yun, Zhi Cang

and Seng Min drew large audiences of nobles and scholars whenever they preached Buddhist teachings. During the Sixteen States period, the Former Liang and the Northern Liang were the Buddhist centres in the north. Buddhism lost ground for a time under Emperor Tai Wu Di of the Northern Wei, who suppressed Buddhism in favour of Taoism. But after Emperor Xiao Wen Di of the Northern Wei moved his capital to Luoyang, the Empresses Dowager of sev¬ eral generations believed in Buddhism, and the religion began to catch on again.

During the reign of Emperor Xuan Wu Di

the Venerable Bodhidharma came to Northern Wei from south¬ ern India to teach Buddhism in the north after preaching in south China.

He advocated meditating, cultivating the mind,

and getting rid of wishful thinking for the salvation of the soul and opposed the way famous Buddhist monks in the south lumped Buddhism and Xuan Xue together in their preachings.

�

196

The Chan sect founded by him was an influential one, popular first in the north and later spreading to the south. Large num¬ bers of Buddhist monasteries were built in the north, with over 1,300 in Luoyang alone and more than 30,000 throughout the domain of the Northern Wei. The rulers of the Northern Dyn¬ asties expended fabulous amounts of money, manpower and material supplies on the digging of grottoes at Yungang in Datong, Shanxi Province, and at Longmen in Luoyang, Henan Province.

Each of these grottoes was bejewelled with exqui¬

sitely executed Buddhist images.

The 53 existing Yungang

Grottoes, completed before the Northern Wei moved its capital to Luoyang, contain over 51,000 Buddhist images, the tallest of which is 17 metres. Digging of the Longmen Grottoes start¬ ed around the time when the Northern Wei made Luoyang its capital and continued down to the Tang period.

During the

Northern and Western Wei dynasties, work continued on the Dunhuang Grottoes dug in the Sixteen States period in Gansu Province and a host of Buddhist statues were added. Yungang, Longmen

and

Dunhuang

are

all

world-famous

for

their

engravings. When Buddhism was gaining ground both in the south and the north, the outstanding atheist Fan Zhen (c. 450-515) voiced his opposition in his On the Destructihility of the Soul written at the end of the Southern Qi Dynasty. and the body are interdependent.

He said that the soul

According to him, the soul

is to the body as sharpness is to the blade; as sharpness cannot exist independently of the blade, neither can the soul exist in¬ dependently of the body. If the body dies, the soul dies too, he said.

The professions about the undying soul, reincarnation,

transmigration and retribution, he contended, -are absurdities pure and simple. Fan Zhen’s theories came as a shock to the Buddhist believers. Prince Xiao Ziliang of the Southern Qi summoned many learned Buddhist monks to debate Fan Zhen, but they were unable to demolish his arguments. In 507, Em¬ peror Wu Di of the Liang organized more than 60 dignitaries

197

and learned monks for another debate, and again they failed to bring Fan Zhen to his knees. During the reign of Emperor Wu Di of the Northern Zhou, the Buddhist monasteries had be¬ come a heavy drain on the sources of state revenue and soldiery. The emperor was forced to summon his ministers for a series of debates with Buddhist monks. Finally, he dealt a heavy blow to Buddhist influence by resorting to a policy of “recruiting soldiers from among Buddhist monks and requisi¬ tioning land around Buddhist pagodas and temples”. The Southern Dynasties laid greater claim to fame in litera¬ ture and historical studies than did the Northern Dynasties. In literature, poetry enjoyed popularity in the south. Xie Lingyun (385-433) was famous for his nature poems. Bao Zhao (c. 412466) wrote many poems which gave free flow to his aspirations and longings for a better life and exerted some influence on the renowned Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. The Critique of Po¬ etry written by Zhong Rong (?-552) of the Qi-Liang period comments on 122 poets from the Han to the Liang period, at the same time analysing the various poetic trends and their origins. The 30-juan Anthology Through the Ages, compiled by famed scholars under the auspices of the Liang crown prince Xiao Tong (501-531), a literary enthusiast, contains the cream of literature since the pre-Qin period and exerted far-reaching influence on the literature of later generations. The 50-chapter Wen Xin Diao Long by Liu Xie (c. 466-c. 520) of the Liang Dyn¬ asty, one of China’s famous works of literary criticism, presents a comprehensive and systematic study of literary questions and contains the author’s original ideas on the relationships be¬ tween content and form in literature and between the develop¬ ment of literature and its time. Of the literary works of the Northern Dynasties, the best-known is The Song of Mu Lan. This narrative poem, about a girl who disguises herself as a man to take her aging father’s place in the army, was supposed to have been adapted from a folk ballad. The author, Yu Xin (513-581), who had been detained in the north during a diplo¬ matic mission there from the southern regime of Liang, was an accomplished poet. Most of his works, notably A Lament for the South, expressed his nostalgia for his homeland. The 20-chapter Family Admonitions by Yan Zhitui (c. 531-590), covering a wide range of subjects — political, economic, cul¬ tural and educational — is notable among literary works for its easy and smooth style of writing. Readers in the old days, how¬ ever, were mainly interested in its teachings about social con¬ duct, looking upon it as a guide to the philosophy of life in feudal society. Yang Xuanzhi’s Temples and Monasteries in Luoyang, in five juan, gives some idea of the political, eco¬ nomic, cultural and social aspects of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Apart from their value to historical research, these two works are also of a high literary quality. There were many genealogical records, records of village men of virtue and biographies of famous personalities during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, but few of them survive. Important historical works in this period include History of the Later Han Dynasty by Fan Ye (398-445) of the Song, His¬ tory of the Song Dynasty by Shen Yue of the Liang, History of the Southern Qi Dynasty by Xiao Zixian, and History of the Wei Dynasty by Wei Shou of the Northern Qi. The History of the Later Han Dynasty, well-documented, fresh in style and original in the judgement of historical facts, emerged as the most successful historical work after History of the Han Dyn¬ asty and History of the Three Kingdoms.

The Establishment of the Sui Dynasty and the Peasant Uprisings in Its Closing Years

Like the Qin Dynasty which united China in 221 B.C., the Sui established another feudal dynasty for the whole country, only to fall in a few decades. The Sui Dynasty liad only two sovereigns. Yang Jian, later known as Emperor Wen^Di of Sui, ruled for 23 years beginning with his conquest of Northern Zhou in 581, before he was slain by the heir-apparent, Yang Guang, in 604. His reign lasted only 15 years if counted from

203

the year of the fall of the Chen Dynasty. Yang Guang, later known as Emperor Yang Di, was on the throne for only 13 years. Immediately after the proclamation of his new state, Yang Jian reorganized his central government into three key depart¬ ments — the Secretariat in charge of confidential, highly im¬ portant matters and the enactment of imperial decrees; the Grand Council which examined and approved these decrees; and the Chancery responsible for the administration of the whole country. The chiefs of the three departments were equivalent to the prime minister of the Qin-Han period, whose powers and functions were now divided among these three of¬ ficials who were directly accountable to the emperor. Local administrative divisions were also changed — from the threelevel system (prefectures, sub-prefectures and counties) of the Northern Dynasties to a two-level system (prefectures and counties). Local officials from the ninth grade up were ap¬ pointed or removed by the court and their work was reviewed and appraised annually by the Board of Civil Office. Chief local officials were transferred every three years, their dep¬ uties every four years. All these measures helped strengthen the rule of absolute monarchy. Yang Jian also abolished the system practised since the Wei-Jin period, by which local officials were selected by pre¬ fects. He set up institutions of learning in prefectures and counties, from which candidates with fine academic records were nominated for yearly court examinations and for ap¬ pointment according to the results. This opened a new chan¬ nel for more people to enter upon an official career and so helped enlarge the class basis of feudal rule. A new penal code, based on but much simpler than that of Northern Wei and Northern Qi, was adopted. It consisted of only 12 chapters, omitting more than 1,000 articles of the old code. Only five kinds of punishment were provided for — death, exile, imprisonment, heavy flogging and light flog¬ ging. Whoever considered the verdict unjust had the right

�204

to file his appeal level by level up to the emperor himself. Persons guilty of treason and other “monstrous crimes” were not to be pardoned. Yang Jian also adopted measures to prevent persons from avoiding conscription and the payment of taxes. In 585, two strict general censuses were taken in the prefectures and coun¬ ties, through which the exact ages of the inhabitants were checked on the spot and recorded in government register. Some 600,000 adult males were discovered. In the same year, measures aimed at lightening the burden of taxation and con¬ script labour were taken to reclassify the households into dif¬ ferent categories according to property and size. Every year taxes were collected and labour service recruited accordingly. These measures increased the labour force available to the government by encouraging the peasant proteges of manorial lords to break away from them and entering these peasant households into the state register. After conquering the Chen in 589, Yang Jian cracked down on the local forces in the south. This aroused a storm of pro¬ tests from the influential landlords there, who, in 590, rose in rebellions, captured towns and cities and killed government officials. General Yang Su was sent to suppress the rebels and the tense situation was taken in hand. The political reforms initiated by Yang Jian and the quell¬ ing of the rebellions in the south created political stability in the early period of Sui and, consequently, a speedy economic growth. Abundant harvests were reaped in the first dozen years and both handicrafts and commerce flourished. Many state granaries were built, notably the Hanjia Granary at Luoyang with a capacity of 480,000 piculs (133.33 pounds to a picul); the Xingluo Granary at Luokou (modern Gongxian County, Henan) with a capacity of 24,000,000 piculs;, and the Huiluo Granary north of Luoyang with a capacity of 2,400,000 piculs. During his later reign, Yang Jian reportedly had a grain reserve large enough to see the whole nation through several years.

205

The Sui court paid great attention to its relations with the frontier peoples. Since the Wu fleet led by Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi called at Taiwan, an increasing number of people had migrated there from the mainland to join the local Gaoshan people in their pioneering efforts. In 607, Zhu Kuan, a cavalry commander, and He Man, a naval officer, were sent by Emperor Yang Di on an inspection tour of the island, then known as Liuqiu. The following year, Zhu Kuan again visit¬ ed Taiwan, this time on a good-will mission. In 610, a Sui fleet set sail for Taiwan from Yi’an (now Chaozhou City, Guang¬ dong Province). Mistaking the fleet for merchant ships, the Gaoshans poured out onto the waterfront bringing local prod¬ ucts for trade. From that time, the ties between Taiwan and the mainland became closer. The Sui Dynasty had contacts with the states set up by the ethnic minorities, such as the Qidan, Shiwei and Mohe in the Liaohe, Heilongjiang and Ergun river valleys in the Northeast; the Turks (the Tujue) south of the Altay Mountains; the Tuyuhun south of the Qilian Mountains and north of the Xueshan Mountains; as well as those inhabiting Gaochang, Quici, Yanqi and Yutian in present-day Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. People from these states often came to the hinterland to barter for local products.

The Sui married daughters of

the royal house to the tribal chiefs of the Turks and Tuyuhun and to the king of Gaochang and had Pei Ju based in Zhangye (in modern Gansu Province) to take care of the commercial and other ties with the Western Regions. There were three trade routes to the West during the Sui Dynasty: the northern route, from Yiwu (modern Hami, Xin¬ jiang) via Puleihai (now Lake Barkol) and the region of the Tiele tribe to the state of Fulin (Syria); the central route, from Gaochang (now Turpan, Xinjiang) via Yanqi, Quici and Congling Range to Persia (now Iran); and the southern route, from Shanshan (near present-day Lake Lop Nur, Xinjiang) via Yu¬ tian and Congling Range to north “Poluomen” (a translitera¬ tion of the word “Brahman”, now north India and Pakistan).

�206

Of the three routes, the central and the south extended even farther west. Two major events in the Sui period were the construction of the capital Luoyang and the digging of the Grand Canal. To tighten his control of the rich middle-lower Huanghe River valley and the areas south of the Changjiang River, Yang Guang (Emperor Yang Di) launched the large-scale construc¬ tion of his capital in 605, in the early period of his reign. The project involved tens of thousands of workers and cratfsmen for a duration of 12 months. The inner part of the city con¬ sisted of palace buildings, the intermediate part of government institutions, and the outer part of official residences and the dwelling houses of common people. The outer part also served as the commercial district, with well over 100 streets and al¬ leys and three market centres. When the project was com¬ pleted, the emperor ordered large numbers of the influential households and wealthy merchants to move to Luoyang. The Grand Canal project was launched at the same time as the construction of Luoyang with the participation of hundreds of thousands of workers. The canal had three sections. The first, the Tongji Channel, directed water from the Gushui and Luoshui rivers at Luoyang’s West Park all the way to the Huanghe River and from the Huanghe at Banzhu east of Luo¬ yang through the old Langdang Ditch to Shanyang (now Huai’an County, Jiangsu Province) on the south bank of the Huaihe. From Shanyang the Huaihe River water was guided through the old Han Canal dug in the time of King Fu Chai of Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period to empty into the Changjiang River at Jiangdu (now Yangzhou City, Jiangsu). The whole section, from Luoyang to Jiangdu, was more than 1,000 kilometres long. The second section, the Xongji Chan¬ nel, directed water from the Qinshui at Luokou south to the Huanghe River and north to Zhuojun (now Beijing) — also a total of more than 1,000 km. The third section, the 400-kmlong Jiangnan Channel, drew its water from the Changjiang River at Jingkou to join the Qiantang River at Yuhang (now

207

Hangzhou City, Zhejiang). In brief, the Grand Canal, totalling 2,500 km .in length, extended to Zhuojun in the north and to Yuhang in the south, with Luoyang as its centre. A water transport artery, the Canal helped promote economic develop¬ ment and unify the country. Both the construction of Luoyang and the digging of the Grand Canal took a heavy toll among the builders. When the Yongji Channel was being cut, the shortage of able-bodied men was made up by women. After the canal was completed, Yang Guang repeatedly went on pleasure trips to Jiangdu by boat, imposing a heavy strain on the nation’s manpower and material resources. Yang Guang was an emperor with a craze for the gran¬ diose. To punish the Korean king for his refusal to pay respects to the Sui court, he launched three successive wars against Korea in the three years 612-14. A great deal of manpower, material and financial resources were wasted on these wars, bringing the class contradictions at home to a fever pitch. Popular uprisings had been brewing prior to the wars against Korea, when millions of peasants were pressed into military and labour service. Many of the warship builders along the coast at Donglai in present-day Shandong Province had maggots below their waistlines from working days and nights in water. Three or four out of every ten of the labour¬ ers were literally worked to death. The stage for the late Sui peasant revolts was set in 611, when the peasant leader Wang Bo started an uprising in the Changbai Mountains (in modern Zhangqiu County, Shandong). He rallied the peasants around him by composing a song, “Don’t Go and Die in Liaodong”. Wang Bo’s uprising inspired others led by Dou Jiande, Du Fuwei, Fu Gongshi and Zhai Rang in Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Ningxia. These peasant forces, some of them tens of thousands while others more than a hundred thousand strong, captur¬ ed towns and cities and killed corrupt officials and local tyrants.

�208

The outbreak of the peasant rebellions caused divisions within the ruling clique. Seeing that the bulk of the govern¬ ment troops were pinned down by the fast-expanding peasant forces, Yang Xuangan, a Sui noble, also rose against the court in 613 with an army which quickly grew to some 100,000. He was soon defeated, but many of the rebels under him went over to swell the ranks of the peasant insurgents. The unit led by Zhai Rang operated in Henan Province, with Wagang (near Huaxian County, Henan) as its base. In 616, Li Mi, another Sui noble who had been with Yang Xuan¬ gan in his rebellion, joined the Wagang army. He won over many lesser armed bands to the Wagang side, which swiftly expanded to become the most formidable peasant force. In 617, the Wagang army captured the Xingluo Granary and distributed the grain among the poor and destitute. This won enthusiastic mass support for the Wagang army, which by now had grown to hundreds of thousands until finally Luoyang was completely isolated from the greater part of Henan. Meanwhile, the insurgent force led by Dou Jiande, which had been active at Gojibo (northwest of Enxian County, Shandong), fought its way to Hebei Province where, in 617, it wiped out the Sui main force under General Xue Shixiong and captured many towns and cities. The band that had been manoeuvring in the Changjiang and Huaihe river valleys under the leadership of Du Fuwei and Fu Gongshi also defeated repeated Sui attacks and incor¬ porated many lesser hands. By early 618, its influence had reached the areas along the Changjiang, posing a direct menace to Jiangdu where Yang Guang was enjoying himself on one of his pleasure trips. The flames of peasant uprisings continued to rage until they engulfed the greater part of the Sui domain, 'leaving only Luoyang, Jiangdu and a few other secluded cities unscorched. Seeing that the situation had grown out of hand, many local officials, landlords and nobles began to look around for ways to preserve themselves or to expand their own influence in

n

209

the turmoil. Some even renounced their allegiance to Sui and proclaimed themselves king or emperor. In 617, Li Yuan, an aristocrat, led an army revolt in Taiyuan and captured Chang’an. In spring the following year, Yang Guang was assasinated in Jiangdu. Soon afterwards, Li Yuan declared himself emperor of Tang, historically known as Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty.

The Golden Age of the Tang

After his ascension, with the help of his second son, Li Shimin, Li Yuan drew Li Mi and Du Fuwei into his service, suppressed Dou Jiande, wiped out the landlords’ independent regimes in various places and, in 623, unified the whole of China.

In 626, Li Yuan gave up the throne to Li Shimin, who

became the famous Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang Dynasty. As an outstanding statesman and military strategist, Li Shimin was exceptional among all the Chinese emperors.

His

assistants, such as Li Jing, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng, were all talented administrators. Li Shimin believed that he had an important historical lesson to learn from the rapid fall of the once powerful Sui Dynasty. He often discussed with his ministers the merits and demerits of Sui politics to find better ways to consolidate his regime. He encouraged his ministers to come out with whatever dif¬ fering opinions they had in mind on political questions.

This

style of work enhanced his political prestige and strengthened the unity of the court. Political reforms were carried out on the basis of the Sui institutions. The three key departments of the Sui regime re¬ mained the principle organs of the central government — the Secretariat through which the emperor issued his orders, and which handled memorials to the emperor, the formulation of policies and the drafting of edicts and decrees; the Grand Council which offered advice to the emperor and examined

�210

and approved the imperial edicts and decrees; and the Chan¬ cery which was in charge of national administration and which had the Six Boards under it: the Board of Civil Office, of Revenue, of Rites, of War, of Justice and of Works. The three departments were binding on and supplementary to one anoth¬ er in their functions and powers. Local administrative divisions were the prefectures and counties. In important frontier regions, governors’ offices were established to take care of military and civil affairs there. In addition, the coun¬ try was divided into 10 circuits (dao). A circuit was not an administrative division and had no administrative office; it was rather an inspection area where imperial commissioners went from time to time to examine the work of local officials and learn about the grievances of the people. In the military system, the Tang regime inherited the com¬ pulsory service of Northern Zhou and Sui. A total of 634 commanderies were set up throughout the country, each in com¬ mand of 1,000 soldiers. The soldiers engaged in farming in peace time and in drills in slack seasons. They were exempt¬ ed from corvee and tax but had to rotate for regular guard duties in the capital. In case of war, they responded to the call-up, taking their own weapons, clothing and provisions. When the war ended, they returned to their work behind the plough.

Later, to meet the needs of massive warfare a sup¬

plementary, mercenary system was instituted, which in time outstripped the compulsory system in importance. A new penal code was worked out under the supervision of Fang Xuanling and others. The Tang code was based on that of Sui but was simpler and shorter and contained lighter punishments. It was clarified by Zhangsun Wuji and others in the 30-juan Exposition of the Tang Penal Code. The Tang code together with the Exposition was the most ^complete feudal statute in Chinese history, and its influence large on all the later feudal codes. Li Shimin was anxious to enlist talented people into his service. In the foundation period of Tang, he had won over

211

many qualified personnel — both civil and military — from hostile political groups. After his ascension to the throne, he paid great attention to the selection of competent local of¬ ficials, which he considered the key to peace and order across the land. The imperial civil examination initiated under the Sui was extended during Li Shimin’s reign as an important system in selecting people of ability. During the Tang Dynasty, there were two main degrees for examination can¬ didates, the Ming Jing (Senior Licentiate) and the Jing Shi (Advanced Scholar). Confucian classics were a must in the examination for the first degree, poetry for the second. In the course of time, the Jing Shi became the favoured degree. After Li Shimin’s death, Emperor Gao Zong succeeded him. His empress, Wu Ze Tian was a capable woman with political ambition. In 655, she began to participate in court affairs and, in 660, took all powers in her hands. In 690, she ascended the throne and called herself Emperor Sheng Shen. She made a point of drawing talented people into her service and succes¬ sively appointed the outstanding statesmen Li Zhaode, Di Renjie and Yao Chong as prime ministers to help herself run state affairs.

At the same time, she befriended some wicked

and treacherous courtiers and appointed tyrannical officials notorious for their injustices, although she would not let them go too far or invest them with too much power. Wu Ze Tian’s reign lasted for half a century, during which the royal power of the ruling Li house was greatly impaired, but the political situation created by Li Shimin did not end and the social econ¬ omy continued to develop. The Tang regime reached the height of its power and pros¬ perity during the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong (712-756), who ascended the throne after seven or eight years of turmoil following the death of Empress Wu Ze Tian. Bent on making the country prosperous, he carried out political reforms and promoted competent people to premiership. He was receptive to criticism and advice from his ministers. In the first 30 years or more of his reign, the country became strong and pros-

�212

perous and the population grew tremendously — a phenom¬ enon never known before. A number of palace coups and local peasant uprisings took place after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. In 653, a woman peasant leader, Chen Shuozhen, staged an uprising at Muzhou (modern Jiande County, Zhejiang), declared herself Emperor Wen Jia and captured some of the places in Zhejiang. These incidents, however, had no vital bearing on the country as a whole. The social economy developed continuously for over 120 years, from 618 to 741, at the height of Tang, longer than in any of the previous dynasties. The golden age of Tang also witnessed closer relations between the various nationalities within China’s borders, al¬ though there were also wars between them. In the early Sui period, the Turks in the northwest split into the eastern and western branches, controlling regions north and south of the Gobi Desert and the Central Asian areas east of the Caspian Sea. In 626, the Khan of the Eastern Turks, Xieli, harassed Wugong (in modern Shaanxi Province) and pushed on to the neighbourhoods of Chang’an. In 629, on orders from Li Shimin, Xu Shiji and Li Jing led a massive counter-attack.

An internal split and a sharp decrease in the

livestock population after several years of blizzards weaken¬ ed the fighting strength of the Eastern Turks. In 630, the Tang army won a decisive victory, conquering the Eastern Turks and capturing Xieli Khan. The Tang government resettled the officers and men of the Eastern Turks, who had pledged al¬ legiance to the Tang, in the areas starting from Youzhou (modern Beijing) in the east to Lingzhou (modern Lingwu County, Ningxia) in the west. Four governors’ offices were established there, while the Dingxiang and Yunzhong gov¬ ernors’ offices were set up in the former territories of the Eastern Turks. The Eastern Turks rose again during^the reign of Emperor Gao Zong. Ashinaguduolu, an Eastern Turki aristocrat, rebelled and made war on Tang for many years. After Pijia Khan assumed power in 716, he sued for peace, and

213

the Tang government promised to trade with the Eastern Turks and exchange its silk for their horses. Subsequently, friendly ties were forged between the two sides. When the Khan’s elder brother, Queteqin, died in 731, Emperor Xuan Zong sent an envoy to express his condolences and had a monument erected to honour his memory, which bore an in¬ scription in both the Han and Turki languages. The Western Turks under the rule of Shaboluo Khan broke off relations with Tang in 651.

In 657, the Tang generals Su

Dingfang and Xiao Siye defeated Shaboluo Khan and con¬ quered the Western Turks.

And with the states of Tuyuhun,

Gaochang, Yanqi and Quici yielding their allegiance to Tang, the Tang was able to maintain its rule over the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Tang government

established the Beiting Protector-General’s Office north of the Tianshan and 16 governors’ offices to its south to take charge of the political and military affairs there. From then on, the economic and cultural contacts between China’s hinterland and the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains be¬ came increasingly closer and safe traffic was ensured along the route leading to West Asia through the Tianshan Mountain area. The Uygurs (Hui-he), a nomadic tribe inhabiting the north of the Gobi Desert, had paid allegiance successively to the Xiongnu, the Xianbei and the Turks.

They had grown strong

gradually in the Sui period and, in 627, made their might felt north of the Gobi when they defeated 100,000 Turki troops with a crack force of 5,000.

The Uygurs had aided the Tang

in its wars to conquer the Eastern and Western Turks. The Tang Dynasty maintained close ties with the national¬ ities living in the northeast. It set up the Heishui Governor’s Office there, with the chieftain of the Mohe tribe living in the lower Heilongjiang River valley as the governor, assisted by officials sent by the Tang court. The ruler of the state of Bohai established by the Sumo tribe in the Wusuli River valley

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214

was given the title Prince of Bohai by the Tang government and trade contacts were frequent between the two sides. The Tufans, the ancestors of modern Tibetans, had made the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau their home from time immemorial. In the early Tang period, Tibet witnessed its height of pros¬ perity under the rule of King Songzan Gambo. When Li Shimin married Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang house to Song¬ zan Gambo, she took with her large quantities of silk fabrics, handicrafts and farm tools to Tibet. During the reign of Em¬ peror Zhong Zong, the Tibetan king Chide Zugdan married another member of the Tang royal house, Princess Jin Cheng, who also took with her many silk fabrics and artisans as well as Confucian classics such as the Book of Odes, Book of Rites and Zuo Qiuming’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals.

These two marriages made it possible for

the technology and culture of the Han people to find their way into Tibet. From ancient times, many tribes had lived in present-day Yunnan Province.

They were known as the Six Zhao’s.

In

the early Tang period, the southernmost Meng She Zhao, otherwise called the Southern Zhao, grew strong. Its chieftain often sent envoys to pay his respects to the Tang court.

Dur¬

ing the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong, the chieftain of the Southern Zhao, Piluoge, secured the permission of the Tang emperor to unify the five other tribes into one state. The Tang court conferred upon him the title King Gui Yi of Yunnan. Tang culture also found its way into the Southern Zhao as bilateral trade contacts increased. At its height, the Tang empire developed extensive ties with many countries and regions in Asia, including Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and'Arabia. Jap¬ anese envoys had come to China during the Three^Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Many more — joined by educated monks and students — came to China in the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Gao

215

Zong, large Japanese missions were sent to China, the biggest including some 500 members. The growing domestic and foreign contacts made the Tang capital Chang’an not only the nation’s leading city but a cos¬ mopolitan city as well. People of the minority nationalities in China as well as foreign emissaries, ecclesiastics and mer¬ chants came to Chang’an en masse, bringing with them exotic products, music, dance, acrobatics, customs and religions. Some of them got married and settled down in Chang’an. With its vivid foreign flavour, culture in the golden age of the Tang Dynasty surpassed the achievements of previous dynasties. Poetry, prose, historical studies and religion all flourished. As in the Qi-Liang period, prose in early Tang emphasized parallelisms while poetry was flowery. During the reign of Emperor Gao Zong and the early period of Em¬ press Wu Ze Tian, the famous poets Wang Bo (649-76) and Luo Binwang (c. 640-84) began to break away from the poetic style of the Qi-Liang period. By broadening subject matter and probing new rhyming schemes they were behind the de¬ velopment of the unique style of Tang poetry.

Their prose

pieces, however, remained bound by parallelisms. Chen Zi’ang (661-702) was firmly opposed in theory and in practice to the bombasts and embellishments in Qi-Liang literature. Rep¬ resentative of his works was Random Thoughts, a collection of 38 poems. He also wrote many prose pieces without paral¬ lelisms, contributing to the creation of new forms. Not long afterwards, Tang poetry attained its peak in the celebrated poets Li Bai (Li Po) and Du Fu (Tu Fu). The change in writ¬ ing style in the Tang period brought further achievements through great writers like Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan. History books compiled in biographical style were the major accomplishments in the historical studies of this period. In the first years of the Tang Dynasty, history books about the post-Three Kindoms period were not complete. There were none about the Liang, Chen, Northern Qi, Zhou and Sui dynasties although there were as many as 18 about the Jin

�216

Dynasty. On orders from Li Shimin, special people were as¬ signed to compile a number of history books: the 56-juan History of the Liang Dynasty and the 36-juan History of the Chen Dynasty, both by Yao Silian; the 50-juan History of the Northern Qi Dynasty by Li Baiyao; the 50-juan History of the Zhou Dynasty by Linghu Defen and others; the 85-juan History of the Sui Dynasty by Wei Zheng and others; the Historical Records of the Five Dynasties (of the Liang, Chen, Zhou, Northern Qi and Sui) by Yu Zhining and others; and the revised, 130-juan History of the Jin Dynasty by Fang Xuanling and others. In addition, Li Yanshou condensed the historical records of the Southern Dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang and Chen into an 80-juan History of the Southern Dynasties and the historical records of the Northern Dynasties of Wei, Qi, Zhou and Sui into a 100-yuan History of the Northern Dynasties. These completed the histories of the dynasties that came after the Three Kingdoms. In 710, the historian Liu Zhiji (661-721) completed his famous 20-juan Critique of Historical Works, the first of its kind in Chinese history. The book re¬ viewed the previous historical works, analysed the merits and demerits of the different styles of history writing, especially the biographical style, and pointed out the importance of historical studies. According to Liu Zhiji, a historian must have talent, knowledge and judgement in his field — a view¬ point much valued by contemporary and later historians. A number of religious faiths were introduced into China during the height of Tang, such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Nestorianism. from Persia and Islam from Arabia. Followers of Zoroastrianism, founded by the Persian Zoroaster, were called Fire-worshippers because they made a cult of fire as the good light spirit in the cosmic conflict between light, the good spirit, and darkness, the evil spirit. Zoroastrianism spread to north China during the Southern ancT' Northern Dynasties. Zoroastrian temples could be found both in Chang’an and Luoyang. Manichaeism, whose followers were later known as Light-worshippers, was introduced to China in

217

694 and was granted permission to build temples in Chang’an in 768. Founded by another Persian named Mani, Manichaeism also revered light in the struggle between light and darkness in the world, and so. the places of worship were called the Brightness Temple. Nestorianism, or Nestorian Christiani¬ ty, spread to China in 635, and its first temple was built in Chang’an in 638. Muhammad, founder of Islam, was interest¬ ed in Chinese culture.

“Though China is far, far away,” he

said, “we should go there in quest of knowledge.” The Islamic religion was introduced into China in 651 when an Arabian mission came to this country. From then on, religious services were frequently held by Arabian and Persian Muslims in Chang’an, Luoyang, Yangzhou and Guangzhou. Buddhism was the most popular religion in this period. Chang’an and Luoyang were among many places where Bud¬ dhist monasteries could be formed.

Among the famous Bud¬

dhist monks were Xuan Zhuang (Hsuan Tsang or Tripitaka), Dao Xuan, Yi Jing, Fa Zang, Shen Xiu and Hui Neng. Zhuang (602-64) was a learned monk.

He

Xuan

surmounted all

kinds of difficulty to go to India in search of Buddhist scrip¬ tures.

After his return to China, he translated 75 Buddhist

books running to 1,335 juan.

His translations were far better

than all previous ones in faithfulness and fluency.

He also

wrote, with the help of his disciple Bian Ji, the 12-juan Rec¬ ords of Western Travels, in which he described the geograph¬ ical features, customs and religious myths of the 111 states he

had

visited

as

he had heard about.

well

as

those

of

the 28

other states

The book provides valuable material for

the study of the history and geography of Southwest and Central Asia.

In recognition of his translation of Buddhist

classics, Li Shimin especially wrote “An Introduction to the Sacred Teachings of Monk Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty”, followed by Emperor Gao Zong’s “Notes on ‘An Introduction to the Sacred Teachings of Monk Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty’ ”. Xuan Zhuang founded the

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218

Dharmalaksana sect, but it declined after a short time.

Based

on his interpretation of the Avatamsaka-sutra, Fa Zang (642712) founded the Avatamsaka sect, which existed for a con¬ siderable length of time in China and spread to Korea and Japan.

Shen Xiu (606-706) and Hui Neng (638-713) were

founders respectively of the northern and southern branches of the Chan sect.

The southern branch first gained ground

in a few southern regions and gradually spread to the north to take the place of the northern branch and attain nation¬ wide influence. Later, the southern branch also found its way abroad.

The fourth major Buddhist sect of Tang was the

Tiantai sect, named because it had originated in the Sui period from the area of Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang Province.

By

the late Tang period, the Chan sect had grown so influential that it virtually became the only Buddhist sect in China. Monk Dao Xuan (596-667) was a learned Buddhist historian, who joined Xuan Zhuang in translating Buddhist scriptures and compiled

the

books

Extensive

Teachings

and

Sequel

to

Biographies of Venerable Monks. Monk Yi Jing (635-713) also made a pilgrimage to India, where he stayed for 25 years and collected 400 Sanskrit Buddhist books. On his homeward journey he wrote The Record of the Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea and Biographies of the Venerable Monks of the Great Tang Dynasty Who Studied Buddhist Classics in the Western Regions.

After returning to China, he

translated 56 Buddhist books with a total of 230 juan. As a religious faith which, encouraged by royalty, had a mass following, Buddhism left a deep mark in the political, economic and cultural spheres during the height of Tang. To pray and to propagate Buddhist doctrines to fprtify its own rule, the royal house had many pagodas and temples erected and grottoes dug. These were invariably embellished with sculptures and paintings, which explains the large member of Tang engravings and graphic arts to be found in Tang Dynasty temples and grottoes. Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang have

219

1,352 caves, 750 niches and 97,000 Buddhist images, more than half of which belong to the height of Tang. Of the carved stone statues, the most famous are housed in Fengxian Temple. In Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, there are 492 caves with more than 2,100 coloured sculptured figures and murals covering more than 45,000 square metres, many of which date back to the golden age of Tang. These artistic gems at Longmen and Dunhuang are executed by a perfect combination of the Indian and traditional Chinese methods. Tang sculptures and paintings were not confined to Buddhist architecture alone; many of them were also found in imperial palaces and mausoleums. Great names in Tang sculpture and painting included Wu Daozi, the “sage painter”; Yang Huizhi, the “sage sculptor”; and Song Fazhi and Wu Zhimin, both of the early Tang period. The figure paintings by Yan Lide, the landscapes by Wang Wei (699-759) and Li Shixun (648-713), the portraits of women of noble birth by Zhang Xuan (early 8th century) and Zhou Fang, and the paintings of horses by Cao Ba and Han Gan (early 8th century) are all masterpieces of the golden age of Tang or a little later. Taoism, which came into its own as a religious faith during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, won special royal favour in the Tang period, because Li Er, who was supposed to be its founder, had the same family name as the ruling house. Taoist priests were invited by Tang emperors to im¬ perial palaces to make elixir pills for immortal life. In one of his edicts, Li Shimin explicitly said that Taoist priests and nuns should be given priority over Buddhist monks and nuns. Emperor Gao Zong conferred on Li Er the posthumous title of the Supreme Emperor of the Profound Heavens. During the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong, many temples were erected to Li Er’s memory on royal order, and the Taoist classics Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi were designated as musts in imperial civil examinations. Still, Buddhism had far more influence than Taoism.

�220

Fu Yi (555-639), an atheist scholar, and Lti Cai (600-665), a philosopher, were vocal in their opposition to religious super¬ stition in the thick religious atmosphere of the early Tang period. In 624, Fu Yi appealed to Emperor Gao Zu to abolish Buddhism. He pointed out that life and death were natural phenomena and that it was the sovereign’s business to impose penalties or act with compassion. He considered it the height of absurdity to give these powers to Buddha and argued that by doing so, Buddhism was usurping the powers of the sovereign. According to him, Buddhist monks and nuns just sat around doing nothing but evading rent and tax payment, and should be ordered to return to the laity, engage in pro¬ ductive efforts, get married and bear children to increase the nation’s revenue and military strength. Knowledgeable about divination, astrology and astronomy, Lti Cai took advantage of Emperor Tai Zong’s assigning him to collate and systematize books on divination and astrology to voice his opposition to fatalism and other superstitious beliefs.

He cited a wealth of

historical facts to show that one’s life or death, longevity or premature death, proverty or wealth, and high or low position are determined more by one’s own action than by one’s horoscope or the location of one’s ancestral tombs. These ideas of Fu Yi and Lti Cai are invaluable, especially in view of the context of their time. Confucianism remained as a weapon used by the court to control people’s ideology. Li Shimin authorized Yan Shigu to collate and edit the texts of the “Five Classics” — the Book of Changes, Book of History, Book of Odes, Book of Rites and Zuo Qiuming’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn An¬ nals. Later, he entrusted Kong Yinda and others with writing explanatory notes for the Five Classics. These notes were circulated throughout the country under the title chosen by Emperor Gao Zong himself, Annotations to the Five Classics. With uniform interpretations stipulated by royalty of the Confucian classics, little change has ever been made in Confucian doctrines.

Turmoil in the Mid-Tang Period

The middle period of the Tang Dynasty, the years 742-820, was a period of disorderly government, strife between the court and independent local forces, and discord among na¬ tionalities. But despite the constant turmoil which brought suffering to the people and damaged the social economy, culture managed to advance. The disorder was caused by the corrupt policies of Emperor Xuan Zong (712-56), which fostered the eight-year An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. Though the rebellion was quelled in 763, it seriously hurt the rule of the Tang Dynasty. As an example of his perverted practices, Emperor Xuan Zong in 742 changed his reign title to “Tian Bao” and at the same time called himself “Emperor with Sage Literary Attainment and Godly Prowess.” He also invented a story about Heaven favouring him with a divine list of attributes to hint that he enjoyed sacred protection, was deft with the writing brush and with the sword, and was both a sage and a deity. The em¬ peror’s odd behaviour indicated that he was so politically de¬ tached he believed nothing could interfere with his rule. However, inherent in his pipe-dreams were latent contradic¬ tions — contradictions which, when they surfaced, pounded the Tang regime. Several of Emperor Xuan Zong’s most trusted men began to appear in the political arena in 742 to help dig the grave of the Tang Dynasty. His prime minister, Li Linfu, was an in¬ sidious man, who used his power to persecute those with talent, who had performed meritorious services, who enjoyed high prestige or who crossed his path. He went even further to implicate his enemies’ family members, relatives, friends, colleagues and subordinates. Yang Guozhong, a worse villain, took over after Li Linfu’s death in 752. Also in Emperor Xuan Zong’s good graces was An Lushan, who took advantage of the emperor’s stupidity to acquire influence and power to the point where he was able to mount a successful rebellion

�222

against the throne in 755. An Lushan steadily came into the limelight by currying royal favour and through the good words put in for him by Li Linfu and the emperor’s close attendants and favourite concubines. In 742, he was appointed the mili¬ tary satrap of Pinglu, which had its seat at Yingzhou (west of modern Jingzhou, Liaoning). In the following 10 years, he was concurrently appointed the military satrap of Fanyang, which had its seat at Youzhou (now Beijing), the inspector of the Hebei Circuit, and the military satrap of Hedong, which had its seat at present-day Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. His jurisdiction covered modern Beijing, Hebei and Shanxi and parts of Liaoning, Shandong and Henan, and he had a strong, large force under his command. His political ambi¬ tions kept pace with his increasing power. Yang Yuhuan, the most favoured in Emperor Xuan Zong’s harem, was connected with both Yang Guozhong, who was her cousin, and An Lu¬ shan, who was her adopted son. Her family members and rel¬ atives all held important posts and were so influential that they made no bones about openly taking bribes. Gao Lishi, a long-time eunuch close to the emperor, was also an influential personage, to whom both Li Linfu and An Lushan owed their support. In late 755, An Lushan led a force of 150,000 in a southward march. Hebei and other places were a shambles and yet the muddleheaded Emperor Xuan Zong refused to believe army reports of An Lushan’s rebellion. In early 756, the rebels crossed the Huanghe River and captured Chenliu, Xingyang and Luoyang. Having proclaimed himself Emperor of Great Yan at Luoyang, An Lushan sent a force to attack Tongguan, the gateway to the Tang capital Chang’an. After the fall of Tongguan, Emperor Xuan Zong, Yang Yuhuan and Yang Guo¬ zhong fled in panic towards Chengdu, accompanied by the heir-apparent, a small number of officials and the Imperial Guards. When the royal party reached Maweiyi west of modern Xingping County, Shaanxi Province, the soldiers in his retinue refused to go any farther unless the emperor put

223

Yang Guozhong and Yang Yuhuan to death. Only after Yang Guozhong had been beheaded and Yang Yuhuan hanged did the party resume its trek west. Soon afterwards, Chang’an fell easily to the rebels. The heir-apparent, Li Heng, stayed at Maweiyi to take care of military affairs. Then he went to Lingwu (northwest of present Lingwu County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region), where he ascended the throne to be known in history as Em¬ peror Su Zong. Meanwhile, Li Mi, who had been on Li Heng’s staff while he was heir-apparent, also arrived at Lingwu, to be followed by General Guo Ziyi with a crack force of 50,000. Both Li Mi and Guo Ziyi were great statesmen and military strategists of the mid-Tang period. Although Emperor Su Zong was not always ready to take their advice, they managed later to help him recapture Chang’an. Another military strategist, Li Guangbi, also distinguished himself in quelling the rebellion. In 757, An Lushan was killed by his son, An Qingxu who set himself up as emperor. That same year, Guo Ziyi defeated An Qingxu and recaptured Chang’an and Luoyang.

In 759,

An Lushan’s subordinate general, Shi Siming, murdered An Qingxu and usurped the throne of Great Yan. In his turn, Shi Siming was killed by his son, Shi Chaoyi, in 761. Two years later, Shi Chaoyi hanged himself after being defeated. This brought to an end the eight-year An Lushan-Shi Siming Re¬ bellion. After the rebellion was quelled, the former subordinates of An Lushan and Shi Siming outwardly accepted court mandates while actually preserving their independent forces. From then on, it was customary for officers and men of the frontier commanderies to choose their own commanding generals, and the positions of military satraps became hered¬ itary — a practice which the Tang court dared not change. Emperor De Zong tried to change this situation by bringing pressure to bear on the local independent forces, but to no avail.

�224

In 805, Li Chun, historically known as Emperor Xian Zong, ascended the throne to become a politically alert sovereign. Assisted by his competent prime ministers Li Jiang and Pei Du, he succeeded in healing the splits that had lasted for long years since the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. In 806, he put down a rebellion by the Chengdu-based Liu Pi and, in 807, another by Li Qi in the areas around Zhenjiang. Beginning in 807, he changed the practice of local independent forces’ choosing their own commanding generals in favour of the em¬ peror’s direct appointment of military satraps. From 815 to 817, he suppressed a rebellion by Wu Yuanji, military satrap of Zhangyi based in Caizhou (now Runan County, Henan). In 818, the satraps of Henghai (based in Cangzhou) and Youzhou filed petitions pledging their allegiance to the court. That same year, Emperor Xian Zong launched a punitive campaign against the disloyal Li Shidao, satrap of Ziqing. The follow¬ ing year, the expeditionary force killed Li Shidao and re¬ covered Ziqing satrapy, which was the most powerful of all, covering almost the whole of modern Shandong Province and small parts of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.

This put

an end to the separatist regimes of the military satraps and brought about a temporary national unification.

At the same

time, however, the power of palace eunuchs had steadily grown so that even Emperor Xian Zong himself was murdered by them the year after he suppressed the Ziqing rebellion. The attainment of power by palace eunuchs started in the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong when he entrusted Gao Lishi with the handling of the memorials presented by his officials. Emperor Su Zong continued this policy and, on his return to Chang’an, set a precedent for giving eunuchs access to military power by putting the eunuch Li Fuguo in charge of the Im¬ perial Guards. Li Fuguo had earlier sided with the supporters of the emperor when he acceded to the throne at Lingwu. The emperor also appointed another eunuch, Yu Chao’en, as army supervisor, for fear that he might not be able to control Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and other generals who had distinguished

225

themselves in quelling the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. Emperor Su Zong died of shock in 762 when Li Fuguo and another eunuch, Cheng Yuanzhen, killed Empress Zhang Liangdi and put Heir-Apparent Li Yu on the throne. Li Yu, historically known as Emperor Dai Zong, took advantage of the conflicts between the eunuchs and killed Li Fuguo. He continued, however, to place confidence in Cheng Yuanzhen and Yu Chao’en. Only because of strong opposition from his ministers did he dismiss the two eunuchs and stop appointing eunuchs as army supervisors. But palace eunuchs regained their power during the reign of Emperor De Zong when the emperor survived a mutiny with their protection, and once again appointed them as Imperial Guards superintendents and army supervisors. Emperor Xian Zong, who had ascended the throne through eunuch support, was murdered by eunuchs because he refused to allow them to manipulate him. Discord among nationalities figured prominently in the mid-Tang turmoil.

The Tufans stormed into Chang’an in 763,

at a time when the Tang military strength was depleted by the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. After their evacuation of Chang’an under the pressure of Guo Ziyi’s troops, the city was in a terrible state with many of its buildings reduced to rubble. Constant wars continued between the Tang and the Tufans until both sides were too weak to carry on. The Southern Zhao had been on good terms with Tang dur¬ ing the early period of Xuan Zong’s reign, and its ruler had accepted titles of honour conferred on him by the Tang em¬ peror. During the last years of Emperor Xuan Zong, when King Geluofeng of the Southern Zhao came to the Tang Em¬ pire on a return visit, he was humiliated by a subordinate of Xianyu Zhongtong, military satrap of Jiannan, and so he shifted his allegiance to the Tufans in confrontation with the Tang. Although he had helped the Tufans attack Chang’an, King Geluofeng believed that he had done so against his original intention, and expressed his warm feelings for Tang in an inscription on a stele erected at Taihe (now Dali County,

�226

Yunnan Province). During the reign of Emperor De Zong, thanks to the good offices of Wei Gao, military satrap of Jiannan, the Southern Zhao renounced its allegiance to the Tufans and reconciled with Tang. Then it joined the Tang troops led by Wei Gao in a succession of victorious battles against the Tufans. Poetry flourished in the mid-Tang period, with Li Bai and Du Fu as the two greatest poets of the time. Li Bai (701-762), a romanticist master, has been known for more than 10 centuries as a “poet-immortal”. And Du Fu (712-70), was a master of realism whose poetry has been described as “poetic history”. Li Bai liked to travel, and many of his poems sing of the beauty of the scenic areas he visited. In 742, he was summoned at the age of 42 to the capital where — held in esteem by Emperor Xuan Zong and the courtiers — his fame as a poet spread far and wide. Three years in court service broadened his poetic vision although it also brought him in touch with the corruption and decadence of official circles. Many of his works survive today, the best-known being “The Steep Road to Shu”, “An Exhortation”, “An Elegy” and “His Dream of the Sky-Land: A Farewell Poem”. With their un¬ restrained feeling, rich imagination and unique style, Li Bai’s poems often strike a responsive chord in readers’ hearts. Speaking of Li Bai’s accomplishments at the time, his con¬ temporary Du Fu said: “His writing brush sweeps like a thunderstorm, his lines touch the hearts of ghosts and spirits.” Du Fu, an erudite man of letters, lived in Chang’an around the time of An Lushan’s rebellion where he was an eye-witness to the corruption of the Tang ruling group and the barbarity of the rebels. Later, his life as a wartime refugee gave him a better understanding of the sufferings of the common people with whom he was thrown during those harsh years. His poetry mirrored the times in which he lived an<J' truthfully reflected his own concern for the destiny of his country and the plight of his people. Du Fu had a lasting influence on the development of realist Chinese poetry. Many of his poems

227

are also extant, of which the most famous are “The Xin’an Official”, “The Officer at Tongguan”, “The Shihao Official”, “Lament of the New Wife”, “The Homeless” and “The Old Man Returns to War”. Of these two great masters Li Bai and Du Fu, another noted Tang poet, Han Yu, wrote: “The writings of Li and Du never lose their charm, radiating rays of light a hundred thousand feet high”. Han Yu (768-824) and Bai Juyi (Pai Chu-yi) (772-846) were great poets in the latter part of the mid-Tang period, each with a style of his own. Carrying on the realist tradition characteristic of Du Fu, Bai Juyi wrote a great number of satirical poems in which he drew on typical instances to ex¬ pose the corruption of the official circles and the tribulations of the common people. Easy to understand and filled with realism, many of his poems were also histories in verse and filled in omissions in history books. His ten “Shaanxi Songs” and fifty “New Folk Songs” were written with realistic brushstrokes. His two narrative poems, “The Eternal Grief” and “A Singsong Girl”, gained popularity for their high artistic merits. His Anthology of Bai Juyi is still read today. The noted poets Yuan Zhen and Wang Jian shared Bai Juyi’s approach to creative writing, and the three together formed a distinguished school in their time.

Yuan Zhen was as famous

as Bai Juyi, their names often being mentioned at the same time. The Anthology of Yuan Zhen has been handed down to posterity. The poems of Han Yu are marked by profundity and compactness, quite unlike Bai Juyi’s, and owe their at¬ tractiveness to a fresh and virile style. Han Yu as well as Meng Jiao, Lu Tong, Jia Dao and Li He represented another school in Tang poetry. Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi were con¬ temporary poets with Han Yu but with a different style. Both Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan (773-819) enjoyed a greater fame as prosaists than as poets. As great prose writers, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan con¬ tributed to changing the rhythmical prose style current since the Jin period, which was marked by parallelism and or-

�228

nateness and a jumbling together of allusions and set phrases. Han Yu stood for carrying on the fine traditions of ancient prose writing, primarily substantiality and originality in con¬ tent, and opposed following set rules and patterns. His prose and essays were forceful, digressive and yet lucid, the bestknown being “Esteem Teachers”, “On Slanders”, “In Refuta¬ tion of Avoidance of Using the Personal Names of People in Superior Stations”, “The Scholar’s Apology”, “Memorial of Remonstrance Against the Worship of Buddha’s Bones” and “In Memory of My Nephew”. Liu Zongyuan was second in importance only to Han Yu in the reform of writing style. His prose pieces were much on the theoretical exposition side, while his travelogues were fresh and minutely descriptive, often with his gloomy mood thrown in. The work of both Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan have been in circulation to this day. The new style of writing encouraged by Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan was closer to the vernacular than the rhythmical style. As it promoted relating events and expressing thoughts and feelings, it exerted an extensive influence over literary and cultural developments. For instance, under the new style, the zhuan qi (tales and romances about marvels and strange phenomena, mainly love stories), which had appeared in the early Tang period, began to flourish.

Many of these tales and

romances were contained in the Taiping Miscellany.

The best-

known were The Story of Liu Yi by Li Chaowei, The Story of Huo Xiaoyu by Jiang Fang, The Story of a Singsong Girl by Bai Xinjian and The Story of Yingying by Yuan Zhen. The Story of Yingying was to be widely adapted by later writers. Some scholars believe that the new style of writing also promoted the appearance of bian wen. While preaching Bud¬ dhist doctrines, Buddhist monks in the Tang period often told mystic stories from Buddhist classics, which were^called bian wen (telling a story in a popular version). Folk story-tellers at the time also adopted the bian wen in recounting folk tales and historical stories. Viewed in the development of literary and artistic forms, both zhuan qi and bian wen were the pre-

229

cursors of the later hua ben (prompt books), popular tales, drama and fiction. Though they were important partners in the practice and promotion of creative prose writing, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan differed in philosophy. Han Yu held idealist philosophical concepts, much as he had opposed the worship of Buddha’s bones and the preaching of Buddhist doctrines at a time when Buddhism was in full glory. Calling for the need of defending orthodox Confucianism, he spared no effort to preach the Confucian doctrines of benevolence and righteousness. He believed in the will of Heaven and held that feudal rule was dictated by Heaven. As a materialist philosopher, Liu Zongyuan believed that the universe was made of dynamic original matter and that there was nothing mysterious about heaven, earth or orig¬ inal matter, which were all products of nature. He held that objective trends or conditions led to human development from men’s inability to feed and defend themselves at first to their being able to use certain tools for survival and then to set up sovereigns, leaders and government.

Liu Zongyuan’s evolu¬

tionary view of history was quite progressive in his time. Liu Yuxi (772-842) was close to Liu Zongyuan in his think¬ ing. In his article “On Heaven” he tried to explore the rela¬ tionship between heaven and human beings and held that while both were capable of many feats, neither was omnipotent. Heaven could produce many things, he said, while humans could control many things. According to him, the relationship between heaven and human beings was that of “mutual strug¬ gle” and “mutual use”. Some of Liu Yuxi’s works are still available today. There were great scholars in historical studies in the mid-Tang period, including Du You (734-813). His 200-juan Encyclopaedia contained data and reviews on finance, economy, selection of officials, government, military and judiciary sys¬ tems, and administrative divisions of the various dynasties. Focusing on finance and economy, he chronicled the important political developments from the dawn of history — a signifi-

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230

cant innovation in Chinese historiography. Some of his views are penetrating and incisive even by modern standards. The book provides a well-documented history of the Tang Dynasty in its earlier periods. Du You gained rich experience through his service as an administrative and financial official in both central and local government. This, combined with his deep learning, made it possible for him to complete this voluminous work in little more than 30 years, ending in 801. The Tang Dynasty produced a galaxy of calligraphers, of whom the most influential was Yan Zhenqing. Yan Zhenqing (709-785) won fame for his zheng kai (regular script), which was marked by elegance and majesty — a new style considered by later generations as the orthodox school in Chinese calligraphy.

The Decline of the Tang Empire and the Late-Tang Peasant Uprisings

The late-Tang period, or the period of decline of the Tang empire, covered 87 years, 820-907, during which palace eunuchs held sway at the court and courtiers formed coteries, the two conspiring with and struggling against each other. On the local level, each frontier commander tried to carve out his own sphere of influence, while the frontier districts themselves were each torn by internal strife. Finally, large-scale peasant uprisings brought down the Tang regime amid a continuous growth of the power of the eunuchs and frontier commanders. After the murder of Emperor Xian Zong by eunuchs, seven out of the next eight emperors were brought to the throne through eunuch support. The only exception, Emperor Jing Zong, was killed by eunuchs. Before putting a new emperor on the throne, eunuchs invariably deposed or assassinated the legitimate successor, dismissed or murdered some of the cour¬ tiers, and killed those eunuchs who were against them. Eunuchs had gained power over the Imperial Guards since the mid-Tang period and had become a special force in the palaces.

231

They often had their own way with the emperor, controlling him by encouraging him to indulge in dissipation and pleasure¬ seeking and to shun the company of his wise ministers. In 831, Prime Minister Song Shenxi plotted to get rid of the eunuch Wang Cheng but was demoted to a local official when his scheme was exposed. Four years later, the eunuch Chou Shiliang killed the courtiers Li Xun and Zheng Zhu, who had conspired to assassinate him, as well as several thousand people who were found guilty by association. In 854, a secret plan proposed by Prime Minister Linghu Tao to the emperor for restricting eunuch power was discovered by eunuchs and further aroused their hatred for courtiers. Each setback sustained by courtiers only served to increase the power of the eunuchs and further undermine the foundation of the Tang regime. The courtiers’ coterie strife was mainly the strife between one faction headed by Niu Sengru and Li Zongmin and another headed by Li Deyu. It began when Li Deyu, out of personal grudge, tried to squeeze out Li Zongmin who then joined with Niu Sengru to attach themselves to eunuchs for protection. Li Deyu won Emperor Wu Zong’s confidence in the years 840-846 when he was Prime Minister. With his help, the emperor freed the northwestern regions from harassment by certain Uygur tribes, put down a rebellion by the military satrap of Zhaoyi, weakened direct eunuch interference with certain military moves, demolished or closed down large numbers of Buddhist, Taoist, Nestorian, Zoroastrian and Manichaean temples and monasteries, and cut down unnecessary local officials. The Tang court during the reign of Emperor Wu Zong owed its re¬ juvenation largely to the political and military talent of Prime Minister Li Deyu. Wu Zong’s successor, Emperor Xuan Zong, did exactly the opposite and removed Li Deyu to put members of the Niu Sengru faction in important posts. After being de¬ moted four times, Li Deyu died at Yazhou (modern Qiongshan County, Guangdong) in 849. The defeat of Li Deyu’s faction hastened the decline of the Tang regime.

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Most prominent in the scramble for spheres of influence were the three frontier commands in modern Hebei Province, namely, Youzhou (now Beijing), Chengde (now Zhengding), and Weibo (now Darning), whose rulers were actually succes¬ sors to An Lushan. They all offered their allegiance to the court during the reign of Emperor Xian Zong but declared their independence immediately after the emperor’s death. The three frontier commands were themselves torn by incessant power plays involving the murder of commanding generals and the appointment of new ones of their own choice. The Tang court, being on its last legs, recognized each new general and did nothing to reassert its authority over these frontier regions. The people there fared ever worse as did those under the direct rule of the Tang court. Driven to desperation, they rose in rebellion. In January 860, when Qiu Fu led a hundred people in revolt in eastern Zhejiang, impoverished peasants flocked to join him by the thousand. After they had taken Xiangshan and Yanxran (modern Shengxian County, Zhejiang), their ranks quick¬ ly swelled to well over 30,000. Qiu Fu was chosen as the Gen¬ eralissimo Under Heaven, with Luo Ping as his reign title. The insurgent army fought for six months before it was defeated. In 868, led by Pang Xun, the frontier guards at Yongzhou (around modern Nanning City, Guangxi) staged a mutiny and captured some prefectures and counties.

On their way to Xu-

zhou, where they originally had come from, they were joined by poverty-stricken peasants, many of them women, to become a massive force of more than 200,000. They fought bitterly for fourteen months until they too were defeated. These two peasant uprisings were preludes to a yet larger one in 874, when Wang Xianzhi, a native of Puzhou, rose in revolt with several thousand men at Changyuan* (northeast of modern Changyuan County, Henan). Shortly affer, Huang Chao, a native of Caozhou (north of modern Caoxian County, Shandong), responded by rising with several thousand men. The insurgents defeated Tang troops, took Caozhou and Puzhou

233

and grew into a force several tens of thousands strong. From Shandong they swept into Henan, where they captured many towns and cities, extending their influence south of the Huaihe River. After Wang Xianzhi was killed in battle in 878, Huang Chao took over the command under the name of HeavenStorming General and led the peasant army across the Changjiang River to Zhejiang, Fujian and then to Guangzhou in the far south. In 879, under the name of Heaven-Ordained Equalization General, Huang Chao issued a proclamation denouncing the misrule of the Tang court and led his men in a northward drive. He captured many towns on his way, fight¬ ing from Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui to Zhejiang and swelling his ranks to hundreds of thou¬ sands. In 880, the peasant forces took Luoyang. Marching west from Luoyang, they captured first the strategic pass of Tongguan and then Chang’an, the Tang capital. The people of Chang’an lined the streets in welcome as the well-disciplined peasant rebels marched into the city. They were told that Huang Chao had revolted to save the common people — unlike the Li royal house who cared nothing about their well-being — and that they should go about their business as usual and settle down to a peaceful life. Huang Chao proclaimed himself em¬ peror at Chang’an and called his new regime the Great Qi. However, being always on the move and without base areas of support, the insurgents had not been able to consolidate their gains from their many victories, nor had they wiped out the main forces of the Tang regime. Around the time of the inauguration of Huang Chao’s new dynasty, the Tang govern¬ ment mustered reinforcements from all parts of the country to throw a tight cordon around Chang’an and cut off its food supplies. Meanwhile, disorganization took place among the insurgent army and each of its influential commanders began to fight on his own in defiance of Huang Chao’s orders. One of them,

�234

Zhu Wen, turned his back on Huang Chao and went over to the Tang side. In its fight against the peasant forces, the Tang court enlisted the support of the Shatuo* under Li Keyong. In 883, Li Keyong crossed the Huanghe River in northern Shanxi and fought his way to the vicinity of Chang’an. Huang Chao led his remnant forces east to Henan and then to Shandong. He killed himself in 884 after being cornered near Mount Taishan. The peasant war had lasted 10 solid years and had engulfed half of China, exceeding all previous peasant wars in scale. In calling himself Heaven-Ordained Equalization Gen¬ eral, Huang Chao — although not expressing this in any official slogan — did voice the insurgents’ demand for equality between high and low and between rich and poor. In this sense, Huang Chao’s uprising can be considered a cut above all previous peasant revolts that aimed only at opposing enslave¬ ment and striving for survival. Both the eunuchs and frontier commanders took advantage of the chaotic situation arising from the peasant war to expand their own influence. After the peasant army had taken Tongguan, the eunuch in power, Tian Lingzi forced Emperor Xi Zong to flee to Chengdu. He took arbitrary power over every¬ thing in defiance of the emperor and put his numerous adopted sons in command of the armed forces. At the same time, he sent many of his trusted followers to spy on local officials and trumped up charges against those who refused to do his bid¬ ding. The new frontier commanders, Zhu Wen and Li Keyong, who had built up their power in the process of suppressing the peasant uprising, were more ambitious than the others who drew the line at carving out local spheres of influence. After the defeat of Huang Chao, the frontier commanders in their scramble for independent domains began to embroil themselves in a tangled warfare, while the eunuchs and cour¬ tiers, with the sharpening of the contradictions between them,

• A branch of the Western Turks which inhabited the northern

part of modern Shanxi and attached itself to the Tang under Emperor De Zong.

235

each tried to court the frontier commanders in the hope of gaining external support. The frontier commanders, on their part, all struggled to lay hold of the emperor as their political capital, and even scrambled several times for the person of Emperor Zhao Zong. Beginning in 896, Zhu Wen banded to¬ gether with the prime minister Cui Yin to form a coterie. The influence of the palace eunuchs were wiped out to the last vestige in 903, when Zhu Wen and Cui Yin started a massacre of the eunuchs at Fengxiang (in modern Shaanxi Province) and Chang’an and of those sent to the various places as army su¬ pervisors. In 904, Zhu Wen murdered Emperor Zhao Zong and put Li Zhu on the throne, who was later known as Emperor Zhao Xuan Di. Three years later, he deposed Zhao Xuan Di and proclaimed himself emperor of the Liang Dynasty, usher¬ ing in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten States. Li Keyong and a few other frontier commanders still held their own spheres of influence at the time. In the late Tang period, when the Tufan was on the decline, it ceased to pit itself against the Tang empire. In 822, the Tu¬ fan ruler met with the emissary of the Tang emperor Mu Zong at Lhasa to discuss the alliance between the Tufan and the Tang, and a Monument of Unity was erected in front of the Jokhan Monastery the following year. Later, the Tufan was torn by a prolonged split, which ended only in the second half of the 13th century when it accepted the rule of the Yuan em¬ pire. After the Uygur Khanate was conquered by its subordi¬ nate tribe Xiajiasi in 840, the Uygurs moved west to the Tianshan Mountains area and became the ancestors of the Uygur people in present-day Xinjiang. During the late Tang period, the Southern Zhao was on very bad terms with the Tang as it frequently raided the empire’s southwestern frontiers. In 830, the Southern Zhao troops stormed into Chengdu and kidnapped tens of thousands of people, many of them handi¬ craftsmen. In 861, they attacked Yongzhou and carried off many of its inhabitants. In 870, they laid siege to Chengdu once again. In 875, the Tang government appointed Gao Pian

�236

Military Satrap of Xichuan, who, after a bitter fight, drove the Southern Zhao troops across the Dadu River. In 902, the state of the Southern Zhao was lost to one of its powerful ministers. After more than 30 years of turmoil, a noble named Duan of the Baiman tribe established the Dali Kingdom in the former domain of the Southern Zhao. With the weakening of the empire, late Tang culture was also on the decline, with only a sprinkling of poets, notably Du Mu and Li Shangyin, lamenting over their personal mis¬ fortunes and the plight of the empire. Du Mu (803-53) was a grandson of Du You, author of The Encyclopaedia. Some of his poetic works reflected his worry and anger over the mis¬ rule of the government and the decline of the empire. His famous work, “Ode to the Epang (Efang) Palace”, expressed his disapproval of the late Tang emperors’ depraved life by casti¬ gating the misdeeds of an ancient emperor. His equally wellknown poems, “Spring Comes to the South” and “Lying at Anchor on the Qinhuai River”, revealed his concern for events of his day between the lines of landscape description. In his earlier days, Li Shangyin (813-58) had written a number of poems giving free flow to his personal aspirations and his dis¬ content with the way eunuchs scrambled for power and fron¬ tier commanders for spheres of influence.

In his later years,

many of his poems breathed his disappointment over his un¬ successful official career. His achievements served as an epilogue of the golden age of Tang poetry. There rose to prominence a new verse form, the ci, in the late Tang period when the traditional type of poetry, shi, was losing ground. The ci is a lyric with lines of irregular length set to a certain melody. The number of sentences, the number of words in each sentence, the rhyming and the tonal pattern are all governed by definite rules. The ci first appeared ap¬ proximately in the early Tang period. Judging from the ci set to music in Dunhuang Grottoes, it might have developed from folk ballads. The mid-Tang poets, Liu Yuxi and Bai Juyi, were great ci writers, whose ci verses, “Yi Jiang Nan” (“Recollections of the South”) and “Chang Xiang Si” (“Everlasting. Love”), have become well-known ci melody names. Wen Tingjun (c. 812-c. 870) and Wei Zhuang (c. 836-910) were famous ci writers of the later Tang period, whose works, together with those of the well-known ci writers of the Five Dynasties and Ten States period, were contained in the Collection of Flowers. and they were known as the “Flowery School”. The ci writers of this school were given to florid descriptions of love and the appearance and costumes of women at a time when society was in chaos. They left to posterity nothing but some technique of ci writing. As far as content and message were concerned, their ci verses were far inferior to those by the noted ci writ¬ ers of the Song Dynasty.

The Development of Social Productive Forces

Agriculture leapt forward from the Three Kingdoms through the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui to the Tang period. As a whole, agricultural production was more advanced in the north than in the south as shown in The Manual of Important Arts for the People, a systematic sum¬ ming-up of farming in the north written by Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The book covers a wide range of sub¬ jects, including sowing, cultivation, farm tools, tree planting, animal husbandry, veterinary science, sericulture (production of raw silk through the raising of silk worms), fish farming and the processing and preservation of farm produce.

It em¬

phasizes the need to adapt agricultural production to local con¬ ditions and to do farm work in the right season, arguing that this is the key to more gains with less effort. It also points out the need to strive for high yields per unit area.n “Better reap good harvests over small areas than poor harvests V0ver large areas,” it says. Agricultural production in the north, as shown in the book, continued to grow despite the havoc wrought by successive wars during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

239

Farm tools improved both in quality and variety. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao appointed Han Ji to popularize iron smelting by hydro-power blowers, resulting in the mass-production of iron farm tools. Animal-drawn ploughs were widely used during the Southern and Northern Dynas¬ ties. In the Sui-Tang period, a new type of plough was popu¬ larized, whose beam was designed to facilitate the mobility of the implement. It could be adjusted to work at varying depths and had 11 parts, its iron mould-board capable of depositing big earth clods on either side to make deep-ploughing easier. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, a new type of seeder was introduced, complete with a tool for covering the seeds with earth to promote their germination and growth. There were several kinds of implements for hoeing. By the Tang Dynasty, crescent-shaped sickles were used; they were better than the old ones which were slender at one end and thick at the other. Progress was made in water conservation. Famous irriga¬ tion works were repaired or built during the Three Kingdoms, the Eastern Jin, the Southern Dynasties and. the Sui period. According to rough estimates, 270 irrigation projects were built in the Tang period. A canal dug in the early Tang period served 40,000 hectares and another dug during the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong brought water to 20,000 hectares. The Tang gov¬ ernment set up a special bureau for water conservation admin¬ istration and promulgated decrees on river and canal control, irrigation, shipping and bridge engineering. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a man named Bi Lan invented the fan che (water lifting device) and ke wu (pump). Ma Jun of the state of Wei in the Three Kingdoms period improved the fan che so that even children could handle it. During the Tang Dynasty, water-carts with wooden pails attached to them for drawing water from wells appeared in the north. In the Changjiang River valley, there were water¬ wheels shaped like spinning wheels, with bamboo pails attached that were turned by force of water-flow to raise water from lower to higher points.

�240

In agricultural production, emphasis was placed on inten¬ sive farming, prevention of drought, retention of moisture, preservation and improvement of soil fertility, and the selec¬ tion of seed. Cultivating was done according to the four sea¬ sons with primary and secondary ploughings in each season and vertical or transverse ploughings for different depths. Meas¬ ures were developed to prevent dryness and waterlogging of the soil. One of these was constant hoeings in the course of crop growth which was considered important for increasing crop yields by preventing dryness and retaining moisture. New experience and information were gained about manure applica¬ tion, crop rotation and multiple cropping to preserve and raise the fertility of the soil.

Farmers of the Sui and Tang periods

also paid special attention to the selection of good seed strains, which was partly responsible for the many good harvests reaped at that time.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there

were 86 varieties of millet, the major food crop in the north, and 24 varieties of rice, the merits and demerits of which were well understood by the experienced peasants. The development of handicrafts also made swift progress. Ma Jun of the Three Kingdoms period made the old damask weaving loom easier to operate by changing the number of pedals from 50 and 60 to only 12. Silk weaving was fairly well developed in the state of Shu which found brisk demand for its silk fabrics in many other parts of the country. The weft patterning technique was introduced from Persia into China during the Tang Dynasty, which was then used on silk fabrics made for export to cater to foreign tastes. There was a wide range of textiles during the Tang Dynasty. Silk fabrics in¬ cluded brocade, pongee, gauze, damask and satin. In variety, the damask ranked first, brocade second and satin third. There was cloth made of ko-hemp, hemp, ramie and abaca (Manila hemp). In the northwest, woolen fabrics were woven from animal hair. In Gaochang in present-day Xinjiang, fine cloth was woven from cotton, which was not yet grown in the hinterland at that time,

241

The salt industry expanded swiftly during the Tang Dynasty under the patronage of the court, and the salt tax was an important source of government revenue in the midTang period and afterwards. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a new steel¬ making method was introduced, in which molten pig iron was poured on wrought iron to smelt it into good-quality steel by quenching with animal urine and grease. The steel produced by this process was hard but pliable, much better than that made by the previous repeated tempering method. This advanced method, which had a vital bearing on later genera¬ tions, was mentioned by Tao Hongjing (456-536), a scholar in the south, and used by Qiwu Huaiwen, a metallurgist in the north, in making swords and knives — which shows that the method was adopted in both southern and northern China at the time. Tea-making was a new industry developed in this period, although tea-growing dated back much earlier. During the Tang Dynasty, tea was grown in all the provinces in the south, with more than 20 famous varieties.

The present Qimen

County in Anhui Province and Huzhou City in Zhejiang Prov¬ ince were major tea-growers, and the tea tax was an important source of state revenue. The Book of Tea by Lu Yu (733-804) of the Tang Dynasty, the world’s first special primer of its kind, deals systematically with the cultivation of tea bushes and methods of tea-processing. Porcelain-making, an important Chinese invention, reached maturity in this period. (Primitive celadon, a green porcelain, appeared as early as the Shang Dynasty.) Different kinds of porcelain ware were produced in present-day Zhejiang, Jiang¬ xi, Anhui, Hunan, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Hebei and Henan provinces, the best-known being the celadon from the Yue Kilns in modern Shaoxing County, Zhejiang, and the white porcelain from the Xing Kilns in modern Neiqiu County, Hebei. Besides ordinary articles for daily use, porcelain was used during the Tang Dynasty to make exquisite art objects,

-

�242

such as the lively tribesmen on horse or camel backs and the different kinds of animals unearthed in various parts of Chi¬ na. The present porcelain city of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Prov¬ ince was already the leading producer at that time, whose high quality products were much sought after both at home and abroad. Paper-making technique had improved by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and in the period from 220 to 907 paper was used as writing material instead of bamboo and silk. It was widely used for many other purposes, such as the paper money burned at funeral services. Paper-making reached a high level of development in the Tang period, when paper of different types and colours were produced from an abundant choice of materials, such as bast fibres, the bark of paper mulberry, common mulberry and rattan, bamboo, and stalks of wheat and rice. The paper made during the Tang Dynasty was internationally known for its even and fine texture, neatness and smoothness.

The fine, white, high-quality Yu

Ban Xuan paper made in Xuanzhou (modern Jingxian County, Anhui), now known as the Xuan paper, is still treasured by traditional Chinese painters and calligraphers today. Printing from engraved wood blocks appeared in the first years of the Tang Dynasty, or even earlier. Its forerunners were oracle bone engravings of the Shang-Zhou period, the seal and stone engravings of the pre-Qin period and the brick engravings of the Jin Dynasty. These engravings usually bore inscriptions (some of which were carved in the reverse direc¬ tion) and sometimes pictures. At first, wood-block printing was used in printed matter that was less voluminous but en¬ joyed wider circulation, such as Buddhist images and scrip¬ tures, almanacs and arithmetic booklets. Later,, even the an¬ thologies of poets like Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen wqre printed by this method. There were bookshops dealing specially in printed books in Chengdu in the late Tang period. The earliest extant printed book is the Diamond Sutra of 868, which is 16 feet long and one foot wide and made up of seven sheets of

243

paper to form a juan (roll). Both printing from engraved blocks and paper-making are great inventions attributed to China. New advances were made in architecture and city plan¬ ning. Construction of Buddhist temples and pagodas became an important architectural occupation with the spread of Bud¬ dhism. Buddhist buildings in China, which bore an Indian stamp in the beginning, quickly blended with the traditional style of Chinese architecture. The plans of the Buddhist temples, including their pavilions, eaves and embellished walls, were all eloquent with Chinese flavour, as were the tower-like wooden pagodas and multi-eave brick pagodas. Chang’an, the capital of both the Sui and Tang dynasties and the largest city in the world at that time, is among the masterpieces of city planning in the history of Chinese architecture. Yuwen Kai (555-612), a famous architect of his time, was responsible for the city planning of Chang’an in the Sui period. Municipal construction continued during the Tang Dynasty. Chang’an in the Tang period covered an area of 84 square kilometres and consisted of a Palace City and an Im¬ perial City. There were 14 main streets running parallel from north to south and another 11 main streets running parallel from west to east, dividing the entire urban district into 108 neighbourhoods.

The Great Brightness Palace atop

the Dragon Head Hill on the northeastern outskirts provided a commanding view of the city. Water supply was convenient, with four canals flowing through it from south to north. Chang’an furnished for posterity a brilliant example of city planning. The Anji Bridge, the world’s oldest open-spandrel bridge built in the early Sui period by Li Chun and other craftsmen over the Xiaohe River at Zhaozhou (now Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province) is one of the engineering feats of China. The structure, spanning 37.37 metres and made up of 28 component arches placed side by side, is 50.82 metres long and 9 metres wide, with a gentle slope to facilitate traffic. It has two minor

�244

arches at each of its two spandrels, which help lighten the weight of the main body, provide spillways for the water in time of flood and lend added majesty and grace to the bridge itself. The Anji Bridge, also known as the Zhaozhou Bridge, remains serviceable today despite the impact of the many serious floods and earthquakes of the past 1,300 years. Shipbuilding grew with the development of transport and communications. From the Tang Dynasty onward, Chinesebuilt ships constantly plied between Guangzhou and the Per¬ sian Gulf. Commerce flourished in Chang’an, Luoyang, Yangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Youzhou, Bianzhou (now Kaifeng, Henan) and Mingzhou (now Ningbo, Zhejiang). Guangzhou and Mingzhou were foreign trade ports during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Chinese commodities found a ready market

in Japan, Arabia and a number of South China Sea countries, and its silk fabrics and porcelain wares were favourite luxuries of the aristocrats and rich people there. An ancient form of bill of exchange, known as fei qian (“flying money”), appeared during the Tang Dynasty.

Merchants who sold their goods

to commercial firms at Chang’an could get fei qian drafts with which they could draw money in other places, saving them the trouble of carrying large amounts of money with them on their trips. New successes were achieved in fields connected with productive endeavours, such as astronomy, recording of calendar time, hydrology and health and medicine. Yu Xi, an astronomer of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, discovered the pre¬ cession of the equinoxes. He held that the sun moved some¬ what west from the winter solstice of one year to the winter solstice of the next, instead of returning to its original posi¬ tion. According to his calculations based on "historical rec¬ ords, the sun moved one degree west every 50 years. Al¬ though his calculations missed being completely accurate, Yu Xi was the first in Chinese history to study the precession of the equinoxes. His study was carried on by He Chengtian

245

of the Song period and Zu Chongzhi of the Song and Qi periods during the Southern Dynasties. The preces¬ sion as calculated by He Chengtian was one degree every 100 years, a little less than the true figure. Zu Chongzhi (429-500) was the first to apply the precession to the recording of calendar time. The Darning Calendar worked out by him was more accurate than all previous ones, the length of its tropical year being only 50 seconds wide of the length of the modern Gregorian Calendar. What distinguished Zu Chongzhi most was that he worked out the precise figure of % to be between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, well over one thousand years earlier than did European mathematicians. The Tang Dynasty astron¬ omer, Monk Yi Xing (683-727), organized and directed a survey of the height of North Pole and the length of the shade of the sun — or the length of the meridian line — at 12 work centres in the country. He was the first in the world to carry out a scientific survey of the meridian. In hydrological studies, the Waterways Classic written by an unknown author of the Three Kingdoms period gives a brief account of the country’s 137 major waterways. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Li Daoyuan (465- or 472-527) wrote a commentary on it, Commentary on “Waterways Clas¬ sic”, in which he quotes from more than 430 ancient books and draws on data based on his own on-the-spot investigations. Apart from explaining the waterways mentioned in the Waterways Classic he filled in an outline of 1,252 others, mak¬ ing his book 21 times as big as the Waterways Classic. Writ¬ ten with ease and grace, the Commentary is also a literary work. In medical science, A Treatise on Fevers by Zhang Zhongjing (Zhang Ji), a noted physician of the Three Kingdoms period, describes methods of treatment for different kinds of fevers and contains more than 100 prescriptions. His Gold Chest Dissertations deals with the symptoms of illnesses and ailments other than fevers as well as methods of treatment for them. Hua Tuo, a celebrated surgeon living at about the

�246

same time as Zhang Zhongjing, used an anaesthetic for abdominal operations. He also attached great importance to physical exercise as a means to keep fit and devised a set of health-building exercises called “Five Animals’ Games” which consisted of imitating the movements of a tiger, deer, bear, ape and bird. During the Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Chinese medicine embraced eight branches: medical theory, acupuncture, diagnosis, pathology, herbal medicine, prescription, dietetics and veterinary science. Historical records show that surgical operations such as am¬ putation and harelip repair were performed. The 10-juan Treatise on the Pulse, the earliest extant treatise of its kind in China by the noted physician of the Jin Dynasty, Wang Shuhe, analyses twenty-four types of pulse and lays the theoretical basis for diagnosis by pulse-feeling. The Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion by Huangfu Mi (215-282), the earliest treatise on this subject, still remains in use today. The Prescriptions for Emergencies by Ge Hong (c. 284-364) is a collection of the tested prescriptions by celebrated doctors. As a specialist in refining elixir pills for immortality, he con¬ tributed to the development of pharmaceutical science through his knowledge about the chemical properties of mercury, suphur, lead, copper and iron. The Treatise on the Prepara¬ tion and Dispensing of Medicines and Drugs by Lei Xiao, a famous pharmacologist of the Southern and Northern Dyn¬ asties, has earned its place in China’s pharmaceutic history through its presentation of 17 methods of preparing medicines. Tao Hongjing contributed to the progress of pharmacology with his Supplement to “Prescriptions for Emergencies” and Annotations to “Emperor Shen Nong’s Materia Medica”, a book which added 365 drugs to the same number listed in Emperor Shen Nong’s Materia Medica and proposed methods for pharmacological classification. The Sui government estab¬ lished — and the Tang Dynasty further expanded — an Academy of Imperial Physicians and an Imperial Medical In¬ stitution to take care of court medical and health affairs and

247

the training of medical personnel. A special work in the history of Chinese medicine, the Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Diseases which runs to 50 juan with 1,720 articles covering 67 disciplines, written by the Sui medical academician Chao Yuanfang in 610, discusses with thorough documentation the causes, pathological changes and symptoms of the diseases as viewed within such disciplines as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics and the “five sense organs” (ear, eye, mouth, nose and tongue). On orders from the Tang emperor Gao Zong in 657, Su Jing, Zhangsun Wuji and others started work on the first government-authorized pharmacopoeia in the world, A New Compendium of Materia Medica, for which they had collected specimens and illustra¬ tions of medicines from various parts of the country. The 54juan book, completed in 659, consists of a catalogue of 844 drugs, including 400 corrected and 100 added after research. The Precious Prescriptions and Supplement to “Precious Prescriptions” by the outstanding Tang pharmacologist Sun Simiao (581-682) deal exhaustively with the diagnosis, preven¬ tion and treatment of diseases, especially gynecological diseases and child care. They record the collection and prep¬ aration of over 800 common drugs. Sun Simiao was honour¬ ed as “Master of Pharmacology” and temples were erected to cherish his memory. The Pharmacopoeia in Four Divisions, compiled by the celebrated Tufan medical scientist Yutuo Yuandangongbu during the mid-Tang period based on Tibetan folk experience with reference to medical works by Han authors, was an important work in Tibetan medicine. It was introduced to Mongolia and contributed greatly to the devel¬ opment of both Tibetan and Mongolian medicines.

The Development of Feudal Relations and the Feudalization of Regions Inhabited by Several Nationalities

Feudal relations developed in the period from the Three Kingdoms through the Tang Dynasty as private landowner-

�248

ship expanded within the feudal hierarchical system and changes took place in the status of both the landlords and the peasants, while the process of feudalization began in areas where several nationalities lived together. The landed aristocrats with hereditary titles of the QinHan period which had been decimated during the Yellow Turbans Uprising were replaced by landlords from privileged families who, like the landed aristocrats, enjoyed hereditary social status as well as economic and political privileges. But they were different in that they owned land which was not enfeoffed by the state but was handed down from generation to generation; they had under their control peasants and family servants who were not listed in government register and were therefore immune from tax payment and labour service; and the land rent they managed to squeeze out was not part of the state tax. Landlords from privileged families were those which de¬ veloped over time from the hereditary landed aristocracy of the late-Han period or from powerful local landlords. Those who rendered meritorious service to the new dynasty also be¬ came privileged landlords, but it had taken their families a considerable length of time to build up their prestige before joining this privileged class. In 220, the kingdom of Wei created a law establishing prestigious persons in various places as zhong zheng to recommend talented people for classifica¬ tion into nine grades for government appointment. Soon, landlords from the privileged families seized this method of selecting talented people to consolidate and expand their privileges during a time of social upheaval. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, many of these landlords went south from the Central Plain together with their family members, relatives, family servants and fellow-villagers. Politically, they became an important force supporting the Eastern Jin court in the south, while economically they seized large tracts of land any way they could. The big native landlords also join¬ ed their ranks. After Emperor Xiao Wen Di of the Northern

249

Wei moved his capital to Luoyang, the nobles of the different clans and branches of the Xianbei tribe settled down at Luo¬ yang as privileged families and gradually merged with the Han people. Later, when the Northern Wei split into the eastern and western parts, the privileged families in the Central Plain were divided into the Shandong and Guanzhong groups. Among the country’s privileged families, the Shan¬ dong group enjoyed high prestige for a long time. With the introduction of the civil examination system during the Sui and Tang dynasties, although the old privileged families re¬ mained a force to be reckoned with, their social status was weakened as more and more people entered into political com¬ petition with them. Both Li Shimin and Wu Ze Tian tried to rearrange the genealogical ranks of the landlord class, so as to play down landlords from the privileged families and play up the new bigwigs, but without much success. Buddhist monks also became powerful in the landlord class. They owned large monasteries, huge amounts of monastic land and other assets, all of which passed from master to disciple.

Large numbers of workers were at their

service. These monasterial landlords were exempt from taxa¬ tion and labour service.

Each of them set up on his own ac¬

count and each had his own system of imparting Buddhist learning. They did not have to respect the sovereign, and were bound by no secular laws. When Monk Xuan Zhuang (Hsuan Tsang) fell ill in 664, Emperor Gao Zong sent imperial phy¬ sicians to treat him. After his death, the emperor stopped giving audience for several days and had the monk’s body put in an inner coffin of gold with an outer coffin of silver. It was recorded that 1,000,000 people attended the funeral service and 30,000 mourners kept vigil around the graveyard. In the words of a memorial of the early 8th century, “Seven or eighttenths of the wealth under the sun belong to Buddha.” Much as this might exaggerate, these records throw a revealing light on the wealth and prestige enjoyed by the monasterial land¬ lords. They were actually privileged landlords in Buddhist

�

250

robes, and some of them had even more land and wielded more influence than their secular counterparts. During the Three Kingdoms and later, so-called landlords of humble origin — landlords other than those from the priv¬ ileged families, such as bureaucrat landlords, powerful local landlords

and

mercantile

landlords — also

gained

status.

Speaking of the compilation of the Clan and Family Gazette, Li Shimin gave the instruction: “Grade according to the pres¬ ent official ranks, with no regard to the situation generations ago.” This regard only for present official ranks was precisely what set the bureaucrat landlords apart.

After the kingdom

of Wei made the law on classifying talented people into nine grades for government appointment, officials not from the privileged families — most of them low-ranking — also receiv¬ ed both land and labourers from the state.

With the introduc¬

tion of the civil examination during the Sui and Tang dynas¬ ties, this social stratum grew to become a political rival of the landlords from privileged families, and some of its members even became prime ministers.

Eunuchs grew increasingly

powerful after the mid-Tang period.

They held high official

ranks and commandeered vast tracts of land in the metropol¬ itan area.

Being different from ordinary officials, they be¬

longed to another category of bureaucrat landlords. Another great local feudal force — neither from the of¬ ficials nor from the privileged families — was the powerful local landlords.

Some of the powerful local landlords might

turn into bureaucrat landlords or privileged landlords.

Each

of these three kinds of landlords had its own characteristics although they were not much different in some cases.

In

times of social stability, powerful local landlords often tyran¬ nized the common people; in times of social upheaval, they often mustered their own forces for self-protection or for set¬ ting up independent regimes. During the Three Kingdoms period, Li Dian, a subordinate general of Cao Cao, moved his 13,000 family servants and clansmen to the city of Ye; and

251

Xu Chu got together neighbourhood youngsters and thousands of clansmen to resist peasant insurgent armies before he join¬ ed Cao Cao to become one of his subordinate generals.

Both

Wei Yan and Huo Jun, Liu Bei’s subordinate generals, were powerful local landlords who took their own family servants with them when they joined Liu Bei. When peasant rebellions broke out at the end of the Sui Dynasty, many of the powerful local landlords took advantage of the situation to seize towns and cities. Some of the bureaucrat landlords and privileged landlords used their position and power to conduct commercial activities despite the repeated imperial edicts which forbade them to do so.

Officials in Guangzhou and other foreign trade ports

stood a greater chance of making fabulous profits than those in other places.

During the mid-Tang period and afterwards,

shops were opened by military commanders in Yangzhou and other cities, which, being run in the military’s name, enjoyed far greater success than others.

But these people were dif¬

ferent from the plutocrat landlords who, coming from among ordinary landlords, raked in large amounts of money from reg¬ ular business deals.

A man named Mi Zhu in the Three King¬

doms period boasted 10,000 servants and a fabulous fortune accumulated

over

generations

by

his

merchant-ancestors.

Once, he made Liu Bei a present of 2,000 servants and a large amount of gold and silver to make up his shortage of military supplies.

A certain Zheng Fengzhi in the Sui-Tang period —

so influential that even men of rank vied to associate with him — had warehouses, manors and residences in many parts of the country. He bragged to Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty that he had enough pongee to go around even if each of the trees on Zhongnan Mountain was hung with one bolt. People like Mi Zhu and Zheng Fengzhi could be counted as bigshots among the plutocrat landlords. There were many specialized merchants in the Three Kingdoms period and after¬ wards. But none of them — from wealthy merchants to small

�

252

pedlars, especially salt and tea merchants — could avoid be¬ ing dependent on feudal forces. Both the monasterial landlords and the landlords of humble origin, like those from the privileged families, had their own proteges not listed in the government register, which indicat- ' ed a scramble between the landlords and the feudal state for labourers. The feudal state adopted specific measures to re¬ bind the drifting peasants to the land. One of these was to in¬ crease the number of households in government register by a general check-up.

Another was to institute a land equaliza¬

tion system favourable for the re-binding. The land equalization system was practised in several forms from the Three Kingdoms period onward.

In 196, Cao

Cao introduced a system at Xuchang, whereby drifters were organized along military lines and given land for cultivation. Those who used government oxen in farming had to turn over six-tenths of their harvests to the government as rent yvhile the rate was only half for those who used their own oxen.

In

280, during the Western Jin Dynasty, peasants of both sexes became entitled to two types of land, the zhan tian (possessed, field) which was rent-free, and the ke tian (tax field) for which land tax had to be paid, mainly in grain, pongee and cotton. In 485, under the land equalization programme of the North¬ ern Wei

Dynasty,

peasants

of

both

sexes

were

given

a

certain amount of lu tian (open field) for growing food grain, which could not be sold and had to be returned to the govern¬ ment when the recipient reached the age of 70; and a certain amount of sang tian (mulberry field) for growing mulberry, elm and date trees, which could be kept for good and could be sold in part.

The peasants in turn were required to pay the

government land rent in grain and silk.

In 624v during the

Tang Dynasty, land was distributed according to sex, age and health status. The lu tian was then known as kou fen tian (per capita field), which was generally unsalable and had to be re¬ turned to the government when the recipient died. The sang

253

tian was called yong ye tian (perpetual field), which could be inherited by the recipient’s heirs. Both kinds were salable in given conditions. Each adult male or female peasant was re¬ quired to pay the government in grain, pongee, cotton, cloth or bast fibres and perform 20 days’ labour service annually. Two points demonstrated the heightened social status of peasants under the feudal state: the classification into the tax field and possessed field, then into the open field and mulberry field, and then into the per capita field and per¬ petual field with their salability in given conditions which af¬ firmed the private ownership of the peasants over part of the land they received; and, secondly, the specific number given for annual labour service days which clearly defined this burden on the peasants.

Other signs of the development of

the land equalization system were that, unlike the proteges of the landlords from the privileged families, the peasants had to pay land rent which formed part of the state tax, and, also, the feudal state demanded grain and pongee for the open field and mulberry field it gave the peasants, which showed govern¬ ment efforts to strengthen the combination of agriculture and household handicrafts to preserve the structure of the natural economy characterized by the men working on the land and the women working at the looms. The laws and decrees of feudal states were seldom carried out to the letter. The early Tang provisions on land equaliza¬ tion were violated in the mid-Tang period with constant land annexations and wars.

In 780, the Tang court issued a decree

providing for a tax levy according to the needs of state ex¬ penditure and tax payment in proportion to the amount of one’s property and land. No mention was made of the per¬ petual field and per capita field, nor of government distribu¬ tion of land and its return to the government — which meant extensive state recognition of the private ownership of land and the existence of state tax independent of land rent. This great change pointed to the economic development of Chinese

�

254

feudal society. The new decree benefited only the feudal state and the landlords, who could increase taxes or annex land at will. Consequently, from the end of the Tang Dynasty onward, the peasants rising against enslavement also had to fight for the possession of land. The various areas where several nationalities lived together began their process of feudalization at one time or another from the Three Kingdoms to the Tang period.

Ethnic minor¬

ities like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di and Qiang, who inhabit¬ ed the northwestern and northern frontier regions, were at dif¬ ferent stages of social development, some in primitive clan society and others in slave society. In the closing years of the Western Jin Dynasty, they immigrated to the Huanghe River valley where, mixing with the Han, they experienced a leap forward in their social development.

During the Sixteen

States period, most of the states established by ethnic minor¬ ities — such as the Han and the Former Zhao of the Xiongnu, the Later Zhao of the Jie, the Former Qin of the Di and the Later Qin of the Qiang — speeded up their process of feudali¬ zation by appointing officials of Han nationality, adopting the forms of government of the Han people and implementing feudal political and economic policies. After unifying the northern part of China, the Northern Wei established by the Xianbei pressed ahead with this pro¬ cess in regions where several nationalities lived together.

The

process developed even further during the reign of Emperor Xiao Wen Di. Feudalization also took place in the southern regions where several nationalities lived together.

The chaos caused by

frequent wars forced the labouring people in the north to move south en masse to Jingzhou and Yangzhou which were largely inhabited by the Shanyue and Man peoples. The Shanyues and Mans gradually accepted the advanced produc¬ tion techniques and social system from the north, which help¬ ed accelerate their process of feudalization.

H

255

Feudalization in regions inhabited by several nationalities was significant in the development of Chinese history in that the Han people and the ethnic minorities absorbed each other’s positive attributes to activate the productive forces of society and bring about prosperity in the social economy.

The Five Dynasties, the Song and the Yuan: the Later Period of Ascendancy of Chinese Feudalism

The Five Dynasties and Ten States

Chinese feudalism experienced the later period of its as¬ cendancy during the Five Dynasties, the Song and the Yuan. This was also a period of transition from separate feudal re¬ gimes to the establishment of a central authority over the whole country. By the Five Dynasties are meant the Later Liang, the Later Tang, the Later Jin, the Later Han and the Later Zhou. These states had all been founded at one time or another, between 907 to 960 op China’s Central Plains. During this period there were altogether 13 emperors who ruled for a total of 53 years. Between 960 and 1368 there were the Northern Song and the Southern Song dynasties, jointly known as the Song Dynasty.

There were 9 emperors of 7

generations during the Northern Song, covering a period from 960 to 1127.

There were 7 emperors of 7 generations during

the Southern Song, covering the period from 1127 to 1276. The Yuan Dynasty had 11 emperors of 6 generations between 1271 and 1368. During the Five Dynasties, there were in addition ten small kingdoms known as the Ten States and also the state of Liao established by the Qidans.

During the

Northern and Southern Song dynasties, there were in North China the Liao, the Xixia (Western Xia), the Jin and the Mongol regimes and, in the southern and western parts of the country, such kingdoms as Gaochang, Xiliao (Western Liao), 256

Tufan and Dali.

257

Though its capital was taken by the enemy

as early as 1276, the Southern Song carried on its anti-Yuan struggle until 1279. Of the Five Dynasties, the Later Liang established by Zhu Wen had the longest history of 17 years (907-923).

The Later

Tang established by Li Cunxu and Later Jin inaugurated by Shi Jingtang had a history of 13 (923-936) and 12 (936-947) years, respectively. The Later Han established by Liu Zhiyuan was of the shortest duration, since it had a history of only 4 years (947-950).

The Later Zhou created by Guo Wei had

a history of 9 years (951-960). The founders of the Later Tang, the Later Jin and the Later Han were all of Shatuo origin, while those of the Later Liang and the Later Zhou were Hans. The Later Tang had in succession five emperors of whom two were the adopted sons of the preceding monarchs.

Chai Rong,

a Later Zhou monarch, was the adopted son of Guo Wei. The Later Liang had jurisdiction over an area covering the major parts of present-day Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Hubei provinces, in addition to all of present-day Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Gan¬ su, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. The Later Tang, Later Jin and

Later

Han controlled wider

areas.

The

Later

Zhou

occupied the largest territory, with its boundary stretching as far south as the northern banks of the Changjiang River in

Hubei,

Anhui and

Jiangsu provinces.

Notwithstanding

the various sizes of their territories, these states played an important role politically, as all feudal forces in the various parts of the country, more or less, bowed to their rule. The Later Tang made Luoyang its capital, while the Later Liang and the three other dynasties all had their capital at Kaifeng. The Ten States in the Five Dynasties period included the state of Wu founded by Yang Xingmi, the stath of Wuyue by Qian Liu, the state of Southern Han by Liu Yin, the state of Chu by Ma Yin, the state of Former Shu by Wang Jian

�258

and finally, the state of Min by Wang Shenzhi. These states were established about the time when the Later Liang was founded. The founders of these states formerly had all been garrison commanders during the later part of the Tang Dynasty. Gao Jixing, a garrison commander during the period of the Later Liang, founded the state of Jingnan, also known as Nanping, after Later Liang had been exterminated. state was the smallest among the Ten States.

The

The state of

Later Shu founded by Meng Zhixiang, the state of Southern Tang by Xu Zhigao, and the state of Northern Han by Liu Chong appeared somewhat later than the others, as they were established, respectively, towards the end of the Later Tang, early during the Later Jin, and early during the Later Zhou. The quick succession of dynasties after the Later Liang indicated the political confusion that existed then. Without an exception, the founder of one dynasty was a garrison com¬ mander of the preceding dynasty who then usurped the throne. Besides, members of the ruling elite fought among them¬ selves to seize power.

Zhu Wen, founder of the Later Liang,

was killed by one of his sons who, in turn, met his death at the hands of his younger brother, and the latter succeeded in gaining the throne.

Both the second and the fourth mon-

archs of the Later Tang became emperors by armed force. For the seizure of power, ferocious battles were fought among rivals.

On the Central Plains, people and their economy suf¬

fered as a result of wars, exorbitant taxes, severe punish¬ ments, and Draconian laws. Time and again, peasant uprisings broke out. In 920, Wu Yi and Dong Yi led peasants to stage an uprising in Chengzhou (modern Huaiyang, Henan), the best known of all the uprisings during the Five_ Dynasties. It dealt a heavy blow to the Later Liang regime which had to call upon the imperial army and the armies from several regions to suppress it. Contrary to the situation on the Central Plains where one dynasty followed another in quick succession and war raged

259

on constantly, there was relative peace lasting anywhere from 20 to 50 years in such states as the Former Shu, Later Shu, Wuyue, Southern Tang, and Southern Han.

Being free from

ravages of war, these states made progress in social economy. Large numbers of refugees fleeing wars from the Central Plains descended on these states. These refugees brought with them not only production technology but also academic learn¬ ing and culture. In literature, ci was most popular during the Five Dynas¬ ties. As a poetic form, it was highly developed during the Former Shu, Later Shu, Southern Tang. Li Yu (937-978), the last monarch of the Southern Tang, was a famous ci poet. During the Five Dynasties there was in North China a Qidan tribe, later known as Liao, that, with the passage of time, became very strong. By the time when Zhu Wen founded the Later Liang, Yelii Abaoji had accomplished the unification of the Qidan tribe.

In 916, Abaoji ascended the throne.

During the period of the Later Liang and Later Tang, the Qidans made frequent intrusions into present-day Hebei and Shanxi provinces for the purpose of raiding; wherever they went, they carried off people and their property.

Yelii De-

guang, son of Abaoji, aided Shi Jingtang in founding the Later Jin. In return, Shi Jingtang ceded to the Qidan sixteen dis¬ tricts located in the northern sections of modern Hebei and Shanxi provinces. He also referred to himself as a “filial em¬ peror”. After he died he was succeeded by his son Shi Chonggui, who referred to himself as the Qidan’s “grandson” but not its “subject”.

On the ground that Shi had shown dis¬

respect, Yelii Deguang marched his army southward and took Kaifeng in 946. After bringing an end to the Later Jin, he turned his men loose among the civilian populace, causing great havoc on the Central Plains. People, enraged, rose in resistance, in groups that were as large as “several hundred thousand men” or as small as “one thousand”. In the end, they cleared the Central Plains of the invaders.

�260

Towards the end of the Five Dynasties, Guo Wei, emperor of the Later Zhou, introduced political and economical re¬ forms. Rents and taxes were reduced, sentences for com¬ mitting crimes lightened, and corrupt officials punished. Favourable conditions for agricultural production were thus created. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked from other places to the Later Zhou for settlement. In 954, shortly after Guo Wei died, Liu Chong of the Northern Han, who had juris¬ diction over present-day Shanxi Province, formed an alliance with the Qidan to attack the Later Zhou. Chai Rong took personal command of the Later Zhou’s army and engaged Liu Chong at Gaoping (modern Gaoping County, Shanxi) where he exacted a heavy toll of the Northern Han army. Liu Chong fled with a hundred or so of his surviving cavalrymen. After this battle, Chai Rong began to think seriously of unifying the country. He rectified the discipline of his army. To re¬ habilitate the agricultural economy of the Central Plains, he paid attention to a fair exaction of rents and taxes and the construction of water conservancy projects. With his territory extending as far south as the northern bank of the Changjiang River, he succeeded in recovering a number of strategic points from Qidan, such as Ningzhou (modern Qingxian County, He¬ bei), Yijinguan Pass and Yukouguan Pass (modern Baxian County, Hebei), Waqiaoguan Pass (modern Xiongxian County, Hebei), Mozhou (modern Renqiu County, Hebei), Yingzhou (modern Hejian County, Hebei). All this had paved the way for the Northern Song, during a later period, to bring to an end the prolonged division of the country and to establish a central authority over all of China. The history of the Five Dynasties was a continuation of the history of the late part of the Tang Dynasty during which various frontier commanders maintained separatist regimes and fought among themselves. It was also a period during which the tendency towards a single central authority for the country began. It witnessed the shifting of the economic centre to the South. Southern Tang (937-975) — Occupied the southern sections of modern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Hunan Province, and the eastern sec¬ tion of modern Hubei Province. Conquered by the Northern Song. Northern Han (951-979) — Occupied the northern section of modem Shanxi and part of modern Shaan¬ xi and Hebei provinces. Conquered by the Northern Song.

Rise and Fall of the Northern Song; Uprisings by Wang Xiaobo and Fang La

During the period from 960 to 997, Northern Song was at its early and rising stage. The emperors were then Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Tai Zu) and Zhao Kuangyi (Emperor Tai Zong). In 960, Zhao Kuangyin, Commander of the Later Zhou’s imperial army, led a revolt against the throne with the sup¬ port of his brother Zhao Kuangyi and his councillor Zhao Pu. Thus he seized the power of the Later Zhou and founded the dynasty of Northern Song.

The capital remained at Kaifeng,

which was renamed Dongjing (Eastern Capital). It took fifteen years for the Northern Song to conquer the four states of Jingnan, Later Shu, Southern Han and Southern Tang.

In

978 and 979, Zhao Kuangyi conquered the Wuyue and the Northern Han, thus bringing about national unification to a certain extent.

He planned to retake areas of modern Hebei

and Shanxi provinces, then occupied by the Liao.

But he

failed in his attempt as his army suffered disastrous defeats at Gaolianghe (around present-day Beijing) in 979 and at Qigouguan Pass (southwest of modern Zhuoxian County, Hebei) in 986. From then on, the Northern Song became defensive in its relation with the Liao. Early during the Northern Song Dynasty, the rulers did their best to strengthen the feudal autocracy. High posts in various regions, formerly held by military officers, were now occupied by civil officials. Local appointments above the county level were now replaced by royal appointments. The best of local troops was incorporated into and absorbed by the central army, and there were special institutions in the central government that controlled local finance. The cen¬ tralized power in the government was in turn ^distributed among many branches so as to make sure that no branch of government would have too much power to the detriment of the royal interest.

Three central agencies, political, military

�A Song Dynasty compass in the collection of the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing.

�A carved black-glazed jar of the Song Dyn¬ asty, kept in the Pal¬ ace Museum, Beijing.

v

A Song Dynasty whiteglazed vase with ironrust pattern of pluck¬ ed peony sprays.

�r/m firs

■

r. i_

mJ

Part of the Northern Song painting,

wfry\ji

Riverside Scene on Qingming Festival.

�s| **&*«?,* ?.*•*!*

sf

Eulogy in mem¬ ory of Emperor Sheng Zong of the Liao Dynasty (in Qidan lan¬ guage).

�nr

The Lugouqiao (Marco Polo) Bridge in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing. The bridge was built in the Jin Dynasty and its decorative lions date from the Jin and Yuan dynasties.

it

�The Cloud Terrace, built in the Yuan Dynasty, at Juyongguan, Changping County, Beijing.

The Phatspa script (a Mongolian phonetic system) engraved on both sides of the arch under the Cloud Ter¬ race.

3

• '

a? 13

�4

Stage roles (repro¬ duction) in the Yuan Dynasty mural in Yingtian Temple, Hongdong County, Shanxi Province.

Figurines of theatri¬ cal roles (reproduc¬ tion) of the Jin Dynasty, unearth-' ed in Houma, Shan¬ xi Province.

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rVpi ^ T?

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�Paper money of the Southern Song (lower left), Jin (lower right), and Yuan (left) dynas¬ ties.

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�CHAPTER

Vin

265

and financial, were placed under the direct control of the royal house. The Secretariat took charge of political affairs, but its head, the prime minister, invested with executive power, had no control over the nation’s military affairs. There was the Military Council with its chancellor invested with the power of directing all military units except the imperial army. The chancellor of the treasury handled all tax revenue and government expenditure. The imperial army was divided into three branches, each directly under the command of one marshal. There was also a Censorate, headed by a Grand Censor, with the duty of supervising all government officials. A system as described above proved to be very effective in preventing local forces from establishing separatist feudal re¬ gimes and in warding off any threat from high ministers to the throne. But over-concentration of power in the royal house, as well as those measures adopted to curb the power of high ministers, especially that of high military officers, gave rise to political corruption in the upper stratum of offi¬ cialdom and weakened the fighting ability of the Northern Song when confronted with military threat from the outside. Early during the Northern Song Dynasty, class contradic¬ tions remained acute, and peasant uprisings staged by peasants, soldiers and ethnic minorities erupted time and again. In 993, Wang Xiaobo, a poverty-stricken man, started an uprising in Qingchen (to the southwest of modern Guanxian County, Sichuan). Voicing the demand of the masses of peasants for the right to property, he openly raised the slogan of “equal distribution of wealth between the poor and the rich”. This was a new development as compared to the demand for the right to existence raised by peasants during previous uprisings since the Qin and Han dynasties. The insurgent army grew fast. Early in 994, Wang Xiaobo was killed by a flying arrow. Li Shun succeeded him as commander and continued the fight. After taking Chengdu and seizing control of a vast expanse of land south of Jiange and north of Wuxia, he founded a peasant regime named the Great Shu. But he made the mistake of

�266

underestimating the strength of the enemy. Chengdu fell into the hands of the Northern Song army in the summer, and 30,000 men, including Li, were killed in action. In 995, the insurgent army collapsed. The middle era of the Northern Song Dynasty, that covered the reigns of Emperors Zhen Zong, Ren Zong and Ying Zong (997-1067), was a period of decline. The bureaucracy, including the military bureaucracy, became more and more inflated, and political corruption went from bad to worse. While the peasants were weighed down by ever harsher exploitation, the government treasury became more and more depleted. The peasant uprisings were bigger and more frequent than those in the early period of the Northern Song. Externally, the Northern Song was threatened by the Liao and by the rising states of Xia in the northwest. In 1004, the Northern Song army routed a Liao force of many thousand that came to the south to raid Chinese borders. Yet, when the word came that the Liao troops had entered Tanzhou (modern Puyang County, Hebei) and were approaching Dongjing, Emperor Zhen Zong was so frightened that he wanted to move his capital to the south. Prime Minister Kou Zhun was strongly opposed to this and proposed instead that the emperor direct the battle. Zhen Zong took his advice. Though assuming command, he still planned to make peace. Early in 1005, he concluded a pact with the Liao, which stipulated that the Northern Song deliver an annual amount of 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk to Liao. In 1044, when the Liao further threatened to use force, Emperor Ren Zong agreed to add another 100,000 taels of silver and an equal number of bolts of silk in ex¬ change for temporary tranquillity on the northern border. During the period from 1040 to 1042, three battles were fought between the Northern Song and the Xia at,*5 respectively, Yanzhou (modern Yan’an city, Shaanxi), Haoshuichuan (Tianshuihe, east of modern Longde County, Gansu) and Weizhou (modern Pingliang County, Gansu). As Northern Song was decisively defeated in each of these battles, Emperor Ren

267

Zong agreed in 1044 to present the Xia with an annual gift of silver and silk in exchange for peace on its northwestern border. Hopeless as Emperor Zhen Zong found himself both polit¬ ically and militarily, he turned his thoughts to ideological control of the people and had corresponding new measures adopted. In addition to worshipping Confucius, people were encouraged to worship Buddhist and Taoist deities. As a new method to benumb the people’s will, the new measures were even more effective as compared to the worship of Confucius alone. During the middle period of the Northern Song a new school known as Neo-Confucianism came into existence. Com¬ bining Confucianism with Buddhism and Taoism, it defined the doctrines of Confucius in such a way as to serve better the interests of the landlord class. As progenitor of this school, Zhou Dunyi (1016-1073) put forward the idea of “the Absolute” which, he said, was the essence of the universe that tran¬ scended all material things. According to him, feudal order was a manifestation of “the Absolute” in social relations. Hence the eternity of the feudal system. Zhou Dunyi wrote An Explanation of the Diagram of the Absolute (Taiji Tu Shuo). His philosophy falls into the category of objective idealism. A contemporary of Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai (1020-1077), held the view that the materialist “vitality” was the essence of all things in the universe. According to him, the interaction between the yin and the yang led to changes in the “vitality” and in the course of changes, things were formed. Proceeding from the idealist thought that men and universe were one, he believed that the people and the monarchs formed an insep¬ arable whole. In his view, contradictions between them could be eased out. In the period from 1067 to 1127, which covered the reigns of Emperors Shen Zong, Zhe Zong, Hui Zong, and Qin Zong, the Northern Song proceeded from decline to extinction. Early during the reign of Shen Zong, two political factions developed among the high officials. Those who proposed reforms advo-

�268

cated the enactment of “New Laws” that would take away part of the power from the privileged class so as to boost agricul¬ tural production and increase revenue for the government. But the conservatives were opposed to the enactment of “New Laws”. According to them the “New Laws” would bring harm instead of higher production. However, under the auspices of Emperor Shen Zong the reform under the “New Laws” was carried out between 1070 and 1074. But there were difficul¬ ties. Emperor Shen Zong constantly wavered when confronted with objections to the “New Laws” raised by the conserva¬ tives. Beginning with 1085 the conservatives and the reformers took turns in winning the upper hand and thus the control of the government. It was not until the early twelfth century that struggles between the two factions finally came to an end. The struggle between the reformers and the conservatives was also carried to the academic field. It was as acute as the political struggle and lasted much longer. The leading re¬ former, Wang Anshi (1021-1086), was a philosophical ma¬ terialist. He maintained that “primordial vitality” was the es¬ sence of the universe, and the movement of matter was gov¬ erned by natural laws. Though these laws could not be changed, men could take initiative and should not resign them¬ selves to so-called “fate”. Wang Anshi’s theory of “New Learning” served as his theoretical basis in introducing the “New Laws”. Shen Kuo (1031-1095), another reformer, was also a ma¬ terialist. His range as a scientist was immense. He knew mathematics, astronomy, calendar making, geography, cartog¬ raphy, geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, metallurgy, the manufacture of weaponry, water conservancy, botany, zoology, agriculture, medicine, and pharmacology. He was outstanding in proposing many original ideas. As to. the sum¬ mation of arithematic series of second order, he also had his own method. By making a summation of circumference and height to extract the length of a curve, he proposed improve-

269

ment on observatory instruments and calendar making. He went to great length in discussing the properties of the com¬ pass and found, in his own way, the difference between the true north and magnetic north. Sima Guang (1019-86) was a leading conservative and an idealist advocating fatalism. He believed that fate was the su¬ preme controller that determined the difference between the high and the low, between the rich and the poor, between the intelligent and the benighted, and between a long and a short life.

People, therefore, should live in complete resignation to

their fate. Any disobedience, he said, would augur ill. Stress¬ ing

the

importance

of

following “rites”

he

urged

strict

observance of the feudal order and its hierarchic details. He wrote History as a Mirror (Zi Zhi Tong Jian) which, consisting of 294 juan, took him 19 years to complete.

Recording events

from the beginning of the Warring States to the end of the Later Zhou, it was a work of great historic value.

He also

wrote a number of philosophical works. Cheng Hao (1032-1085), from Luoyang, was a conservative theoretician.

Together with his brother Cheng Yi (1033-1107)

he became a principal exponent of Neo-Confucianism first advocated by Zhou Dunyi.

Known as the “Cheng Brothers”,

they were the first to advance the idea of “reason” as the essence of the universe, which had existed before anything else.

According to them, “there is only one reason under

heaven”, men and all material things were just one, forming an inseparable whole. Different as people were in social posi¬ tion, they said, each must act according to his duties and thus conform to “reason”. A theory of this kind also falls into the category of objective idealism, according to which the broad masses must resign themselves to a life of poverty and humiliation, place themselves at the disposal of the feudal order, and refrain from the thought of changing things. Amid factional strifes there was a faction led by Su Shi (1036-1101). In his early years, he had advocated political re-

�

270

form; later he opposed the “New Laws”. Academically, he disagreed with both Wang Anshi and the Cheng Brothers. His major achievement was in literature where he took a stand against the literary style of flowery parallelisms and favoured the classic form of prose. Besides, he preferred ci to shi when writing poetry. Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was the main advocate of the classic style of prose-writing.

Both Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were

great classic essayists. Su Shi, his father Su Xun, and his brother Su Che, jointly known as the “Three Sus”, were stalwarts of classic writing.

Ouyang Xiu, Liu Yong and Zhou

Bangyan, as ci poets, were known for their description of del¬ icate feelings of young men and young women and their por¬ trayal of the sentiments of people parting with each other. Su Shi, however, broke through confines of this kind as he wrote in a plain and graceful style of his own. The

factional

struggles

during

the latter

part of

the

Northern Song, a reflection of social contradictions, showed that the rulers found themselves in a dilemma: they wanted to carry out reforms but they were unable to. The inability of Wang Anshi to implement his reform programmes entailed social disturbances. By the time of Emperor Hui Zong’s reign, political struggles between various factions had temporarily stopped, but worse corruption was found among the rulers. Ruthless exploitation became intolerable to the people, espe¬ cially in the southeastern section of the country.

In 1120,

Fang La staged a peasant uprising in Qingxi (modern Chun’an County, Zhejiang). In three months he and his men took con¬ trol of six prefectures and 52 counties in modern Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, while their forces grew from one thou¬ sand to one hundred thousand men and then to a bnillion. After establishing his peasant regime, Fang La claimed' that he could unify the country in ten years. The claim frightened the rulers. They sent a large force on a southward march and defeated Fang La and his men after a bitter fight that per-

n

271

sisted for more than one year. In 1121, Fang La himself was taken prisoner, and soon put to death. But his forces carried on the fight for another year. Before the uprising, Fang La had carried out propaganda on Manichaeism among his followers and organized their ac¬ tivities in a Manichaean way.

Within the organization im¬

poverished people would receive help and travellers would be provided with food and shelter. Members were organized down to the basic units, and some of them were assigned to specific tasks such as organizing religious activities and look¬ ing after funds contributed by followers. All this indicates that Fang La had done good groundwork among his forces before he started the uprising.

During the uprising, he con¬

demned the Song rulers for despoiling the peasants of their fruits of labour in order to provide themselves with all the luxuries for an extravagant life.

The aim of the uprising, he

declared, was to overthrow the Northern Song regime so as to bring improvement to the livelihood of the peasants.

His

uprising, like that led by Wang Xiaobo, was economically oriented and thus contained a new historical meaning.

Before

him, there was a peasant rebellion led by Song Jiang in Shan¬ dong Province.

Legends about this peasant army are many

and varied. Before Fang La started his uprising, the Northern Song regime sent an emissary to the state of Jin to negotiate an agreement for a joint attack on the Liao. But, attacking Liao, the Song forces suffered repeated defeats. In 1125, following its conquest of the Liao, the Jin began an all-out attack on the Northern Song.

Two years later, in 1127, it took

Dongjing, capital of the Northern Song. By then Emperor Hui Zong had abdicated in favour of his son, Emperor Qin Zong. More than three thousand people, including Emperor Qin Zong and his father Hui Zong, their wives and concubines, other members of the royal family and court ministers, were taken captive and carried off northward to the Jin.

The Liao, the Xia and the Jin: Their Relations with the Northern Song

The Liao, the Xia, and the Jin were three regimes con¬ trolled by the aristocrats of China’s ethnic minorities. Despite the various political and military contradictions among them and in their relations with the Northern Song, some compro¬ mises were made, and economic and cultural exchanges with the Northern Song developed. The Liao was a regime where the Qidan nationality dom¬ inated. The nationality was an old one, and its activities centred on the valley of the Xar Moron River on the upper reaches of the Liaohe River in today’s Liaoning Province. Rising during an unknown period in history, the Qidans con¬ sisted of eight tribes.

Once every three years, they elected

a Khan as their leader. In 907, Yelu Abaoji was elected. After his election, he brushed aside the electoral system and never gave up his position as the Khan till his death.

In 916, he

succeeded in killing the other tribal leaders and ascended to the throne, to be known later as Emperor Tai Zu of the Liao. He founded the state of Qidan and changed the electoral sys¬ tem to a hereditary one. The founding of the state of Qidan coincided with a process of social changes and Sinification. During his lifetime, Yelu Abaoji had employed a number of Han people as his political advisers and adopted, to a certain extent, the Han feudal form of production. Formerly, the Qidan people had led a nomadic life; they were also engaged in fishing and hunting. They condemned a large number of Han captives as slaves. Later, influenced by the Han Chinese, they gradually took to agriculture and learned iron-smelting and other techniques in production. Han influence brought about a change in Qidan life as well as an improvement for the life of Han captives. Towns and cities were built; in them were the emancipated former Han slaves who were now engaged in agriculture and handicraft industry, as they had been on the Central Plains

�274

before their captivity. To govern the state, the Qidan rulers adopted a dual system, the southern system for the Han Chi¬ nese and the northern system for the Qidans and nationalities other than the Han Chinese. The former was staffed by Han Chinese and Qidans, responsible for the collection of taxes and other exactions, and the latter was staffed by the Qidans only. Abaoji went out to conquer, time and again, in order to expand the territory of the Qidan. At the zenith of his power, he had control over a large area extending as far east as the Sea of Japan, as far west as the Altay Mountains, as far north as the Kerulen River and as far south as modern Xiongxian County, Hebei. In 926, after the death of Abaoji, Yelu Deguang inherited the throne, known to historians as Emperor Tai Zong. In 947 he changed the title of his nation to Liao. During the early years of the Northern Song, the Liao posed a major threat from the north. During the period between 979 and 986, having inflicted two serious defeats on the Northern Song army, the Liao became a superior power. In 100’4, a peace pact was concluded at Tanzhou, under which the Liao obtained a bountiful annual gift of silver and silk from the Northern Song, while Emperor Zhen Zong had to call Em¬ press Dowager Xiao of the Liao his aunt and take Sheng Zong of the Liao as his brother. Later, the Northern Song opened markets on its north border for trade and exchanged its tea, silk, bast-fibre fabrics, glutinous rice, porcelain, books, rhinoceros horns, ivory and spice for the Liao’s sheep, horses, camels, hides, and wool. As a result, the Han Chinese strengthened their ties with the Qidan and other nationalities, resulting in a richer economic and cultural life for all con¬ cerned. The Xia was a regime predominated by a Tibetan tribe nam¬ ed Dangxiang, the members of which formerly liVed in the modern Qinghai and the northwestern section of Sichuan. Later they settled down in the adjacent area of modern Shaanxi and Gansu and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Approxi-

275

mately in the ninth century, this tribal people began to take up agriculture in addition to stockbreeding. From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the early period of the Northern Song, the control over the area by a Dangxiang Chief had all along been recognized by the Han Chinese authorities. He accepted the surname of the Chinese royal house awarded to him. During the Tang Dynasty, his surname would be Li which was changed to Zhao at the time of the Northern Song. The Dangxiangs often made a common cause with Liao to fight against the Northern Song. In 1032, after Zhao Yuanhao had become chief of the Dangxiang tribe, he extended his influence to the Gansu Cor¬ ridor. In 1038, Yuanhao assumed the imperial title and called his new regime Da Xia or Great Xia, known to historians as Xi Xia or West Xia. The capital was Xingqing (Yingchuan, capital city of modern Ningxia Autonomous Region). His king¬ dom extended as far east as the Huanghe River, as far west as Yumen (to the west of modern Dunhuang County, Gansu), as far south as Xiaoguan (to the southeast of modern Guyuan County, Ningxia), and as far north as the Gobi Desert.

In

his kingdom were people of different nationalities at various stages of development, but the Dangxiangs were still at the stage of transition from slavery to feudalism. Yuanhao knew Chinese as well as Tibetan. He had a good background in Buddhist scriptures and military and legal works by the Han Chinese. He modelled his administrative organs after those of the Tang and Song. His officials were members of ethnic minorities as well as the Han Chinese. Following a traditional policy, Yuanhao allied himself with Liao against Song. During the period between 1040 and 1042, the Song and the Xia were three times at war, resulting in heavy economic burden on the people of both sides and a great loss of lives. Trade came to a stop; shortages of grain and daily necessities were badly felt in the Xia, creating diffi¬ culties in people’s lives. In 1044, the Song and Xia concluded a peace pact under which the Xia, pledging allegiance to the

�276

Song, declared itself a vassal state. In return, it received from the Song an annual gift of 72,000 taels of silver, 153,000 bolts of silk and 30,000 jin of tea. In addition, Song lifted its ban on trade with Xia on its border. The Jin was a regime predominated by the Niizhens, a tribe then living in the Songhua River valley. After the rise of the Qidans, they were subjected to the rule of the Liao. In 1114, the Niizhens were called upon by their outstanding leader Aguda to fight for the overthrow of the rule of the Liao. In the battles at Ningjiangzhou (now Wujiazhan, Fuyu County, Jilin) and at Chuhedian (now Renjiadian, Fuyu Coun¬ ty, Jilin), a Ntizhen force of less than 20,000 routed a Liao army of several hundred thousand. The Nuzhen force grew speedily after the victory. In 1115, Aguda, having succeeded in throwing off the yoke of the Liao, assumed the imperial title. He was known to historians as Emperor Tai Zu, and his dynastic title was Jin. Soon after the founding of the Jin, places of strategic importance to Liao, such as Huanglongfu (modern Nong’an County, Jilin), fell into the hands of the Niizhens. Finding encouragement in this development, op¬ pressed tribes all rose against Liao rule. Seeing that the Liao was in a precarious state, Emperor Hui Zong of the Northern Song concluded an alliance with the Jin for a joint attack against Liao. It was agreed that after defeating the Liao, the Song would retrieve the territories previously ceded to the Qidan and that the Jin would receive from the Song the same amount of silver and silk that had been previously given to the Liao. In 1122, the war against the Liao began. Though Song troops tried more than once to take Yanjing (now Beijing), capital of Liao, they were beaten back. Later, the Jin troops took Yanjing and refused to withdraw. Emperor Hui Zong was obligated to pay the Jin 1,000,000 strings of coins each year in exchange for the return of the city of Yanjing and a few other places. In 1125, Emperor Tian Zuo of the Liao was captured by the Jin when he tried to flee. With his capture the Liao

277

regime came to an end. By then the Jin ruler Aguda had died, and had been succeeded by Wuqimai, later known as Emperor Tai Zong. In the year before the Jin conquered the Liao, Yelii Dashi, a royal descendant of the Liao, had taken a part of the Liao army to the area south and north of the Tianshan Mountains and Central Asia, where he founded a new regime known as the West Liao with its capital at Husiwoerduo (near Tokmak in the U.S.S.R.). It lasted more than ninety years. In the year of its conquest of the Liao, the Jin attacked the Song on two fronts, from the west and from the east. The western detachment was blocked at Taiyuan and could not advance further. The forces on the eastern route, however, quickly took Yanjing, crossed the Huanghe River, and reached Song’s capital Dongjing. Emperor Qin Zong appointed Li Gang, who had advocated resistance, to the position of com¬ mander. Thanks to the co-operation between the military and the civilians, Li repeatedly beat back the Jin attack. But, subject to the influence of the capitulationists around him, Emperor Qin Zong showed no firm will to fight; and, to make peace with the Jin, he removed Li Gang from his command and ceded land and paid indemnities to the Jin. Headed by a student at the Imperial Academy named Chen Dong, people in the capital, exasperated, gathered in tens of thousands in front of the palace to protest against the removal of Li Gang and to demand resolute resistance against the Jin. Emperor Qin Zong yielded to popular pressure by reinstating Li Gang. Seeing the indomitable fighting will on the part of the Song people and the difficulty of taking the capital, the Jin forces withdrew. Once the enemy was gone, the Song monarch and high officials went back to their old way of life, whiling their time away in corruption. Li Gang was again dismissed. Once again, the Jin forces, in the autumn of 1126, marched south¬ ward and captured Dongjing the next year. The Northern Song regime came to an end. The rise of Jin to supreme power was as fast as a summer storm. Only eleven years elapsed between Aguda’s assumption of imperial title and the conquest of the Liao. The very next year after Liao was conquered, the Northern Song was subjugated too. The Liao, the Xia, and the Jin each had its own written language employed in both private and public communi¬ cation, in currencies, and in the translation of Chinese Confucian books or the translation of Chinese or Ti¬ betan Buddhist scriptures. The written languages of the Qidan and Nuzhen peoples were a phonetic varia¬ tion of the written script of the Han Chinese. They were of two kinds: the formal and the informal. The formal written script of the Qidan people was created in 920 and the informal variety somewhat later. The formal variety for the Nuzhen people was invented in 1119, and the informal variety in 1138. Created in 1036-38, the written language of the West Xia was also an ideographic script modelled after the Han written language. The written script of the Qidan became obsolete by the early period of the Jin, but the written script of the West Xia was in use in some localities as late as the fifteenth century.

Rival Regimes of the Song and the Jin; Uprisings by Zhong Xiang, Yang Yao and the Red Jackets

The year 1127 saw Zhao Gou, a brother of Emperor Qin Zong, assume the imperial title at Nanjing (modern Shangqiu, Henan Province). The continuation of the Northern Song regime in South China is known to historians as the Southern Song, and Zhao Gou is referred to as Emperor Gao Zong. In 1138, he established his capital at Linan (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province). The state of Jin was strong and prosperous during the thirty-five years of Emperor Gao Zong’s reign. The Jin was then ruled by Emperors Tai Zong and Xi Zong and Prince Hai Ling. Being strong, it was offensive oriented vis-a-vis Song. Early during Emperor Gao Zong’s reign, large numbers of people in the north joined organizations to resist the Jin,

�280

a situation favourable to Song. But Gao Zong was contented with the part of China in the southeast then under his control, and he had no plan to recover the lost Central Plains. In the autumn of 1128, Wanyan Zongbi of the Jin led his army to Shandong and then took Xuzhou. Passing across the Huai River, he and his men soon drove near Yangzhou, to which Emperor Gao Zong had just fled. In great panic, the emperor fled first to Hangzhou, and then to the East China Sea. Since there was no organized resistance, the Jin forces went a long distance with complete ease. The principal aim of the Jin troops’ southward march proved to be raiding — to capture men and valuables from the rich south and take them to the north. For the time being, they had no intention of putting this vast area under their direct con¬ trol. Early in 1130, satisfied with the war booty they had acquired, the Jin forces started withdrawing to the north. Wanyan Zongbi had not expected that he and his men would be intercepted on their homeward journey.

At Huangtian-

dang (to the northeast of modern Nanjing City, Jiangsu), they were held by Han Shizhong, a Song general, for 48 days. Han and his eight thousand men inflicted heavy losses on Zongbi who claimed to have a force of several hundred thousand. When the invaders tried to ferry across the Changjiang River at Jing’anzhen, General Yue Fei intercepted them and deliver¬ ed another severe blow. In the autump of 1130, the Jin troops attacked in Shaanxi. When arriving at Heshangyuan (to the northwest of Baoji, Shaanxi Province) in the following year, they met defeat at the hands of two Song generals named Wu Jie and Wu Lin. In the battle, Zongbi himself was injured by a flying arrow. ' A large number of his men were taken prisoner. Beginning in 1133, several times the Jin forces marched southward. There were victories and defeats on^oth sides. The Song forces won several important battles. In 1133, Wu Jie and his men repulsed the Jin attack on Shaanxi and Si¬ chuan. In 1134, Yue Fei recovered Xiangyang and five other

n

281

prefectures in northern Hubei and southern Henan. In 1140, Liu Qi and his twenty thousand men put to flight more than ten hundred thousand troops of the Jin at Shunchang (modern Fuyang County, Anhui) and effectively destroyed the cream of the Jin forces. In that same year, Yue Fei recovered Zheng¬ zhou and Luoyang and then won a decisive battle at Yancheng (in modern Henan). From Yancheng he moved to Zhuxianzhen which was only forty to fifty li from Dongjing. The Jin commander Zongbi admitted that he had never met a setback like this in his whole life as a soldier. Yue Fei (110341) was a native of Tangyin in modern Henan Province. After joining the army as a volunteer he distinguished himself in many battles. With the passage of time, the men he led became so formidable in battle that there was a saying among the people that “it is easier to move a mountain than to de¬ feat a Yue Fei army”. But victories on the battlefield did not change Emperor Gao Zong’s determination to sue for peace. Great victories even aroused in him the suspicion that his generals might become too strong to be loyal to him. He appointed Qin Hui, a man who claimed that he had fled from the enemy camp, to be his prime minister, who took upon himself the mission of negotiating peace.

Peace activities intensified even

after Xiangyang and five other prefectures had been recovered by Yue Fei’s army.

In 1139, an imperial edict from the Jin

arrived demanding of Song to pay an annual tribute of 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 bolts of silk, and the Song accepted the demand. Soon after his triumph at Yancheng, Yue Fei was summarily called back from the front and, once back, was thrown into prison on false charges. In the winter of 1141, the Song accepted the Jin’s demand for large territories. The new boundary began in the west at the Dasanguan (to the southwest of modern Baoji, Shaanxi) and ended in the east at the middle stream of the Huaishui River. The Song, from then on, had to act faithfully as a subject state to the Jin and pay annual tribute in silver and silk. Han Shizhong and other

�282

anti-Jin generals were relieved of their command; Yue Fei was put to death in compliance with the Jin’s demand. After peace had been concluded with Song, Zongbi took all the military and political power of the Jin into his hand. Meanwhile, a factional strife developed among the Jin’s nobil¬ ity. After 1148, when Zongbi died, the strifes became all the more pronounced. In 1149, Wanyan Liang, having murdered Emperor Xi Zong, acceded to the throne, to be known later as Prince Hai Ling. In preparation for the conquest of the Song, he carried out political reforms so as to strengthen the power of the emperor. In 1153 he moved the Jin’s political centre from Huining (present-day Baichengzi, located in the southern section of Acheng County, Heilongjiang), to Yanjing, known also as Zhongdu (Middle Capital). In 1158, he ordered his ministers to build palaces in Kaifeng. In 1161, he personally led his troops of 600,000 men to march southward along four routes. The garrison forces of the Song stationed to the east and west of the Huai River collapsed without a fight. Stricken with panic, Emperor Gao Zong once again wanted to seek refuge on the-sea. The situation was eased somewhat when Yu Yunwen won a resounding victory over the invaders north of the Changjiang River which Wanyan Liang attempted to pass across.

Not long after his defeat, Wanyan Liang learned

that Wanyan Yong, later known as Emperor Shi Zong, had started a rebellion and called himself emperor. Seeking a quick conquest of Song so he could move his forces north¬ ward to put down the rebellion, Wanyan Liang set a deadline for his troops to cross the Changjiang River. The troops responded with a mutiny and killed him with a barrage of arrows. His death put an end to his plan of seizing south China. In 1162, Emperor Gao Zong abdicated in favour of his adopted son Zhao Shen who became known to historians as Emperor Xiao Zong. Once on the throne, Xiao Zong put General Zhang Jun in command to fight the war against the Jin. Besides, he restored all the honours due to Yue Fei

283

posthumously. Meanwhile, he actively prepared for a northern expedition. In the following year, Zhang Jun and his men marched northward and soon gained control of a number of places. Soon internal strife broke out among the Song generals, and the strife led to their defeat when the Jin troops counter¬ attacked. The defeat changed Emperor Xiao Zong’s mind about the war. To negotiate peace with the Jin, Tang Situi, a follower of Qin Hui, was appointed prime minister. General Zhang Jun, firm in his anti-Jin stand, was dismissed from his post as vice-prime minister. Early in 1165, Emperor Xiao Zong concluded a peace treaty with the Jin, under which Song ceded to the Jin large territories, besides promising to pay 200,000 taels of silver every year. After the conclusion of the treaty, a thirty-year peace ensued. In 1194, Zhao Kuo, later known as Emperor Ning Zong, ascended the throne. Preparations were made for another expedition against the Jin. In 1206, war was formally declared, and the Song soon recovered several prefectures and coun¬ ties. Later the capitulationists once again won political and military power. In 1208, the Song concluded another peace pact with the Jin, under which Emperor Ning Zong increased the annual tribute to 300,000 taels of silver, in addition to a lump sum payment of three million taels of silver as an award to the Jin troops. However, a powerful Mongol regime soon appeared in the rear of the Jin. Beginning in 1211, the Jin was subject to incessant attack by the Mongols, whom it could not resist. In 1234, the Mongols conquered Jin, thus bringing to a close the conflict between the Song and the Jin. The confrontation between the Song and the Jin lasted a century’s time, causing enormous sufferings to the people. Peasant uprisings broke out time and again in both states. Among the largest ones were those led by Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao in the Song and by the Red Jackets on the Shan¬ dong Peninsula under the control of the Jin. Zhong Xiang was a native of Wuling in Dingzhou (modern Changde, Hunan). Through religion, he forged ties with the

�284

masses in the course of more than 20 years. In the spring of 1130, he led peasants to stage an armed uprising against the Song government for its excessive taxation. He raised such slogans as: “Equality between the high and the low and equal distribution of wealth between the rich and the poor.” The rebels soon seized a vast amount of land around Lake Dongting and founded their own regime named Chu. Later, owing to espionage by Song agents, Zhong Xiang, together with his son, was taken prisoner at his own headquarters and subsequently executed. Yang Yao succeeded him as com¬ mander to continue the fight. Normally, Yang Yao and his men tilled the land on the lakeside but quickly they would get on boats as warriors whenever the Song troops were ap¬ proaching. Time and again they defeated the Song troops, and at one time their influence reached as far as Changsha, Yueyang, and other places. Finally the Song government sent Yue Fei to suppress the insurgents, and the rebellion came to an end in 1135. The Red Jackets uprising started in 1211, when the state of Jin was already in decline, its social economy was de¬ teriorating, and its people having a hard time. Contradictions between various nationalities and classes sharpened. It was under these circumstances that Yang Aner and Li Quan staged a peasant uprising in Shandong.

The rebels wore red jackets,

so their army was called the Red Jackets Army.

After seizing

control of the major part of Shandong Peninsula, they began to build their own power. Later Yang Aner died of an illness while fighting from one place to another, and after the death of Yang Aner, some of his forces, now led by his daughter Yang Miaozhen and his son-in-law Li Quan, began to move into the areas of Southern Song. One contingent, led by Peng Yibing, carried on their fight in Shandong and later moved into Hebei. Peng fought and defeated not only the Jin troops but also the Mongol troops then marching south¬ ward. In 1225, the rebel force led by Peng was finally crushed by the Mongols,

285

The period in which the Song and the Jin existed as two rival states was marked by progress made in literature, history and philosophy. The written works gave expression to the acute struggle between nationalities and between classes. In the area of literature, the Southern Song Dynasty was particularly noted for its production of ci. Both Lu You (11251210) and Xin Qiji (1140-1207) were famous ci poets and both had participated in the anti-Jin struggle. Their works, there¬ fore, reflected their concern for their country and their lofty sentiments and emotions. Both had their ci works published in anthologies. Li Qingzhao (1084-c. 1155) was a poetess who had a special place in Chinese literature. General Yue Fei, known for his military exploits, wrote good ci. Lu You was also an accomplished writer of the shi form of poetry. In its simple form, drama or zaju made its appearance during the Northern Song Dynasty. Humorous and satirical, it consisted of recitations and dialogues; later, it was accom¬ panied by songs and dances. The zaju of the Jin was not much different from that of the Southern Song. During the Southern Song Dynasty a most popular kind of zaju was the “Wenzhou drama” or “southern drama” developed in Wenzhou and other coastal regions of Zhejiang Province. Through the medium of songs, recitations, and dances, it told complicated stories with a variety of characters. In the Jin as well as in the Song, there were also dramatic ballads known as zhugongdiao or gongdiao. By songs and recitations, they told long stories. In terms of vocal style, zhugongdiao absorbed the characteristics of major melodies, ci, and folk ballads of the Tang and Song dynasties. Both zaju and zhugongdiao had con¬ tributed to the development of the Yuan drama. Hua hen or vernacular tales consisted of two kinds: the long ones and the short ones. The short ones, known as xiaoshuo, or short stories, dealt with such topics as lovers, ghosts and spirits, and heroic adventures. The long ones, known as jiang shi or historical episodes, related historical events that

occurred in a certain period,

They described wars and the

�286

rise and fall of dynasties and portrayed heroes and their military exploits. Revealing the seamy side of society, they were literature of realism. By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, vernacular tales had made considerable progress. They advanced further during the Southern Song Dynasty and served as the forerunner of the novels of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Books of history written during the Southern Song Dynasty were of two kinds: dynastic history dealing with changes of the time and general history covering events over a long span of time. Li Tao (1115-84), following Sima Guang’s example, wrote A Sequel to History as a Mirror (Xu zizhi tongjian changpian) modelled after the latter’s History as a Mirror. The original work had 1,036 juan, but today only 520 remain. Com¬ piled by Li Xinchuan (1166-1244), A Chronicle of the Most Im¬ portant Events Since the Jianyan Reign Period had 200 juan. It covered events over the 36 years of Emperor Gao Zong’s reign; it could be seen as a continuation of A Sequel. Xu Menghua (1126-1207) wrote a 230-juan work entitled A Chronicle of Three Song Emperors’ Dealings with the Northern Neighbour that recorded the Song’s relationship with the Jin during the reigns of Emperors Hui Zong, Qin Zong, and Gao Zong.

Rich

and reliable in source materials, the three works described above chronologically recorded the events of the time. His¬ torical Collections was a great work in 200 juan compiled by Zheng Qiao (1103-62). Centred on historical personalities, it gave a general account of the history of various dynasties prior to the late Sui Dynasty. In addition to a chronological record of historical events, it contained a historical study of various clans, cities, academic learning and bibliography. A book of history, according to him, “should locate the essence that underlies all the historical changes”; bu^t his own book did not line up to that high standard. Based u)oon his own reading of History as a Mirror, Yuan Shu (1131-1205) wrote Events in History as a Mirror. It contained 239 fully accounted

events in 42 juan. With Events, Yuan Shu not only introduced

287

a new way of writing history but also demonstrated his own ability of bringing essential facts out of a confused mass of materials. Works like those described above not only re¬ flected the political situation of the time but were also im¬ portant contributions to the study of history. In philosophy, Zhu Xi (1130-1200) inherited and developed the objective idealism pioneered by the Cheng Brothers, exerting the greatest ideological influence on Chinese feudal society after Confucius and Dong Zhongshu. He believed that “reason” in things existed before things themselves existed and all the changes in things were governed by it. As far as men were concerned, “reason” was nothing but man’s nature which was inherently good; all the feudal moral standards originated in it. Blinded by the desire for material gains, man could become bad and commit violations of the feudal moral standards. The purpose of these remarks, as far as Zhu Xi was concerned, was the justification of the feudal moral standards and the necessity for people to observe them. Zhu Xi wrote many books, the most important of which were Commentary on the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean, Collected Commentaries on “The Analects” and “Mencius”, and Selected Writings of Master Zhu Xi. Many books on his words and deeds were also published.

Classified

Conversation of Master Zhu was one that has survived. Lu Jiuyuan (1139-92), an ideological opponent of Zhu Xi, advocated subjective idealism. He said that “the universe lies in my mind” and that “all things are complete within me”. The dif¬ ference between Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan was one between two schools of idealism. As different from both Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, Chen Liang and Ye Shi were two materialists. Chen Liang (1143-94) took the view that things were objective existences from which no universal principles could be detached. He advocated the study of practical subjects as means to enrich the country and strengthen its armed strength. Firm in his anti-Jin stand, he was in favour of seeking revenge and against any compro-

�

288

mises. Ye Shi (1150-1223) maintained that man drew his knowledge from the objective world which determined the kind of knowledge he had, and that it was impossible to divorce knowledge from the objective world, not even for a moment. Benevolence and righteousness, according to him, should be based on utilitarianism, otherwise they would be meaningless. He took an active part in the armed struggle against the Jin regime.

The Rise of the Mongols and the Fall of the Xia, the Jin and the Southern Song

The Mongols were formerly a tribe roaming the upper reaches of the Argun River. Later they moved to live in the valleys of the Onon and Kerulen rivers. With the passage of time, they rose to become a powerful tribe. During the period from the late 12th to the early 13th century, Temujin consolidated all the Mongol tribes and placed under his leader¬ ship a centralized Khanate which brought the Mongols to a new stage of development. In 1206, he had a clan conference held on the bank of the Onon River, at which he was pro¬ claimed the Great Khan, with the reign title of Genghis Khan. He was later known as Emperor Tai Zu of the Yuan Dynasty. Genghis Khan organized his army and all the adults of his Mongol tribe according to a decimal system. He personally selected an elite force of 10,000 which served as a basic strik¬ ing unit. He transformed customary laws into written laws so as to specify the special privileges of the nobility and to tighten the control over the herdsmen slaves. The enforce¬ ment of military discipline and the completion of written laws added to the strength of the Mongol Khanate based on slavery. For a long period, Genghis Khan and his successors Ogdai Khan and Mangu Khan conquered and seized territories both in the south and in the western regions. In the south their attacks were directed against the Xia, the Jin, and the Song;

n

289

in the western regions, their conquest extended as far as Cen¬ tral Europe. Having conquered the Western Liao by 1218, the Mongols extended their influence over areas both north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and over Central Asia. In 1218, com¬ manding 200,000 men, Genghis Khan personally led a western expedition. In five years he swept across much of Asia and Europe, with his vanguard going as far as Eastern Europe and northern Iran. During the period from 1236 to 1241, Ogdai Khan, having brought Russia to its knees, sent his forces as far as modern Poland, Hungary and other regions. In the period from 1253 to 1259, Mangu Khan sent his brother, Hulagu, to wipe out the Assassin sect in Persia. Having accomplished the mission, Hulagu and his troops sacked Xiabaoda (Bagdad) and gained control of southwestern Asia. Wherever the Mongol cavalrymen went, great devastation ensued, and people suf¬ fered serious losses. After the successful conclusion of their western campaign, the Mongols established four Great Khanates. The Kipchak Khanate was the fief of the family of Juji, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. At the zenith of its rule, its territory extended west to the lower reaches of the Danube, east to the Irtysh River, south to Caucasus, and north to Bulgar near Kazan in the modern Soviet Union. The Jagatai Khanate, the former territory of the Western Liao, was now the fief of Jagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan. The Ogdai Khanate was the fief of Ogdai, the third son of Genghis Khan, covering the upper reaches of the Irtysh River and the area east of the Balkhash Lake. The Il-Khanate was the fief of Hulagu, the son of Tule, the fourth son of Genghis Khan, covering the area south of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. At the beginning, the four Khanates were subject to unified Mongol rule; later, they became independent states. They came to an end during the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries. During the period from 1205 to 1227, Genghis Khan at¬ tacked the Xia and the Jin many times. More than once he

�290

laid siege to the capital city of the Xia and the Xia ruler was forced to sue for peace by presenting him with beautiful maid¬ ens. In the end the Xia ruler had to flee for his life. Having been repeatedly defeated, the Jin ruler did likewise by pre¬ senting the Mongols with beautiful maidens so as to sue for peace. Zhongdu, which had been a capital of the Jin for more than sixty years beginning with Prince Hai Ling’s reign, fell into Mongol hands in 1215. The Mongol invaders trampled over the vast territory north of the Huanghe River, burning, killing, and plundering wherever they went. In fighting a war of plunder, Genghis Khan was slow to recognize the mode of production and the way of governance under feudalism. To the ministers who had easy access to him, the Han Chinese were no more than a nuisance to be eliminated, and the Chi¬ nese farmland should be laid waste and converted into pas¬ tures. Yelii Chucai, on the other hand, maintained that the Han Chinese, instead of being a nuisance, could contribute greatly to the Mongol conquest of the south by providing mili¬ tary supplies and tax revenue.

Yelii Chucai (1190-1244) was

a learned scholar and politician of Qidan origin, active during the reigns of Genghis Khan and Ogdai Khan. He played an active role in influencing the Mongol ruling clique to adopt the Han Chinese culture. His writings are included in Collected Works of Hermit Zhanran. In 1226 Genghis Khan launched his last campaign against the Xia. In the following year, the Xia ruler surrendered, and the Xia ended as an independent state. Genghis Khan died of illness in the same year. It took him only twenty-one years to start as a tribal chieftain and become a world-shaking personality. In 1229, soon after his accession to the throne as the Great Khan, Ogdai ordered an expedition against the Jin. In the following year he personally led attacks by his troops, with only mixed result. In 1233, as soon as the Mongols took Kaifeng, Emperor Ai Zong of the Jin fled to Caizhou (modern Runan County, Henan). Following its previous agreement with

291

the Mongols, the Southern Song sent its troops to join the Mongols in surrounding Caizhou. In 1234, Emperor Ai Zong committed suicide, and the Jin came to an end. Nevertheless, the Jin exerted a great influence on the early period of Yuan because of its cultural achievement. Yuan Haowen (11901257), a native of Xiuyong of Taiyuan (to the northwest of modern Xinxian County, Shanxi), was an outstanding writer during the early period of the Yuan Dynasty. After van¬ quishing the Jin, the Mongols aimed at the Southern Song as their main target. In 1235, the Mongols marched southward along two routes. One contingent of the Mongol troops drove into Sichuan where it met with fierce resistance. In 1236, it occupied Chengdu. Another contingent marched towards Xiangyang, which it took in 1236, after inflicting heavy losses on the Song forces. The Song general Meng Gong made a vigorous stand. In 1238, the Song forces recovered both Cheng¬ du and Xiangyang which the Mongols had occupied only for a brief period.

But the Song Emperor Li Zong was bent on

coming to terms with the Mongols by making compromise. In 1241, the peace talks stopped because of the death of the Mongol ruler, Ogdai Khan. After his succession to the throne in 1251, Mangu Khan made repeated incursions into Song territory. In 1253 Kublai, brother of the emperor, and General Uriyangqadai, driving into Yunnan, seized Dali. After inducing Tufan to surrender, they took control of China’s southwest region, and succeeded in forming a ring of encirclement around the Southern Song forces in the southwest. In 1258, Mangu attacked Song on three routes. Kublai was to take Ezhou (modern Wuchang City, Hubei) and Uriyangqadai to attack Tanzhou (modern Changsha City, Hunan). Mangu Khan himself was to lead a force to attack Sichuan. The Khan, however, met with stiff resistance at Hezhou (modern Hechuan County, Sichuan), which he could not take after six months of heavy fighting. In 1259, during the cam¬ paign to take Diaoyucheng, to the east of Hezhou, he was

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292

mortally wounded near the city wall.

His death changed the

war situation. On hearing about Mangu’s death while on his way to Ezhou, Kublai joined his forces with those of Uriyangqadai in a northward withdrawal. and

designated

In 1260, he succeeded as Great Khan

Kaiping

(modern

Duolun

County,

Inner

Mongolia) as Shangdu (Upper Capital) and Yanjing (modern Beijing) as Zhongdu (Middle Capital).

In 1271, he called his

regime Yuan. After a period of social development beginning with Genghis Khan who unified all the Mongol tribes, the Mongols had by now left slave society and entered feudal so¬ ciety. Kublai was later referred to as Emperor Shi Zu. Early during his reign, Kublai found himself embroiled in the inner struggles of the nobility.

In the meantime, in the

Southern Song, Emperor Li Zong and his prime minister, Jia Sidao, dissolute as they were, led a life of corruption.

They

killed anti-Mongol generals and ruthlessly exploited the peo¬ ple. It was due to the hard struggle on the part of the masses of people and the military forces that Southern Song managed to secure a precarious existence in face of the constant threat of war. In the end, however, it had to collapse. In 1267, the Mongol troops marched southward on a grand scale.

Following the advice of those Southern Song generals

who had surrendered, Kublai Khan concentrated his attack on Xiangyang and Fancheng, the two strategic points on the upper reaches of the Hanshui River.

Six years later, the two cities

fell, though Southern Song put up a strong resistance. In 1274, a Mongol force of 200,000, led by Left Prime Minister Bayan, drove into Song territory over both land and river. In 1275, the main force of the Song disintegrated in the battle of Wuhu. Song generals and officials, led by Jia Sidao, either surrendered or fled for their lives. In 1276^'Bayan and his men marched into Hangzhou, captured Emperor Gong Di, Empress Dowager Quan and Empress Dowager Xie, and carried them off to the north. Thus the Song Dynasty came to an end about forty years after Ogdai Khan launched his first campaign against it in 1235. Though the Southern Song was exterminated by the Mongols, efforts were made by such men as Wen Tianxiang (1236-82), Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie to revive it despite the difficulties involved. Having been taken captive, Wen Tian¬ xiang refused to surrender and died a martyr. Lu and Zhang also laid down their lives for their cause.

Founding of the Yuan Dynasty and Peasant Uprisings During the Late Yuan

After the Southern Song was exterminated in 1276, Kublai Khan made further efforts to eliminate the remnant Song forces so as to bring the country under the centralized rule of the Yuan regime. The country was governed from above via three separate organs: the Secretariat, the Military Council, and the Censorate. Though inherited from the Song, these organs had different functions under the Yuan. The Secreta¬ riat was in charge of political matters as well as “all key military problems” and also handled the country’s finance. Placed under the Secretariat were the executive secretariats in various administrative regions. These were, generally speaking, headed by high officials from the central govern¬ ment. Institutionalized as a key organ in the government, the Secretariat under the Yuan exercised much greater power than its Song counterpart. Executive secretariats were established even in such remote areas of the country as Yunnan. In Tufan, the administrative organ was known as the Council of Buddhist Affairs. The Military Council was invested with the power to direct military activities; an executive military council would be created under its jurisdiction during a milifhry campaign. All armed forces, excluding the Imperial Guard of the emperor, were put under the joint control of the Military Council and a central executive secretariat, or under the separate control of either. Thus the Military Council of the Yuan also enjoyed

297

greater power than that of the Song. Executive censorates were established on local levels under the Censorate, which also directed the “clean government inspection offices”. The purpose was to strengthen the supervision of local administra¬ tion.

From the viewpoint of strengthening feudal autonomy,

the Yuan followed the philosophy of the Song in terms of administrative organizations. There was a difference in empha¬ sis, however. The purpose of the Song system was to strengthen the power of the emperor and prevent any threat to that power from high ministers in the central government or from the local authorities.

The Yuan system, on the other hand, was

designed not only to strengthen the power of the emperor but also to provide local administration with enough authority to function effectively. Han Chinese like Liu Bingzhong and Xu Heng had contributed greatly to this concept. Kublai Khan was the first Mongol ruler who attached great importance to agricultural development.

Before conquering

the Song, he established an agricultural promotion department headed by Yao Shu and sent people to various places to de¬ velop agriculture. people”

and

He formulated a policy of “pacifying the

“promoting

agriculture”;

he

distributed

a

pamphlet entitled The Fundamentals of Agriculture and Seri¬ culture to popularize farming methods.

After conquering the

Song, he re-introduced China’s traditional system of having the armed forces do farming and land reclamation in peace time, and organized the construction of water conservancy projects on a grand scale.

Though social contradictions were

still acute at the time, agricultural production was somehow restored.

As a result, grain transported from the south to the

north kept increasing and, in a peak year, amounted to more than 350,000,000 piculs (17,500,000 tons). As the ruler of a nomadic people, Kublai Khan distinguished himself from all previous Mongolian monarchs by his recognition of the eco¬ nomic and political importance of agriculture and the measures he adopted to promote its growth.

�298

The Yuan regime paid great attention to the development of communication and transportation, including the construc¬ tion of post roads and post stations. By the time of Kublai Khan a network of post roads and post stations had extended as far northeast as the Heilongjiang River and Nurkan (modern Tirin in the U.S.S.R.), to Yunnan in the southwest, to Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi in the south, and Mongolia in the north. Among the means of transportation on the post roads were horses, cattles, donkeys, carts, sedan chairs and ferry boats. Those allowed to travel on the post roads were provided with “board and lodging”, including “tents where they can stop overnight and water to quench their thirst”. In water transportation, Kublai saw to it that the Grand Canal, then unfinished, be finally completed from Hangzhou to Dadu by a shift of its course from Henan to Shandong.

Coastal

transportation was also opened from the southeast to Dadu. It was said then that a tail wind could bring a ship from East Zhejiang to Dadu in ten days. All these achievements in trans¬ portation were possible only when the country was unified; and they helped the country’s unification. The Yuan regime adopted a policy of toleration towards all religions. Lamaism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam existed side by side. Only the White Lotus Society and the Maitreya sect were banned due to their anti-Yuan stand. Among the re¬ ligions, Lamaist Buddhism received the greatest favour from the government. Kublai Khan bestowed the title “Teacher of the Nation” on the Tibetan lama Phatspa, who was instructed to create a Mongolian written script based on the Tibetan script. Known as the Phatspa Mongolian script, it replaced the one then in use, the Uygur Mongolian script. The religious activities of Lamaism were founded by the government. Taoism had many sects. By the time of Genghis Khan there was a Taoist “immortal” named Qiu Chuji who wa§'ordered to “take good care of all the devotees who have left home for a monastic life”. By the time of Kublai, the influence of Taoism had somewhat declined. Both Christianity and Islamism came

299

to China during the Tang Dynasty. As late as the Yuan Dynasty, Nestorianism remained the only Christian sect in China, and its followers could be found in such places as Dadu, Hangzhou, and Quanzhou. Most of the Semu people believed in Islam, a devotee of which was Ananda, the grandson of Kublai. Among the 150,000 men under the grandson’s com¬ mand, more than one half embraced Islam. Besides the many religious faiths, the Neo-Confucianism of the Cheng-Zhu School remained popular. During the dynasty, progress was made in science and technology as well as in the humanities. Increased contacts between various nationalities within the country and cultural exchanges with the outside world enabled members of ethnic minorities and foreign residents in China, and also their offspring, to contribute their part in the enrichment of China’s culture. Guo Shoujing (1231-1316) was a great astronomer and an outstanding expert in water conservancy. He made improve¬ ments on astronomical equipment, built his own observatories and observed and measured heavenly bodies with great preci¬ sion.

He also made a land survey on an unprecedented scale.

He constructed twenty-seven observatories across the coun¬ try to measure latitudes. There was an observatory for the distance of every ten degrees latitude from the Xisha Archi¬ pelago to the Arctic Circle to determine the exact occurrence of summer solstice. He revised the Time-Telling Calendar in which he determined that 365.2425 days constituted a year and 29.530593 days amounted to a month. Both figures hap¬ pened to be the most accurate in the contemporary world. Adopted in 1281, the calendar was in use for a long period of about 360 years. In water conservancy, Guo Shoujing directed the reconstruction of not only the Hanyan and Tanglai irrigation canals (in modern Ningxia) but also opened up new water resources for Dadu. Ma Duanlin (from 1254 to early 14th century) examined what he called “the causes of historical changes”. He col-

�300

lected a large amount of historical materials, classified them into twenty-four categories, and made his own conclusions on the events he studied. The result was A Comprehensive Study of Civilization in 348 juan. A great work on social institutions, it was richer in content than A Comprehensive Study of His¬ tory by Du You of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, he also wrote Comprehensive Studies in 153 juan. Unfortunately, the book has been lost. In literature, the Yuan Dynasty was best known for its achievements in qu or dramatic ballads. Then qu had two kinds, san qu and za ju. The former derived its origin from the tunes of people living in the former Jin territories; it was combined with the shi or ci form of poetry and set to the melodies of the ethnic minorities in North China. The latter, combining singing with dancing and acting, was entirely new. At the beginning, za ju was only popular in North China; later it spread to the south. The two greatest dramatists of the Yuan Dynasty were Guan Hanqing and Wang Shifu. Guan Hanqing (c. 1213-1297) wrote more than 60 pieces of drama, the most outstanding being Snow in Midsummer. It described a young widow who resisted the approach of a villain and put up a valiant fight against the brutality of the bureaucrats. It showed the cruel realities of the dark feudal rule. Wang Shifu, a contemporary of Guan, wrote The Western Chamber, which was his masterpiece. Though its main theme was love and separation, joy and sorrow, involving a scholar named Zhang Junrui and a girl named Cui Yingying, it ex¬ pressed the universal hope that “those who love each other shall in the end be united in marriage”. Many za ju writers, including Guan Hanqing, were also good at san qu. The Uygur poet Guan Yunshi and the Hui poet Saidula were both eminent writers of san qu. Late during the Yuan Dynasty, the nan xi or “southern drama” that had been most popular during the Southern Song Dynasty made further progress. Enriched by za ju, nan xi perfected itself and became a better form

301

of art than za ju. The Moon Worship Pavilion by Shi Hui and Tale of the Lute by Gao Ming were the best known among the nan xi. They paved the way for the rise of chuanqi (operas set to southern music) during the Ming Dynasty. The unification of China under the Yuan Dynasty ended a state of divided rule that began with the Five Dynasties. Eco¬ nomic and cultural successes were achieved in the unified empire. But the Yuan court maintained its rule amid acute contradictions including those between different classes, within the ruling classes and among the various nationalities. Under the Yuan, the people of the country were divided into four categories. The Mongols belonged to the first or privileged class. Next were the Semu’s, who came from both sides of the Tianshan Mountains and areas to the west of the Congling Range.* Then came the Hans, which referred to the Hans and the Ntizhens who lived in the Huanghe River valley. At the bottom of the social scale were the “southern¬ ers”, mostly Hans, who inhabited the Changjiang River valley and areas to the south and who had surrendered to the Mon¬ gols only after the fall of the Southern Song regime. The Yuan also had its armed forces classified with Mongol troops, van¬ guard detachments, Han troops, and new joiners. Strictly speaking, the Yuan regime was not purely Mongol, though it was dominated by the Mongols. With the Mongol nobles at its core, the regime was supported by the Han Chinese landlords and the upper classes of many other nationalities..

Without such

a support, the Mongol nobles would not be able to rule such a large country. The policy of national discrimination, which created discord among different nationalities, was merely a means to solidify Mongol rule as it prevented them from form¬ ing a unified front against the Mongols. This explains why class struggle appeared as national struggle during the Yuan Dynasty. As far as the Mongol labouring masses were con* Old name for the Pamirs and mountains in the western parts of the Kunlun and Karakorum ranges. — Trans.

�302

cerned, they remained slaves to Mongol rulers, and some of them even became slaves to the Semu’s and the Han Chinese. The eighteen years after Kublai conquered the Song were the most glorious years of the Yuan Dynasty. However, in 1278, only two years after Kublai’s conquest of the Southern Song, a native of Jianning (modern Jian’ou County, Fujian) named Huang Hua, in alliance with a woman leader of the She nationality named Madame Xu, staged an armed uprising for the overthrow of the Yuan regime.

They gathered a force

of several hundred thousand in a struggle that persisted for six years, taking many towns in the progress.

In 1283, as

many as 200 armed uprisings were reported from local of¬ ficials throughout the country.

In 1289, one official report

said that there were more than 400 armed uprisings in the lower Changjiang River valley alone. After the death of Ku¬ blai, his grandson Emperor Cheng Zong inherited the throne. During the thirteen years of his reign (1295-1307), Kublai’s accomplishments were more or less preserved.

The death of

Cheng Zong, however, was followed by a period of internal struggle for the throne that lasted twenty-five years, which saw the reigns of nine emperors.

Peasant uprisings were then

at a low ebb, but the Yuan regime had already reached the stage of decline. By the time of Emperor Shun Di’s reign (1333-68), the Yuan Dynasty had entered its last days, having become corrupt politically, economically, occurred in many places. breached.

and militarily.

Peasant uprisings

In 1343, the Huanghe River was

In 1344, following a torrential rain of more than

twenty days, vast tracts of land along the river were sub¬ merged to the depth of seven metres.

In 1351, to dredge the

river, a labour force of 150,000 men, supervised by 20,000 soldiers, was mobilized. The mobilization increased^the burden on the people in the flooded areas. Then there was the saying that “on the bed of the Huanghe River is a one-eyed stone man who calls for revolt”. Sure enough, a one-eyed stone

303

man was found on the riverbed, and the rebels took up arms in earnest. The Red Scarves constituted the main force of the peasant uprising, and Han Shantong and Liu Futong were their ear¬ liest organizers and leaders. At the beginning, they carried out their activities under the cover of a religious sect called the White Lotus Society. In the course of preparing for the revolt, Han Shantong was arrested and subsequently executed. In 1351, Liu Futong began his uprising at Yingzhou (modern Fuyang County, Anhui). To distinguish themselves from others, the rebels tied red scarves around their heads, and from such a habit came the name of the Red Scarves army. The army, soon swelling to more than one hundred thousand men, captured a number of towns in today’s Henan Province. Many places in the Huai River valley and on both sides of the Changjiang River responded. In 1355, Liu Futong captured Bozhou (modern Boxian County, Anhui) and installed Han Linger as King Xiaoming. The new regime was called the Song.

In the same year, Em¬

peror Shun Di called upon rich people to organize forces for resistance. Those who could recruit five thousand men would receive the title of wan hu; those who could gather one thousand or one hundred would be titled qian hu and hai hu respectively.*

There were then landlord forces organized by

Chaguntemur, a Mongol from Shenqiu, modern Henan Prov¬ ince, and Li Siqi, a Han Chinese from Luoshan, also in Henan. Both became inveterate enemies of Red Scarves. In 1357 Liu Futong and his men marched northward on three separate routes.

The east route army was to cross the

sea from northern Jiangsu to take Shandong, from where it would enter Hebei to attack Dadu. The middle route was ordered to cross the Huanghe River to attack Shanxi, take Datong, storm the Upper Capital at Kaiping and capture Liao* Literally, wan hu, qian hu and bai hu mean ten thousand, a thou¬ sand and a hundred households. — Trans.

�

304

yang. The west route army was supposed to enter Shaanxi and seize control of Sichuan, Gansu and Ningxia. In 1358, Liu Futong and his men captured Kaifeng whereto the Song regime moved its capital. This was the time when the Red Scarves reached the zenith of their power after they had basi¬ cally destroyed the main forces of the Yuan Dynasty in the north. But the Red Scarves only fought a mobile warfare. They did not pay much attention to the reconstruction of the conquered areas or collaboration among different fighting units. They quarrelled among themselves after victory. Moreover, they were not alert enough to the newly-formed armed forces of the landlords. Their shortcomings provided their enemy with the opportunity to defeat them. By 1362, all the three route armies had encountered defeat. Once finding himself being surrounded by Chaguntemur at Kaifeng,

Liu

Futong

and

his

men

(modern Shouxian County, Anhui). 1363.

withdrew He died

to

in

Anfeng

action in

King Xiaoming received protection from Zhu Yuan-

zhang, later the founder of the Ming Dynasty, who took him to Chuzhou (modern Chuxian County, Anhui). While the Red Scarves were winning one victory after another in the north, peasant insurgents in the south were doing their part to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty. Among the peasant leaders was Xu Shouhui who, having won' the sup¬ port of Peng Yingyu, leader of the Maitreya Sect, staged an armed uprising in 1351 at Qizhou (modern Qichun County, Hubei) and captured many places in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Sichuan. In 1360, Xu Shouhui was murdered by his subordinate Chen Youliang, and this group of peasant army soon disintegrated. There was also a peasant force led by Zhang Shicheng, that rose in revolt at Taizhou (in modern Jiangsu) in 1353. It captured Gaoyou and, later,‘Suzhou, Hang¬ zhou, and many other places south of the Changjiang River before it, in 1357, surrendered to the Yuan regime. Both Xu Shouhui and Zhu Yuanzhang were at one time part of the Red Scarves, but Zhang Shicheng was not. In 1352 Guo Zixing and his men revolted at Haozhou (modern Fengyang County, Anhui) in response to the revolt led by Liu Futong. Zhu Yuanzhang threw in his lot with Guo Zixing and won his confidence. In 1355, after Guo Zi¬ xing died, Zhu inherited the command. In 1356, he captured Jiqing (modern Nanjiang) and used it as a base of operation and expansion. Acting on the advice of Li Shanchang and Liu Ji, statesman and strategist of the landlord class, he planned not only to seize the power of the Yuan Dynasty but also to unify the country. He attacked first in the south when the Yuan regime was preoccupied in the north. In 1363, he decisively defeated Cheng Youliang who was killed by a flying arrow. In 1367, after annihilating Zhang Shicheng, he led his troops northward against the Yuan regime which was then embroiled in internal struggle. In 1368, he entered Shandong, took con¬ trol of Henan and Hebei provinces, and went straight to Dadu. Emperor Shun Di of the Yuan Dynasty fled northward, and the Yuan regime came to an end. The Red Scarves raised such slogans as “Take money from the rich and give it to the poor” and “Eliminate all wrongs”, slogans that were similar in content to “Equalization of wealth” that had been popular with insurgent groups beginning with the Northern Song Dynasty. Only this time, in the struggle against the Yuan, there was a nationalistic element. Though Zhu Yuanzhang ended the Yuan regime, he, after his victory, backslid to the system of feudal rule, changing completely the character of the peasant uprising.

Further Growth of Social Productivity; Southward Shift of Economic Development

Destructive wars had dislocated social production or re¬ tarded its development beginning with the Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan; malpractices innate in the backward rule of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan made things worse. When the period

307

is viewed as a whole, however, social productive forces still made headway, though in a halting manner. This was par¬ ticularly true in the south. With less destruction from wars and more time for development, the south quickly became the economic centre of the whole country in agriculture, handicraft industry and commerce. By the time of the Five Dynasties, the Song, and the Yuan, rice, planted mostly in the south, had become the chief food crop of the country. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of rice strains planted in the lower Changjiang River valley was as many as two hundred. Wheat was also a major food crop. It was planted in the lower Chang jiang River valley too. Sericulture was a main sideline for those engaged in agri¬ cultural production. Cotton was planted in the south as well as in the north. By the later part of the Southern Song Dynasty, cotton acreage had increased enormously. Cotton was first grown in Fujian and then in Guangdong; its planting eventually reached the valleys of the Chang jiang and the Huai rivers. In The Fundamentals of Agriculture and Sericul¬ ture issued by the Yuan government in 1273, there was de¬ tailed information on the technique of growing cotton, in¬ dicating that cotton planting had attracted well-deserved at¬ tention. Attention was paid to the planting of crops in accordance with not only seasons but also local conditions. Proper ar¬ rangements were made in field building, sowing, seed-breeding, field management, fertilizing and harvesting as well as in¬ tercropping. Meticulous care was generally practised. As land was used in a planned way, different fields were des¬ ignated for different purposes. Yutian (fields protected by dykes) were created out of lakes; to regulate waterflow, sluice gates were installed. In addition, ditches were dug to facil¬ itate irrigation. Generally speaking, yutian fields were good lands that yielded bumper harvests irrespective of drought and flood.

There were terraced fields built on hillsides.

Land

�308

on seashore and riverside was also transformed into cropfields. All this could be seen in South China. During the period under discussion, attention was paid to the construction of water conservancy projects for the pur¬ pose of developing agriculture. More than ten thousand of such projects were built in the latter part of the Northern Song Dynasty. A typical example was the Mulan Dyke in Xinghua and Putien of Fujian Province, a multi-purpose proj¬ ect for water diversion, storage, irrigation, and drainage. By the time of the Southern Song, water conservancy projects were completed on an even greater scale. Works around Lake Taihu were built in such a way that all land, whether highly situated or low-lying, could be irrigated, and good harvests were thus guaranteed. As the saying went, “As soon as the crops in Suzhou and Huzhou ripen, there is enough food for everyone in China.” Guo Shoujing of the Yuan Dynasty re¬ paired and rebuilt many irrigation canals, and his efforts played a constructive role in agricultural production in North¬ west China. In 1149, Chen Fu wrote Agriculture, a book that described paddy field work in a systematic way. It advanced the idea that “land fertility could be permanently maintained for the production of good crops”.

Between 1295 and 1300,

Wang Zhen wrote another book, also entitled On Agriculture. The book covered not only agriculture but also forestry, animal husbandry, and spinning and weaving. “Agricultural Implements Illustrated” accounted for a large portion of book. A great deal of attention was also given to the building of water conservancy projects. Both books have played a very important role in the history of Chinese agriculture. During the Song and the Yuan dynasties, the obvious progress in the handicraft industry could be found in mining, metallurgy, shipbuilding, spinning and weaving,-^manufac¬ turing of pottery and porcelain and paper making. The amount of gold, silver, copper and iron then produced had far

surpassed any produced during the previous historical periods.

309

People then could build an ocean-going ship of thirty metres long, that could accommodate 600 to 1,000 passengers and carry a freight weight of 2,000 piculs (100 tons). Porcelains produced during the Song and the Yuan were art treasures. Among the famous kilns were those in Kaifeng, Yuzhou (modern Yuxian County, Henan), Ruzhou (modern Linru County, Henan), Dingzhou (modern Dingxian, Hebei), Yuezhou (modern Shaoxing County, Zhejiang), Geyao (modern Longquan County, Zhejiang), and Jingdezhen, Jiangxi. Dif¬ ferent kilns produced porcelains of different forms and styles. Those produced in the northern states of Liao and Jin and in the southwestern state of Dali had their own characteristics. The textile industry then consisted primarily of silk and ramie weaving. A gradual improvement was then made in the technique of cotton spinning and weaving; as a result, cotton cloth was produced in great quantities. In the time of Kublai Khan, offices of cotton administration were estab¬ lished in several provinces in South China, and they requisi¬ tioned for the government 100’,000 bolts of cotton cloth per year. Early during Emperor Cheng Zong’s reign, people in the lower Changjiang River valley were required to pay their summer taxes in cotton.

This indicates that the cotton textile

industry had made great progress by then.

During the late

Song and early Yuan period, a woman named Huang. Daopo improved the tools as well as the technique of cotton spinning and weaving, and her contribution sped up the progress. Progress was also made in paper making. Among the raw materials were bamboo, rattan, flax, and rice and wheat stalks. Special and high-quality paper was produced in modern Jiang¬ su, Sichuan, Anhui and Fujian. A thin and evenly smooth paper of about five metres long was then made in Shexian County in modern Anhui. Commerce was flourishing throughout the Song and the Yuan dynasties. Kaifeng, Chengdu, Xingyuan (modern Hanzhong City, Shaanxi) of the Northern Song, Hangzhou, Jian-

kang, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu, Taiyuan, Jingzhao (mod-

�310

ern Xi’an City, Shaanxi) and Dadu of the Southern Song and the Yuan — they were all important commercial centres. Dur¬ ing the Northern Song Dynasty Kaifeng had more than 200,000 households. Commercial activities were carried out not only during daytime but also in some places during the night. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou was a city of 390,000 households, or a population of 1.2 million. Trade flourished, and markets swarmed with people. More than twenty licensed pawn-shops, charging high interest, were found in the city. During the Yuan Dynasty the Italian traveller Marco Polo call¬ ed Dadu a most flourishing city. It was said that the silk trans¬ ported into the city each day filled one thousand carts. During the Song Dynasty, trade between China’s hinterland and the Liao, Jin, and West Xia was also very prosperous. As a means to facilitate exchange, the earliest paper currency made its appearance. During the Song-Yuan periods important achievements were made in technology. Some of these achievements were closely related to social production. During the Warring States Period, the magnetic property of lodestone was discovered. Its other property, that of pointing to the north, was also noted. The magnetic stone was then ground into an instrument that gave guidance to direction. As to the time when the compass was first employed in navigation, no one seems to be sure. However, towards the end of the Northern Song or early in the twelfth century, a person named Zhu Yu, who had lived for a long time in Guangzhou, reported that captains of ships “use stars at night, the sun during the day, and compasses during rainy days for guidance in directions”. This is the earliest evidence of using compasses in navigation. Compasses used were then known as “floating needles” that were kept aloft inside bowls of water by floating wicks. v. Block printing made its first appearance during the inter¬ vening years between the Sui and the Tang dynasties. At the time of the Five Dynasties it was first used in the printing

311

of Confucian classics. During 931-953, the official version of the Nine Classics of Confucianism was printed in 130 juan. In the period 971-983, early in the Northern Song Dynasty, the official text of The Tripitaka in Chinese was printed in 5,048 juan. The technique of block printing reached its stage of maturity and flourished during the Song Dynasty. Hang¬ zhou was then most famous for its printing plates, though Fujian and Sichuan were not too far behind. Books were exquisitely printed in large numbers. Books of Song printing are still highly valued today. During the Northern Song period, Bi Sheng invented the movable type. Moistened clay was used as material to carve out the characters, which were hardened by fire. For each character there were several heads of type, and the number was larger for the commonly used ones. For the purpose of printing, heads of type were arranged on a plate according to the content of the book. After the printing was completed, the plate could be dismantled, and heads of type reused. Basically, the same practice is followed even today. During the Song-Yuan period, there were also tin movable type and wood movable type. Wang Zhen invented a revolving device whereby a printer could pick up the heads of type he needed without having to leave his seat. The Chinese knew the use of gunpowder for weaponry as early as the Five Dynasties period. During the Northern Song period, a man named Zeng Gongliang wrote a book en¬ titled The Outline of Military Science in which he described three kinds of explosives and many kinds of gunpowder weap¬ ons. Gunpowder could be used for its explosive power, for its smoke, and for its poisoning capacity. Towards the end of the Northern Song, an explosive device known as pi li pao (thunderbolt cannon) was used to defend Kaifeng and to beat back the Jin invaders. After the fall of the Northern Song regime, the Jins adopted the Song technique and invented zhen tian lei (sky-shaking thunder) — a gun that could inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. It was so powerful that its

�

312

explosion could be heard at a great distance. Later, gunpowder was used by the Mongol troops during their western expedi¬ tion. Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty, even peasant in¬ surgents used copper tubes filled up with gunpowder. Other than Guo Shoujing, well known for his accomplish¬ ments in astronomy and calendar making, astronomer Su Song, who lived during the Northern Song period, wrote a book entitled New Design for an Armillary Sphere, in which he recorded a water-powered armillary sphere that marked the movement of the heavenly bodies.

This was the

earliest

astronomical clock on record. In mathematics, Liu Yi of the Northern Song Dynasty found the method of solving quadratic equation; Jia Xian then worked out the method of extracting equational roots by successive additions and multiplications. By this method not only square and cubic roots, but also roots in equations of a higher degree, could be extracted.

Qin Jiushao of the

Southern Song Dynasty, Li Ye, who lived during the inter¬ vening years between the Jin and the Yuan dynasties, and Zhu Shijie of the Yuan Dynasty — all three made improvements on the method of extracting equational roots.

During the

Song-Yuan period, mathematicians made outstanding contri¬ butions involving linear congruences and multivariate higher simultaneous equations. In architecture, many buildings dating back to the time of the Liao, Song, Jin, and Yuan can still be found today. Li Jie, a great architect of the Northern Song period, wrote a book entitled Building Formulas. This was a comprehensive work on architecture in 34 juan, supplemented with £ number of drawings. The book described every architectural require¬ ment, as well as technical problems, that had to be dealt with in construction. The revised

edition

of

Pharmacopoeia

of the

Kaibao*

• Reign title of Emperor Tai Zu of the Northern Song Dynasty,

covering the years 968-976. — Trans.

313

Period, that came out early during the Northern Song period, listed 132 more herbs than its Tang predecessor. Towards the end of this period, a book entitled Classification of Viable Herbs by Tang Shenwei had in it the description of 1,558 individual herbs. In later years, it exerted an enormous in¬ fluence on Chinese pharmacology. During the Northern Song period, an imperial physician named Wang Weiyi designed a .body model made of copper over which acupuncture points were indicated. He also wrote An Illustration of the Copper Man’s Acupuncture Points to show the correct locations of these points. Early during the Southern Song period, Song Ci compiled The Cleansing of Wrongs, a book of great scientific value in medical jurisprudence. During the Jin-Yuan period, there were such famous physicians as Liu Wansu, Zhang Zihe, Li Gao and Zhu Zhenheng. Jointly known as the “four authorities”, they exerted a considerable amount of influence on the development of Chinese medicine.

Further Development of Feudal Relations; Feudalization of the Border Regions

By the Five Dynasties period, a relative change had taken place in the inner relations of feudalism. The great uprising led by Huang Chao towards the end of the Tang Dynasty had thoroughly eliminated the privileged landlord class. The rising class of bureaucrat landlords became the most important stratum within the landlord class in the Song period. A nine rank system was then practised in the officialdom, and the households of officials who happened to be landlords were known as “official households”. On the basis of their ranks, officials were granted land; the amount to be granted varied from 5 to 50 qing (roughly the equivalent of 83-830 acres). The granted land was exempted from taxation and all other exactions, including corvee. Actually, the landlords seized as much land as they could while performing no obliga¬ tions to the state at all. By the time of Emperor Ying Zong of

�314

the Song, the amount of land seized by the bureaucrat land¬ lords accounted for 70 per cent of the country’s land. Land concentration reached its highest point towards the end of the Southern Song period when some of the biggest landlords each owned land that covered an area of a few hundred kilometres. The bureaucrat landlords of the Song Dynasty, like their pre¬ decessors, the landlords of privileged families, enjoyed certain political status. But there was a difference. The political status of the privileged landlords was inherited, while that of the bureaucrat landlords was determined by their official ranks. When a bureaucrat landlord died, the political status of his family and the special privileges it enjoyed would come to an end if his descendants held no official posts. During the Song period, many holding positions of authority in the government but having no official ranks made good use of their power by seizing more and more land. Enjoying great influence in local communities, their households were called “influential households”. They belonged to the class of despotic landlords. In the household register during the Song Dynasty, a household could be listed as either “host” or “guest”. The former was one who owned land and had to pay taxes while the latter, owning no land, tilled land owned by others. The names of bureaucrat landlords and other despotic landlords did not appear on the household register at all. “Host” households were divided into five categories accord¬ ing to the amount of land they owned. The first three categories were landlord households. The households of the first category belonged to the biggest landlords; they were also known as “upper households”. The fourth and fifth categories were “lower households”, referring to independent or semi¬ independent small holders. The “guest” households belonged to the tenants. According to the law, “host” households had to pay land taxes which were collected twice a year, in summer and in autumn. In addition, they had to pay a poll tax and perform

315

a variety of duties such as corvee. But landlords, big or small, often worked hand in glove with government officials to evade taxes and other exactions, shifting most of the burden to independent or semi-independent small holders. This often bankrupted the latter and turned them into tenant farmers or refugees. Under the system of land tenancy, there was a marked difference between tax and rent. While “host” households paid land taxes to the government, “guest” households paid rent to the landlords, also paying poll taxes to the government and performing labour services for it. The relationship between landlords and their tenants was contractual, but this did not mean that the tenants were entirely free from feudal bondage. But to a certain extent they could change their habitat as well as their landlords. They had more personal freedom than the dependent peasants of the earlier periods. The landlord force of the Southern Song Dynasty had been, by and large, kept intact during the Yuan Dynasty. The socalled “powerful families” of the Yuan period were similar to the “official and influential households” of the Song period. Among them were the powerful households of Mongol aristoc¬ racy. These aristocrats owned land; some owned “land endow¬ ments” in addition to land. Peasants living on these “endowments” had to pay not only taxes to the government but also tribute to their Mongol lords. The monastery landlords were among the most prominent, and the most influential of the monasteries were those of Lamaism. According to the household registration system of the Yuan Dynasty there were “upper” and “secondary” (or “middle”) households that belonged to landlords. Most households were classified as “lower”; they belonged to poor people like in¬ dependent or semi-independent small holders. The Yuan sit¬ uation was not much different from that of the Song when landlords, big or small, tried in every way to evade taxes and other governmental obligations, leaving the burden to small farmers who were the least able to shoulder it,

�316

Other than these households described above, there were also special households for military men, couriers, artisans, salt-miners, scholars, physicians, etc. They shouldered the feudal burden in various degrees. Comparatively speaking, Yuan society had more slaves, derogatorily referred to as “captives”. Some belonged to the government, while others were individually owned. Most slaves were former civilians captured during military cam¬ paigns. As private property, they could be bought or sold along with horses, sheep, and cattle. The human market was sometimes described as “brisk”. Slaves were even sold abroad. It must be noted that the Mongols, having entered the Cen¬ tral Plains, brought with them some backward practices and customs, which had a negative impact on social production. Fortunately, the bad influence was regional and temporary. Taking China or the Mongol nation as a whole, we see progress in social production. In fact, the vast bor¬ derlands were feudalized or more intensively feudaliz¬ ed, and the ties between various nationalities were strengthen¬ ed. In this regard, the Mongols merely followed the footsteps of the previous regimes, like those of the Five Dynasties, the Song, the Liao, and the Jin, and achieved more than their pre¬ decessors. Important social developments could be found in the northeast where the Liao and the Jin used to be, in the area of the West Xia, and in modern Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Yunnan. The entry of the Liao and Jin into the Central Plains sped up the feudalization of the northeast. During the Five Dynasties, the Song, and the Yuan, an uneven pace of development was seen among the various nationalities living in the northeast. The Qidans and Niizhens, who formed the bulk of the population in the Liao and the Jin irrespectively, had stayed for a long time at the stage of slave society. Later, under the influence of an advanced form of production in China proper, they gradually marched towards feudalism. Late during the eleventh century, the process of feudalization among

317

the Qidans was near its completion, and the feudal system of government matured. The feudalization of the Nuzhens, on the other hand, was not completed until the middle of the twelfth century. In the process, large numbers of the slave¬ owning Niizhen nobles transformed themselves into parasitic landlords who lived on rent. The Jin rulers, to practise feudal rule, followed the example of the Northern Song insofar as political administration and collection of taxes were concern¬ ed. Later, most of the Nuzhens moved to live in China proper and became completely integrated with the Han Chinese. They could not even speak their own native language. As for the remaining Nuzhens living in the northeast, their social devel¬ opment was still slow. It is certain, however, that when the Mongols rose in the 13th century, social feudalization had al¬ ready taken place in part of the northeast. The processes continued even after the Yuan had established its unified rule over the whole country. a backward state.

However, some places remained in

There were some nationalities, including

some of the Nuzhens, that, living in the remotest areas of the country, were still in the stage of a slave society or the later stage of primitive gens society. Feudalization in the Mongol area was more or less complet¬ ed when Kublai Khan established his control over all of China. By then the Mongols had made considerable progress in de¬ veloping animal husbandry. Since fertile pastures had been seized by feudal owners, large numbers of herdsmen suffered from oppression and exploitation, as they grazed their animals on grounds designated by pasture owners and paid tributes and taxes. Agriculture also made progress. Han Chinese were often sent by Kublai to the Mongol area to popularize agricul¬ tural technology and to encourage the Mongols to engage in agriculture in addition to their husbandry activities. Reclama¬ tion of land was also carried out by the armed forces on a great scale. Agriculture thus made headway in Mongolia. In the area of the West Xia, the feudalization of the Dangxiang people was obvious. They had taken the road to

�318

feudalism when Yuan Hao established the West Xia Kingdom. In economy and culture, the kingdom absorbed many new things from the Northern Song. Feudalism had already taken roots in the West Xia when Genghis Khan conquered it. Before the appearance of the West Liao, the Uygurs who had moved westward from the Mongol grasslands to the Turpan basin of modern Xinjiang towards the end of the Tang Dynas¬ ty, established the kingdom of Gaochang. The territory of the kingdom extended eastward to Hami, westward to the Pamirs, northward to the Tianshan Range, and southward to Hotan. It occupied most of today’s Uygur Autonomous Region. Harahojia, located in the eastern section of modern Turpan County, was its capital. With agriculture as their main occupation, the Uygurs had then entered the period of feudal society. Depen¬ dent on the feudal lords for their survival, serfs had to pay them tributes and taxes and could be sold at any time when the land they tilled was sold. In some places, the system of tenancy and exploitation by usury were practised. In addition to the five cereals, the kingdom produced such cash crops as cotton and grapes.

Sericulture was also fairly developed.

Handicraft industries such as cotton weaving, wine distilling, iron smelting, and jade carving were developed to a high level. Gaochang maintained a close political and economic tie with the Liao and the Song. Located on the route of communication and transportation between the East and the West, it was a centre of cultural and economic exchange. During the twelfth century it was subject to control by the West Liao. In 1209, Genghis Khan incorporated it as part of the Mongol empire and put it under a local satrap of his. Then it became known as Uygur instead of Gaochang. From the early period of Mongol rule to the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols received much cultural influence from the Uygurs, who were greatly influenc¬ ed by Han culture. Kublai paid great attention to*the develop¬ ment of the Uygur area. He extended the land reclamation campaign on an even wider scale. To meet the requirements of agricultural production in the area, he established a metallur-

319

gical bureau to make farm implements and provided aid to impoverished peasants who could hardly carry on production. To develop handicraft industry, Kublai sent Han artisans to Shanshan (modern Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang) to teach local people the technique of bow making. Tibet was, as before, inhabited by the Tufans during the Song-Yuan period. Under the impact of slave uprisings and Uprisings by various nationalities towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, they gradually entered the stage of feudalism. The feudal lords had taken possession of all land. Serfs engaged in agriculture and stock-breeding and paid rent and tribute for using the land. During the period of the Five Dynasties, the Song, and the Yuan, there was further development of feudal¬ ism. Though living under a separate rule in Tibet, the Tufans had already been on friendly terms with the Han Chinese and other nationalities. Frequent contacts went on between Rgyal Sras, a Tufan who maintained an independent regime in Qinghai, and the government of the Northern Song, which bestowed upon him the title of satrap. In the name of “paying tributes” and “returning favours” to the Northern Song, oxen and horses were bartered for silk, tea and medicine.

After Kublai estab¬

lished unified rule over China, Tibet was put under the direct administration of the Council of Buddhist Affairs, with Grand Lamas or Di Shi (the Emperor’s Buddhist Teacher) in control. This led to a closer contact between Tibet and China proper. The Tufan people, from then on, lived in comparative peace which enabled them to engage in constructive labour and de¬ velop product!on. To promote trade between the Han people and the Tibetans and other nationalities, the Yuan government opened an official border-region market at Lizhou (modern Hanyuan County, Sichuan). Postal stations were built all the way from China proper to Tibet. Not long before the founding of the Northern Song, a Dali regime rose in Yunnan. Controlled mainly by people of the Bai nationality, it came into existence more than 30' years after the fall of the Southern Zhao. It was a feudal regime, as com-

�320

pared to the slave rule of the Southern Zhao. It constructed water conservancy works to promote agriculture in the area of the Er Hai Lake, and in animal husbandry, it encouraged horse raising, as horses were an important export item when trading with China proper. Achievement was made in literature, his¬ tory, paintings, artistic carving, and architecture. The works were marked with strong national characteristics, though ben¬ efiting from the cultural infusion with the Han Chinese. During the Yuan Dynasty, an executive secretariat replacing the Dali regime was set up, incorporating Yunnan into the civil administration of the central government. People of dif¬ ferent nationalities flowed into Yunnan, including Mongols, Han Chinese, Uygurs, and the Hui. They joined hands with the native people, such as the Bai, the Yi, the Dai, the Naxi, and the Hani peoples to develop the fatherland’s southwest. Sayyid Ejell, a Muslim, built water conservancy works in Yunnan, popularized the culture of the Han Chinese, and im¬ proved the relations among various nationalities. Zhang Lidao, a Han Chinese, fought successfully against floods in the Dian Chi Lake area, built good fields, and introduced new tech¬ niques in farming. During the period of the Yuan Dynasty many nationalities in Yunnan, at one time or another, entered a feudal society. The Naxi and Dai nationalities also began a period of transition from slavery to feudalism. There were, of course, others still remaining primitive.

China’s Communications with the Outside World

During the period of the Five Dynasties, the Song, and especially the Yuan, the economic and cultural exchanges be¬ tween China and foreign countries were greatly developed. During the Five Dynasties, the three importantvtrading ports with the outside world were Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Hang¬ zhou. Following the example of the Tang, the Song and Yuan dynasties established a harbour administration in charge of

321

foreign trade in each of the major trading ports, such as Guang¬ zhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou, Mingzhou, Wenzhou and Mizhou (now Jiaoxi County, Shandong). The most important trading ports during the Yuan Dynasty were Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Shanghai, Ganpu (modern Haiyan County, Zhejiang), Wen¬ zhou, Hangzhou, and Qingyuan (modern Ningbo City, Zhe¬ jiang). Tariffs collected by various harbour administrations during the Song and Yuan dynasties constituted a very large proportion of state revenue. During the Song Dynasty, tariff was fixed at one-fifteenth to one-fifth of the value of goods; sometimes it was as high as four-tenths. During the Yuan Dynasty, the ratio was one-thirtieth to one-fifth. During the Song-Yuan period, shipbuilding and navigation were highly developed in China. In terms of equipment, freight capacity and navigational skill China was among the most advanced in the world. Its ships sailed to Japan, Korea, Indo-China, Burma, Malaya, the Indonesian islands, the Philip¬ pines, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Persian Gulf states, Arabia, Egypt, the eastern coast of Africa and the Mediterranean coast. Among the export goods from China were silk, porcelain, lacquerware, gold, silver, zinc and lead. Among the import goods were pearls, hawksbill turtle, rhinoc¬ eros horns, elephant tusk, coral, agate, frankincense, spices and medicine. The Song and Yuan governments paid great atten¬ tion to foreign trade. Foreign merchants and diplomatic envoys were well received; sometimes they were granted official titles. During the Song-Yuan period, the Silk Road once again became an important overland route between the East and the West. Merchants carried on their trade along the route, and Christian missionaries came to the East by following the same route. In 1245 Father Giovanni de Piano Carpini was sent by Pope Innocent IV of the Roman Catholic Church to Kara Korum to visit Giiyuk Khan. He attended the ceremony at which Gtiyuk was made Great Khan. The Khan granted him an audience, during which Carpini requested the Khan to cul-

�322

tivate faith in Catholicism. In his letter to the Pope, he asked the Pope and all Christian Kings to come to China to pay homage to him. In 1253, Louis IX of France sent Father Guil¬ laume de Rubrujuis to Kara Korum to visit with Mangu Khan, who granted an audience in the following year. As usual, Mangu Khan, in his letter to the French King, asked the latter to swear allegiance to him and pay tribute to his court. Both preachers wrote travel notes after they returned to their own countries. These notes are important materials in studying Mongol history. Among the missionaries who had come to China from the West from the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty were Giovanni de Montecorvino, Odorico de Pordenone, and Giovanni de Marignolli. In 1292 or thereabouts, Giovanni de Montecorvino came to China. Living in Dadu, he founded two churches and was made archbishop. Odorico de Por¬ denone arrived in China around 1325. He visited many places in China, including Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and Dadu. While in China, he had personal contact with Giovanni de Montecorvino. In 1330 he returned to Europe. Giovanni de Marignolli arrived at Dadu in 1342. He paid re¬ spects to Emperor Shun Di, to whom he presented a white horse, called a “heavenly horse”. In 1347, he left Quanzhou by the sea route. Among the Western travellers of this period none was bet¬ ter known than Marco Polo. Even today, his Travels is still a most valuable source in studying the history of the Yuan Dynasty and its relations with the West. Marco Polo was a Venetian from Italy. In 1271, he followed his father and uncle in passing across West and Central Asia and arrived at Shangdu in 1275. He was received by Kublai Khan. He visited many places in China and wrote about important events. He described vividly the might of the-Mongol empire and the prosperity of Dadu. He praised highly^the courier system of China and courier stations. In 1292, after living in China for 17 years, he sailed from China’s Quanzhou for Per¬ sia, wherefrom he returned to his homeland Venice. Reported-

323

ly, his book Travels inspired such men as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama in their search for a route to the East. In the wake of Marco Polo came Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan who journeyed to India first and then arrived in China by the sea route. While in China he visited Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou and many other places. He returned home by sail¬ ing from Quanzhou. In his book, he wrote about people’s life, customs and tradition, economic production and industrial arts in China. During the Song-Yuan period, China maintained close cul¬ tural ties with Korea and Japan. Medically, Korea felt China’s influence as early as the Tang Dynasty. During the Song-Yuan period, Chinese medical books and medicines arrived in Korea in a continuous flow, and Chinese doctors were in¬ vited to Korea. Meanwhile, such medicines as ginseng and antlers were imported from Korea, and important Korean medical works were also found in China. While learning paper making from China, Korea also manufactured its own tough and fine-grained paper made of cotton. During the Song Dyn¬ asty, it was among the items imported from Korea. Though Korea learned the making of writing brushes from China, writing brushes made of weasel hair originated in Korea. By the Song Dynasty, such Korean writing brushes had won great fame in China. Later, China manufactured its own weasel hair brushes by copying those from Korea. With the passage of time, some old Chinese books were lost in China, but they could still be found in Korea. Meanwhile, many Korean books were introduced into China. During the Song-Yuan period, many Chinese medical works, including The Cleansing of Wrongs (Xi yuan lu) by Song Ci found their way into Japan. Japan imported from China such medicines as musk, croton, realgar, and cinnabar. Many Japanese came to China to study medical science. Towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, many Japanese were sent to China to study the technology of making porcelain; meanwhile, Japanese paint-

�

324

ings and calligraphy found their way into China and were well received. During the Song-Yuan period, Chinese culture continued to have its influence felt in Persia and several Arab countries. The political and economical institutions of the Il-Khanate, established by the Mongols in Persia, were strongly affected by Chinese influence. Chinese medical knowledge had been long disseminated in Persia. Rashid al-Din, a Persian who served as Prime Minister of the Il-Khanate, was a great his¬ torian and an expert physician. His Collected Histories is an important work on Mongolian history. In 1313 he compiled a book entitled

The Il-Khanate

Medical Science.

Treasure House of Chinese

It covered such subject matters as pulse

feeling, anatomy, embryology, gynaecology and pharmacology; it especially quoted Wang Shuhe, a well-known physician of the Jin Dynasty who wrote Classic on Pulse. During the Yuan Dynasty Persian and Arab culture was introduced into China on a large scale. Great numbers of Persians and Arabs, known to the Chinese as Huihuis, arrived in China. Belonging to the Semu group, they later formed part of China’s Muslim community. Many of these new immigrants were intellectuals who brought Persian and Arab culture into China. The Chinese attached special value to Arab astronomy, calendar-making, and medical science. During the Yuan Dynasty, a Muslim astronomical department was instituted within the government, and Arab and Persian methods were used in making astronomical observations, on the basis of which China made its calendar. In 1267 Jamal alDin, a Muslim, made a set of astronomical apparatus by himself and used it in astronomical observations. The Ming govern¬ ment simultaneously used two calendars, Chinese and Muslim, and continued the Yuan practice of havihg a Muslim astronomical department in the administration. This remained unchanged until the early period of the Qing Dynasty. In mathematics, it was possible that the Greek mathematician Euclid’s Geometry was translated from Arab into Chinese

325

during the Yuan Dynasty, according to recent studies. In 1270, Kublai Khan established not only a Muslim medical depart¬ ment for the production of Muslim medicines, but also two Muslim pharmacological academies in two capitals (Dadu and Shangdu). Muslim physicians were especially known for their extraordinary skill in the treatment of rare diseases. During the Ming Dynasty, a book entitled Muslim Prescriptions was published in both Chinese and Persian. In addition, many Muslim artisans proficient in weaving were transferred to China proper and employed in the production of silk and a special kind of cloth known as sadalaqi. There was even a sadalaqi department, headed by a Muslim, in charge of the production of this kind of cloth. The culture of Nepal was also introduced into China during the Yuan Dynasty. At the invitation of Kublai Khan, a great architect of Nepal named Arnico came to Dadu and was entrusted with the task of building palaces for the royal house. He sculptured many Buddhist statues in Dadu and Shangdu and repaired a bronze acupuncture statue. He was referred to as a genius. Moreover, he passed his unique skill to Liu Yuan of Baodi (located near modern Tianjin), who also became a famous sculptor. The Chinese invented the compass and were the first to use it in navigation. During the Song-Yuan period, merchant ships from China, Persia, and Arabia were very active on the high seas. Ships from China were known for their speed and size, their direction being guided by compass. It was possible that Persian and Arab ships learned the use of the compass during this period in history. Later Europeans also learned its use. The Chinese art of printing became known to Japan during the eighth century. It was introduced to Korea during the tenth century and to Egypt during the twelfth century or perhaps a little earlier. Not until the thirteenth century did the Il-Khanate of Persia learn it and then introduced it to Africa and Europe. Towards the end of the fourteenth cen-

�326

tury block printing appeared for the first time in Europe. Movable type was invented in China during the eleventh cen¬ tury. It was introduced into Korea during the thirteenth cen¬ tury and to Europe at a later date. The introduction of firearms to the West was closely re¬ lated to the Mongols’ western campaign early in the thirteenth century. Nitre, indispensable to the production of gunpowder, was known as “Chinese salt” to the Persians and as “Chinese snow” to the Arabs. Persians and Arabs learned about nitrate in the eighth or ninth century. Not until the twelfth or thirteenth century did Arab merchants bring gunpowder to the Near East. During their military campaigns in Cen¬ tral Asia and Persia, the Mongols used weapons made of gunpowder. Fighting with the Mongols, the Arabs learned the use of firearms. The Europeans learned the use of firearms in the same fashion. After the demise of the Qin and Han dynasties, the in¬ tercourse between China and foreign countries was most active during the Song and Yuan dynasties. It played an important role in the feudal history of China. The development of social economy and culture in China helped China’s foreign rela¬ tions, and the development of China’s foreign relations, in turn, helped China’s economic and cultural development. Chi¬ na then adopted an open-door policy towards people from the outside. But this policy changed during the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming-Qing Period: the Twilight of Feudalism

Establishment of the Ming Dynasty

Feudalism declined during the Ming-Qing period. The Ming Dynasty had altogether 16 emperors of 12 generations, lasting 276 years from 1368 to 1644, and the Qing Dynasty, 10 emperors of 9 generations, lasting 268 years from 1644 to 1911. Between 1644 and 1661, after the Ming Dynasty had been terminated, four members of the Ming royal house successively established in Nanjing and elsewhere the regimes of Southern Ming, thus continuing the challenge against the Qing which by then had won firm control over the Central Plains of China. In 1840, the British imperialists invaded China and precipitated the Opium War. From then on China gradually developed from a feudal into a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang acceded to the throne in Yingtian (modern Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) and titled his dynasty Ming. Zhu Yuanzhang’s temple name was Tai Zu; he was also referred to as Emperor Hong Wu.1 He gradually unified the whole country after taking the Yuan capital. Among his civil piinisters were Li Shanchang, Liu Ji and Song Lian, and among his military commanders were Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Tang He and Hu Dahai. All of them were instrumental in as¬ sisting him in the founding of the new dynasty. 1 With the exception of Emperor Ying Zong of the Ming Dynasty, every emperor of the Ming and Qing dynasties had only one reign title, by which he was customarily referred to. Zhu Yuanzhang’s reign title was Hong Wu; he was therefore often referred to as Emperor Hong Wu. This custom became widespread during the Qing Dynasty. 327

�328

Zhu Yuanzhang paid close attention to rehabilitation as a means of consolidating his regime after the country had under¬ gone a major upheaval. “People’s financial resources are stringent and inadequate, as the country has been only recent¬ ly unified,” he stated. “We should not pluck the feathers of an infant bird; nor is it wise to shake a newly planted tree.” He instructed his officials not to exact taxes in an arbitrary man¬ ner, and forbade them to enrich themselves through corrup¬ tion or cause unnecessary disturbances among the people. One constructive measure he adopted was the recruitment of peas¬ ant refugees for the reclamation of abandoned fields. The gov¬ ernment provided these refugees with oxen to plough the fields and seeds to start the planting. They were even allowed to keep the tilled fields as their own property. No taxes would be im¬ posed for a period of three years; in some cases tax exemption was declared to be permanent.

Unemployed peasants in the

lower Changjiang River valley — places like Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, Huzhou and Hangzhou — were moved to the Huai River valley where they opened up new fields for cul¬ tivation; more than once were poor peasants moved to the frontier and other sparsely populated areas for the same pur¬ pose. To solve the problem of the army’s food supply, Zhu Yuanzhang promoted a system of land reclamation by soldiers. He stipulated that frontier soldiers should devote 30 per cent of their efforts to defence and 70 per cent to land cultivation, and the ratio was 2 to 8 as far as soldiers in the interior were concerned. He paid close attention to the construction of water conservancy projects, and promoted the cultivation of cash crops. The largest of such projects brought irrigation to 10,000 qing (approximately 160,000 acres) of paddy fields. All these measures were instrumental in the gradual recovery and development of agriculture during the early years of the Ming Dynasty. Meanwhile, handicraft industry and commerce also recovered and made progress. Population increased too. Zhu Yuanzhang reorganized the bureaucracy so as to strengthen his rule. At the beginning he adopted the Yuan system of administration, including the Secretariat and the Offices of Left and Right Prime Ministers which administered the whole country. In 1380 he abolished the Secretariat and the Offices of the two Prime Ministers. In their place he installed the Six Boards — the Boards of Civil Office, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice and Works, and each of the Boards was headed by a minister. There were no high officials between the emperor and the ministers, who were responsible directly to the emperor. In addition to the Six Boards, there were (1) the Office of Transmission responsible for the accept¬ ance of memorials from officials and petitions on exclusive information from ordinary citizens as well as officials, (2) the Censorate responsible for the supervision of officials, and (3) the Supreme Court responsible for reexamination of cases on appeal. The Board of Justice, the Censorate and the Supreme Court were jointly known as the “Three Justices”, each of which restrained the other two in the administration of justice. In addition, there were the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Chancery who, ranking below the ministers, were the em¬ peror’s advisers responsible for his clerical work.

As for

military affairs, while the Board of War exercised overall leadership, the recruitment, registration and training of soldiers were entrusted to five Military Commands — Left, Right, Central, Front and Rear — which had replaced the General Command established during the Yuan Dynasty. The emperor issued orders and appointed commanders whenever the army was mobilized for warfare, and officers and men re¬ turned to their garrison duties once the war was over. In local administration, the Ming Dynasty established an institu¬ tion known as the Administrative Commissioner’s Office in charge of civil and financial affairs of a number of prefectures, subprefectures and counties. Customarily, the area governed by such an office was referred to as a “province” — a term that has been in use since. The area of jurisdiction for each of eleven provinces — Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and

�330

Guizhou — has remained approximately the same throughout the years, but the areas of jurisdiction of other provinces have undergone substantial changes. The Shaanxi Province of the Ming Dynasty was split to become Shaanxi and Gansu prov¬ inces during the early period of the Qing Dynasty; the Huguang Province was likewise split to become Hubei and Hunan provinces. By the same token, the area known as South Zhili during the Ming Dynasty became Jiangsu and Anhui provinces early in the Qing Dynasty, and the area known as North Zhili became Zhili Province that corresponded to today’s Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, most areas of Hebei Province, and small parts of Henan and Shandong provinces. The Ming Dynasty had also an office known as Judicial Commissioner’s Office responsible for the administra¬ tion of justice in the provinces. Another office known as Military Commissioner’s Office was in charge of military affairs on a local level. Zhu Yuanzhang used severe punishment and indiscriminate killing as a means to strengthen his rule. In 1380 he killed a high official, Hu Weiyong, and the people directly or indirectly implicated exceeded 30,000, who also died as a result.

In 1393

he killed General Lan Yu, and more than 15,000 persons, being implicated, were executed. Few of those who had helped him in founding the Ming Dynasty survived a normal span of life. He established an intelligence organization known as the Imperial Guard whose sole duty was to gather damaging in¬ formation on officials and ordinary people alike, so as to sub¬ ject each of them to the constant fear of losing not only his own life but the lives of all his family as well. Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that there were only two avenues to officialdom: schools and civil service examina¬ tions. The school in the nation’s capital was called Imperial College; its students were recruited from children of officials who had been recommended by local schools. The subjects taught in the Imperial College included the emperor’s edicts, law, and the Confucianist Four Books and Five Classics. Those

331

who graduated with honour would receive appointment as offi¬ cials. As for the civil service examination, those who had pass¬ ed examinations in the provinces were referred to as juren or “recommended men”, and all the “recommended men” could participate in the metropolitan examination in the nation’s capital. Those who passed the metropolitan examination could participate in the palace examination, and the successful candidates- of the palace examination, classified into three categories, would receive appointment as officials, either on the central or on the local level. The questions in the examina¬ tions at all levels were derived from the Four Books and the Five Classics, and the answers must be based upon the authorized comments and must be phrased in such a way as to reflect the speech of ancients. Later, the style of writing became gradually formalized and stereotyped, and composi¬ tions written in such a style were referred to as “eight-legged essays”. The purpose of this kind of examination was to force people to conform, happily and willingly, to the thought frame¬ work as determined by the royal house. Under no circum¬ stances was independent thinking or a new style of writing allowed. Needless to say, individual view on government and politics was impossible. To strengthen thought control, Zhu Yuanzhang initiated many cases of literary inquisition. If a few words in a composition aroused his suspicion, he just might condemn its author to death. To perpetuate the rule of China by the Zhu house, Zhu Yuanzhang, from 1369 to 1391, successively appointed his sons, nephews and grandsons to twenty-five vassalages scattered around the country, and the designed purpose of these vas¬ salages was to protect the royal house in the capital. Mean¬ while, as he was afraid that the vassals might become too powerful for the central government to control, he stipulated that a vassal in the interior regions could not command more than 3,000 personal guards and that he was not allowed to interfere with civil administration. Only the Prince of Qin at Xi’an, the Prince of Jin at Taiyuan, and the Prince of Yan at

�

332

Beiping (modern Beijing) were granted military commandership. In 1398, the second year after Zhu Yuanzhang’s death, a fierce struggle involving the vassalages erupted within the royal house. Upon his death, Zhu Yuanzhang was succeeded by his grandson, who was titled Emperor Hui Di.

Fearful of the ex¬

panding power of the vassalages, the new emperor, having listened to the advice of Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, proceeded to reduce it.

Hardly had he succeeded in weakening some of

the vassalages before the Prince of Yan, the strongest vassal, revolted.

The war between Emperor Hui Di and his uncle,

the Prince of Yan, lasted four years until 1402 when Yingtian fell and Hui Di disappeared without a trace.

The Prince

of Yan ascended the throne and, in the very next year, changed the reign title to Yong Le.

Historically he was referred to as

Emperor Cheng Zu or Emperor Yong Le.

Having seized the

throne, he proceeded successfully with the termination of military power among all the vassalages, thus strengthening further the feudal, autocratic rule. He moved the Ming capital to Beijing and recruited approximately 250,000 artisans and nearly one million peasants to rebuild the city.

Three and

one-half years of intensive labour transformed Beijing into a grand, magnificent metropolis.

In 1421 Beijing was formally

declared to be the nation’s capital, and Yingtian, the former capital, was renamed Nanjing.

At the time when the capital

was moved to Beijing, the emperor also mobilized a large number of peasant workers for the purpose of dredging the Grand Canal, so that grains, silks and cotton cloth produced in the south could be continually transported to the north. From Emperor Cheng Zu to his grandson, Emperor Xuan Zong, gradually the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Chancery were given more authority, as they participated more in the making of policy decisions. Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and Yang Pu were among the most notable of the Grand Secretaries during the reigns of Emperors Ren Zong and Xuan Zong.

333

Beginning in the reign of Emperor Cheng Zu, the economycontinued to make progress. Upon his ascension to the throne, the emperor ordered the distribution of farm imple¬ ments and oxen in Shandong and other areas that had been devastated by war. Meanwhile, he continued the policy of his predecessors in opening up new fields for cultivation and in moving people to the less populated regions, thus enabling the areas around Beijing and the frontier areas in the north to be developed further. The record shows that in those years local granaries remained continually full and that grains col¬ lected as taxes were shipped to the capital in a continuous, endless flow. The annual requisition of silk and cloth by the imperial government was also very large. As the nation’s economy developed, the Ming regime strengthened its relations with the ethnic minorities, political¬ ly, economically and culturally. It established in Kaiyuan (in modern Liaoning Province) a horse market to trade with the Niizhen tribes. In 1409 it established in Tirin, near the estuary of the Heilongjiang River, the Nurkan Commissioner’s Office, with jurisdiction that extended westward to the Onon River, eastward to the Kuye (Sakhalin) Island, northward to the Oudi River, and southward to the Sea of Japan.

In the northwest

where the Uygurs, the Huis, and the Mongolians resided, it established garrison commands, with jurisdiction that covered all the territories to the west of Jiayuguan Pass. The jurisdic¬ tion extended westward to the Lop Nur, northward to the Barkol Mountains, and southeastward to the Qaidam Basin. In the areas where the Miao, the Yi and other minorities resided, the Ming regime designated their own leaders as government officials. It stipulated that the minorities could pay taxes with the minerals they produced, such as mercury and cinnabar. It established in modern Qinghai and Tibet (then known as “Dbus-Gtsang”) six offices for administration and conferred the title of King upon the Grand Lamas. Meanwhile, it con¬ tinued to trade with the ethnic minorities in the area, exchang¬ ing tea for horse. At the peak of this trade, it annually shipped

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334

out hundreds of thousands of jin1 of tea in exchange for ten to twenty thousand horses. During the reigns of Emperors Cheng Zu and Xuan Zong, the government, time and again, dispatched Zheng He, a Mus¬ lim, as an envoy to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. In the summer of 1405, at the head of an armada of sixty-two ships and an army contingent of more than 27,800 men, well supplied with gold, silk and other valuables, Zheng He set to sea from the Liujia River near Suzhou and first landed on Fujian. He sailed again from Wuhumen, Fujian Province, and eventually reached Champa. From Champa he journeyed to Java, Sumatra, and Calicut of India, wherefrom he returned to

China

in

the

autumn

of

1433, he sailed time and again.

1407.

From

then

on

until

His longest voyage carried

him all the way to the eastern coast of Africa, the Red Sea and Mecca.

This record voyage preceded Christopher Colum¬

bus’ discovery of America and Vasco da Gama’s navigation around the Cape of Good Hope by more than one-half of a century.

One of Zheng He’s retainers named Ma Huan (also

known as Ma Zongyuan) recorded his observations during the voyage in a book entitled Vision in Triumph in a Boundless Sea. Fei Xin also wrote a book entitled Vision in Triumph: Ships Sail Under Starry Sky. Both books are important source material in studying the history of intercourse between China and foreign countries during the Ming Dynasty. The reigns of Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperors Hui Di, Cheng Zu, Ren Zong and Xuan Zong, totalling 67 years, marked the early and the most glorious period of the Ming Dynasty. Nevertheless, peasant uprisings continued, and Japanese pirates frequently landed on China to cause disturbances. The record shows that there were more than one hundred peasant riots and uprisings during this period, such as Stm Jipu’s up¬ rising in Shandong in 1370, the peasant uprising in Guangdong 1A jin by the old system of weight was equivalent to 0.6 kilo¬ gramme or 1.3 pounds. — Trans.

335

in 1381, and the peasant uprising in Sichuan in 1385. The leader of each uprising referred to himself as “King of Level¬ lers”, indicating that he wished to bring equality to society. The uprising in Sichuan had a following reported to be as large as 200,000. In 1420, a woman named Tang Sai’er, of Putai, Shandong Province, first established her base of operation in Fort Xieshipeng (located in Yidu, Shandong Province) and then attacked Ju, Jimo and Anqiu. The revolt led by her was the best known among the peasant uprisings during the early Ming period. Suspecting that she might have gone into hiding in a convent or nunnery upon her defeat, the Ming government arrested and then sent to Beijing tens of thousands of Buddhist nuns and Taoist priestesses, but nowhere could she be found. As for the Japanese pirates, they, after 1369, repeatedly raided and pillaged the coastal areas of Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, burning and killing as they went. In some cases they even occupied cities for as long as one year. The Ming government built walled fortifications along the coast for defence; it even sent troops in hot pursuit, attempting to exterminate them. But the result was far from effective. Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperor Cheng Zu did not trust their respective ministers, to a degree rarely seen among Chinese emperors. Beginning with Cheng Zu, eunuchs were entrusted with military commandership and were assigned to such important duties as the defence of the frontier. With the passage of time, they were more and more favoured and given greater and greater responsibilities, creating conditions that led, eventually, to their interference with policy decisions in the imperial government. The excessive power the eunuchs enjoyed proved to be a dangerous cancer on the body politic throughout the Ming Dynasty. Carrying on Zhu Yuanzhang’s policy of thought control, Emperor Cheng Zu ordered Hu Guang and others to edit The Complete Works of the Five Classics in 121 juan, The Complete Works of the Four Books in 30 juan and The Complete Works of Neo-Confucianism in 70 juan. The purpose was to promote

�336

the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, and the method was none other than a reproduction of the extant source materials. Emperor Cheng Zu also ordered Xie Jin and others to compile The Yong Le Encyclopaedia. The contents of the completed work, 22,937 juan altogether, were arranged according to phonetic rhymes, reproduced from more than 7,000 extant works. Sometimes an entire book was in¬ cluded. In this way the emperor kept many scholars employed and happy, demonstrating that he, the emperor, was the final authority in cultural activities. Nevertheless, the work itself was an enormous, unprecedented undertaking, preserving many precious materials which otherwise would have been lost to posterity. The two original creations of the early Ming period were The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Outlaws of the Marsh. The Romance, based on the history of the Three King¬ doms, is China’s first historical novel and one of the longest novels in the history of Chinese literature. Through its poignant portrayal of different personalities, it presents vivid¬ ly a political and military struggle of great complexity.

As a

sympathizer of Liu Bei against Cao Cao, the author describes Liu Bei and his followers as loyal, audacious and solicitous towards the people’s welfare; Cao Cao and his followers, on the other hand, were characterized as devious, untrustworthy, and poisonous. In either case, the portraits were sharp and vivid, creating a deep impression upon the reader. Zhuge Liang be¬ came a personalization of wisdom, and he personally directed a spectacle of grandeur known as the Battle of Chibi. In the selection of topical materials as well as in the artistry of presentation, The Romance had a deep impact on the literary works of later periods. The way it judged historical personal¬ ities affected materially a reader’s view of the history of the Three Kingdoms. Luo Guanzhong, the author, lived between 1330 and 1400, approximately. Outlaws of the Marsh, another novel, appeared at about the same time as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is a

337

masterpiece in the description of peasant uprisings. Based upon a true historical event that occurred in Liangshan Marsh during the Northern Song period, it traces the entire course of a peasant uprising in feudal China: its origin, development and final defeat. As its theme centres on the saying that “the government drives the people to revolt,” this historical novel not only exposes and condemns the corruption of the ruling landlord class but also praises highly the insurgent leaders for their heroism. It successfully and poignantly sets forth not only the background of each of the Liangshan heroes but also his thought development that finally led him to climb the mountains “to join the righteous cause”. From the viewpoint of characterization and development of personalities, Outlaws of the Marsh, artistically speaking, is much superior to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Its appearance enthused the oppressed masses; the ruling class hated it, of course. Later, other novels, dramas and popular literature in general were deeply affected by it. As for its author, he could be either Shi Naian or Luo Guanzhong. Some say that Shi started the work and Luo completed it. As for Shi, few references about his life are available. In terms of artistic form, both The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Outlaws of the Marsh were created out of the verbal history and vernacular tales of the Song-Yuan period. As for content, the author of The Romance fully utilized the materials contained in The History of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou and other works, while Outlaws of the Marsh absorbed many of the traditional stories long circulated among the people. Since the creation of both works had been affected by the peasant uprisings that occurred during the later part of the Yuan Dynasty, their authors were able to open up new vistas and write such masterpieces. This does not mean, how¬ ever, that these two works have no shortcomings. The most obvious shortcomings are the expressed feudal concept of loyalty to the emperor and the so-called “faithfulness to friends” found among the small producers. Though Outlaws

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338

of the Marsh shows sympathy for, and in fact praises highly, the anti-oppression activities of the Liangshan heroes, it attributes all the hideous behaviour and atrocities to corrupt officials, thus clearing the royal house of all blame. Political situation being what it was, both books could not circulate widely during the early period of the Ming Dynasty. They had to wait until the first half of the sixteenth century when, finally, they appeared in printed form, to be handed down to posterity.

Decline of the Ming Dynasty; Refugee and Miner Uprisings

Emperor Ying Zong ascended the throne in 1435. From then on and for about seventy years — a period that com¬ prises the four reigns of Ying Zong, Jing Di, Xian Zong and Xiao Zong — the Ming Dynasty declined. During this period the emperors placed their confidence in eunuchs and political instability ensued. The Mongolian tribes of Oirat and Tatar repeatedly raided and caused disturbances; the financial crisis deepened. Greater and greater in scope were the peasant up¬ risings in which refugees and miners played an important role. Ying Zong was not yet nine when he was declared emperor of China. His favourite was a eunuch named Wang Zhen, a former study companion of his, whom he now elevated to be¬ come Eunuch-in-Charge-of-Rites. Wang Zhen persuaded the boy emperor to employ severe punishment to keep court ministers in line, while taking advantage of every opportunity to expand his own power. Early during the emperor’s reign, the “Three Yangs” were still active in the government, and this fact deterred to some extent Wang Zhen’s arbitrary exer¬ cise of power. By 1442 Yang Rong had already died, lind Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu could no longer hold any office. Wang Zhen, consequently, had no more scruples in usurping power and in condemning to death, by trumped-up charges, those who

339

disagreed with him. He became a most powerful person who could manipulate the affairs of state. In 1449, the Oirats sent an envoy to the Ming court to present horses as tribute. The Oirats were located to the west of the Gobi, residing in the Kobdo River valley, the Ertix River valley and the Junggar Basin. Besides the Oirats there were two other Mongolian groups: the Tatars who lived in the Onon River valley, the Kerulen River valley and the Lake Baikal region, and the Urianghads who lived in the valleys of the Liao River, the West Liao River and the Laoha River. Early during Ying Zong’s reign, the Oirats, under the leadership of Esen, had grown so powerful that they actually controlled all other Mongolian tribes. In 1449 when he came to pay tribute to the Ming court, Esen felt insulted when the Ming officials deliberately forced down prices of his horses which he had brought with him. Angered, he mobilized all the Mongolian tribes and marched southward along four routes. Hoodwinked by Wang Zhen, the emperor decided to lead an army personal¬ ly to meet the invaders head-on, despite the admonition of his ministers not to do so. The Ming troops were routed and the emperor was captured alive by the enemy in a place called Tumubao, outside the city of Huailai; Wang Zhen, the eunuch, was killed by rioting soldiers. When the news of defeat arrived at Beijing, many high officials were so frightened that they wanted to move the capital and flee southward. Yu Qian, the Deputy Minister of War, resolutely proposed resistance. He took over the respon¬ sibility of defending Beijing and prepared carefully for the forthcoming confrontation. As soon as Esen’s troops reached Beijing’s suburbs, the defenders, under Yu Qian’s command, engaged them in ferocious combat. Esen was defeated, and the safety of the capital was secured. In 1450 Esen returned Emperor Ying Zong to Beijing, and the normal relationship of trade between the Oirats and the Ming was subsequently restored. In 1455 an internal struggle developed among the Oirats,

and Esen was killed by one of his subordinates. From

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then on the Oirats slowly declined and in its place rose the Tatars. For a long time to come, the Tatars would intermit¬ tently raid the border areas, posing a major threat to the Ming regime. Ying Zong was returned to Beijing the year after Jing Di had become his successor as emperor. After his return, the ex-emperor was confined to the Southern Palace, cut off from outside contact. In 1457, as Jing Di became ill, Cao Jixiang, a former follower of Wang Zhen’s, supported Ying Zong and succeeded in regaining the imperial position for the ex¬ emperor. Cao, like Wang Zhen, started his political career as Eunuch-in-Charge-of-Rites and, as his power grew, persecut¬ ed, on trumped-up charges, those who disagreed with him. Sometimes even the emperor had to put up with his arrogance. In 1461, Cao Jixiang, with the help of his adopted son Cao Qin, secretly plotted to usurp the throne by force. He was killed when the plot failed. Thus Ying Zong, by placing his con¬ fidence in eunuchs, twice ran the risk of losing his life. But he never came to see his mistakes. After his death, his de¬ scendants did not learn anything from history either. Emperor Xian Zong placed his confidence in eunuch Wang Zhi, and his successor Emperor Xiao Zong did likewise with eunuch Li Guang. The eunuchs, consequently, were able to continue to meddle in politics. Their power was as great as the emperor’s, thus creating political instability. During the reigns of Ying Zong, Xian Zong and Xiao Zong, there were, of course, those who were concerned with the fate of the nation and wished to do something constructive about it; they were not afraid of op¬ posing the eunuchs. Among them were Li Xian, Peng Shi and Shang Lu during the reigns of Ying Zong and Xian Zong; Liu Jian, Xie Qian and Li Dongyang during the reign of Xiao Zong. All of them held important positions af one time or another. They paid close attention to the recruitment of talents, the freedom of expressing ideas on current affairs, the elimination of waste in bureaucratic expenses, the dismissal of superfluous personnel in government, and the rectification of

341

financial administration in general. They opposed and tried to suppress the arbitrary, illegal acts on the part of the eunuchs; they were brave enough to speak out what they felt in front of the emperor. From time to time, even the emperor praised their outspokenness. Thanks to their meritorious service, Ying Zong and his immediate successors were able to maintain their rule. Nevertheless, the financial crisis gradually worsened after the reign of Ying Zong largely because of the prodigious waste at the court, the ever-increasing military expenditures, and the illegal, large-scale annexation of land by members of the royal house, eunuchs and powerful and influential landlords. Let us look at land annexation to demonstrate the case in point. Early during the Ming Dynasty, registered land under cultivation amounted to 8,507,000 qing (approximately 127,605,000 acres). The figure dropped to 4,228,000 qing in 1502. The principal cause for this drop was that land illegally annexed was no longer registered for taxation. To maintain the same income from taxation on a much smaller acreage, the Ming government had to increase the tax on peasants, namely, to shift the tax burden from the illegally annexed land to the land owned and tilled by small landowners, thus increasing the exploitation of those who could least afford it. In addition, it extorted money from peasants by invoking a variety of excuses.

Yet, the larger the government’s income

was, the greater its expenditure seemed to grow.

When the

oppression and the extortion became unbearable, the peasants had no choice but to stage armed uprisings, which in turn compelled the government to increase military expenditures. Financial crisis and the increasingly large scale of peasant revolts underscored the decline of the Ming Dynasty. The refugee problem was serious as early as Ying Zong’s reign. The four districts of Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, had originally a population of 188,000 households; in 1441, only one-third of this population remained. In groups of tens or hundreds, the refugees scattered all over in different places.

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342

They ate wild herbs or elm barks boiled with water. Countless number died of hunger or cold. The Jingxiang region around Yunyang on the borders of modern Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, being comparatively affluent, became a magnet for many refugees. During the reign of Xian Zong, approximately 1.5 million refugees congregated in this region. In 1445, Ye Zongliu, a native of Qingyuan, Zhejiang Prov¬ ince, led an insurrection in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province. Previously, without a means of livelihood, he followed a group of unemployed peasants to the border area of Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian, where he worked in a silver mine. When the government closed the mine for good, he and his fellow miners revolted, only to be put down by the government short¬ ly afterwards. In 1447, he rose again, and this time he was successful enough to have occupied Jinhua of Zhejiang Prov¬ ince, Qianshan of Jiangxi Province, and Pucheng and Jianyang of Fujian Province. In the winter of 1448, he was killed, but his followers kept on the resistance until 1450. In 1448, a man named Deng Maoqi, of Shaxian, Fujian Province, led his fellow peasants in an armed uprising, as an opposition to the landlords’ excessive extortions. Calling him¬ self “King of Levellers”, he led his men to occupy many pre¬ fectures and counties in the southwestern and northwestern sections

of

Fujian

Province.

Many

peasants,

financially

bankrupt, came to join the revolt one after another.

In fact,

the peasant uprising led by Deng Maoqi and the miner up¬ rising led by Ye Zongliu were coordinated, assisting each other. With the passage of time, their forces became greater and greater. In 1449, after Deng Maoqi had died of an arrow wound, his supporters continued the struggle. In 1465, the refugees in Jingxiang region, under the leader¬ ship of Liu Tong and Shi Long, staged an armed uprising in Yunyang. Previously, the refugees, noting how fertile the soil was in this area, went to the mountains to open up new fields. The government said that the mountains were forbidden regions and sent troops to arrest them. Liu Tong and Shi Long

343

reacted by calling upon their followers to resist. In Fangxian {modern Hubei Province) Liu Tong established a peasant re¬ gime and called himself “King of Han”, having a following as large as several hundred thousand men. He and his men fought bravely and defeated the government’s troops time and again. However, because of the lack of experience, they fell victim to the government’s strategy of “divide and conquer”. In 1466 he was captured alive, and subsequently executed. Six months later, Shi Long, having been betrayed by one of his followers, was also killed. The refugees in the mountains remained where they were after the revolt was put down. In 1470 a second uprising emerged, this time led by Li Yuan, Wang Hong and Wang Biao, all of whom were Liu Tong’s fromer subordinates. Li Yuan, calling himself “King of Taiping”, led his men in at¬ tacking Nanzhang (modem Hubei Province), Neixiang (modern Henan Province) and other places, and his force grew quickly. In the end, however, the government was too tricky and too unscrupulous for him. Its troops surrounded the mountains, where the insurgents were active, promising the refugees the freedom to return home to their respective occupations un¬ molested. Altogether more than 1.4 million of these refugees bit the bait and departed, leaving Li Yuan and other leaders totally isolated.

Shortly afterwards, Li Yuan and Wang Hong

were captured alive upon their defeat. Though the refugee uprisings in Jingxiang, led first by Liu Tong and then by Li Yuan, failed in the end, they forced the Ming government to recognize that they, the refugees, had the right to open up abandoned fields for cultivation. In addition to the uprisings described above, there were the uprising of 1448 led by Huang Xiaoyang in Guangdong and the uprising of 1456 led by Hou Dagou in Guangxi. In the latter case the insurgents were ethnic minorities, the Yao and Zhuang peoples, and the strug¬ gle lasted a much longer time. As for cultural activities, the reigns of Ying Zong, Xian Zong and Xiao Zong did not produce any memorable men or

�344

outstanding works. Yu Qian (1398-1457), the famous Deputy Minister of War who successfully resisted the Oirats, wrote many socially realistic poems — a rare achievement during this period. Qiu Jun (1420-95), a versatile scholar, par¬ ticipated in the editing of the Documentary Records of Xian Zong as well as the Documentary Records of Ying Zong. Sometimes he wrote the events as they were, regardless of contemporary opinion. Regarding the items in Interpretations of the Great Learning (by Zhen Dexiu of the Song Dynasty) as incomplete, he wrote his own “supplements”, which com¬ prised more than 160 juan. In terms of contents, the “supple¬ ments” followed the main thought of the Neo-Confucianism pioneered by Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi with special emphasis on learning from the Experience of past feudal rulers. During the reign of Xiao Zong, Li Dongyang (1447-1516), an eminent minister, was also the acclaimed dean of letters whose poetry, together with that of others, constituted a new school.

Decay of the Ming Dynasty; Peasant Uprisings Continued

Upon his death, Xiao Zong was succeeded by Wu Zong who in turn was succeeded by Shi Zong. Wu Zong loved pleasure and indulged in dissipations while maintaining a martial ap¬ pearance ; he paid little attention to the running of the govern¬ ment. Shi Zong, a Taoist devotee, did not choose to preside over imperial meetings for years; he rarely received his ministers. These two emperors ruled China for a total of sixty-two years and lowered the Ming regime to a level of utter decadence. Later, there was some revival of vitality during the reign of Mu Zong and the early years of Shen Zong, but this revival could not in any way lessen the political crisis the regime was then facing. ^ Emperor Wu Zong placed his trust in Liu Jin and seven other eunuchs. Together they were referred to as “Eight Tigers” because of their brutality and ferociousness. Before a

345

petition or memorial could be presented to the emperor via the Office of Transmission, a copy must be sent to Liu Jin first for review. The emperor’s comments or decisions must also be transmitted through the eunuchs. Thus, as head of the eunuchs, Liu Jin not only controlled state secrets but could also tamper with imperial documents and edicts as he pleased. Then, outside the normal judiciary system, there were three intelligence agencies under the emperor’s direct control.

One

agency was the Imperial Guard, established during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang. Another agency was the Eastern Chamber that, coming into existence during the reign of Cheng Zu, had more power than the Imperial Guard.

The third agency was

the Western Chamber that, established during the reign of Xian Zong, was active across the country; its power was even greater than that of the Eastern Chamber. Liu Jin, the eunuch, now established

a new

Chamber”

operating

that,

intelligence agency under

his

called

personal

“Inner

command,

watched and supervised the activities of both the Eastern and Western Chambers.

Besides, he placed his own henchmen in

key positions with the Imperial Guard and the two chambers. Using a variety of inducements, he persuaded Wu Zong to do nothing but pleasure-seeking so that he himself could usurp the power of the state.

He employed cruel punishment, out¬

right dismissal or killing, to suppress those who opposed him, and he openly solicited and accepted bribes.

Provincial of¬

ficials who sought audience with the emperor must present Liu Jin with twenty thousand taels of silver before an audience could be arranged.

Imperial officials who had gone to the

provinces for official business had also to bring him gifts when they returned to the capital. Finally, after he had been con¬ demned to death for attempting a coup against the govern¬ ment and all of his property confiscated, it was found that he had in his possession 240,000 gold bars and 5,000,000 silver bars, plus 57,800 taels of gold and 1,583,600 taels of silver, not to mention the huge amounts of pearls and other valuables.

�346

Having killed Liu Jin, Emperor Wu Zong transferred his trust to a military officer named Jiang Bin. Listening to the advice of Jiang Bin, many times he left Beijing for pleasure trips. At one time, while staying in a provincial town, he was besieged by hostile forces. After the invaders had been beaten off, he took the credit and began to call himself “Generalis¬ simo Valiant”. He handed over much of his authority to Jiang Bin, whose approval must be sought and obtained before any undertaking in or outside the palace, large or small, could be carried out. Jiang Bin was put to death in 1521 upon the demise of Wu Zong. Among his property confiscated, there were 70 chests of gold and 3,200 chests of silver. Peasant uprisings continued during the reign of Wu Zong. The uprisings that had the greatest impact included one led by Lan Tingrui and Yan Benshu and another led by Liu Liu and Liu Qi. The former began in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, in 1509. The insurrectionary army moved eastward along the Hanshui River and captured Yunyang and Jingxiang. Turning west¬ ward, it entered Sichuan Province where the people enthusias¬ tically welcomed it and responded. The peasant army expand¬ ed quickly as a result.

In 1511, Lan Tingrui and Yan Benshu

were captured after having fallen into a trap, but his followers continued to be active in Sichuan until 1514 when finally the struggle ended. The uprising led by Liu Liu and Liu Qi began in 1510 at Wen’an (modern Hebei Province). The very next year it spread to Shandong, “as fast as a heavy storm”. Later, the insurrec¬ tionary army marched forward along two routes to attack Shandong and Shanxi, led respectively by Liu Liu and Yang Hu. The contingent led by Yang Hu for an attack on Shanxi received welcome from the people wherever it went, and eventually rendezvoused with the contingent led by Liu Liu and Liu Qi. It then launched a ferocious attack on "the western region of Shandong, and in Jining it won a great victory over the government troops, after having burned 1,218 ships which the government had used for the transport of grain. After

347

Yang Hu was killed in action, the contingent was led by Liu Hui as commander and Zhao Sui (who had previously passed the lowest level of the civil service examination and received the degree of “licentiate”) as deputy commander. The insur¬ gents stipulated strict discipline among themselves and even planned to attack Beijing to overthrow the reigning emperor, thus posing a serious threat to the Ming regime. Later, how¬ ever, they split their forces to penetrate into various areas of Henan, Hubei, South Zhili and Jiangxi. As they slowly spread and thinned out, they also became weaker, giving the Ming government the opportunity to defeat them one by one. In 1512 the insurrection collapsed. In the spring of 1511, peasants in various parts of Jiangxi revolted. They repulsed the government troops that had come to exterminate them. In 1513, the various insurgent groups collapsed, having suffered suppression and trickery at the hands of the Ming government. Having won the victory, the Ming officials in Jiangxi increased their oppression of the people, especially the peasants who had chosen to surrender themselves to the government. In 1517, peasants revolted again in Nan’an, Dayu and other areas. Meanwhile peasant insurgents were also active in Lechang, Guangdong Province, in Chenzhou (modern Chenxian County, Hunan), Huguang Province, and in Damaoshan, Fujian Province. Governor Wang Shouren of South Jiangxi responded by adopting a dual policy in dealing with the insurgents. On the one hand, he sowed discord among the insurgents and concentrated all his forces for attacks. On the other hand, he controlled the peasants through the tightening of the bao-jia system* and through an efficient reorganization of the troops under his command. In 1518 he reported to Beijing that the whole province of Jiangxi had been pacified. ♦The bao and jia were organized on the basis of households; ten households made up a jia and ten jia made up a bao. The bao and jia chiefs watched all the households under their administration. — Trans.

�348

Wang Shouren (1472-1528) was often referred to as Master Yangming. He was responsible for suppressing not only the peasant uprisings but also a rebellion launched by a member of the royal house, the Prince of Ning, Zhu Chenhao. Further¬ more, he was a theoretician who defended the feudal rule. Suf¬ fering at the hands of the eunuchs, he, during a period of sor¬ row and anguish, developed a philosophical system of subjec¬ tive idealism. He advocated the theory of “innate knowledge” and “agreement between knowledge and action”. Innate knowledge, according to him, is none other than the ability to differentiate right from wrong, a knowledge that is a priori and born with man. Why, then, do people differ in their con¬ cept of right and wrong? The reason, he said, is that some people, led astray by selfish desire, can no longer tell right from wrong. We must eliminate selfish desire, he concluded, so we can preserve the innate knowledge born with us. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, filial piety, and all other feudal virtues are part of innate knowledge, and only by ex¬ tending innate knowledge can these virtues grow and develop. By “agreement between knowledge and action” Wang Shouren meant that innate knowledge must manifest itself in action. In other words, man’s action is governed by innate knowledge, which cannot be tested by practice. All in all, the emphasis is on knowledge. The ideology of Wang Shouren is an extension of Lu Jiuyuan’s philosophy, and its real meaning is to dem¬ onstrate the inherent, unshakable nature of feudal order. It served only as a cardiac stimulant to the dying Ming Dynasty. Among Wang Shouren’s works, the most important is The Complete Works of Wang Shouren, 38 juan altogether. Two treatises in this book, “Record of Learning” and “Questions on the Great Learning” are his major contribution to philosophical studies. His student Wang Gen (1483-1540), a, native of Tai¬ zhou, spread and developed the philosophy further^ until it be¬ came known as the Taizhou School. Contemporary with Wang Shouren were two other philosophers, namely, Luo Qinshun (1465-1547) and Wang Tingxiang (1474-1544). Luo Qinshun

349

wrote Knowledge Through Hardship, and Wang Tingxiang was known for his Careful Speech, Elegant Narrative and Discourse on Human Nature. More progressive than their contempo¬ raries, they opposed the subjective idealism advocated by Wang Shouren, and proposed a materialistic point of view. But their influence was not great at that time. Shortly after he ascended to the throne, Emperor Shi Zong corrected some of the political abuses which he had inherited from his predecessor Wu Zong. Basically he was just as decadent, though in a different way. Beginning in 1523, he set inside the palace altars to worship Taoist deities, praying for good fortune and long life. He believed in the use of charms and holy water as a means of avoiding evil spirits and banish¬ ing devils and demons. He placed confidence in Taoist priests, some of whom were appointed to high positions in the govern¬ ment.

The imperial government had a rear court as well as a

front court. While memorials from regular ministers were sub¬ mitted through the front court, those from Taoist priests were transmitted by the rear court.

None of the regular ministers

knew the contents of the Taoist memorials.

One day in 1542,

Emperor Shi Zong, while soundly asleep, was almost choked to death by one of his lady attendants. From then on he no longer dared to live inside the palace; he moved to the Western Gardens instead, where he spent all his time praying for a long life, and his ministers had a difficult time seeing him. Those who admonished him against his obsession with Taoism could suffer either outright dismissal or some other form of punishment. Among the ministers he trusted no one except Yan Song, who not only acted piously when he prayed but also knew how to write good prayers. Yan served as Prime Minister for twenty years, a long tenure that enabled him to build up his own political clique and practise corruption on a large scale. He was the most powerful and also the most treacherous premier during the Ming Dynasty. There were two difficult problems the ruling oligarchy faced during the reign of Emperor Shi Zong.

One was the

�350

Tatars’ southern march. In 1550 the Tatars marched towards Datong. The garrison commander presented the invaders with heavy bribes and asked them to bypass the city and attack somewhere else. The invaders then marched towards Beijing. Yan Song, the Prime Minister, would not allow the defenders of Beijing to resist, and the invaders, consequently, could do whatever they pleased in the city’s suburbs, raiding and pillag¬ ing as they went. Another difficult problem was the raiding and pillaging by Japanese pirates. In the spring of 1547, the invaders, in alliance with China’s own powerful gentry, unscrupulous merchants and local pirates, landed on the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian where they stepped up their lawless activities. Zhu Wan, then responsible for coastal defence, rectified the situation by arresting and putting to death those Chinese who had collaborated with the Japanese and guided their invasions. By doing this, he antagonized many high officials and members of the gentry who had been collaborating with the Japanese. He was forced to commit suicide. After Zhu Wan’s death, all officials, high or low, no longer dared to speak candidly on coastal defence, and the Japanese pirates became more and more unscrupulous.

In

1555, Qi Jiguang (1528-1587), having been appointed lieutenant colonel of Zhejiang, proceeded urgently with the preparation of defence against Japanese invaders. Not only did he suc¬ ceed in training a crack army, but he also introduced new tactics in conducting warfare. Backed by local inhabitants and civil officials, he won great victories against the Japanese pirates successively in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, thus materially changing the defence situation for the better along China’s southeastern coast. Qi Jiguang summarized his military experience in two books: A Treatise on Efficiency and A True Record of the Training of Soldiers. The financial crisis accelerated during the Yeign of Em¬ peror Shi Zong. Annual revenue from regular taxes did not exceed 2,000,000 taels of silver, but expenditures, in the year 1551, reached 5,950,000 taels. From then on, annual expend-

351

itures fluctuated between three and five million taels; often annual revenue was less than half of annual income. Shi Zong loved construction, on which he spent an annual amount of six to seven million taels during the first fifteen years of his rule. Later, because of his obsession with Taoism, he spent anywhere between two and three million taels on Taoist build¬ ings annually. Since tax revenue from regular sources was obviously inadequate, he invented a variety of excuses in ex¬ torting money from his subjects, thus continuing to increase their burden. During the reign of Shi Zong, uprisings rose and fell, only to rise again. Among the participants were peasants, miners, ethnic minorities and soldier mutineers. In Guangdong there was a peasant uprising led by Li Wenji; in Ganzhou there was another one led by Lai Qinggui. The insurgents either forcibly took land away from the landlords or went to the mountains to appropriate land for themselves. They continued the tradition of demanding land for themselves, a tradition that went back to the Jingxiang uprising in the early fifteenth century. During the period of Mu Zong’s reign and the early years of Shen Zong, Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582) was a most able political figure, and most political developments of importance during this period had something to do with him. He became a member of the Inner Chancery upon Mu Zong’s ascension to the throne; by the time Shen Zong became the emperor, he had been head of the Inner Chancery for ten years. Being respected and highly regarded by both Shen Zong and the Empress Dowager, he had a golden opportunity of carrying out his political proposals. At the time of Mu Zong’s reign, Qi Jiguang, the general famous for his victory over the Japanese pirates, was trans¬ ferred to the north as a garrison commander in Jizhou, a strategically important city outside of Beijing. He was sup¬ ported by Zhang Juzheng in the construction of defence fortifications; many times he repulsed the Tatars’ attack. In 1571, Altan Khan of the Tatars expressed the desire for friend-

�352

ship, and the Ming government, at the suggestion of Zhang Juzheng, conferred upon him the title of the Prince of Shunyi. Markets were opened for trade, and fields on the frontier were put into cultivation. The economic and cultural exchange be¬ tween Hans and Mongolians prospered as a result. During the early years of Shen Zong’s reign, Zhang Ju¬ zheng, as head of the Inner Chancery, streamlined and revi¬ talized the administration, unified the government’s command, and made sure that every order was strictly obeyed. He took a variety of measures to ease the financial crisis the govern¬ ment was facing. He strove to reduce the loss of grain when it was shipped to Beijing from the south through the Grand Canal, so that “the imperial granary was so full that the grain it contained could last ten years”. He charged Pan Jixun (1521-95) with the duty of supervising the water conservancy works along the Huanghe River. Pan was an expert in wrater control. His two books, My Humble View of the Two Rivers and An Outline of River Control, were, for a long time, out¬ standing works in the field. As superintendent of water con¬ servancy works, he corrected the situation that had, previous¬ ly, led to the frequent breaching of dykes along the Huanghe and Huai Rivers and the interruption of grain transport through the Grand Canal. His efforts helped agricultural production enormously and “transformed abandoned fields of several decades into paddy fields and mulberry groves”. As a government official, Zhang Juzheng’s most important achieve¬ ments were two: surveying and registration of cultivated land and adoption of a single tax system. In 1578, having ordered a survey of cultivated acreage across the country, he found that a large amount of land was hidden from taxation, as it was never registered. As a result of thi^ survey, taxable land was increased from 4,228,000 qing in 1502^to 7,013,000 qing in 1578, an increase by 2,785,000 qing (approximately 41,775,000 acres). In 1581, the tax system underwent a drastic change for the better when all levies and impositions, includ¬ ing the corvees, were converted into one single tax to be paid

353

in silver. This reform not only simplified tax collection but also forestalled any excuse that tax collectors might use in extorting money from taxpayers. Besides, paying tax in silver would free peasants from the difficulty of having to transport grain and other harvests over a long distance. This does not mean, however, that the single tax system did not have short¬ comings. It was true that the hitherto irregular, miscellaneous requisitions became a regular tax under the new system. But since the tax must be paid in silver, the peasants’ selling of grain for silver gave the middlemen another opportunity of exploiting them. Furthermore, the single tax system itself could not prevent government officials from imposing extra levies. While the new tax system simplified tax collection, reduced illegal takes by tax collectors, and therefore helped the increase of government revenue, it did not in any way lessen the burden on taxpayers. Nevertheless, the measures taken by Zhang Juzheng were a change for the better, in view of the widespread corruption in the government; as a means of reform, they were, of course, incompatible with the personal interests of many powerful men. Those whose interests were adversely affected launched a ferocious attack against him. Meanwhile, Shen Zong also became increasingly annoyed with a man who constantly found something to criticize in connec¬ tion with the emperor’s personal life and activities. In 1582, Zhang Juzheng died. His death was like the lifting of a heavy burden as far as the emperor was concerned. From the time Emperor Wu Zong ascended the throne to the early years of Shen Zong, there had been indeed much achievement in literature. There were influential writers who made contributions in the fields of essays, dramas and novels. In different artistic forms and in a variety of ways of ex¬ pression, these writers and their works reflect certain aspects of life during this period of decadence in Chinese history. In essay writing, writers like Li Mengyang (1472-1527), Li Panlong (1514-70) and Wang Shizhen (1528-90) advocated that “good prose should read like the works of the Qin and the

�354

Han, and good poetry should be a replica of the golden years of the Tang Dynasty”. In other words, they advocated a formal¬ ism whereby writers would return to ancient times in terms of writing style. They opposed the eight-legged style most popular with government officials, and they had nothing to do with the kind of literature aimed to please and flatter those in power. Later, such writers as Tang Shunzhi (1507-60), Mao Kun (1512-1601) and Gui Youguang (1506-71) opposed Li and Wang, promoting instead the writing style that characterized the great writers of both the Tang and the Song dynasties. They stated that “the purpose of writing is to express honestly what one really feels” and that “good writing is a successful communication between the mind and the events outside of it”. In his description of daily life, Gui Youguang was good at revealing the intimate feelings that were both true and moving. His famous works include A Brief Account of My Deceased Mother and A Record of the Xiangji Pavilion. In the field of drama, the representative works were The Ape with Four Voices by Xu Wei (1521-93), The Girl Who Washes Silk by Liang Chenyu (1510-80), and The Story of Mingfeng. The Ape with Four Voices actually contains four plays. One of them, The Three Songs of Yuyang, uses Cao Cao as an example to show how selfish and hypocritical power¬ ful ministers really are when they sacrifice other people’s flesh and blood for their own pleasure. Two others, A Girl Named Mulan and A Woman Who Passes the Metropolitan Examina¬ tion as Number One, subject to criticism the feudal concept of sexual inequality when they point out that women can be as able and talented as men. In the former play, a girl, imper¬ sonating a man, substitutes her father as a draftee and eventually leads an army and wins great victories on the battlefield. In the latter, a young woman wh6 disguises her¬ self as a man takes the metropolitan examination hnd emerges as number one. Both plays are meant as a satire against those high officials and military commanders — all males — who are incompetent and cowardly. In The Girl Who Washes Silk,

355

Liang Chenyu describes the tragic love between the silk¬ washing girl Xishi and a minister in the Kingdom of Yue named Fan Li. It is a story of how two persons in love sacrifice their own happiness in order to avenge the shame of their own country. The Story of Mingfeng, according to tradi¬ tion, was written by either Wang Shizhen or one of his students. It describes the struggle between Yan Song and his . political enemies during the reign of Shi Zong and, in the pro¬ cess, reveals the cruelty and corruption of politics at that time. About the time of Shi Zong, there was a musician in Kunshan named Wei Liangfu who worked on improving the popular songs of his native city. The improved version, sung with the accompaniment of flute, pipa and moon guitar, was later known as the Kunshan tune. The Story of Mingfeng was the first opera that adopted the Kunshan tune and helped to popularize it. As for novels, the most outstanding creation was Journey to the West. Its author Wu Chengen (c. 1500-82) came from Huai’an (modern Jiangsu Province).

The novel, 100 chapters

altogether, is based upon the popular, traditional tales about a Tang monk named Xuan Zhuang (Hsuan Tsang or Tripitaka) who went to India to procure Buddhist scriptures.

Writing in

a romantic, imaginative style, the author artistically creates a Monkey King named Sun Wukong.

Courageous and fearless,

the Monkey King turns the Palace of Heaven upside down, challenging the authority of all the Taoist deities, such as the Jade Emperor, the Immortals, and the Star Kings, to whom wide publicity was given during the Ming Dynasty. Poking fun at them, he views them with contempt when they try to buy him over. Because of his resoluteness and alertness, he is able to overcome eighty-one ordeals, defeating all the deities and demons each and every time. In the end he reaches nirvana with his master Xuan Zhuang and two fellow monks, attaining Buddhahood. The author’s description of the Monkey King reflects the wishes of the labouring masses of his time, who, like the Monkey King, dared to challenge the established

�356

authority, and hoped that they would become totally free after all the ordeals they had gone through. But the Monkey King wears on his head a golden band that automatically tightens up and causes enormous pain if he chooses to disobey his master Xuan Zhuang. No matter what wonders he may work, he cannot jump out of Buddha’s palm. All this shows Wu Chengen’s fatalistic point of view: peasant uprisings come and go, bearing little hope for the future. The limitations of the Monkey King reflect the tragedy that all men have to suffer. The deities and demons the author depicts have as many social implications as they are supernatural. Besides, he attributes to some of the characters an animal characteristic and places them in a special realm of fairy tales where they perform all kinds of magic. The depiction looks natural and harmonious, full of wonder and fun. Journey to the West pioneered a new way of novel writing which was unprecedent¬ ed and unique. Later novels of this genre fell far behind, in terms of artistic skill as well as content. The works of literature as described above contrast sharply with the corruption in politics at that time, indicating un¬ mistakably the intensity of social contradictions. The force of reform was marching forward, relentlessly, to attack the force of corruption. But social contradictions of this kind would continue; they could not find a resolution in a short space of time.

Rise of the Manchus; Peasant Uprisings Towards the End of the Ming; Fall of the Ming Dynasty

After the death of Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Shen Zong did whatever he wished in the pursuit of pleasure'^and paid little attention to state affairs. This was the time when the Manchus rose steadily as a military power in the Northeast, and their aristocracy, in a short period of sixty years, replaced the Ming Dynasty as sovereign of China.

357

The forerunner of the Manchus was the Niizhen. At one time, one group of the Niizhen named Wanyan moved from the Northeast to the Huanghe River valley and founded the Kingdom of Jin, leaving behind many other tribes that con¬ tinued the primitive life characterizing the later stage of a gentile society. After the Kingdom of Jin was conquered, the various tribes of Niizhen lived under the jurisdiction of first the Yuan and then the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, the Niizhen had three major groups: Jianzhou, Haixi and Donghai. They lived in, respectively, the upper reaches of the Hun and the Suzi rivers, the middle and lower reaches of the Songhuajiang River and the valley of the Huifa River (located to the north of Kaiyuan, modern Liaoning Province), and, finally, the lower reaches of the Songhuajiang River and the vast area where the Heilongjiang River pours into the sea. The region where the Jianzhou inhabited was fertile in soil, and it grew practically all the drought-resistant crops. The Jianzhou group traded regularly with the Mongolians and the Koreans, as well as the Hans. It exported horses, cattle, pelts of marten and ginseng, in exchange for . iron tools and daily necessities. In terms of economic development, it was much more advanced than any of the other Niizhen groups. In 1583, Nurhachi of the Aisin Gioro clan was elected chief of the Jianzhou group. With Hetuala (modern Xinbin, Liaoning Prov¬ ince) as his base of operation, he annexed neighbouring tribes one by one. In 1593, Yehe (located in the area to the north of Kaiyuan), Hada (located in the area to the east of Kaiyuan) and other Haixi tribes attacked Nurhachi, in alliance with such Mongolian tribes as Horqin. Nurhachi defeated them all and became more powerful as a result. From then on and for more than twenty years, his power increased steadily until he con¬ trolled practically all the Niizhen territories. In 1616 he, hav¬ ing won great victories in a war of unification, declared him¬ self Great Khan, established his capital at Hetuala, renamed Xingjing, and called his regime Great Jin, known as Later Jin to historians. Later Jin was then a local, independent re-

�358

gime within the territory of China other than the Ming regime. At this time the Niizhen had not yet acquired the name of “Manchu”. While expanding his power and influence, Nurhachi adopt¬ ed such measures as registration and organization of civilian population, construction of city walls for defence, invention of a written language and enactment of statutes. Based upon the tribal niulu system, he developed an Eight Banner organization. In the past, whenever the Niizhen marched as a military group or went out hunting, every ten participants were organized to form a basic unit known as niulu. Now, under Nurhachi’s Eight Banner system, each niulu was ex¬ panded to include 300 persons; 5 niulu or 1,500 persons form¬ ed a jiala, and 5 jiala or 7,500 persons became a banner. There were altogether eight banners, each of which was identified by a specific colour of its flag: yellow, red, blue, white, yellowbordered, red-bordered, blue-bordered and white-bordered. Appointed by Nurhachi, the head of a banner was one of his sons or nephews. The purpose of the Eight Banner system was to organize all the Niizhen people in a military fashion, so that they could become more efficient as producers and as warriors. As a result of introducing this system, the military strength of the Niizhen increased; so did their economic production. The system sped up the Niizhen’s social development; it also strengthened Nurhachi’s position as their ruler. Interestingly, this enormous development in the northeast¬ ern section of China did not attract the attention of the Ming government at all. At the time when Nurhachi was busy with the establishment of a new regime, Shen Zong, the Ming emperor, squandered money even though the treasury was virtually empty; he sent out eunuchs across the country to extort more and more even though his subjecis had little for their own livelihood. Besides, he waged three wars'in Ningxia, Korea and Guizhou. For the investiture of the crown prince and other princes, plus their respective weddings, Shen Zong spent 9,340,000

359

taels of silver, not to mention the 2,700,000 taels spent on their costumes. For the purpose of collecting pearls and other valuables, he spent 24,000,000 taels more. At that time, the annual revenue from land taxation totalled about 4,000,000 taels. In other words, it would require six years’ collection of land tax to come up with this enormous sum, provided, of course, that this collection was not used for any other purpose. He sent eunuchs to open up gold and silver mines, stipulating the amount of gold and silver that they had to produce, re¬ gardless of whether the mines had or had not gold or silver, or whatever amount the mines could actually produce. He also dispatched eunuchs to Guangdong to search for pearls and other valuables, to Lianghuai* to extort money from gabelle, and to all the commercial regions to set up tariff barriers so as to collect more. These eunuchs, by invoking the authority of the emperor, blackmailed as they wished. Not only did they rob people of their, property and punish local officials under various excuses, they also arrested and killed people at will. In the end they could not but provoke the people’s vigorous resistance. In 1599, the merchants in Linqing (modern Shandong Province), in protest against tax superintendent Ma Tang’s ruthlessness, called a strike. They burned his office and nearly beat him to death. Chen Feng, who was sent to Huguang as a mine superintendent, simultaneously serving as a tax superintendent, suffered a similar fate. When collecting taxes at Wuchang, he was besieged in his residence by local inhabitants who, subsequently, arrested six of his henchmen and threw them into the Changjiang River. For more than a month, the tax superintendent did not dare to show up outside of his residence. In Suzhou, tax superintendent Sun Long wanted to increase taxes on looms, only to see many work¬ ers call a strike and close the workshops. Those workers who

• The name of one of the regions designated for the collection of

gabelle in the Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it covered most of the districts in present-day Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces and part of Henan Province.

�360

had lost their jobs because of the strike, under the leadership of a man named Ge Xian, surrounded Sun Long’s office, beat to death several of his retainers, and burned to the ground the residence of Tang Xin, a local bully who had collaborated with the tax superintendent. In 1603, the workers in the Xishan Coal Mine went in groups to Beijing to demonstrate against mine superintendent Wang Chao. In 1606, the miners in Yunnan burned the office of the tax collector as a protest against mine superintendent Yang Rong. Yang Rong retaliated by suppression and killed more than one thousand miners in the process. More miners joined the struggle and, in alliance with the people in the area, burned Yang Rong’s residence, killed its owner and threw his body into the fire, besides killing more than two hundred of his followers. The struggle waged by workers and merchants against mine and tax superintendents was a new class struggle, at a time when the feudal society of China had entered a period of decline. Three wars were waged by Shen Zong, beginning in 1592. In that year, Bobai, the former deputy commander in Ningxia, made an alliance with the Tatars to challenge the authority of the Ming regime.

The latter sent an expeditionary army to

crush him and succeeded only after more than six months of fighting. In the same year, Hideyoshi of Japan invaded Korea, which the Ming government dispatched troops to support. The war persisted for six years before it finally ended. In 1594, Yang Yinglong, a native officer in Bozhou (modern Zunyi County, Guizhou), refused to obey any more orders from the Ming government, and the latter responded by sending an expeditionary army. Almost six years had to elapse before the war came to an end. The enormous outlay in manpower and financial resources occasioned by the three wars further weakened the Ming regime. n During Shen Zong’s reign, many key posts in^the govern¬ ment were left vacant, and factional strifes among officials remained serious. For more than twenty years, the emperor did not grant audience to his ministers; too often were there

361

no responsible officials in charge of this or that office, on both the central and the local levels. In 1611, the Six Boards of the Inner Chancery, the Censorate, the Supreme Court, the Office of Transmission and many organs on the local level were in¬ adequately supplied with administrative officials. But this administrative paralysis did not prevent top officials from engaging in factional strifes. In 1594, Gu Xiancheng, a former senior secretary of the Board of Civil Office, joined with such eminent scholars as Gao Panlong and Qian Yiben to lecture at the Donglin Academy in Wuxi. Not only did these scholars speak candidly on current affairs, but they criticized contem¬ porary leaders as well. They wanted reforms to be carried out in government, tax collection rationalized and rectified, and the power of high officials and influential gentry curtailed. Their proposals had an enormous impact, and they, therefore, were resented and ostracized by those in power, who called them “Men of the Donglin Party” and instigated political groups on the local level to suppress them. A factional strife ensued, leading to political disturbance and instability. Political anarchy and costly military campaigns on the part of the Ming government provided Nurhachi with opportunities to attack it. In 1618, at the head of twenty thousand men of a combination of cavalry and infantry, Nurhachi captured the strategic Fushun (modern Liaoning Province) and the nearby fortifications. Shortly afterwards, he attacked Yaguguarl (located to the southeast of Fushun) and captured Qinghecheng. Only then did the Ming government realize how serious the situation was. Quickly it ordered Yang Gao to take command and prepare for offensive action. But there were difficulties involving the raising of funds and the gathering of troops. Ten months had to elapse before Yang Gao succeeded in bring¬ ing together an army of 90,000 men. This army, plus a sup¬ porting unit of 10,000 men from Korea, marched towards Xingjing along four routes. Nurhachi responded with all of his Eight Banners — 60,000 men altogether — for the confronta¬ tion. In the summer of 1619, the two sides fought a ferocious

�362

battle at Sarhu (to the southeast of Fushun), and the Ming army was decisively defeated, losing 310 commanders and i 45,800 men. This battle proved to be a turning point, as it enhanced the morale of the Niizhen, while reducing sharply the strength of the Ming regime. The Ming government deteriorated further during Emperor Xi Zong’s reign (1620-27). The emperor placed confidence in a eunuch named Wei Zhongxian, who was in charge of not only the Eastern Chamber but all the incoming petitions and memorials as well. He was given a free hand to place his diehard followers in the Six Boards and the offices of the governors and governors-general. Altogether they formed a eunuch clique. They ruthlessly persecuted persons whose names they had on a list — those who held high positions but refused to collaborate with them, or those whom they simply disliked. At this time Gu Xiancheng, the leader of the Donglin Party, was already dead, and other leaders like Zhao Nanxing, Zou Yuanbiao and Gao Panlong were either exiled, compelled to resign, or forced to commit suicide. In 1626, Wei Zhongxian sent a man to Suzhou to arrest a member of the Donglin Party named Zhou Shunchang. The people in Suzhou responded by storming into the governor’s office, and governor Mao Yilu fled in panic. A corrupt regime like this was face to face with an energetic, newly-arising power known as the Later Jin; it could not do much even if it had the best military commanders. Commanders who succeeded Yang Gao, such as Xiong Tingbi and Sun Chengzong, were all able and talented in military affairs; they were good organizers capable of putting up stiff resistance. But all of them were dismissed from their respec¬ tive commands after only a brief tenure of office. At the time when Sun Chengzong was in charge, he, assisted by his chief lieutenant Yuan Chonghuan, strengthened the city wall of Ningyuan and other fortifications, in preparation for the defence of the key line between Jinzhou and Ningyuan, so as to make sure that the Shanhaiguan Pass would be safe.

But

363

his successor, a member of the eunuch clique named Gao Di, had no understanding whatsoever of the measures hitherto undertaken. In the spring of 1626, Nurhachi attacked at the head of 130,000 men. Gao Di wanted to abandon all the areas in the Northeast and retreat southward to defend the Shanhaiguan Pass. He ordered garrison troops in Jinzhou, Xingshan, Songshan, and other places to destroy all the defence fortifica¬ tions, discard the military supplies, and force the inhabitants to move southward by way of the Shanhaiguan Pass. Yuan Chonghuan defied the order by insisting on defending Ningyuan and in the end succeeded in defeating the enemy. Unfortunately, an able general like him soon became a target of jealousy and resentment and was dismissed from office. In 1625 Nurhachi moved his capital to Shenyang, known as Shengjing from then on. Having suffered serious injuries in the battle of Ningyuan, he withdrew to Aiyangbao (approxi¬ mately forty li from Shenyang) where he died. Nurhachi was succeeded by Huangtaiji who, in 1627, renewed the attack on Ningyuan and lay siege on Jinzhou. Then Yuan Chonghuan was still Ningyuan’s defender, and Huangtaiji, having suffered reverses on a large scale, decided to withdraw. Two months after the battle, the Ming emperor Xi Zong died and was suc¬ ceeded by Si Zong. The new sovereign was also known as Emperor Chong Zhen, coming to the throne at a time when the situation had become critical. He had to face not only a threat posed by the Later Jin but also peasant uprisings of great intensity, against which he had to devote most of his energy. Emperor Chong Zhen reinstated Yuan Chonghuan who had been dismissed from his office previously. Yuan was appoint¬ ed Minister of War with special responsibility for the military campaign in the Northeast. He adopted a long-range plan for defence, strengthened the line between Jinzhou and Ningyuan, and strove to recover those territories that the Ming forces had lost in the battle of Sarhu. In 1629 Huangtaiji, having bypassed the defence line established by Yuan Chonghuan,

�364

crossed the Great Wall via Inner Mongolia, and captured Zunhua in North Zhili. Quickly Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to reinforce the defence. But Emperor Chong Zhen, falling into a trap set up by Huangtaiji to sow discord and distrust among the Ming camp, arrested Yuan Chonghuan and condemned him to death. Meanwhile, Huangtaiji continued the offensive and succeeded in capturing Yongping, Qian’an and Luanzhou. However, as Sun Chengzong was reinstated to the commandership, the Later Jin forces could not break the defence at the Shanhaiguan Pass. Shortly afterwards, Sun Chengzong recovered Yongping and other cities, and the Later Jin forces had to withdraw. In 1636, Huangtaiji changed his title from “Great Khan” to “Emperor” and named his new regime “Great Qing”. The Jianzhou group of Niizhen was, from then on, known as “Manchu”. Shortly afterwards, new organs of government were added, such as the Six Boards, the Censorate, and the Board of Minorities Affairs. In 1636 and again in 1638, Huangtaiji sent troops to breach Xifengkou, a pass of the Great Wall, and launched attacks against the Ming regime. In their first campaign, the attacking Qing forces captured Changping and went as far as the area outside the west city gate of Beijing. In their second campaign, they went as far as Shandong Province. Having been dismissed from office, Sun Chengzong lived in his native city of Gaoyang at the time; he committed suicide when the city fell to the invaders. The Qing troops retreated northward only after they had captured large numbers of people and animals, plus gold and silver. They devastated many cities and towns that they did not wish to occupy. In 1639 the Ming government ordered Hong Chengchou to defend all the areas to the north of the Shanhaiguan Pass. Huangtaiji, meanwhile, was determined to destroy The defence line between Jinzhou and Ningyuan as a prelude to the seizure of the Shanhaiguan Pass. In 1641 he dispatched large forces to besiege Jinzhou, and Hong Chengchou personally led his

365

men to that city for defence. The battle lasted more than six months, and in the end the Ming forces were decisively defeat¬ ed. Many generals heroically sacrificed their lives, but Hong Chengchou, the top commander, surrendered after .he had been captured alive. Now that Jinzhou was lost to the enemy, all the defence lines north of the Shanhaiguan Pass were breach¬ ed, and the invading Qing forces began to knock at the pass itself. In 1642 the Qing forces again crossed the Great Wall in force, capturing many cities in Zhili and Shandong. As before, the invaders took into possession large numbers of people and animals, plus gold and silver, before they retreated to the Northeast. Both Nurhachi and Huangtaiji were outstanding leaders in military affairs. The latter was an outstanding statesman be¬ sides. By repeatedly penetrating deep into North China, he swept aside all the obstacles beyond the Shanhaiguan Pass. He organized for the purpose of production those Han people who had surrendered to him; he recruited able-bodied Mongo¬ lians and Hans to form Mongolian Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners, respectively. He treated well the Ming generals who had switched their loyalty to him, such as Hong Chengchou, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi, all of whom helped the Manchus militarily and made no small con¬ tributions to the establishment of the Qing Dynasty. Huangtaiji died in the fall of 1643 and was succeeded by his third son Fulin. Fulin, after the Qing forces had entered North China, was known as Emperor Shun Zhi. Six months after he ascended the throne, peasant insurgents led by Li Zicheng entered Beijing. The situation in China changed drastically. The peasant uprisings towards the end of the Ming Dynasty began in Shaanxi Province. They were the net result of a gradual development that had persisted for a long time. In 1627, Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, and acres of land could not yield one kernel of grain. But the government con¬ tinued to put pressure on the peasants to pay rent and taxes,

�366

and such pressure precipitated a rebellion. Peasant Wang Er gathered several hundred hungry men to attack Chengcheng and killed the magistrate. The very next year, Wang Jiayin staged an uprising at Fugu, and Gao Yingxiang, Wang Zuogua and Zhang Xianzhong did likewise in Ansai, Yichuan and Yan’an, respectively. In a short period of time, several dozen uprisings erupted, and thousands of hungry peasants partici¬ pated in the battle for survival. In 1631 the Ming government dispatched troops to suppress the widespread revolts. The insurgents moved from Shaanxi to Shanxi and fought on both sides of the Huanghe River. As each of the insurgent groups fought alone without coordination, they were easily defeated by the government troops one by one, and many important leaders lost their lives as a result. Gao Yingxiang, in alliance with Zhang Xianzhong, Ma Shouying and Luo Rucai, broke through the government encirclement, crossed the Huanghe River at Mianchi, and then, after passing through western Henan and northern Huguang, reached southern Shaanxi. Once again, they were surrounded. Mistakenly Gao Yingxiang led his men into the Chexiangxia Gorge, Xing’an (modern Antang, Shaanxi Province), where¬ from they could not escape. Li Zicheng feigned surrender and, by bribing government troops, was allowed to leave. Shortly afterwards, the insurrectionary army expanded to become a powerful force of several hundred thousand men. In 1635 the peasant army led by Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, fought its way towards Fengyang, original home of the royal house of the Ming, where it burned and destroyed the tombs of the reigning emperor’s ancestors. This action indicated the rebel leaders’ determination to overthrow the Ming Dynasty. Later, Zhang Xianzhong led his army eastward and captured Luzhou (modern Hefei city, Anhui) and Anqing. Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng, on the other hand, returned to southern Shaanxi, where they repeat¬ edly defeated the Ming army sent to exterminate them. The next year, Gao was captured in an ambush and subsequently

367

executed. The remainder of his forces supported Li Zicheng as their leader who, from then on, took over the title “Dashing King” which had been Gao’s. Li’s forces fought in various places in Shaanxi and Sichuan until, in 1638, they were defeated at Zitong, northern Sichuan. Only Li Zicheng and eighteen of his close followers managed to escape on horseback, while the rest was dispersed. To forestall the government’s attack, Li and his close followers hid themselves in the Shangluo Mountains, Shaanxi Province. Previously, Zhang Xianzhong, having been defeated, feigned surrender to the government in Huguang. The tide of peasant uprisings reach¬ ed a low ebb. In the summer of 1639 Zhang Xianzhong rose again at Gucheng (in modern Hubei), Huguang Province. Meanwhile, Li Zicheng emerged from the mountains, once again gathering followers to stage another uprising. Zhang Xianzhong, having fought for several years in Huguang, Shaanxi, and Sichuan, declared himself emperor at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in 1643. He called his regime “Da Xi” (“Great West”). Li Zicheng, while marching through the Yaohan mountains, was once again defeated by the Ming forces. With fifty of his followers, he broke through the encirclement on horseback and entered Henan. Then a severe famine occurred in Henan, and thousands of hungry people joined him. Many intellectuals, who had been ostracized by the corrupt Ming regime, also enlisted

under

Li

Zicheng’s

banner,

helping

in

planning

strategy. From then on, the insurrectionary army raised such slogans as “equalization of landownership” and “freedom from taxation”. It declared that “virtuous scholars will be re¬ spected”, “despots will be eliminated and the people protect¬ ed”, and “there will be no violation of people’s lives and prop¬ erty”. These slogans indicated that the warfare waged by the peasants had made a qualitative jump. In 1641, while the Ming forces were concentrating on at¬ tacking Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan, Li Zicheng, taking advantage of the void in Henan, attacked and seized Luoyang.

�368

The Prince of Fu — Zhu Changxun — was killed, and all the grain, gold, silver and other valuables were taken from his mansion and then distributed among hungry people, who enthusiastically supported Li’s forces. In 1642, after his army had captured Xiangyang, Li Zicheng declared himself King of Xinshun and established positions for civil and military of¬ ficials. In 1643, the insurrectionary army left Xiangyang and marched northward; it passed through Henan and then captur¬ ed Xi’an. Early in 1644 Li Zicheng changed the name of Xi’an to Xijing. He called his regime the Great Shun and himself the King of Great Shun. He conferred ranks and titles on those who had performed meritorious deeds; he introduced the civil service examination system as a means to elevate scholars. Shortly afterwards, he left Xi’an and marched his army towards Beijing. There was little resistance from the Ming forces, and in a little more than one month, he and his men reached the suburbs of Beijing. On the 18th day of the 3rd lunar month, Li’s army succeeded in seizing the outer city of Beijing. Early next morning Emperor Chong Zhen hung himself at the foot of the Coal Hill (known as Jing Hill today) behind the imperial palace. Li Zicheng personally led his army into the city, and the Ming Dynasty perished in the storm of peasant uprisings. As the corruption of the feudal system, feudal governance and feudal rulers — especially the hypocritical and cruel aspect of it — was revealed unmistakable for the world to see towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were philosophers, men of letters and historians who exposed or criticized the social evils they saw, in various degrees and, in some cases, in a highly concentrated form. Li Zhi (1527-1602), also known as Li Zhuowu, was a prolific writer, his representative works being Book 1Burning, Book Holding, Supplement to Book Burning and Supplement to Book Holding. He was a fighter who dared to oppose feudal¬ ism openly. He satirized not only those self-styled Neo-Confucians but also powerful officials.

He criticized the view of

369

“heavenly reason” vis-a-vis “human desire” — a view that was held by Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Shouren. He exposed the hypocrisy of speaking loudly about “benevolence” and “righteousness” while paying no attention to the life or death of common men. He said that scholars, beginning with the Tang-Song period, only echoed Confucius regarding what was right or wrong without making their own judgement. He criticized all those who elevated the sayings of Confucius to the level of infallible feudal canon, and he wanted nothing better than to pull down the tablet of Con¬ fucius from the altar of feudal ideology. He opposed the con¬ demnation of Qin Shi Huang by all the Confucians throughout history; he, instead, praised the Qin monarch as the “most unique emperor” since history began. He admired Zhuo Wenjun for her foresightedness when she selected Sima Xiangru as her husband, even though the self-righteous, diehard pedants had characterized her behaviour as a violation of good customs.* Nevertheless, Li Zhi was an idealist. He did not have the courage to oppose the feudal concept of a subject’s obligation to be loyal to the sovereign, and he did not provide a new ideal as a substitute for feudal ethics. His contribution lies in the fact that he exposed the ugly side of feudal rulers, and dealt a crushing blow to feudal ethics. Frightened, these feudal rulers put him to death on trumped-up charges when he was seventy-six years old. After his death, repeated orders

• Zhuo Wenjun, a native of Linqiong (present Qionglai County in

Sichuan Province) and a granddaughter of the Prince of Zhou, was widowed as a young woman. A cultured and unorthodox woman who was musically gifted, she fell in love with a famous man of letters named Sima Xiangru (179-117 B.C.) and married him after they eloped to Chengdu. Her actions were unusual in several respects. Customarily in feudal China, widows did not remarry; in any case, women did not choose their own husbands; and princesses did not marry commoners. After some time, the couple returned to Linqiong where they reportedly lived happily after opening a wineshop where Zhuo Wenjun stood behind the counter to sell wine — again, an unusual occupation for a princess. The romance is a famous one in China. —

Trans.

�370

were issued to burn all his books, but somehow his works survived. Later, other writers invoked his name for their own works, believing that a book bearing his name would enjoy greater prestige. Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) was one of China’s best dramatists. Among his works were Peony Pavilion, Purple Hairpin, The Dream of Handan and The Southern Tributary State; together they are referred to as Four Dreams of Linchuan. Of the four, Peony Pavilion is his most representative work. It is a story of a young woman named Du Liniang who, shackled by feudal ethics, resolutely struggles for romantic love and happiness. As the only daughter of Du Bao, Prefect of Nan’an, she lived in her father’s official mansion for three years without even visiting the garden, being so enslaved by the feudal Concept of “proper behaviour”. Living under such lonely, joyless circumstances, she, as a girl of adolescence, cannot but feel sorrowful and unhappy. One day, she ventures into the garden and the bright, beautiful spring suddenly wakes her up to her youth.

She does not actually meet any

young man, of course; the young man only appears in her dream. She grasps the young man and will not let him go, only to wake up and see him disappear. From then on, she suffers a love sickness, of which she eventually dies. As a spirit, she finds the young man in her dream, who turns out to be a scholar named Liu Mengmei. She takes the initiative and expresses to him her love, and they are married as soon as her spirit reenters her body and she becomes alive again. In this story, the author, through the use of romanticism and imagination, made possible what in real life could not be realiz¬ ed. The struggle of a young woman for love, unchangeable through life and death despite all the obstacles, was a sharp and poignant challenge to feudal ethics. The^story reveals not just the difficulty involving a young woman’s ^search for love. It reflects the kind of ordeal people have to undergo just to enjoy the rights that are inherently theirs. It shows that even under the harshest circumstances people do not lose

371

hope for a bright future. Subtly and in fine detail, the author presents a psychological drama as he reveals a young woman’s innermost feelings in the way of a lyrical poem. Completed in 1598, the play was performed on stage across the country shortly afterwards. It has had an enduring influence on Chinese theatre for more than three hundred years. Flowering Plum in a Golden Vase, a novel of considerable length, appeared sometime during Shen Zong’s reign. Since the author referred to himself as “A Laughing Man from Lanling”, probably he was a native of Lanling (modem Yixian, Shandong Province). Unfortunately, there is no way we can find out about his real name. Unlike The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which was based on history, or Out¬ laws of the Marsh and Journey to the West which owed their sources to long-standing popular tales, Flowering Plum was the creation of one man who wrote about society as he saw it. Tracing the rise and fall of a powerful family that belongs to a man named Ximen Qing, the author describes the evil-doings of influential officials, despicable members of the gentry, local scoundrels and dishonest merchants — how they secretly plot with one another to kill people in order to obtain their wealth, illicitly appropriate other people’s wives and daughters, and wheel and deal in litigation. These people are not hypocrites who wear Neo-Confucian masks; they have torn off the mask of feudal ethics; and they openly live a corrupt life and conduct criminal activities. In exposing the rotten life of the landlord class, the novel is certainly a success. Still, while exposing the seamy side of society, the author does not reveal his personal likes or dislikes: he does not make value judgement. Besides, he devotes a sizable space to homilies by Buddhist nuns, obscene songs by prostitutes, and ponographic details. All this mars the artistic achievement of the novel itself. Shortly after the appearance on the market of Flowering Plum in a Golden Vase, three other books, all by Feng Menglong (1574-1646), were also in circulation. The three books are: Stories to Enlighten Men, Stories to Warn Men and Stories

�

372

to Awaken Men, each of which has 40 stories. These books contain the vernacular tales of the Song-Yuan period and their imitations written during the Ming Dynasty, all of which were edited or rewritten before incorporated into the new volumes.

Some of the stories deal with internal struggle

among the

feudal ruling class,

exposing

its

cruelty

and

hypocrisy; others describe the true feelings of men and women in love and the oppression that women suffer under feudalism. They often express a fatalistic point of view, and sometimes describe sex in a vulgar way.

An admirer of Li Zhi, the

author was a progressive in his thinking.

Through the three

books he edited, he contributed to the popularity of vernacular tales and similar stories. During the reigns of Emperor Xi

Zong

and

Emperor

Chong Zhen, three voluminous works on history made their appearance. Yuanyi.

One was A Record of Military Affairs by Mao

Consisting of 240 juan, it was completed in 1621.

It

is a collection of all relevant materials on war theories, military strategies, battle tactics and war supplies throughout Chinese history. It is in fact a military history rich in source materials; it might be regarded as a military encyclopaedia of its time. The second book is a chronological history

of the Ming

Dynasty entitled National Deliberations, which has 100 juan. Tan Qian (1593-1657), the author, began work on this book in 1621. Written in the form of annals, it is one of the most important works on Chinese history. The third book was A Collection of Essays on National Affairs During the Ming Dynasty, edited by Chen Zilong (1608-47) and others who completed the work in 1638. Consisting of 508 juan, it contains all the important works on national affairs, dating back to the very beginning of the Ming Dynasty. It is a collection of source materials on Ming politics and economics, tn its own way, each of the three books attempted to rescue the Ming Dynasty from the crisis it faced. But the trend towards demise had gone too far for these books to do any good.

Peasant Regime of the Great Shun; Princes of the Southern Ming; Unification Activities During the Early Qing Dynasty

Upon entering Beijing late in the spring of 1644, Li Zicheng further developed his political regime, known as the Great Shun, that had its beginning in Xi’an. The key personnel in his government consisted of the peasant commanders who had fought with him, but he also brought in some of the exMing officials. In the areas within his control, he carried out a policy of “taking money away from the rich and giving it to the poor”. He opened the granaries and distributed their con¬ tents among the needy; he also encouraged peasants to recover the land which the landlords had illegally occupied. By means of this kind, he intended to carry out his policy of “equaliza¬ tion of landownership” and “exemption from rent and taxa¬ tion”. In addition, he took such measures as the cultivation of abandoned fields by unemployed peasants, besides forcing the corrupt Ming officials to hand over their illegal gains for military expenditures. However, he underestimated the strength of the Ming forces that remained, as he did not choose to take them on in hot pursuit, certainly not in an organized fashion. The measures he took in defence against the Qing forces to the north of the Shanhaiguan Pass were also in¬ adequate. Meanwhile, the peasant regime itself, due to the rapid development of the revolution, underwent a change. The moment he entered Beijing, Li Zicheng wanted to be inaugurated as an emperor as early as possible. His chief adviser, Niu Jinxing, gathered around himself a large number of ex-Ming officials and busily prepared for Li’s inauguration so that he himself could quickly assume the position of a prime minister and thus enjoy the power of the state. Outstanding generals like Liu Zongmin and Li Guo, who had fought hun¬ dreds of battles, were now only thinking of pleasure and com¬ fort; their militancy waned. Bad policy and adverse internal development caused the peasant regime of Great Shun to lose the opportunity to

strengthen itself.

375

At the time when the peasant army entered

Beijing, Wu Sangui, the Ming garrison commander at the Shanhaiguan Pass, had not decided what course to follow: his attitude was that of wait-and-see.

Then, when he saw how

the peasant army put pressure on the corrupt Ming officials to hand over their illegal gains and how the remainder of the Ming forces planned to counterattack, he decided to surrender to the Qing army and lead it into China proper by the route of Shanhaiguan.

Jointly they would defeat the peasant

regime, so he hoped. The Qing army, stationed north of Shan¬ haiguan and only waiting for an opportunity to attack, ac¬ cepted Wu’s surrender.

Immediately it moved southward in

two columns. As Li Zicheng had no information about Wu Sangui’s sur¬ render to the Qing, he personally led an army of 60,000 men eastward from Beijing, attempting to force the Shan¬ haiguan commander to surrender to himself.

While he was

engaged in heavy fighting against Wu Sangui at Yipianshi near Shanhaiguan, a cavalry unit of the Qing army suddenly attacked him, a move that was totally unexpected.

Unable to

take any counter measures, he hurriedly withdrew and return¬ ed to Beijing.

Meanwhile, the Qing army, led by the turncoat

generals Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and Kong Yude, crossed the Great Wall in force. After returning to Beijing, Li Zicheng was most anxious to be inaugurated as emperor despite the military crisis.

He left

Beijing in a hurry the very next day after the inauguration, as he moved his army westward towards Shaanxi. The Prince of Rui (Dorgon) of the Qing followed in the wake and soon enter¬ ed Beijing. In marching his army against Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui raised the slogan of “avenging our sovereign and fathers”, a slogan that was meant to cover up his own capitula¬ tion to the Qing regime. After entering Beijing, the Qing re¬ gime itself also declared that it sought to “avenge the sovereign and fathers” on behalf of the Ming subjects. Through meas-

�376

ures like this, it wished to ingratiate itself with the Han land¬ lords, and win them over. As the Qing regime became more or less stabilized, Dorgon proposed that the capital be moved to Beijing. Emperor Shun Zhi was invited to enter North China, as thanks were offered to Heaven and Earth, suggesting that the emperor was the sole sovereign of all of China. Dorgon, the emperor’s uncle, was appointed regent who wielded the real power of the state, politically as well as militarily. It was then decided that Ajige, or the Prince of Ying, was to lead an army to attack Li Zicheng, while Duoduo, or the Prince of Yu, was to march southward to conquer South China. After retreating from Beijing, the Great Shun army led by Li Zicheng suffered a series of internal dissensions, and its morale also went from bad to worse. In defending Tongguan and in the ensuing battle against the Qing attackers, it suffered reverses; it had no choice but to move to the Xiangyang re¬ gion, Huguang Province. During the early summer of 1645, Li Zicheng retreated to Wuchang.

Shortly afterwards,

he

went to the Jiugong Mountains, Tongshan County, where he was killed by the enemy in an ambush. Among the remainder of his following, the group led by Li Jin and Li Laiheng con¬ tinued to fight for the next twenty years. Zhang Xianzhong, who had established the Great West regime in Sichuan, was defeated by the Qing forces in a battle fought in 1646. He was killed in action in the Fenghuang Mountains, Xichong. His surviving lieutenants, like Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, realized that the Qing army was a much more dangerous ene¬ my than the Ming regime and therefore decided to make an alliance with the Southern Ming to face the common foe. The term “Southern Ming” comprises several ephemeral regimes in South China. In 1644, one month a*fter Li Zicheng had entered Beijing, Ma Shiying, the Ming governor of Fengyang, and Shi Kef a, Minister of War in Nanjing, supported Zhu Yousong, or the Prince of Fu, to assume the imperial title in Nanjing. This was the first regime of the Southern Ming.

377

Real power was in the hands of Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng who, at one time, were members of Wei Zhongxian’s eunuch clique. They indulged in bribery and corruption and did their best to ostracize Shi Kefa. Furthermore, they induced the Prince of Fu to indulge in pleasure-seeking, paying no atten¬ tion to the affairs of the state. There was also dissension among the generals who defended the Changjiang River, and the defence was weakened considerably as a result. When the Qing army, under the command of the Prince of Yu (Duoduo), marched southward, Shi Kefa put up a heroical resistance at Yangzhou. Being totally isolated from any support, he was captured when the city fell. He refused to surrender and was executed. In the summer of 1645, the Qing army entered Nanjing, and the first Southern Ming regime came to an end after only one year of existence. Two months after the fall of Nanjing, two other Southern Ming regimes emerged in Fujian and Zhejiang, respectively. Huang Daozhou and Zheng Zhilong supported the Prince of Tang (Zhu Yujian) as emperor in Fujian, and Qian Suyue and Zhang Huangyan supported the Prince of Lu (Zhu Yihai) as “National Supervisor” in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

Zheng Zhilong,

the real power behind the Prince of Tang’s regime, only knew how to exploit people and nothing else; consequently there was not much hope here. In the summer of 1646, the Qing army attacked Fujian, and Zheng Zhilong surrendered. The Prince of Tang retreated to Tingzhou where he was captured and died shortly afterwards. As for the Prince of Lu’s regime, it had at one time repulsed a Qing attack. However, its military commanders were arrogant and disobedient, and the power of the state fell into the hands of the prince’s relatives and eunuchs. It suffered defeat when the Qing army attacked again. The Prince of Lu retreated first to Zhoushan and then to Jinmen Island. Eventually he went to Taiwan. In the winter of 1646, Qu Shisi, the high-ranking Ming official then in charge of the defence of Guangdong and Guangxi, supported the Prince of Yongming (Zhu Youlang) I

�378

as emperor at Zhaoqing (modem Gaoyao, Guangdong Prov¬ ince), with the reign title of Yongli. Though he was as incom¬ petent as other Ming princes who had failed, Emperor Yongli’s regime lasted for a period of fifteen years, thanks to the co-operation given to it by the remainder of the peasant army and the heroism of such generals as Qu Shisi and He Tengjiao. Li Dingguo, a former subordinate of Zhang Xianzhong’s, and Li Jin and Li Laiheng, Li Zicheng’s former lieutenants — all of them had fought on the side of Emperor Yongli against the Qing forces. Early in 1662, Emperor Yongli was captured, and the last regime of Southern Ming came to an end. At this time the Qing Emperor Shun Zhi had already died, and Emperor Kang Xi had been in power for almost one year. While fighting against the peasant army and the various regimes of Southern Ming, the Qing Dynasty stressed the im¬ portance of bringing about harmony among the ethnic minor¬ ities in China’s border areas. In 1647, the Mongolian group of Chigin and the Uygurs in Xinjiang sent envoys to pay tribute, indicating their fealty to the new regime. In the same year, the two leaders in Tibet, Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, also sent envoys to present native products. In 1651, the Qing court dispatched officials to invite Dalai Lama to Beijing where he lived for many years. In 1655, the Mongolian group of Khalkha sent envoys to pay tribute and pledge fealty. After the successful suppression of the peasant uprisings and the extermination of the various Southern Ming regimes, there were only two obstacles to the unification of China. One in¬ volved Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Fujian, and the other concerned Taiwan. Because of his contribution to the anti-Ming campaigns, the turncoat general Wu Sangui was titled Prince of Pingxi, who had under his jurisdiction the provinces nof Yunnan and Guizhou. The three generations of Geng Zhongming, Geng Jimao and Geng Jingzhong, each titled Prince of Jingnan, controlled Fujian. Shang Kexi and his son Shang Zhixin, successively titled Prince of Pingnan, occupied Guangdong.

379

Over any of these territories the Qing government had no effective control. Wu Sangui could appoint and dismiss his own officials, organize and train his own army; the Boards of Civil Office and War in Beijing had no say on these matters at all.

In fact, Wu Sangui and others had become separatist

regimes in direct confrontation with Beijing.

In 1673, when

Emperor Kang Xi decided to take back their fiefs, they re¬ volted.

For a while, they seemed to be powerful and mighty,

and the rebellion was not crushed until 1681.

Yunnan and

the other provinces were finally brought under the Qing Dynasty’s direct control. Taiwan was Zheng Chenggong’s base of operation against the Qing regime.

Zheng Chenggong was the son of Zheng

Zhilong but held a different political view from that of his father.

After the father had surrendered to the Qing, the

son led more than ninety of his followers to Nan’ao, Guang¬ dong Province, where he began his anti-Qing activities.

The

small number of his initial followers quickly grew to scores of thousands.

First, he established the anti-Qing bases in

Jinmen and Xiamen; and then, in coordination with Zhang Huangyan who supported the Prince of Lu, he thrice moved northward to attack the coastal areas of Zhejiang and the lower Changjiang. For the purpose of conducting a protracted war, he, in 1661, sailed across the sea to Taiwan where he ex¬ pelled the Dutch colonialists who then illegally occupied the island.

On the island of Taiwan, he proceeded with political,

economic and cultural reconstruction. Not until 1683 when his grandson Zheng Keshuang was in charge did Taiwan finally succumb to the Qing forces.

Taiwan and the mainland were

once again united, and the unification effort of the Qing gov¬ ernment was crowned with success. The political chaos prevalent during the dynastic change from the Ming to the Qing was long and intense. From a his¬ torical perspective, it presented a series of important questions. To answer these questions, a number of great thinkers emerged,

�

380

such as Fang Yizhi, Wang Fuzhi, Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi, Tang Zhen and Yan Yuan. Both Fang Yizhi (1611-71)

and

Wang Fuzhi

(1619-92)

had personally participated in the anti-Qing movement. were outstanding thinkers of the materialist school. Fang was a scientist, and Wang a historian.

Both

Besides,

Both believe that

the universe consists of matter, and it has not been created by

God

or

man’s

consciousness.

Following

traditional

phraseology, they call matter “qi”, or “vitality”, which, says Fang Yizhi, is none other than “fire”.

According to Fang,

“fire” itself contains contradictions that are in fact the source of motion in the material world. As nature and society are in a continual process of motion, man’s knowledge, which is based upon man’s continuous observation of the laws that govern things, will also increase.

The gathering and disper¬

sion of “vitality”, says Wang Fuzhi, is in itself a revelation of the objective laws that govern the motion of matter.

The mo¬

tion of things becomes richer and richer with the passage of time; in the process of development, a new stage is reached, only to be replaced by a newer one.

Though the water in a

river flows continuously and endlessly, today’s water in the river is no longer yesterday’s.

Society continues to make

progress, and the new things of today have grown out of cer¬ tain aspects of the old things of yesterday. eloquent

in

historical

criticism;

sometimes

Wang Fuzhi is he

combines

knowledge of history with personal observation to reach in¬ dependent judgements of his own.

He says, “Land should not

be appropriated by the ruler of the country as his private property,” indicating that the tiller should own the land he tills.

A viewpoint of this kind was indeed very progressive for

its time.

Fang Yizhi wrote several books, his"' representative

works being Understanding the Literary Expositor~nnd Yaodipao Village. Wang Fuzhi was often referred to as Master Among his works were Yellow Book, Nightmare, Unauthorized Commentary on the “Book of Changes’Thought

Chuanshan.

381

and Question, Comments on “History as a Mirror” and Com¬ ments on the History of the Song Dynasty. Gu Yanwu (1613-82) was often referred to as Master Tinglin. Actively opposing the Qing regime all his life, he was an outstanding historian who stood for “learning for the purpose of utilization”. “Every individual is responsible for the rise or fall of his country,” he says, and the individual should regard the affairs of the state as his own. Gu Yanwu had nothing but contempt for those who, like a slave or servant, pledged fealty only to one family or one dynasty. Through the study of history, plus his own observation of geography, customs and products of different regions in China, he

analyses

past

and

contemporary

reforms,

criticizing

obsolete social systems, and points out the problems existing in society, and expresses his own social ideals. In 1639, he began the writing of Zhaocheng Gazette and The Merits and Drawbacks of Different Regions in China. He describes each region’s geographical conditions, mountains, rivers and natural fortresses, irrigation and water conservancy, prod¬ ucts,-taxation and military defence. The Daily Accumulated . Knowledge is his representative work which, he says, “would be hidden in a famous mountain, waiting to be discovered by those who want to change the world for the better”. “It would be circulated,” he continues, “when a

true, benign ruler

emerges.” He also makes concrete proposals for political re¬ form.

In philosophy,

he believes that

“vitality permeates

throughout the universe”, or in other words, consciousness derives its origin from matter. Though he had materialist leanings, he was not systematic in his presentation. Con¬ temporary with Gu Yanwu was Gu Zuyu (1631-92), also a historian who believed in “learning for the purpose of utiliza¬ tion”. He devoted more than thirty years of his life to the writing of a book entitled Essentials of Historical Geography, consisting of 130 juan. It has remained an outstanding work on the military history of China and historical geography.

�

382

Another contemporary of Gu Yanwu’s was Ma Su (1621-73). He was also a historian interested in the betterment of the world. His work, An Interpretation of History, consists of 160 juan. It is detailed on the rise and fall of different kingdoms during the pre-Qin period; it is also detailed on the similarities and differences between different schools of philosophy dur¬ ing the same period. In the use of historical materials, the author views Confucian classics, history and philosophy with impartiality. As for the organization of his book, he combines different forms in history writing and comes out with a com¬ posite form of his own. The book has remained a most useful work on pre-Qin history. Huang

Zongxi

(1610-95),

often

referred to

as

Master

Lizhou, was a great political thinker as well as a historian. During his early years, he fought uncompromisingly against Wei Zhongxian’s eunuch clique. He fought against the Qing army too when the latter marched southward to annex South China. Later, he summarized his political thought in a brilliant, anti-feudal work entitled A Ming Barbarian Waiting for a Visitor. In this book he condemns feudal monarchs for their attempt to “appropriate for themselves all the good things in the world, while leaving to others all the harmful things in the world”. It is this kind of attitude, he says, that really brings harm to the world. He criticizes feudal laws as “laws of a single family” rather than “universal laws” because they are intended to satisfy the selfish desires of monarchs at the expense of the people’s interests. He wants politics to be what it ought to be, namely, an instrument for public good.

He re¬

gards the division between sovereign and subject, between officials and common men, as no more than a division of labour. Political administration should be in the hands of a powerful, virtuous premier, he says, and schools,^serving as a forum of public opinion, should have the added function of supervising governmental activities. All in all, this book amounts to a declaration of human rights at a time of feudal

383

decline; it remained a source of inspiration to Chinese youth when a movement for democracy developed two hundred years later. Later in his life, Huang Zongxi worked diligently on the history of the Ming. He wrote Cases in the History of the Ming (244 juan) and Ming Literature (482 juan). Another book, The Ideological Controversy During the Ming Dynasty (62 juan), was a pioneer work in its field. He also wrote The Ideological Controversy of the Song-Yuan Period, but the book was never completed. Tang Zhen (1630-1704) wrote a book entitled Private Thoughts, in which he courageously condemns the entire feudal system, going as far as saying that “all the monarchs for the past two thousand years were none better than bandits and thieves”. In many respects, his political thought is similar to Huang Zongxi’s. Yan Yuan (1635-1704), also known as Yan Xizhai, advocat¬ ed the acquirement of practical knowledge through practice and action rather than through the mere reading of books. He pointed out the contrast between two worlds, the world of “fancy” and the world of “matter” or “reality”. In the former world, people speak for the sake of speech, believe in supersti¬ tion, and employ rigid dogma to smother people’s creativity. In the latter world, farmers till the fields, tailors make clothes, workers construct roads, physicians take care of patients, etc. — it is a world full of life and work, as each of the partici¬ pants makes his own contribution to society. The author pre¬ dicts that the former world will fall and will in due course be replaced by the latter world. As for his thought on social economy, he believes that a land system will develop, in which “all land in the world will be enjoyed by all the people in the world”. Philosophically, he regards “vitality” as the essence of all the objects in the universe, and “reason” as the law that exists a priori in all objects and things. “Reason” cannot exist independent of objects and things, he says. Thus he severely criticizes the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynas¬ ties and, from the beginning to the end, regards himself as an

�

384

ideological opponent of such philosophers as Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Shouren. Amid the tide of progressive thought, there was, in the field of literature, a book entitled Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. Pu Songling (1640-1715), the author, was also known as

Pu

Liuxian

who

hailed

from Zichuan (modem

Zibo,

Shandong Province). Consisting of nearly 500 tales, the book was, basically speaking, completed in 1680. Most of the tales describe the violent interference with young people’s love affairs by feudal ethics and the resistance young people put up in quest of their own happiness. They also describe the cruel oppression people suffer under feudal governance and the stifling of talents under the civil service examination system. The author uses a combination of the literary language of classical beauty and refined vernacular of his day to portray lively characters in his stories. Thus in content as well as in artistic form, the book is a great accomplishment. Among the men of letters early during the Qing Dynasty were Qu Dajun (1629-96) and Wei Xi (1624-80).

The for¬

mer’s poetry and the latter’s prose, which reflect the reality of their time, are characterized by an artistic skill of the highest quality.

Wu Weiye (1609-71), also known as Wu

Meicun, was a famous poet, particularly noted for his sevencharacter lines. In conclusion, it might be said that the progressive thought as expressed by Fang Yizhi and others was the major contribu¬ tion to culture during the period of later Ming and early Qing. The contribution was particularly significant in view of its opposition to what the feudal rulers stood for at that time. It is true that the thought as expressed by Fang Yizhi and others had its limitations and, due to the immaturity'^of historical conditions, could not develop further. Nevertheless, it herald¬ ed the inevitable change that was forthcoming. As the history of the Qing proves, the change was a change for the worse, certainly not a change for the better.

Qing Rule Strengthened

Beginning in 1683 when it finally unified China, the Qing regime took various measures to strengthen its rule. Not until 1774 when Wang Lun staged an armed uprising did anything eventful take place. The various Qing institutions were fairly well established at the time when it moved its capital to Beijing. Slowly and gradually they became more complete upon China’s unifica¬ tion. Government institutions included the Inner Chancery, the Six Boards, the Censorate and the Supreme Court, all of which were inherited from the Ming Dynasty and adopted with some modifications. In the Inner Chancery there were Grand Secretaries, Assistant Grand Secretaries and Secretaries, who could be either Manchu or Han, but the Manchus held the real power. Hans as well as Manchus were appointed ministers, vice-ministers and censors. Only in the organs below the level of the Inner Chancery and the Six Boards was there the pro¬ vision that some Mongolians may be also employed. The Inner Chancery held a higher position than its Ming counterpart, but it was not the highest policy-making organ in the govern¬ ment. During the early Qing period, the highest organ of the government was the Conference of Princes Regent, established before the Manchus entered Beijing.

It consisted of members

of the Manchu aristocracy who were charged with the responsi¬ bility of presenting policy options for the emperor to act upon. The Privy Chamber was established in 1729; not until 1732 was it formally named the Privy Council. Emperor Yong Zheng established the organ as a means to strengthen his personal rule at the expense of the power of the Manchu aristocracy, as the newly created organ was meant to replace the Conference of Princes Regent. Serving in the Privy Council was a Grand Minister of the emperor’s ov/n choice who could act or issue orders upon the emperor’s personal command. Whenever an important event of military nature ensued, a specially selected Grand Minister, normally a Manchu, would be put in charge.

�386

The paramount position of the Manchus in matters military and their privileged position in politics characterized the Qing rule. It cannot be denied, however, that while maintaining the privileged position of the Manchu aristocracy, the Qing regime also found it necessary to consider the interests of Chinese landlords and leaders of the ethnic minorities. Essentially it was a regime that, using the Manchu aristocracy as the core, united the ruling classes of all the nationalities in China. The governor-general was the highest official on the local level, at the head of one, two or three provinces. The governor headed only one province, and his position was a little below the governor-general’s. Legally, however, their positions were parallel, as the governor-general had no jurisdictional control over the governor. Each was in charge of the military as well as civil affairs within his jurisdiction. Under each were the administrative commissioner and the judicial commissioner, in charge of the administrative and the judicial functions, respectively. Below a province were prefectures and counties, headed by prefects and magistrates, respectively. Early during the Qing Dynasty, all the governors-general were Manchu, but the governors could be either Manchu or Han, at a ratio of approximately fifty-fifty. Later, however, some Han peo¬ ple were appointed governors-general, and more as governors. Most of the prefects and magistrates were Han. On the lowest level of territorial administration, the Qing regime put into practice a bao-jia system. According to the bao-jia law promulgated in 1757, every ten households were organized as a pai; every ten pai formed a jia, and every ten jia became a bao. The leaders of the pai, jia, and bao were chosen from local landlords or heads of large clans. Their responsibility was to watch all the inhabitants within their respective jurisdictions. A tablet was posted on the front door of each household, and on the tablet were written the name of the household head, his occupation, and the number of people in the household. Whenever a member departed from the household or moved to live in another residence, such fact

387

must be reported to relevant authorities. The registration and organization of inhabitants in groups of ten and five had their beginning as early as the Qin-Han period and were enforced throughout subsequent dynasties. The purpose was the or¬ ganization of all the available labour force for governmental duties. As far as the bao-jia system of the Qing Dynasty was concerned, the emphasis was on the “prevention of banditry”. This marked a very important change. At the beginning, the Qing Dynasty enforced the Ming statutes. In 1646, the Code of the Great Qing was completed; it was repeatedly revised during the reigns of Kang Xi and Yong Zheng. In 1740, during the reign of Emperor Qian Long, the Statutes of the Great Qing, consisting of 47 juan and 226 categories, was completed. In addition to the regulations normally found in the legal codes of the previous feudal dyn¬ asties, the Qing document contained elements of oppression based upon the difference in nationalities. For instance, the Manchus were leniently treated whenever punishments were imposed for crimes committed. In the case of the Manchus, there were such leniencies as “substitute punishment” and “deferred punishment” — leniencies that were denied to other nationalities. There were specially constructed jails for the Manchus, and the living conditions in these jails were gen¬ erally better than those in other jails. As for the recruitment of governmental officials, the Qing Dynasty followed the Ming example by putting into practice the civil service examination system. In addition, it had the so-called contribution system and the special examination system. Under the former system, a person could make con¬ tributions to the government, in the form of either cash or grain, and would then be rewarded with a promotion or a governmental post to hold. Under the special examination system there were three categories: scholarship and literature, government, and virtuous conduct. The examination for scholarship and literature was given twice, one in 1679 and one in 1736. Candidates for the examination had to be recom-

�388

mended either by officials in the nation’s capital whose ranks were third degree or above, or by the highest officials in the local government, namely, governors-general and governors. Only those who were outstanding in learning and personal conduct, besides being talented in writing, would have a chance to be recommended. Having passed the examination, the recommendee would be rewarded with an official appointment. In military matters, the main force for fighting was still the Manchu, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners even after the Qing had entered China proper. Meanwhile, the government began to organize new military units, known as Green Battal¬ ions in the provinces, and the Green Battalions were staffed by Han Chinese, with Manchus as commanders in some cases. The soldiers of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalions were stationed across the country, from the nation’s capital to small cities and towns, but the soldiers of the Eight Banners soon became corrupt after they entered China proper. Thus, beginning at the time when Wu Sangui’s rebellion was sup¬ pressed, the Green Battalions became more and more important as the nation’s fighting force. Besides the Eight Banners and the Green Battalions, there were military units temporarily organized for a specific campaign, and they were dissolved as soon as the campaign was over. As an instrument of con¬ trolling the people, the military organization was more em¬ phasized during the Qing Dynasty than it had been during any of the previous dynasties. Having succeeded in securing the control of the areas where the Han people lived, the Qing regime began to take steps to strengthen its control over the ethnic minorities. During the early Qing Dynasty, the Mongolians who lived in the northwestern region of China appeared in, three separate groups. The three groups were Southern Mongolians, Northern Mongolians (Khalkhas), and Western Mongolians (Eleuts or Oirats). During the reign of Emperor Kang Xi, the Jungar tribe of the Eleut Mongolian group became more and more powerful, and eventually it annexed all of the four tribes of

389

the Eleut group. It threatened Tibet and harassed the Khalkha Mongolians. In 1690, the Jungar army, under the commandership of Galdan, moved to the Ujumqin area of today’s Inner Mongolia, only 900 li from Gubeikou, a narrow pass at the Great Wall to the northeast of Beijing. The Qing government was greatly alarmed. Emperor Kang Xi personally led troops to meet the invader and, at Ulan-butung (modern Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), decisively defeated him. In 1696 and again in 1697, the emperor moved against Galdan who, having been defeated and feeling hopeless, committed suicide. In 1717, Tsi-wang Arabtan, a nephew of Galdan’s, led his Jungar tribe towards Tibet and captured Lhasa. In 1720, the Qing government sent an expeditionary army to Tibet where it succeeded not only in expelling Tsi-wang Arabtan but also in installing Dalai Lama VI as ruler of Tibet. In 1727, it placed two ministers-in-residence in Tibet and thus greatly strengthened its control. During the reign of Kang Xi, the Uygurs who lived on both sides of the Tianshan Mountains had been, at one time, under Galdan’s control. After Galdan’s defeat, a religious leader named Huojihan gathered troops south of the Tianshan Mountains and set up a separatist regime. In 1758, Emperor Qian Long sent an expeditionary army westward and, the very next year, pacified the areas south of the Tianshan Mountains. In Kashgar and other cities, the government, to administer the pacified areas, created new of¬ fices of assistant ministers, pioneer ministers, and managing ministers, all under the jurisdiction of the General of Ili. As for such ethnic minorities as Miao, Yao and Yi who inhabited China’s southeastern region, the government, beginning in 1726 (during the reign of Emperor Yong Zheng), promoted the policy of “replacing tribal chiefs with government officials” on a large scale. The hereditary system whereby tribal chiefs succeeded one another was abolished, and the tribal areas were converted to prefectures and counties, the heads of which were appointed by the central government. The measures taken by the Qing government in China’s border regions helped

�390

strengthen national defence and stabilize local communities in terms of social order. Naturally, while employing military force to achieve the intended purpose, the government also brought sorrow and misfortune to the local populace. During the reign of Kang Xi, the government proceeded with the struggle against the Tzarist expansionists who were committing aggression against China. Towards the end of the Ming and early during the Qing Dynasty when China was plunged into chaos, Tzarist Russia continued to nibble away Chinese territories on the upper valley of the Heilongjiang River. In 1649, the Cossacks of Russia forcibly occupied Yacsa and built the Albazin fortress. In 1658, Tzarist Russia con¬ structed the city of Nerchinsk at the mouth of the Nibuchu (Nerchinsk) River, besides dispatching troops to invade the valley of the Songhuajiang River. After China was unified, Emperor Kang Xi, in 1685, ordered an counterattack. The Qing forces defeated the Russians at Yacsa and then destroyed the city of Albazin. Tzarist Russia sent reinforcements the next year and rebuilt the city of Yacsa. Chinese troops coun¬ terattacked again and once more defeated the Russians. The Tzarist expansionists, knowing that the trend was working against them, expressed the desire for peace. The result was the Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689, which fixed the boundary between the two countries at the Ergun River (a tributary of the upper Heilongjiang), the Geerbiqi River, and the Outer Hinggan Mountains up to the sea. The areas to the south of the rivers and the mountains, including the Kuye (Sakhalin) Island, were Chinese, and the areas to their north were Russian. The treaty legally delimited the eastern section of the Sino-Russian border and curbed Tzarist Russia’s greed and aggression. It was an important victory for Chinese diplomacy. Social order returned upon the unification of China. In 1712, the government declared that the 1711 revenue from poll tax be made permanent and that no additional poll tax be levied, no matter how fast the population was to increase

391

from then on. This measure was publicized as “no increase in tax during a prosperous era when population increases”. In 1716, an experiment was introduced in Guangdong, whereby “poll tax is incorporated into land tax”. In 1724, the same measure was put into practice in the Beijing area. Later it was adopted nationwide. This programme of incorporating poll tax into land tax meant the abolition of the poll tax de facto, and those who did not own land would not have to pay poll tax. It was a good programme which helped the restoration of social order. From then on people did not have to hide them¬ selves from census-takers in order to evade taxes, and popula¬ tion figures, as reported by local governments to Beijing, also became more accurate. In 1711, the reported population of China was 24,620,000; in 1774, it was 221,020,000. Generally speaking, administrative efficiency during the best years of the Qing was higher than that of the Ming Dynasty. The Qing regime not only adopted the Ming institu¬ tions on a large scale but also learned a lesson from its pre¬ decessor’s failures. In other words, it did not exploit people in such a ruthless fashion as the Ming had done. During the Qing Dynasty there was no emperor who favoured and trusted eunuchs to such an extent that he would not attend to the affairs of the state for years. The relationship between a Qing emperor and his Privy Council was also much closer than that between a Ming emperor and his Inner Chancery. Not surprisingly, the Qing regime could maintain the appearance of being powerful for a considerable length of time, while the Ming regime could not. Beneath the surface there was, of course, all kinds of contradictions, which would some day break through the cover and emerge to the surface. As for cultural activities, the Qing regime adopted various measures to control them as soon as it had succeeded in con¬ solidating its conquest of China. First, it continued to promote the eight-legged essays and the honouring of Confucius and the Neo-Confucian scholars so as to freeze people’s thought. During the reign of Kang Xi, The Complete Works of Neo-

�392

Confucianism was reprinted, and The Complete Works of Master Zhu Xi and The Essence of Neo-Confucianism were also compiled and published. Scholars like Li Guangdi and Tang Bin were placed in high position and praised highly as the so-called “famous ministers of Neo-Confucianism”. In 1684, Emperor Kang Xi personally went to Qufu to pay homage to Confucius. During his reign, Emperor Qian Long did the same nine times. Second, the Qing regime prohibited the circulation of books deemed unfriendly or harmful to itself. Third, it carried out literary inquisition, the most notorious of which occurred in 1711-13 and involved a book entitled A Col¬ lection of Nanshan. The author violated a taboo by proposing to use the reign titles of Southern Ming princes; he and more than one hundred implicated persons were executed as a result, while several hundred others were punished by exile. Fourth, in the name of editing books, the Qing authorities censored them. During the reigns of Yong Zheng and Qian Long, the government sponsored the compilation of two giant works. One was A Collection of Books of Ancient and Modern Times, completed in 1725. Consisting of 10,000 juan and rich in source materials, it was divided into 6 major parts and 6,109 individual items. This was the greatest undertaking since the compilation of The Yong Le Encyclopaedia. With the ma¬ terials classified according to their characteristics, A Collection of Books was superior to The Yong Le Encyclopaedia, which had a classification based upon the difference in phonetic rhymes. Another literary undertaking, entitled The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, had its beginning in 1772 and was completed ten years later. Consisting of more than 89,000 juan that were bound into more than 36,000 volumes, it was the largest collection of books in all of China’s history. The purpose of compiling A Collection of Books was to take scholars’ minds away from such thought as “learning for the purpose of bettering the world”; when busy with a literary undertaking of such a gigantic size, scholars would have little time for anything else. Still, there was no obvious attempt to

393

censor books in the name of editing them. The compilation of The Four Treasuries, on the other hand, was a different matter. In the name of collecting books, the government burned and destroyed those which it did not like. In the name of editing books, it arbitrarily deleted or changed their content. While the compilation of The Four Treasuries helped the preserva¬ tion of many books which otherwise could have been lost, it also changed and made less authentic many books it helped preserve. After the reign of Kang Xi, the government could not control the development of culture despite its attempt. Li Gong (1659-1733), a student of Yan Yuan’s, promoted his teacher’s ideas until he became as famous as his mentor. ophy was known as the School of Yan-Li. The Collected Works of Shugu.

Their philos¬

Li Gong wrote

Wan Sitong (1638-1702), a

student of Huang Zongxi’s, wrote A Chronological Chart Ac¬ cording to Dynasties, which has 64 juan.

To trace the events

towards the end of the Song Dynasty and the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty, he wrote Loyal and Righteous Men To¬ wards the End of the Song Dynasty (16 juan) and A Draft History of the Ming (500 juan).

To understand a historical

figure, he says, one must evaluate the time he lives in and must know the inside of him as well as the outside. What he says reflects the thought of many scholars of the late Ming and the early Qing period who wanted to use learning as a means to better the world. Later, influenced by Wan Sitong, Quan Zuwang (1705-55) studied the history of the Southern Song and the history of the Southern Ming. He wrote biographies for many distinguished scholars and outstanding persons who lived during the late Ming and the early Qing period. By reading his book, The Collected Works of the Jiqi Pavilion, one senses his dissatisfaction with the Qing regime. In the area of literature, the outstanding works were dramas by Hong Sheng and Kong Shangren and novels by Wu Jingzi and Cao Xueqin,

\

�394

Hong Sheng (1645-1704) completed a drama entitled Palace of Eternal Youth in 1688. It describes the Tang emperor Xuan Zong’s exodus to Sichuan upon the outbreak of An Lushan’s rebellion and the death of his favourite concubine Yang Yuhuan, who was forced to commit suicide. Later, the emperor thought of her constantly, and his devotion to her moved Heaven who agreed to let the lovers become an eternal, in¬ separable twosome in the Palace of Heaven. Kong Shangren (1648-1718) wrote Peach Blossom Fan which was completed in 1699. It describes a story of love between Li Xiangjun, a songstress, and Hou Fangyu, a well-known man of letters. It praises the true, unshakable love, which she feels for him, and which enables her to resist all kinds of threats and temp¬ tations from the feudal elements. Moreover, it describes Li Xiangjun as a resolute, uncompromising fighter. Both books use stories of love to reveal the important events that ac¬ company a dynasty’s rise and fall; they present to their readers not only the broad vistas of social contradictions but also the lessons to be learned from history. They have a deep, practical meaning. Wu Jingzi (1701-55) wrote The Scholars, a long novel satirizing the civil service examination system. He describes how the system attracts those intellectuals who have on their minds only fame and wealth which they pursue like a mad man. He also describes the unsavoury behaviour of those who have passed and those who have failed to pass the examination. While depicting the harmful effect of this system upon society, he in fact reveals the deep roots of corruption that existed during even the most glorious era of the Qing Dynasty. The book is as realistic as it is profound. Though there are no major characters in the book, a reader does pot feel that it is loosely organized, since its main point is always clear and refreshing. The language used in the book is precise and yet rich in symbolism, and the poignancy of its caricature is both humorous and real. All in all, it is an outstanding novel of satire. It had a strong impact at the time of its publication,

395

and it laid a solid foundation for similar novels that appeared in later years. Cao Xueqin’s real name was Cao Zhan (c. 1715-64), born into a Han Banner family in Nanjing. He later moved to live in Beijing. His novel, The Dream of Red Mansions, is a great realist work. The main thread of the story concerns the love between Jia Baoyu and his two cousins, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. In the process of describing the tragedy of love and marriage among the main characters and the decline of the feudal, aristocratic Jia family, the author reveals the evils that accompany the life of a feudal clan. Because of the unconquerable contradictions within the family itself, it is a foregone conclusion that sooner or later it will decline. The novel approves the rebel spirit of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu who oppose feudal ethics; it speaks positively of their feelings towards each other, feelings that are built upon a common ideal. It only regrets that in the end they cannot escape the yoke of feudal influence. After the death of Lin Daiyu, Jia Baoyu is duped to marry Xue Baochai, but there is no happiness in the marriage. The novel reveals the author’s awareness of contemporary failings and his broad understand¬ ing of the pulse of his time. He feels that the society of his day will certainly collapse, even though the old influence is still strong enough to drag down the new force and thus creates tragedy. Through this novel the author ably crystalizes China’s fine tradition of artistic expression; using vivid and rich language, he creates a great number of characters of various types. On the positive side are such characters as Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, Qingwen, Yuanyang; on the negative side appear Xue Baochai, Wang Xifeng, Jia Zheng and Xiren. Each person, while appearing as a model in a given category, also possesses his or her own characteristics. Like a roll of painting that slowly unfolds its content, each character in the novel develops his or her own bent while going through the life process. The novel’s construction is seamless; encompassing a broad vista, it is sheer beauty on a massive scale. It marks the peak in the

�396

history of Chinese novel. The book was hand-copied for cir¬ culation even before it was completed. From the viewpoint of content, artistic skill, and treatment of subject matter, its beneficial impact on Chinese literature — not only on novels but also on dramas, poetry and films — has been long and obvious. As for academic studies, the area that had been most af¬ fected by the Qing’s cultural policy and been used for the realization of its political purpose was collation in the field of Confucian classics and history. During the reign of Kang Xi, Yan Ruoqu (1636-1704) and Hu Wei (1633-1714) studied the texts of the Book of History and the Tribute of Yu and made important contributions. Thus began the academic vogue of collation for the sake of collation. The emphasis on “learning for the purpose of bettering the world” that characterized scholars of the early Qing period 'was abandoned altogether. As the new academic style could in no way violate the Qing regime’s taboos, it was happily encouraged by the government. During the reign of Qian Long, two schools of textual criticism developed, the Wu and the Wan. The former school was headed by Hui Dong (1697-1758), and the latter by Dai Zhen (1723-77).

Dai Zhen, also known as Dai Dongyuan, had a

tendency towards materialism, as he strongly opposed NeoConfucianism. “A man might be saved if he were to be killed by law,” said he. “He is doomed if he were to be killed by Neo-Confucianism.”

Dai’s

contribution

to

philosophy

was

overshadowed by his contribution to textual criticism, and his philosophy did not exercise the same kind of influence as his study of collation did. In doing textual research, he covered a large ground, including phonology, etymology, study of institutions as well as textual evaluation, to all of which he made contributions. However, in terms of the development of social thought, these contributions, as compared to those made by scholars of the early Qing period, were a step backward.

Decline of the Qing; Uprisings of Different Nationalities

People’s resistance activities did not stop even after the Qing had unified China. For one thing, the secret White Lotus Society, historically eminent, continued to be active. In 1721, Zhu Yigui staged an armed uprising in Taiwan and, at one time, had a following of as many as 300,000 men. But the anti-Qing uprising, being crushed six months later, did not have a chance to be developed into something more challeng¬ ing. Half a century later, in 1774, Wang Lun, a leader of one of the White Lotus sects, raised the standard of revolt in western Shandong Province. He attacked and captured Shouzhang, Tangyi, Yanggu, and the old city of Linqing. As Linqing, located on the bank of the Grand Canal, was the place where ships bearing grains and other materials must pass through on their way northward to Beijing, the Qing govern¬ ment immediately dispatched troops to exterminate the rebels. Wang Lun, surrounded and outnumbered, ascended to the top of his residence where he burned himself to death.

Later,

uprisings against the Qing government continued throughout the later part of Qian Long’s reign and the reigns of Jia Qing and Dao Guang. In 1761, a Muslim in Gansu named Ma Mingxin founded a new sect of Islam. This event marked the beginning of Islam being divided into the Old and the New Sect. The division provided the Qing government with the opportunity of sowing dissension among the Muslims, as it supported one sect against the other. In 1781, it threw Ma Mingxin, leader of the New Sect, into a prison in Lanzhou, and such an action generated strong resentment on the part of all the Muslims and the Salars. Under the leadership of Su Sishisan and Han Er, both from Xunhuating (modern Salar Autonomous District, Xunhua County, Qinghai), the Muslims attacked and occupied Hezhou (modern Linxia, Gansu). They proceeded to march towards Lanzhou. The Qing government ordered Ma Mingxin to be

�398

killed and dispatched General Agui, at the head of a crack division from the capital, to attack the Muslim rebels. Though Su Sishisan and many of his followers made the heroic and ultimate sacrifice, the Muslims of the New Sect and the Salars did not submit themselves meekly to the suppression, as they, under the new leadership of Tian Wu, continued to propagate the teachings of the New Sect. In 1783, once again they raised the standard of revolt, this time in Fuqiang (modern Gangu, Gansu). Once again, the Qing government dispatched General Agui, at the head of troops from the capital, to suppress them. Tian Wu was killed in action, but his followers, commanded by Zhang Wenqing and Ma Siwa, continued the attack and cap¬ tured such cities as Tongwei and Jingyuan. In 1784, the upris¬ ing collapsed. In 1786, Lin Shuangwen staged an armed uprising in Taiwan. Previously, he had been a leader of the Heaven and Earth Society in Zhanghua, Taiwan. The organization was also known as the Triad Society, a popular, secret group that had its beginning during the reign of Kang Xi. It opposed the Qing regime and was most active in South China. The back¬ ground of its members was complex, but most of them were poor, hard-working peasants.

Lin Shuangwen raised such

slogans as “winning people’s hearts” and “protecting agricul¬ ture” to protest against the Qing government’s ruthless ex¬ ploitation. After capturing Zhanghua, he was declared “Marshal of Obedience to Heaven”. Meanwhile, another man named Zhuang Datian, having raised the standard of revolt in Fengshan (modem Gaoxiong), attacked and captured Fengshan. Marching northward, he rendezvoused with Lin Shuangwen to attack the capital of Taiwan (modern Tainan). The Qing government summoned a combined force of army and navy from seven coastal provinces to suppress the insur¬ gents. Early in 1788, Lin Shuangwen was captured, and the uprising ended. In 1795, Shi Liudeng, a Miao leader in Tongren Prefecture (modern Tongren County, Guizhou), led his people to stage

399

an armed uprising in Dazhaiying, as a protest against excessive corvee and ruthless exploitation on the part of the Qing gov¬ ernment. Subsequently, a Miao man named Shi Sanbao, who hailed from Yongsuiting (modem Huayuan), Hunan Province, and another Miao man named Wu Bayue, who hailed from Qianzhouting (modem Jishou), Hunan, led other Miao people in response. The insurgent army quickly won over large areas in Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan, after having killed Fu Kangan, the Governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou. The Qing gov¬ ernment then dispatched several hundred thousand troops from Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong to suppress the rebellion. Meanwhile, it sowed dissension among the in¬ surgents so as to achieve its goal of “divide and conquer”. Shi Liudeng was killed in action after having been defeated, and Wu Bayue and Shi Sanbao were captured. But the re¬ mainder of the insurgent army did not submit readily, as it reemerged in 1799 to challenge the Qing authority in the various areas of Hunan and Guizhou. It persisted in its struggle until 1806. In 1796, members of the White Lotus Society revolted in a variety of areas: Nie Jieren at Zhijiang, Hubei Province and Wang Conger (female) and Yao Zhifu at Xiangyang. Fellow members in Dazhou, Dongxiang, Taiping, Bazhou and Tongjiang responded one after another. Refugees and poor people in Jingxiang, salt workers in the Changjiang River valley, and army deserters in eastern Sichuan — all of them participated in the struggle. The insurgent army fought in various areas of Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan, tiring to ex¬ haustion the Qing army that had been dispatched to crush it. Later, the Qing government put in good use the militias con¬ trolled by local landlords, that were coordinated with the regular army to fight against the insurgents. In the meantime, it mobilized several hundred thousand troops from various provinces for the effort. In 1798, the insurgent unit led by Wang Conger and Yao Zhifu was surrounded on all sides in the mountainous area of Yunxi. Unable to break through the

�400

encirclement, both leaders jumped from a cliff and committed suicide. In 1799, the insurgent unit that had its beginning in Dongxiang, Sichuan Province, was compelled to retreat to Gansu and subsequently fought at Qinzhou, Mianzhou and other places. After Leng Tianlu, its leader, was killed in action, his followers quickly dispersed. Towards the insurgents who continued to resist, the Qing government adopted a scorchthe-earth policy, as it built fortifications and castles into which it evicted all the peasants. The purpose was to cut off the link between the insurgents and the masses so as to isolate and entrap the former. In 1801, after the death of its leader Xu Tiande, the insurgent contingent that had raised its stand¬ ard of revolt in Dazhou, Sichuan Province, became several small units active in different areas. In 1804, the uprising led by the White Lotus Society formally came to an end, having persisted for a period of nine years. To suppress it, the Qing government had to mobilize forces from a dozen provinces and spend more than 220,000,000 taels of silver in military expenditure. The Sect of Heavenly Reason was an offshoot of the White Lotus Society. Earlier it had proselytized in Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi and Henan provinces. Its members were mostly poor peasants, domestic servants and slaves, hired hands and small peddlers. Lin Qing, its leader, had been proselytizing in Daxing County near Beijing for a long time. By attending to the needs of the sick and organizing poor people for mutual assistance, he became a leader of many. Meanwhile, another man named Li Wencheng was proselytizing in Huaxian, Henan Province. Lin and Li made an agreement with the followers of the Heavenly Reason Sect in Shandong and Zhili that they would simultaneously rise in rebellion on the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month, 1813. Unfortunately, the news of the at¬ tempted uprising was leaked before it could be carried out. As Li Wencheng was thrown into jail, Zhang, Li’s wife, led the sect’s adherents in revolt ahead of schedule. On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month, Zhang and her followers sue-

401

cessfully broke into Huaxian. They not only rescued Li Wencheng but, subsequently, also occupied Junxian (Henan Province). The sect’s adherents in Dingtao and Jinxiang, Shan¬ dong Province, and in Changyuan, modem Henan, respond¬ ed positively to the uprising one after another. Lin Qing, however, had no inkling that the uprising would take place ahead of schedule. On the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month, he led two hundred of his followers into Beijing and then attacked the imperial palace. Quickly the Qing gov¬ ernment sent its Rifle Battalion to the scene to counterattack, and Lin Qing, having been captured, was subsequently executed. Meanwhile, the insurgent army in Henan was sur¬ rounded by the Qing forces, and Li Wencheng and many of his followers burned themselves to death. But Zhang, Li Wencheng’s wife, continued the defence of Huaxian; thrice she and her men attacked the Qing army at night. Early in 1814, the Qing army attacked and entered the city. Wielding a sword, Zhang fought from street to street. Overcome by exhaustion, she finally killed herself. In 1835, Cao Shun staged an armed uprising in Zhaocheng (modern Hongdong County, Shanxi). Cao was a member of a secret society named First Heaven. In 1834, upon assuming the leadership of this society, he began to organize peasants and manufacture weapons. The next year, he attacked Zhao¬ cheng and killed its magistrate. Later, he divided his army to attack Huoxian, Linfen and several other places. As his force was thinned out, it became an easy target for the Qing army. The uprising failed as a result. There were numerous armed uprisings against the Qing authority towards the end of Emperor Qian Long’s reign. Facing them, the Qing government not only dispatched troops to suppress them but also promoted or strengthened the baojia system, so as to tighten its control of the people. Meanwhile, Emperor Qian Long himself lived a corrupt life of selfindulgence as usual. After his accession to the throne, he went to South China time and again for pleasure; the tours of

�402

pleasure were repeated between 1780 and 1784. Earlier, during Kang Xi’s reign, summer palaces were built in Chengde. The construction was continued during Qian Long’s reign. In 1790, the last of Qian Long’s seventy-two summer villas was finally completed. Like corrupt members of the ruling classes during other dynasties, the officials of the Qing Dynasty used a variety of methods, including blackmail, to extort money from the people, and greedy landlords exploited peasants likewise, so as to enrich themselves. Heshen, a Grand Minister of the Privy Council, amassed a huge fortune towards the end of Qian Long’s reign, a fortune that consisted of 8,000 qing (approxi¬ mately 120,000 acres) of farmland, 84,000 taels of gold, and 55,000 silver bars, not to mention, in the underground vault, 1,000,000 taels of silver, pearls and other valuables worth 8,000,000 taels of silver, silk and leather worth another 1,000,000 taels of silver, and six hundred jin of ginseng. In addition,

he owned

pawnshops.

forty money stores

and

seventy-five

Towards the end of Qian Long’s reign, corruption

and bribery were open secret among local officials.

Among

the higher posts, the Superintendency of Water Control yielded the largest reward in terms of bribery that could be collected. Emperor Jia Qing said in 1811 that more than half of the annual budget of 30,000,000 taels of silver appropriated for water control was lost in corruption. Many superintendents of water control deliberately broke dykes to create an emergency, so they would be able to request huge funds to repair them. Then they siphoned off for their own use large sums from the appropriated funds. Corruption among officials reduced the government’s income. Besides, there were huge outlays occasioned by the suppression of people’s uprisings. As a result, the government had a difficult time to make ends meet. Towards the end of Qian Long’s reign, the government each year had 'o'nly about two million taels of silver at its disposal after payment of the salaries of officials and administrative expenses. Towards the end of Jia Qing’s reign, only five provinces were able to

403

fulfil their tax quotas and hand over the receipts to the na¬ tional treasury. As a result, the budget could not be balanced, as total revenue could not match the huge expenditure. To solve the financial problem, the Qing government, time and again, introduced miscellaneous, oppressive taxes. Besides, it expanded the so-called tribute system. Not only offices but also nominal titles, such as the degree of jiansheng (imperial college student) could be bought and sold. Those who had bought such titles were not entitled to the holding of an office, of course; they were, however, to enjoy higher social positions that enabled them to bully others. From 1816 to 1830, the selling of the jiansheng degree alone netted the government as much as 2,270,000 taels of silver. As revenue increased, so did waste. Besides, much of the revenue which should have gone to the national treasury was intercepted for personal use by officials at various levels. It was said then that if a magis¬ trate wished to become rich by one thousand taels of silver, his subordinates, who handled the bribery for him, would acquire for themselves ten times as much; if a governor wished to

become

richer

by

ten

thousand

taels

of

silver,

the

magistrates, who handled the bribery for him, would use the opportunity to obtain for themselves one hundred thousand taels of silver. The seriousness in financial difficulties in the government and the widespread corruption among the officials indicated nothing but the utter rottenness on the part of the ruling oligarchy. As for cultural activities, there were a number of outstanding scholars during the later part of the Qian Long period and thereafter. They continued the work pioneered by Hui Dong and Dai Zhen and made important contributions in the textual study of Confucian classics and history. Fearful of antagonizing the ruling elite, they avoided reality as much as possible. The research scholar Qian Daxin (1728-1804) was as much noted for his versatility as for his specialization. In his books, such as The Study of Differences in the Twenty-two Dynastic Histories and The Record of New Discoveries hy

�404

Shijiazhai, he was discriminating in his selection of materials and objective in his judgement. Both books were important works on historical studies. Sometimes he assumed the role of a lecturer when he spoke of the corrupt practices in politics of his time. In this regard, he was much more progressive than his fellow textual researchers. Contemporary with Qian Daxin and independent of the vogue of textual criticism were Wang Zhong and Zhang Xuecheng. Wang Zhong (1744-94) was a superior writer, an eminent historian and an outstanding philosopher and, in his own words, “a man who, ashamed of pursuing useless studies, was most interested in being of practical use to the world. He studied institutional changes from ancient to modern times and also the measures adopted which were beneficial or detrimental to the people’s livelihood. He learned about all of them and studied thoroughly each, in the hope that someday he might be able to use the knowledge he had ac¬ quired.” A scholarly interest of this kind was most unusual at this time since it was contrary to the general trend. He believed that only by studying history could one understand the implications of academic changes. The academic successor to Confucius, said he, was Xun Zi rather than Mencius; Con¬ fucianism and Mohism were equally outstanding, and Mohism should not be discriminated against. He was, in fact, criticizing the popular, time-honoured orthodoxy and proposing a new attitude towards different schools of thought. This attitude of freeing oneself from the bondage of feudal culture and of pursuing historical truth as one saw it was highly praiseworthy since it was very rare at the time. He wrote On Learning that, because of its huge size, was not yet completed when he died. Zhang Xuecheng (1738-1801) was an outstanding critic on historical science. Against the academic trend of fiis time, he pointed out that textual research, being only a means to an end, should not be an academic discipline by itself. Textual research to a scholar, said he, was like a vehicle or a boat

405

to a traveller. Just as a traveller could not be satisfied with sitting in a vehicle or a boat without knowing where he was going, a scholar should not study textual criticism for its own sake. He proposed that a scholar should not just follow the vogue and should instead oppose it if it were wrong. In defining a good historian, he emphasized a systematic and objective assessment of cultural and academic developments, as well as faithfulness to historical reality. In other words, a historian should not distort historical facts and should avoid being blind¬ ed by his own prejudice. Speaking of the ancient history of China, he regarded Confucian classics as historical records, proposing that the developments of all schools of thought be studied. He believed that social development followed an ob¬ jective, inevitable course, and this belief was contrary to the scholastic approach adopted by scholars of textual criticism and research. His historical point of view contained in it ele¬ ments of materialism, but his main interest was confined to the history of culture.

Besides, his views were heavily colour¬

ed by a cyclic approach to history.

His works, compiled by

later scholars, were known as The Posthumous Works of Zhang Xuecheng, the most important of which was The General Meaning of Literature and History. Both Wang Zhong and Zhang Xuecheng were unorthodox in the sense that they did not choose to follow the popular trend. As a result, they did not exercise as much influence on scholarship as they should have. The presence of their works, nevertheless, indicated a new demand, a new trend in academic studies. ' After Wang Zhong and Zhang Xuecheng came Gong Zizhen (1792-1841) who, also known as Gong Ding’an, was an essayist, a poet, a historian and a philosopher. He compared the society of his days to a sick body covered with scabs and scars, stating that its sickness was so advanced as to be beyond cure. He pointed out the corruption of officials at all levels, the shamelessness of those who exploited others through blackmail and oppression in order to live a materially more

�406

enjoyable life. The male tillers and the female weavers, on the other hand, lived a life of slavery. He believed that there was no law that could not be changed or no precedent that could not be broken. Sooner or later, changes had to be made. He wrote a well-known poem which read as follows: The vitality of China cannot come about Until storm sweeps and thunder roars. Ten thousand horses are mute: How tragic it is! May Heaven arouse itself — I plead: Send us talents — all kinds of talents! The poet felt sad in view of the deathly situation he faced. He called for the storms and thunders so that necessary changes could be made and a new situation created. One year before his death, the Opium War broke out, and China entered a new historical period. The new period did not bring to the Chinese people good fortunes. Instead, it brought nothing but greater misfortunes.

The Decline of Feudalism and the Emergence of Sprouts of Capitalism

The Ming-Qing period was marked by the decline of feudalism. During this period, the social economy continued to develop, the nature of labour power underwent a con¬ siderable change, and the feudal relations of production im¬ posed shackles on production development. Sprouts of capital¬ ism slowly emerged in certain areas and in certain industries. It could not grow normally, however, since it could not yet free itself from the prevalent feudal influence. In agriculture, cultivated acreage increased at a fast rate during the early part of the Ming Dynasty. In 1383, the newly cultivated acreage was as much as 1,800,000 qing (27,000,000 acres), about one-half of the total cultivated land. In 1393, total cultivated land for the nation as a whole reached 8,500,000

407

qing (127,500,000 acres). The principal cause for the speedy increase of cultivated acreage was peace and stability after a long period of war. However, the figure declined to 7,010,000 qing (105,150,000 acres) in 1581—a figure that stood as the largest during the later part of the Ming Dynasty. In 1661, early during the Qing Dynasty, total land under cultivation amounted to 5,490,000 qing (82,350,000 acres). The amount steadily increased until by 1812 it reached 7,900,000 qing (118,500,000 acres), or 900,000 qing (13,500,000 acres) above the 1581 figure. Still, it was less by 600,000 qing (9,000,000 acres) compared to the 1393 figure. The reason was that the Qing government designated the Northeast as a forbidden region to which Han people were not allowed to emigrate for the purpose of opening up new acreage for cultivation. There were, of course, newly cultivated fields in Mongolia and in the areas south and north of the Tianshan Mountains, but the amount was rather limited. The development of agriculture during the Ming-Qing period centred on the production of paddy rice and of cash crops, as well as the development of new varieties of crops. During the Ming Dynasty, Fujian and Zhejiang discovered a new strain of paddy rice that could bring two harvests per year. In Guangdong, three harvests of paddy rice per year were not uncommon. Paddy rice fields appeared as north as Zhili Province. During the Ming Dynasty, the most productive areas were the provinces of Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan and the areas along the southeast coast. Such cash crops as cotton were grown across the country. Mulberry trees, tea bushes, sugar canes, fruit trees, dye plants like indigo, saf¬ flower and scholartree, sesame, peanut, dragon spruce, tung tree, and other oil-yielding plants — the cultivation of these plants was continually promoted until it reached larger and larger areas. The same thing could be also said about medicine herbs. Maize, imported into China early in the sixteenth cen¬ tury, was grown in virtually all regions of China by the eighteenth century. Sweet potato, introduced to China from

�408

Luzon towards the end of the sixteenth century, was grown experimentally first in Fujian; later, its planting spread to Zhejiang, Shandong and Henan. As planting skill continued to improve, it could be found, eventually, in North China where winter was noticeably colder. Both maize and sweet potato are highly productive plants, and sweet potato can be planted even in sandy soil. The expansion of cotton planting over large areas and the introduction to China of maize and sweet potato were important events in the history of Chinese agriculture, as they were closely related to the livelihood of the people. Tobacco was also introduced to China during the sixteenth century. At the beginning, its cultivation was con¬ fined to the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. After the Qian Long period, it could be found in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces. Meanwhile, several famous strains of the same tobacco were produced. Tobacco was a cash crop; its cultivation had a direct bearing on the rural economy. As for the handicraft industry, spinning and weaving remained a major vocation among the peasants in a self-suf¬ ficient economy. Spinning and weaving involved all kinds of raw materials, such as silk, cotton and hemp; in Northwest China, wool was also an important raw material. After the middle decades of the Ming Dynasty, the industry created solely for the manufacturing of marketable textiles slowly developed, and it thrived as an independent enterprise in several regions. Silk produced in Huzhou, cotton cloth produced in Songjiang, and satin produced in Nanjing and Suzhou were famous throughout the country. As for the agricultural pro¬ cessing industry, including tea making, sugar refining, and oil pressing, it was more advanced than it had ever been. Besides, tea was an important item for export. 1 The porcelain industry reached a high stage ob-development during the Ming-Qing period. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, remained the most famous place for the nation’s porcelain industry. Innovations were continually made in glazing and

�' CHAPTER XX

409

in multicoloured drawing. The blue vase and the multicoloured vase were then among the industry’s most famous products. Meanwhile, paper making and printing also made progress. Printing could be done by moveable type made of wood, cop¬ per, lead or tin, in addition to printing by wooden block. Other than the regular printing plate, there were the multi-printing plate and the flower-relief plate. The multi-printing plate actually consisted of two or more plates, each of which printed a specific colour according to design. A page was completed after all the plates had been applied to it one after another. The flower-relief plate bore no ink. When a sheet of paper was pressed upon it, the reliefs on the plate would appear on the sheet in convex form. During the Ming-Qing period, the salt-making and the iron¬ smelting industries grew to considerable size in terms of their production. One salt-making plant in Sichuan employed tens of thousands of workers, directly or indirectly. Even a small plant employed ten thousand persons or thereabouts. As for iron-smelting, coke was used as fuel as early as the Ming Dynasty, during which bellows with valves were invented. Bellows of this kind generated strong wind under heavy pres¬ sure. The production of cast iron and wrought iron in a con¬ tinuous process, in addition to a new method of making steel, was also invented during the Ming period.

All these achieve¬

ments were indeed very advanced for their time. The smelting of zinc was considered a most difficult process throughout the world, but the record shows that it was done in China as early as the first decades of the fifteenth century. In the eighteenth century, the Chinese method of smelting zinc spread to Europe. The record also shows that the Chinese used “ex¬ plosives” for mining. It seems that the skill of using dynamite had already been acquired at this time. The shipbuilding industry of the Ming-Qing period, especially the building of seagoing ships, had had a long tradi¬ tion. The very fact that Zheng He could lead a fleet of large ships to pass across the Indian Ocean and reach as far as

�410

the eastern coast of Africa speaks loudly of the advanced level of China’s shipbuilding and navigational skill. During the reign of Kang Xi, the city of Suzhou built more than one thou¬ sand seagoing ships every year, and most of these ships, once abroad, were purchased by foreign countries. This indicates that Chinese ships had a good reception abroad. The govern¬ ment, however, often subjected the shipbuilding industry to arbitrary intervention. The industry, therefore, could not enjoy a normal development. As for the building industry during the Ming-Qing period, among the largest constructions were those of the royal palaces in Beijing, the royal summer palace in Rehe, and the Great Wall. Numerous gardens were also constructed, especially in Beijing and Suzhou. As for special handicrafts, there were tapestry embroidery in silk, lacquer carvings, jade carvings, and cloisonne enamel, all of which commanded high price and prestige. Cloisonne enamel was a new art form developed during the reign of Emperor Jing Tai of the Ming Dynasty. As for the others, they had had a long history. ' Commerce thrived in the Ming-Qing period, and such cities as Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Hankou, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Songjiang were its major centres. After the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, trade and commerce were particularly brisk in the lower valley of the Changjiang River, and many places, because of commercial prosperity, developed quickly from small hamlets of several hundred households to towns or cities of thousands of households. During the Qing Dynasty, the newly developed but nationally known centres of com¬ merce included Foshan of Guangdong Province, Hankou of Hubei Province, Zhuxian of Henan Province, and Jingde of Jiangxi Province. Jointly they were referred to as the four famous towns of China. Side by side with the development of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce, there were important written works on science and technology.

411

In 1578, Li Shizhen (1518-93) completed his Outline of Herb Medicine which consists of fifty-two juan. In the Outline, he recorded 1,892 herbs, listed more than 11,000 prescriptions, and included more than 1,100 illustrations. Though much of the materials in the book were available elsewhere, he did a lot of work verifying them. There were other materials which he collected himself. The Outline was a definitive work on Chinese medicine and pharmacology, summarizing all the knowledge on these subjects up to the sixteenth century. It was an important work on botany as well, and it contained much experience in the raising of different plants. Its influence persisted for about four hundred years. It has been translated into various foreign languages. A Chinese physician, who was Li Shizhen’s contemporary, discovered the prevention of smallpox by vaccination. One generation younger than Li Shizhen was another man named Chen Shigong (c. 1555-1636) who wrote Principles of Surgery, a summary of all knowledge on the subject matter. About fifty years after the appearance of Outline of Herb Medicine, Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) wrote A Complete Treatise on Agriculture. In his book, he discussed all aspects of agricul¬ ture, from the planting of food crops, mulberry trees, cotton, vegetables, fruits, bamboo, trees, and medicine herbs to the manufacturing and maintenance of farm implements. He also discussed animal husbandry. Still, he devoted comparatively more space to water control and the prevention of drought. In the book could be found relevant historical materials as well as his personal observations. He believed that man could conquer nature and proposed the promotion of more and better crops. The author did not have time to complete the book, and the present version, consisting of sixty juan, was edited by Chen Zilong. It was published in 1639. Geographer Xu Hongzu (1586-1641) was also known as Xu Xiake. Beginning at a time when he was only twentytwo, he travelled across China. For more than thirty years, he recorded each of the areas he had visited — its geography, its

�412

rivers and streams, its geology, its vegetation, and the living conditions of its people. His most important contribution, however, was his observation and recording of the karst land¬ scape in China’s southwest. The topography created through the dissolution of lime in running water took a variety of forms, strange but interesting, and the presence of such a topography indicated a most complex subterranean water system. A study of this kind was, of course, of enormous value to land cultivation and construction. Xu Hongzu’s dis¬ covery was two hundred years earlier than that of Europeans. His work, Travels, is available today. Song Yingxing (1587-c. 1660) wrote Expositions of the Works of Nature which, consisting of eighteen treaties, was completed in 1637. First, the book discussed the production of food and clothing, including the cultivation of food crops, cotton and hemp, the raising of silkworms and the reeling of silk, the making of dyes, the processing of food, the making of salt and the refining of sugar. Second, it elaborated on the manufacture of such usable items as bricks and tiles, porcelain and pottery, vessels, boats and vehicles, the making of paper and candles, the pressing of oil, and the mining and manufacture of lime. Lastly, it discussed the mining and smelting of metals, the manufacture of military weapons and gunpowder, the making of red, black and other dyes, and, finally, the harvesting and processing of pearls and jade. The author went to great detail in describing the raw materials to be used and the process of production for each item elaborated in this book. The book was a definitive work on agriculture and handicraft industry of sixteenth-century China, as it paid particular attention to the advanced experience in production at that time. Almost as soon as it was published in China, it was reprinted in Japan. Later it Ivas translated into several foreign languages. The accomplishments in science and technology indicated the high level of social production and its possible develop¬ ment. But these accomplishments, in a feudal society like the

413

Ming-Qing China, might not be applied to production at all, largely because of the small scale on which production could be conducted and of the limitations imposed by political con¬ ditions. Even if they could be used in production, they, never¬ theless, could not be promoted over a wide area. Beginning with the late Ming period, while science and technology con¬ tinued to make progress, major written works, such as those described above, became much more scarce. The development of social production and the continuance of class struggle during the Ming-Qing period gave rise to certain changes in the nature of labour power. First, as the single tax was put into practice and as the poll tax was absorbed by the land tax, not only did the land tax take the form of a property tax which was separated from rent, but the peasants themselves were also exempted from corvee, the poll tax and other oppressive taxes. Such an exemption, of course, reduced the degree of the peasants’ dependence upon the government. Second, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were different from their predecessors of the Yuan Dynasty, whose position was close to that of a slave. Other than the obligation of having to work for the government at a specific time, they had personal freedom. During the Jia Jing period, the obligation to work for the government was compounded into a cash levy. During the Wan Li period, the government paid for the services rendered by the craftsmen, and the system of employing labour via pay was soon institutionalized. Early during the Qing Dynasty, the separate identification of “craftsmen households” was abolished altogether, thus freeing the craftsmen from the feudal bondage that had tied them to the government. Third, cnanges also took place in the rela¬ tionship between landlords and peasants. During the Ming Dynasty, a new kind of tenant households appeared, the kind that did not have a master-servant relationship with the landlords. The Qing law particularly forbade the use of cor¬ poral punishment against tenants by landlords, and the forcible taking over a peasant’s daughter as concubine or slave was

�414

punishable by hanging. During the Ming Dynasty, there also appeared large numbers of hired labourers who worked for landlords on a yearly, seasonal, monthly, or daily basis. Most of these labourers, owning their own farming tools, had not yet been completely separated from the means of production; there were, of course, a few who owned absolutely nothing. On the other hand, they were not simple freemen who sold their labour power, as their relationship with the landlords was still that between a superior and an inferior. But they were less dependent upon the landlords, compared to tenant peasants. During the Ming-Qing period, a big landlord might have as many as one hundred or more hired labourers. We know that this kind of development was not uniform across China, and there were extralegal expropriations that had per¬ sisted for a long period during the feudal era. Nevertheless, the nature of the labour force did change during the MingQing period, as it slowly freed itself from feudal control. This new trend of development must be duly noticed by historians. Early during the Ming Dynasty, the sprouts of capitalism first appeared in the textile industry. At this time, a wealthy man in Hangzhou provided looms and hired a dozen weavers to work for him. This must be the first handicraft workshop in China organized in the capitalist fashion. During the Wan Li period, “craftsmen in Hangzhou, having their own em¬ ployers, were paid wages on a daily basis. Those who had no regular employers stood on a bridge early in the morning, waiting for their names to be called.” Among the craftsmen were cotton weavers and spinners as well as silk weavers. They gathered in groups of tens or hundreds and would disperse of their own accord if, on a given day, no work was available. Regardless of the purpose of production, for profit in the market place or on orders of the government, these workers had all been separated from the means of production and had become independent workers selling their labour power. This meant that a market for free labour power had finally appeared.

415

Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, many weavers in Suzhou, Hangzhou and Songjiang, realizing that there was profit to be made, gradually increased the number of looms so as to hire other weavers for increased production, while they themselves no longer worked at the looms, even though they started as self-employed workers, buying their own raw materials and personally labouring to transform these raw materials into finished products. There were also cloth mer¬ chants who distributed raw materials among the weavers, the dyers, and the stampers who processed the materials that had been given to them. Step by step, the final product ma¬ terialized. People of the former group — the weavers — were separated from small commodity producers to become owners of handicraft workshops, and people of the second group — the cloth merchants — possessed certain characteristics of a con¬ tractor, as they organized different sections of production into a handicraft workshop. Both groups had in them capitalistic characteristics in terms of production relationship. Still, their existence was confined to southeastern China and to a limited number of industries. All we can say is that they represented only the bare beginning of Chinese capitalism. During

the

southeastern

Qing

China

government’s

suffered

unification

enormous

damages,

of

China,

and

the

nascent capitalism, as described above, was virtually destroyed. Only after peace was restored did the sprouts of capitalism reappear, growing so steadily as to spread to areas outside southeastern China. Nascent capitalism could be found in the textile industry of Suzhou and Nanjing, in the porcelain in¬ dustry of Jiangxi, in the sugar-refining industry of Guangdong, in the paper-making industry of Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Shaan¬ xi, in the copper-mining industry of Yunnan, and in the coal industry of Beijing and other areas. During the Dao Guang period, some of the silk workshops in Nanjing each had five to six hundred silk looms, and a mine in Yunnan might employ several thousand workers.

�410

Though nascent capitalism made its appearance during the late Ming and early Qing period, it never had a chance to grow normally for several centuries. The reason was complex. First, there was this inertia of a self-sufficient economy that had prevailed in feudal China for a long, long period.

The

basic unit of this self-sufficient or natural economy was the family where men tilled and women wove, and there was no need for marketable goods to satisfy the daily demand. An average peasant had no way of improving his livelihood, as he was exploited and oppressed by his government and his landlord. Whenever productivity increased, the benefit of such an increase would first go to the landlord, and the peasant received little or nothing. Peasant uprisings struck hard at the landlords, but basically they did not change the economic well¬ being of the peasants. After a major uprising, certain changes occurred as far as the peasants’ status was concerned; yet they must return to the land and reestablish the traditional house¬ hold where men tilled and women wove.

This structure of

a natural economy, namely the traditional household, limited the expansion of a commercial market and prevented industrial capitalism from opening up its own avenue for expansion. Second, the guilds of the handicraftsmen limited capitalist development. Handicraft guilds existed as early as the TangSong period. A guild was not organized for the protection of the toilers; instead, it was organized to enable the feudal gov¬ ernment to control the handicraftsmen.

By the Ming-Qing

period, the guild had been long established as a customary organization that became a force binding the handicraftsmen. According to the rules of the guild, the distribution of raw materials, the grading of finished products, the numbers of apprentices and journeymen, the marketing of goods produced, and the prices of goods to be sold in the market — all this was carefully regulated. The regulation was designed to limit de¬ velopment and forestall competition, presenting an insur¬ mountable obstacle to capitalist development.

417

Third, the oppression of commerce and the handicraft industry by the feudal government also prevented a capitalist form of production from developing. A feudal government was only interested in tying peasants to the land they tilled in order to control them. It did not want toilers to leave the land, and it was most afraid of their assembly. During the Ming-Qing period, a mine was sometimes opened and some¬ times closed, and the government strictly forbade individuals to operate mines on their own. Why? Despite the profit to be realized when the mine was open, the government was most concerned with the troubles that might arise when so many miners gathered for a considerable length of time. As for cer¬ tain industries that showed promise of further development, such as the textile and mining industries, the Qing government often imposed limitation on production and forcibly purchased finished products at a low price. In the name of governmental monopoly, it levied heavy taxes upon the manufacturing of salt, tea and liquor. As for other products, it charged a broker’s fee when the products were traded, a tariff when the products were transported from one place to another, and a local tax after the products had arrived in the market. Besides, there were extortions on the part of local officials. All this could not but hinder a nascent capitalism from developing further. Fourth, the handicraftsmen and merchants, operating under risky conditions, could not compete with landowners and moneylenders in terms of the safety of investment as well as the size of financial returns. Wishing to acquire more land, the landlords lent money at high interest. Wealthy merchants bought land too, besides opening pawnshops. In short, land was considered the most reliable asset and usury the most prof¬ itable line of business. All this prevented social wealth from being transformed into industrial capital. Capitalism, con¬ sequently, could not grow. Fifth, both the Qing and the Ming government imposed strict limitations on foreign trade. Sometimes they went as far as forbidding merchants to go out to sea. This self-defeating

�418

policy of preventing one’s own goods from being sold abroad did not help the development of commodity production, of course. In conclusion, it can be said that the main reason why capitalism could not develop normally in China was the strong and stubborn resistance on the part of feudal influence, which capitalism, in its initial stage of development, could not over¬ come. The feudal production relationship of the Ming-Qing period not only failed to help the development of the produc¬ tive forces, but was also able to counteract any development and make social production stand still. In other words, the feudal system, aging and corrupt though it was, was still strong enough to prevent the emergence of a new social system. This, one might say, was the most important characteristic of the declining stage of Chinese feudalism. The landlord class of the Ming-Qing period was among the most corrupt on record, and the royal house formed the highest echelon of this class. During the Ming Dynasty, mem¬ bers of the royal house controlled directly large landholdings, known as royal plantations. Feudatory princes of the Ming Dynasty and Manchu dukes and counts of the Qing Dynasty were all granted large landholdings by their respective sovereigns. Nevertheless, the group that had the largest landholdings and the greatest influence on society as a whole was a group known as “the official gentry”. As a result of the often-repeated peasant war of the Song and Ming dynas¬ ties, the degree-holding bureaucrat landlords with official ranks were by and large overthrown, and the official gentry took their place. Among the official gentry were also bureaucrats with official ranks but, as a separate class, official gentry of the Ming-Qing period differed fron} the bureaucrat landlords of the earlier dynasties in many respect^. First, their constituents were much wider in scope than the bureaucrats. They included incumbent officials, retired officials, and prospective officials — the last-mentioned being those who had already passed the civil service examinations but had not

419

yet been rewarded with official posts. The word “gentry” was applicable only to the last two groups: a man might be an incumbent official in one place, but he remained a member of the gentry in his hometown. While the official gentry, as a class, were lower in political status when compared to the bureaucrats with official ranks, their capacity of doing evil, such as exploitation of others and corruption, increased nevertheless. Second, incumbent officials protected the gentry, and the gentry supported incumbent officials. Together they formed the local power elite. Thus the official gentry was actually a class of landowning despots. Third, members of the official gentry were interchangeable with “mercantile landlords”. Once an official, a man would start a business of his own or open a pawnshop; this was referred to as “a normal process of proceeding from official to businessman”. Salt merchants, tea merchants and import-and-export busi¬ nessmen — they were conducting business in the name of the royal house, and some of them even acquired official titles. This was referred to as “a normal process of proceeding from businessman to official”. Besides, one could always become an official by making financial contribution to the government. In that case, all wealthy businessmen could become govern¬ ment officials, or at least acquire official titles. An important reason why the government of the Ming-Qing period, corrupt though it was, could continue to rule and rule for such a long time was that it was supported by the powerful but corrupt official gentry. Amid widespread, pervasive influence of cor¬ ruption, new industries could not develop and grow in a normal fashion. In short, the Ming-Qing period saw a change from progres¬ siveness to backwardness in China. The period from the early sixteenth to the middle decades of the seventeenth century was an important one in world history: it was a period that marked Western Europe’s transition from feudalism to nas¬ cent capitalism. In 1640, while a bourgeois revolution broke out in England, Chinese peasants, led by Li Zicheng, were

�

420

waging a bloody warfare. In 1784, the steam engine was in¬ vented, and the invention paved the way for the Industrial Revolution and ushered in the era of modern industry in Western Europe. In China the same year marked the unsuc¬ cessful armed uprising led by Tian Wu. Later, a series of people’s anti-feudal uprisings occurred, but none succeeded. While the feudal forces of the Ming-Qing period remained strong enough to win temporary victories against the people, it created such backwardness that it could in no way resist Western colonial aggression against China. The end result was that Chinese people of all nationalities had to experience an ill fate sadder than ever.

Arrival of Western Colonialism

The relationship between China and foreign countries underwent a drastic change during the Ming-Qing period. For two centuries beginning in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, pirates from Japan invaded and caused disturbances on the coastal areas of China. During the late Ming and early Qing period, Tsarist Russia forcibly occupied Chinese ter¬ ritories, an aggressive action that eventually led to a SinoRussian war fought at Yacsa. All this was unprecedented in the history of China’s foreign relations.

In 1498, Vasco da

Gama discovered a new route to the Orient, and this discovery was followed by the arrival of Portuguese colonialists in China. In the wake of the Portuguese came the Spaniards, the Dutch, the Englishmen, the Frenchmen and the Americans. All of them employed a variety of methods — commerce, gunboats, and missionary activities — to plunder China in a savage manner. In 1511, Portugal conquered Malacca. In 1513, its com¬ mercial ships arrived in China for the first time. In 1516-17, Portugal sent more ships to Guangdong to sell such products as spices and, in the process, illegally occupied the island of

421

Tunmen, part of Dongguan, Guangdong Province. Later, it dispatched George Mascarenhas to Zhangzhou, Fujian Prov¬ ince, where he, at the head of a fleet, clandestinely surveyed the coastline. In 1521, the Ming government forcibly evicted the Portuguese from China’s territorial waters after they had refused to leave the island of Tunmen of their own accord. In 1523, 1547 and 1549, the Portuguese invaded and caused disturbances at Xicaowan (Xinhui, Guangdong Province), Zhangzhou (Fujian Province) and Zhaoan (Fujian Province), but they were repulsed by the Ming forces in each case. Many of them continued to reside in Macao, however, beginning in 1535. In 1553, by bribing local officials, the Portuguese oc¬ cupied part of Macao in the name of having obtained a lease. In 1557, they illegally enlarged the territories they had oc¬ cupied, built forts and installed governmental organs. They, in fact, viewed Macao as their colony. Macao turned out to be the first of many territories illegally occupied by Western colonialists on a sustained basis. Still, the Chinese government had its own offices in Macao, the sovereignty of which belonged to China. In 1565, Spain occupied the Philippines. In 1571, it built the city of Manila. In 1575, Spanish merchants arrived in China. Later, with the permission of the Ming government, they traded in Xiamen, the designated port of trade. The Spanish colonialists deliberately mistreated Chinese residents in the Philippines and, between 1603 and 1639, initiated three massacres. In 1626, they forcibly occupied Jilong, Taiwan. The Dutch emerged as a major power towards the end of the sixteenth century when they occupied Java, Sumatra and other islands in Southeast Asia. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was formed. In 1619, the Dutch built the city of Batavia in Java, known today as Djakarta, capital of modern Indonesia. From then on, they intensified their evil scheme of plundering China. In 1601, a Dutch merchant fleet, well-armed, arrived in Guangzhou for the first time. They did not dare to resort to reckless behaviour, however, thanks to the strict

�422

surveillance conducted by local governments and people. In 1604, they attacked Penghu Islands. In 1622, they forcibly occupied the islands on which they built fortifications. They intended to use Penghu as a base of operation to further their aggression against China itself. Subsequently, they raided the coastal areas of Fujian for plunder, piracy and the kidnap¬ ping of people to be sold as slaves. In 1623, they occupied Taiwan and built Fort Anping (Fort Zeelandia). In 1624, the Ming forces chased them out from Penghu; nevertheless, they built Fort Chiqian (Providentia) in Taiwan during the same year. In 1641, the two colonial powers, Holland and Spain, fought over the control of Taiwan. The Dutch emerged victorious, took over Jilong, and occupied all of Taiwan. The Dutch realized enormous profits once the trade route to China became open to them. They sold to China spices, sandalwood and other native products of Southeast Asia. They imported from China gold, copper-nickel alloy, raw silk and silk products. They sold most of the raw silk and silk products to Japan in exchange for silver. Using gold and copper-nickel alloy from China and silver from Japan, they purchased cotton textiles from India and then exchanged these cotton textiles for spices from Java and other islands. Besides, they imposed poll and other oppressive taxes on the Taiwan people and then, using these tax revenues and the profits they realized in the intramural Asian trade, purchased Asian goods to be shipped to Europe. The revenues and the profits were also employed to equip or expand fortifications, fleets and warehouses in the territories which they had occupied. Unable to stand the cruel rule imposed upon them by the Dutch colonialists, the Taiwan people revolted time and again. In 1652, more than 16,000 people participated in an armed uprising led by Guo Huaiyi. They attacked the city of Chiqian and fought for fifteen days. Though they were defeated in the end, a severe blow was nevertheless delivered to the Dutch colonialists. Nine years later, the famous anti-Qing general Zheng Chenggong, determined to recover the island, led several

423

hundred ships and 25,000 men to sail from Jinmen to attack the city of Chiqian, Which he subsequently captured, thanks to the support given to him by the people of all nationalities on Taiwan. In the spring of 1662, the head of the Dutch colo¬ nialists, a man named Frederik Coyett, surrendered, and once again Taiwan was returned to the Chinese people. But the Dutch colonialists did not concede after their defeat. Furthermore, they were afraid that the defeat might affect adversely their position in the Orient. They, therefore, ex¬ pressed the desire to cooperate with the Qing government for a joint attack on Zheng Cheng'gong. In 1663, they, in alliance with the Qing forces, took from Zheng Jing, Zheng Chenggong’s son and successor, the islands of Xiamen and Jinmen. By then Zheng Chenggong had already died.

In the fall

of 1664, the Dutch attacked and once again occupied Jilong. In the fall of 1668, Zheng Jing recovered Jilong and forced the Dutch to withdraw to Batavia. From then on, the Dutch colonialists were not able to realize the kind of profits they used to make. The British colonialists formed the British East India Com¬ pany in 1600. From then on, they fought against the Dutch over the hegemony of the sea and succeeded in attaining their goal in the middle decades of the seventeenth century. In 1637, an Englishman named John Weddell, at the head of four war¬ ships, sailed towards Guangzhou and, ignoring the warnings by Chinese garrison troops, bombarded Humen and forcibly occupied its battery.

His purpose was to use force to compel

China to trade with England. He was forced to leave Humen, however, after the Chinese had put up a strong resistance. In 1670, the British began to trade with Taiwan, then controlled by Zheng Jing. Later, they also traded at Xiamen. In 1680, shortly after Zheng Jing had lost Xiamen to the Qing authori¬ ties, the British stopped trading with Taiwan. In 1699, they obtained permission from the Qing government to open com¬ mercial offices in Guangzhou. But they continued to request

�424

the opening of more ports for trade, while conducting a variety of illegal activities. Between 1802 and 1809, the British repeatedly used force in their attempt to seize Macao from the Portuguese, as they hoped to use Macao as a base of operation in committing ag¬ gression against China. In 1811 and again in 1821, they open¬ ed fire along the coastal areas of Guangdong, killing and wounding Chinese peasants. During the 1830s they time and again sent ships to conduct survey among China’s sea lanes, make maps, and gather military intelligence in Xiamen, Fu¬ zhou, Ningbo, Shanghai and other places. During the early period of Anglo-Chinese trade, the British colonialists shipped to China woollens and spices in exchange for tea, medicine and porcelain. As late as the 1820s, the major British export to China was still cotton textiles. Since England could not sell its products well in China, under nor¬ mal circumstances, she would have a deficit in her trade with China.

Between 1781 and 1790, the total amount of tea China

shipped to England was valued at 96,267,833 yuan. Meanwhile, between 1781 and 1793, the total amount of woollens and spices that China imported from England was valued at only 16,871,592 yuan, or one-sixth of what China sold to England. To eliminate the deficit, England began to ship large quantities of opium to China. The shipment was 200 chests in 1787, 2,000 chests in 1800, 5,147 chests in 1820, 7,000 chests in 1821, 12,639 chests in 1824, 21,785 chests in 1834 and 39,000 chests in 1837. In 1815, the Qing government enacted regulations governing the search of opium in foreign ships, but the British colonialists, violating Chinese law at will, resorted to bribery and smuggling to continue the shipment. Precisely because opium was banned, the profit it brought was-also enormous. While the British colonialists were busy selling^opium, not only did millions of Chinese lose their health or their will to live a constructive life, but large quantities of silver also flowed out of the country. The continuous outflow of silver brought damage to national finance as well as the government’s

425

treasury. From the Chinese point of view, a situation of this kind should not be allowed to continue. From the British point of view, however, a financial resource of this kind had to be maintained at all costs. The sharp contradiction led to a war that exploded in 1840. The French colonialists began trading with China as early as 1640. In 1728, they, like the British, opened commercial offices in Guangzhou. Though the volume of their trade was far below that of the British, they brought with them Catholic missionaries who went to work in China’s interior regions without authorization from the Chinese government. In due course, missionary activities became another form of aggres¬ sion on the part of the colonialists. The American colonialists did not trade with China until 1784, but the development of Sino-American trade was very rapid after that date. In 1789, altogether 86 Western ships arrived in China; of the 86, 61 ships belonged to the British and 15 were American. In 1832, the number of American ships arriving in China was 62. Besides trading in normal items, the Americans were powerful as opium peddlers. Beginning in 1579, the Jesuits of the Roman Catholic Church arrived in commercial ships one after another. During the late Ming and early Qing period, they opened churches in thirteen provinces of China. In 1610, the total number of Chinese Catholics was about 2,500; the number rose to 13,000 in 1617, 38,200 in 1636, and 150,000 in 1650. Such political figures as Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao and such eunuchs as Pang Tianshou and Ruo Se were all Catholic converts.

Em¬

peror Yong Li of Southern Ming, his empress, his mother the empress dowager, and his crown prince were also Catholic converts. This indicates that Roman Catholicism was wide¬ spread towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. Early during the Qing Dynasty, some Western missionaries were employed as government officials; but the government, regarding them as technicians, imposed restrictions on their missionary activ¬ ities. At one time, Emperor Kang Xi ordered a ban on the

�426

construction of Catholic churches as well as the promotion of Christianity, but the Pope, ignoring the ban, instructed Chinese converts not to worship Heaven, ancestors and Confucius. A papal envoy arrived in Beijing in 1720, requesting an audience with Emperor Kang Xi. He wanted himself to be regarded as chief of all the missionaries in China; he also wanted all the Chinese converts to be governed according to the rules of Rome. Demands of this kind reflected the Pope’s intention to violate the sovereignty of China. Emperor Kang Xi scolded the papal envoy severely as he told him: “China is not a place for Roman Catholicism which must be prohibited!” Never¬ theless, the Qing government’s ban against missionary activities was sometimes strict and sometimes lax. In any event, the missionaries were not so successful in promoting Christianity during the Qing as they had been during the late Ming period. The missionary activities of the Roman Catholic Church in China began in 1583 when an Italian named Matteo Ricci started to work in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province.

From

then on and until 1775, the missionary work in China was practically monopolized by the Society of Jesus. Because of their written works, more than seventy Jesuit missionaries can be identified today. Besides Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), there were Julio Aleni (Italian, 1582-1649), Francesco Sambiaso (Italian, 1582-1649), Nicolas Trigault (Frenchman, 15771628), Johann Adam Schall von Bell (German, 1591-1666), and Ferdinand Verbiest (Belgian, 1623-1688). They were the most outstanding among the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus was a diehard, anti-reform organiza¬ tion within the Roman Catholic Church, that came about in response to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth cen¬ tury. It advocated none but the orthodox theology of med¬ ieval time. It believed that God, the creator of fjhe universe and everything in it, was the source of all power and morality in the world. God was the Father in Heaven, and kings, as God’s representatives to govern nations, were people’s fathers on earth. The people, therefore, must obey the laws of kings

427

as they must obey the teachings of the church. Thus the Jesuits confirmed the correctness of Confucian ethics. How¬ ever, since Confucian philosophers did not speak of a Heavenly God, the Jesuits maintained that Confucian ethics was incom¬ plete. Only Catholic ethics, they concluded, was complete. A theory of this kind not only strengthened feudal rule and feudal ethics but also, by inventing the so-called blessings of God, glorified Catholic nations and individuals. Holding tight¬ ly the key to the Heavenly Kingdom of God, the Jesuits tram¬ pled on the earthly kingdom of man. Their thinking coincided well with the thinking of the colonialists who brought to China gunboats and opium. It contrasted sharply with the progres¬ sive thought among Chinese scholars during the late Ming and early Qing period. The Jesuits have been praised as the importer of Western science to China, a praise they did not deserve. We know that modern science came about as a result of liberating man’s mind from theology and that the Roman Catholic Church was a deadly enemy of modern science and a brutal persecutor of scientists.

Naturally, the Society of Jesus would stand on the

front line against science and scientists, and it is unthinkable that its members would bring modern science to China.

In

fact, they tried their utmost in preventing Chinese scholars from learning about the latest developments in modern science. For instance, they chose not to provide adequate information on the great accomplishments of such men as Nicholas Coper¬ nicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo and Issac Newton. Instead, they singled out for praise such men as Euclid in geometry, Peolemy in astronomy, and Aristotles in mechanics. Peolemy, as one recalls, believed that the sun circles around the earth. Aristotles and those who followed him maintained that “the speed of a falling object is in direct proportion to its weight”. In other words, as their own knowledge of science remained at the level of ancient Greece, what the Jesuits had brought to China was not really modem science; it was none other than the antithesis of modern science. Besides, they wanted

�428

to subject scientific knowledge to the control by theology which remained the master. Speaking of human anatomy, they asked questions like: “How was this part divinely in¬ spired? How was that part pre-arranged?” Speaking of earthquake, they stated: “Earthquake, like drought, flood, war, fire and disease, is controlled by God. Though it is caused by man, God, as the creator of all things over which He has absolute control, has the final word on its occurrence.” Speak¬ ing of astronomy, they maintained that “the change in the movement of stars and planets affects the fortunes or mis¬ fortunes of man”. Was this really modern science? The Jesuits castrated modern science of which they made a mockery. Tsarist Russia, meanwhile, had its own tool of aggression against China, which was the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1732, the Qing government gave permission for Tsarist Russia to establish churches in Beijing and, later, allowed Russian missionaries in China to be rotated once every ten years. Using churches as a cover and a base of operation, the Russians were in fact engaged in evil schemes against China.

Before

the Opium War, their rotation as missionaries in China had occurred eleven times.

Most of these so-called missionaries

were intelligence agents, gathering information on China’s politics, economics and culture. They even secretly mapped certain areas of China and then brought the detailed maps back to Russia. These maps would be subsequently used by their government for aggression against China. Two more points need to be mentioned in connection with the missionary activities in China. One involves geography, and the other concerns the making of calendar. In geography, Matteo Ricci’s Atlas of the World was followed By Julio Aleni’s On World Geography and Ferdinand Verbiest’s Corhplete Atlas of the World and Explanations of the World Atlas. One of the reasons for making the world atlas was to arouse the curiosity of Chinese intellectuals about the non-Chinese world so as to foster with them a personal relationship. It cannot

420

be denied, however, that the effort did help Chinese intel¬ lectuals in broadening their world outlook. As for the Chi¬ nese calendar used during the Ming Dynasty, it had not been accurate due to the lack of revision for a long period. Under the Ming law, individuals were not allowed to study calendar¬ making; consequently, few knew what calendar-making was all about. Then Xu Guangqi petitioned the government for calendar revision; under his leadership, such Jesuits as Johann Adam Schall von Bell were invited to make contributions. The result was the Chong Zhen Calendar that consisted of approxi¬ mately 100 juan.

It was never put into practice, however.

During the reigns of Shun Zhi and Kang Xi, Jesuits like Schall von Bell and Verbiest were once again invited to revise the calendar. The result of their work, completed in the seven¬ teenth year of Kang Xi, was entitled Yongnian Calendar that comprised 32 juan. The Jesuits’ major contribution to calendar¬ making was accuracy; in devising the Chong Zhen Calendar, for instance, they quoted the works of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Still, they chose to ignore the essence of Copernicus’ contribution by insisting on the correctness of the geocentric theory. The progressive scholars of the late Ming and early Qing period, such as Fang Yizhi, described these Jesuits as “detailed in computation but inadequate in over-all under¬ standing”. He added that the Jesuits were inadequate even in computation. Emperor Kang Xi promoted science, and it was during his reign that the two major scientific works, The Essence of Mathematics and Physics and A Study of Universal Phenomena, were compiled. Both works syncretized the existing knowl¬ edge from the West and the East. In 1708, he ordered a geographical survey of all regions in China, and the result, completed in 1718, was known as The Complete Atlas of the Empire. No country in the world had undertaken a geo¬ graphical survey on such a large scale. In this survey French missionaries like Joachim Bouvet (1656-1730), Joannes B. Regis (1637-1738), and Petrus Jartoux (1668-1720) made important

�430

contributions. As a result of participating in the survey, the missionaries brought to their own countries valuable geo¬ graphical materials about China that were subsequently cir¬ culated in Europe. The final work itself, namely the atlas, was kept inside the imperial palace, and it had little impact on the development of Chinese cartography. Wang Xichan (1628-82) wrote The Surviving Works of Xiaoan. Mei Wending (1633-1721) wrote more than eighty books. Both scholars were outstanding mathematicians and astronomers of the Qing period, and they did thorough re¬ search on the scientific knowledge imported by the missiona¬ ries. They were able to merge this imported knowledge with the scientific knowledge of traditional China, so each would be in a position to correct or substantiate the other. Wang Xichan deplored the attitude of missionaries towards science, an attitude which, he said, should not be taken by anyone with a broad, unbiased mind. He believed that the purpose of studying mathematics and astronomy was “to find out about reality and all its mysteries through the mastery of numbers”. In other words, he was searching for a natural philosophy em¬ bodied in mathematical principles, totally different from the theology as advocated by the missionaries. Taking advantage of their contacts with Chinese officials and ordinary people alike, the missionaries were able to gather information about China and help the colonialists in their aggression against China. At the time of the Opium War (1840), there were in China Protestant as well as Catholic missionaries, and the Protestant missionaries lent a helping hand to the aggression by England, the United States and other countries against China. Freedom of religion is a wonderful thing, but committing aggression under the cloak of religion is a different matter altogether.

Semi-Colonial and Semi-Feudal Society; The Old Democratic Revolution

The Opium War

The Opium War (1840-42) marks a significant turning point in China’s history and ushered in the era of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in China. Before the war, China had been an independent feudal country with the Qing court exercising full sovereign rights without outside interference. After the Qing rulers submitted to the British on August 29, 1842 by signing the unequal Treaty of Nanking, China turned step by step into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country dominated — with the help of the Qing regime — by foreign power. The era of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in China’s history includes two periods: the old democratic revolution from 1840 to the May 4th Movement in 1919 during which the Republic of China was founded after the fall of the Qing Dynasty; and the new-democratic revolution after the May 4th Movement led by the Chinese Communist Party. To protect her lucrative opium trade, England had been preparing for war against China for some time before 1840. The Qing regime had become concerned about the social prob¬ lems created by the importing of large quantities of opium and the rapid drain of silver from China. In 1838 Emperor Dao Guang appointed a strong advocate of opium prohibition, Lin Zexu, Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei provinces, as im¬ perial commissioner in charge of banning the drug. Lin Zexu took firm action the next year when, on his arrival in Guang¬ zhou in March, he arrested the opium dealers, punished officials 431

�432

who accepted bribes and ordered foreign merchants to hand over their opium. Foreign traders were also required to sign a bond guaranteeing they would never again bring opium into China. Charles Elliot, British Superintendant of Trade in China, did what he could to undermine the ban, including trying to prevent the British merchants from surrendering opium and signing the bond, and ordered foreign vessels an¬ chored off the estuary of the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) to flee. He then prepared for battle. Countering Elliot, Lin Zexu ordered a halt to Sino-British trade and sent troops to keep un¬ der surveillance the foreign community where British mer¬ chants stayed. These actions compelled Elliot to order British merchants to surrender more than 20,000 chests of opium. Under the direction of Lin Zexu, from June 3 to 25 this lot of opium was burned in public on the Humen beach. Then Lin announced the restoration of normal trade — with the provi¬ sion that opium be strictly forbidden — between China and Britain. Meanwhile, Elliot continued to try to undermine Lin Zexu’s policy while urging the British government to launch a war in retaliation. In April 1840 the British Parliament formally passed a resolution to start a war against China and in June, a British fleet carrying 4,000 soldiers reached the seacoast of Guangdong. Lin Zexu repaired and strengthened the fortifications at Humen and added more cannon. He also directed officers and men in training, recruited others among the boat dwellers and fishermen to form a marine force of “water braves” and generally intensified defence preparations. Having blockaded the Zhujiang River, the main British forces sailed north. They captured Dinghai of Zhejiang Province. In Augpst the British fleet reached the port of Tianjin and threatened .Beijing. At this point, Chief Grand Councillor Muchanga, who had oppos¬ ed the opium ban in the first place, took the opportunity to attack Lin Zexu and advocate compromise with the British. Qishan, Governor-General of Zhili (present Hebei) Province, told the British invaders that if they withdrew to Guangdong,

433

all outstanding issues would be settled to their satisfaction. The British agreed to negotiate at Guangdong. Emperor Dao Guang then appointed Qishan imperial envoy and sent him to Guang¬ zhou to conduct negotiations. Lin Zexu was ordered dismissed and put under investigation. On arrival at Guangzhou, Qishan dismantled the coastal defences and disbanded those armed men Lin Zexu had organized to resist the British. In January 1841, while negotia¬ tions were going on, British forces suddenly attacked and captured the fortress outside Humen. Qishan then agreed to the draft convention of Chuanbi1 which required China to cede Hong Kong to the British and pay indemnities for the destroy¬ ed opium. However, Emperor Dao Guang considered these terms both excessive and damaging to the ruling position of the Qing court. He dismissed Qishan and declared war on Britain, send¬ ing Yishan, a member of the royal house who represented the most corrupt forces of feudal rule, to Guangzhou to direct military operations. But before his arrival, the British attack¬ ed the Humen fortress defended by Admiral Guan Tianpei and 400 greatly outnumbered men. Qishan refused to send reinforcements, and after a brave fight, all officers and men in the fortress were killed by the British. Arriving at Guangzhou, Yishan failed to prepare for defence, but instead slandered the Guangdong people as “traitors”. In May, when the British threatened Guangzhou, Yishan sued for peace and concluded the convention of Guang¬ zhou with the enemy, agreeing to pay an indemnity of six million silver dollars. The Chinese people, meanwhile, were outraged by the ac¬ tions of the British troops and the capitulation of the Qing offi¬ cials. On May 29, they struck back on their own when the peo¬ ple in Sanyuanli outside the city of Guangzhou killed several British soldiers who had come there to plunder. Then the 1 Chuanbiyang, outside Humen.

�434

villagers organized, joining with people from neighbouring villages in a common fight against the British. Taking a threestar flag as their standard, they pledged “to advance as it advanced and retreat as it retreated, with no fear of death”. On May 30, a force of 1,000 British soldiers invading Sanyuanli were greeted by peasants from 103 villages armed with the raised three-star flag, swords, spears, hoes and spades. The villagers surrounded the British in circles and in hand-to-hand combat killed and wounded many of the enemy. This was the earliest known spontaneous struggle by the Chinese people against foreign aggression in modem history. In April 1841, the British government received a report on the draft convention of Chuanbi and, not satisfied with its provisions, decided to expand its invasion of China. In August British forces captured Xiamen (Amoy) of Fujian Province and in October Dinghai, Zhenhai and Ningbo of Zhejiang. Every¬ where they went, Chinese soldiers and civilians resisted. The peasants of eastern Zhejiang Province voluntarily organized themselves for struggle against the enemy. They used small boats in an effective campaign to attack and harass the British at night. About the same time, the British attacked Taiwan of Fujian Province twice. Chinese soldiers and civilians there sank enemy ships and captured 200 invaders. With the loss of three cities in Zhejiang Province, Emperor Dao Guang decided again to take military action. This time he sent Yijing of the royal house to Zhejiang to direct the war. Like Yishan, Yijing also represented the most corrupt forces of feudal rule. In March 1842, he foolishly started at¬ tacks by dividing his forces into three routes in an attempt to recover Dinghai, Zhenhai and Ningbo at one strike. His serious defeats discouraged him from fighting again. \ In June, Admiral Chen Huacheng and the garrison troops resisted gallantly as the British attacked Wusong on the estuary of the Changjiang River. They managed to shell and damage some enemy ships but finally the whole garrison died heroically.

435

After occupying Shanghai the British advanced to Zhenjiang of Jiangsu Province, where 1,500 Chinese officers and men fought street battles with the enemy, killing and wound¬ ing some 180. In August British warships arrived at the Changjiang River off Nanjing (Nanking). The Opium War then came to an end when the Qing rulers submitted to the invaders. Despite the courageous resistance of the people and the patriotic officers and men, the war ended with defeat for China because of the Qing court’s domestic policy of hostility to the people and its foreign policy of compromise with and capitula¬ tion to the invaders. On August 29, 1842 the representatives of the Qing court signed the humiliating Treaty of Nanking with England on a British warship off Nanjing. The treaty provided for the cession of Hong Kong, opening of five trading ports — Guang¬ zhou (Canton), Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou (Foochow), Ningbo (Ningpo) and Shanghai where British consulates could be set up; indemnity of twenty-one million silver dollars; and tariff on export and import customs and other dues on British goods to be fixed by mutual agreement. In the following year, Britain forced the Qing government to sign the General Regulations under which British trade is to be conducted at the five ports of Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, and Shanghai and the Sup¬ plementary Treaty of Hoomun Chai (The Bogue) as supple¬ ments to the Treaty of Nanking, giving Britain the privileges of consular jurisdiction and a unilateral most-favoured-nation treatment in China. The first unequal treaty in modern Chinese history, the Treaty of Nanking was followed up by other treaties like it with other capitalist nations. The United States, a helping partner to Britain during the Opium War, had sent supporting naval units to China’s coastal waters, and in 1844 the United States, backed by arms, forced the Qing court to conclude the Treaty of Wang-hea. In the same year the Qing court signed the Treaty of Whampoa with France. The United States and France both gained all the privileges of the Treaty of Nanking

�

436

and its supplementary regulations, except the acquisition of territory and indemnities. With these unequal treaties which infringed on her sovereignty and territorial integrity, China began to lose her political independence. Besides representing the interests of the landlord class, the Qing court now gradually also became the instrument of the foreign bourgeoisie in ruling over the Chinese people. Economically, China had been a feudal country with self-sufficient small farming combined with domestic handicrafts. After the Opium War, this economy gradually disintegrated with the penetration of foreign capital as the country was swept into the capitalist world market. Class struggle changed with these fundamental political and economic changes in society. Besides the contradiction be¬ tween feudalism and the masses of people, now there was the contradiction between foreign capitalism and the Chinese na¬ tion, and this became the most important of all contradictions. From the time of the Opium War on, the Chinese people shouldered the double task of opposing domestic feudalism and foreign capitalism.

The Taiping Peasant War

In the aftermath of the Opium War treaties favouring the foreign powers, Chinese handicraft production dwindled in the coastal trade ports and nearby areas with the influx of cotton textiles and other industrial goods from Britain and other Western capitalist countries. At the same time, opium addic¬ tion became even more widespread — 50,000 chests by 1850 — under the rampant British opium smuggling Which also ag¬ gravated the silver drain from China as reflected in-the saying, “silver is dear, and copper cash cheap”. These burdens were made even heavier by the Qing government’s increasing taxes on the peasants to pay for warexpenses and indemnities. The landlords, too, took their toll

437

on the people by intensifying land annexation so that in Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi Province, landlords owned 88.3 per cent of the land, peasants only 11.7 per cent. On top of this, working people faced starvation under a famine that continued several years during this period. The people rebel¬ led. In the decade after the Opium War over one hundred uprisings were staged by various nationalities: Han, Miao, Hui, Yao, Zhuang, Yi and Tibetan. By 1851 the people’s rebellion had grown into a full revolutionary movement known as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom led by Hong Xiuquan. Hong Xiuquan (1814-64) was a rural intellectual, a school teacher born into a peasant family in Huaxian County, Guang¬ dong Province, who sympathized early on with the plight of the people. Having several times failed the official examina¬ tion given in Guangzhou for xiucai (a low degree in the im¬ perial examination system), he increasingly became aroused by the misery of the people and the country’s defeat in the Opium War. He began to join in the upsurge of popular struggle for challenging the authority of the local feudal forc¬ es by smashing the ancestral tablets of Confucius set up for worship in schools. Hong Xiuquan had been particularly in¬ spired by a book he had come across in 1843, Good Words for Exhorting the Age, which propagated Christianity but to which Hong Xiuquan gave his own interpretation. Through his read¬ ing of the book, Hong Xiuquan claimed to have received a “mandate of Heaven” from God to come to earth to save mankind. Advising people to worship only God, not the “demons”, he began to organize followers behind the Bai Shang Di Hui (Society for the Worship of God), the earliest of whom were his schoolmate, Feng Yunshan, and his cousin, Hong Rengan. In 1844, Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan left their home village to conduct propaganda and organize in Guangxi. Later, Hong returned to Huaxian County where he wrote Doctrines on Salvation, Doctrines on Awakening the World, Doctrines on Arousing the World and other articles to demand equality

�438

OUTLINE HISTOHY OF CHINA

and oppose oppression. He said: “All men under Heaven are brothers and all women are sisters.” Hong Xiuquan urged people to fight against the feudal emperor, offi¬ cials, landlords and all such “demons” and to fight for making “the world one family to enjoy peace in com¬ mon”. About the same time, Feng Yunshan set up the Bai Shang Di Hui in Zijingshan District, Guiping County, Guangxi Province, taking in more than 3,000 members including poor peasants and handicraftsmen of the Han, Zhuang, and Yao nationalities. In 1847 Hong Xiuquan returned to Zijingshan to join Feng Yunshan and develop the Bai Shang Di Hui’s struggle against local feudal forces. The movement’s core centred on Hong Xiuquan as leader and Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai as members. In 1850, the year Emperor Xian Feng succeeded Dao Guang, the struggle of the Bai Shang Di Hui against the land¬ lord forces became more intense.

In the midst of a great

famine, Guangxi Province was shaken by peasant rebellions and the time was ripe for the Bai Shang Di Hui to stage an uprising. On January 11, 1851 Hong Xiuquan led the Bai Shang Di Hui in an insurrection in Jintian Village. He organiz¬ ed the Taiping Army, called his organization the Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping and named himself Heavenly King.

In

September the Taiping Army captured Yong’anzhou (present Mengshan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region). Hong then further established military and political systems and gave titles to several leaders: Yang Xiuqing, Eastern Prince; Xiao Chaogui, Western Prince; Feng Yunshan, Southern Prince; Wei Changhui, Northern Prince; and Shi Dakai, Prince Wing. The Eastern Prince was placed in charge of all the other princes. ^ The Qing government reacted by sending large forces to encircle the city of Yong’an. In April 1852, the Taiping Army broke through and advanced northward. Feng Yunshan, the Southern Prince, and Xiao Chaogui, the Western Prince, died

439

heroically in the course of march and battles across Guangxi, Hunan and Hubei. Along the way, the Taiping Army killed or drove away Qing officials, local gentry and landlords, burned title deeds and loan papers and distributed grain, money and goods to the impoverished peasants who enthusiastically re¬ ceived the army, many joining its forces. In January 1853 the Taiping Army captured Wuchang, capital of Hubei Province, evacuated it the following month and advanced eastward along the Changjiang River.

The Qing

forces collapsed without putting up a fight. A month later the Taiping Army captured Nanjing, renamed it Tianjing (the Heavenly Capital), made it the capital of a formally established revolutionary force of peasants in opposition to the feudal power of the Qing Dynasty. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom proclaimed the Heavenly Land System, which stated: “All the land under Heaven should be cultivated by all the people under Heaven.” The system called for land to be divided into nine grades depending on yields to be distributed evenly regardless of sex. A share was given to those above the age of sixteen and half a share to those up to fifteen. Twenty-five households were to compose a basic unit, and a system of village officials was to be set up for primary state power.

The income from farm and

side-occupations of each family, besides the part for consump¬ tion, was to be turned over to the “state treasury” to pay extra expenses of the family such as weddings or funerals according to a grade system. By practising this system, the Heavenly Kingdom hoped to establish an ideal society in which “land, food, clothing and money should all be shared equally, and all under Heaven should be well fed and clad”. The Heavenly Land System was significant in that it greatly expanded the idea of equalizing rich and poor and land-owning which the peasant wars had put forward in the past. It also reflected the peasants’ urgent demand to abolish feudal landownership. However, the measures were not

�

440

practical. To abolish private ownership and create equality on the basis of small production was only an illusion. The Heavenly Land System, as an ideal, could not be realized and was not realized.

But conditions within the territory con¬

trolled by the Taipings did improve as the peasants who had worked for landlords who had fled or were killed no longer paid rent. And the few landlords still left lost their influence, so that many tenant peasants either refused to pay rent or paid less. Another important aspect of the Heavenly Kingdom was its policy of respecting women. The Heavenly Land System provided that women be given land the same as men and that “under Heaven marriage should have nothing to do with prop¬ erty”. Orders were issued to prohibit prostitution and the buying and selling of slave girls. A women’s army was formed and women officials were appointed, and women took part in social productive labour and enjoyed the right to take official examinations. In foreign relations,

the

Heavenly

Kingdom

opposed

unequal treaties and foreign aggression and strictly prohibited the importing of opium. Between April 1853 and June 1854, ministers sent by Britain, France and the United States to Tianjing failed in their efforts to get the Taipings to recognize the unequal treaties. In May 1853, the Heavenly Kingdom sent an army com¬ manded by Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang on a northern ex¬ pedition. Given support by peasants along the way, it swept across Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shanxi provinces and into Zhili, and by October threatened Tianjin. But troops sent by Emperor Xian

Feng

succeeded

in

blockingn the

Taipings’

advance, and since they lacked grain and winder clothing, they had to withdraw to Shandong. After another year of courageous fighting, lack of grain and reinforcements caused the northern expedition to fail in 1855. At the same time the northern expedition began in 1853,

441

a western expedition was started to safeguard the capital Tianjing. The troops marched along the Changjiang River up to Hankou and Hanyang of Hubei Province. When they came to Hunan Province, they were strongly opposed by the “Hunan army” organized by the Qing official Zeng Guofan with the Hunan landlords as the core. After

suffering

setbacks

the

Taipings

withdrew

from

Hunan and Hubei. In early 1855, with reinforcements under Shi Dakai, Prince Wing, the western expeditionary army scored a great victory over the Hunan army at Hukou and Jiujiang of Jiangxi Province, burning more than forty of its gunboats. After three years of struggles the Taipings won another important victory in early 1856, putting eastern Hu¬ bei and most parts of Jiangxi and Anhui under their control. Soon after the Taipings established their capital at Tianjing the Qing forces set up the Great Southern Camp outside the city gates of the Heavenly Capital and the Great Northern Camp in the vicinity of Yangzhou. In early 1856 the Taipings removed the threat to the capital by crushing these two camps. At this point the Heavenly Kingdom reached the height of its military power. Anti-Qing revolts by many nationalities spread in the wake of the Taipings’ revolutionary victory. The principal ones were: the Tian Di Hui (Heaven and Earth Society) and its branches

south

of

the

Changjiang

basin

and

along

the

southeastern seacoast; the Nians in North China and the ethnic minorities in the Southwest; the Xiao Dao Hui (Small Sword Society) of Shanghai; and those under the Tian Di Hui organization led by Chen Kai and Li Wenmao of Foshan, Guangdong Province. In September 1853 the Small Sword Society led by Liu Lichuan occupied the Shanghai county seat and nearby counties. But in February 1855 this group was defeated under the joint attack by the Qing and the invading British-French forces. The rebels under Chen Kai and others who rose at Foshan in 1854 laid seige to Guangzhou and in the

�OUTLINE HISTORY OF CritNA

442

following year went into Guangxi where, in Xunzhou (present Guiping County, Guangxi), they set up the Da Cheng Kingdom. In 1861 they also failed. The Nians, composed mainly of bankrupt peasants and drifters, were active in Anhui, Henan, southwestern Shandong and northern Jiangsu.

First a few dozens then hundreds form¬

ed the Nian forces which started an insurrection after people were left destitute following a Huanghe River flood in the area in 1851. The movement grew under the impact of the Taipings’ northern expedition in 1853. In 1855 Nians from different routes met at Zhiheji, Mengcheng (present Woyang County), Anhui Province, and elected Zhang Luoxing to head the allied forces under the regime of “Da Han” (Great Han). This became the main force in the anti-Qing struggle in North China. After the failure of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Nians and the remaining Taipings continued together to fight Qing rule in eight provinces until 1868. In the Southwest, the Miao people led by the farm¬ hand Zhang Xiumei staged an uprising in Guizhou Province in 1855. People of various nationalities — Han, Bouyei, Dong and Shui — joined the revolt. In 1856 the Yi people of the Ailao Mountains, Li

Wenxue

Yunnan and

the

Province, Han

led

labourer

by

the

Wang

Yi

farm-hand

Taiji,

rebelled

and established political power. Joining the ranks were people of the Han, Hui, Miao, Lisu, Dai, Bai, Hani and other ethnic groups. In the same year the Hui people in Yunnan led by Du Wenxiu revolted, capturing Dali and establishing a govern¬ ment. People of several nationalities — Han, Bai, Yi, Dai and Jingpo — joined this army. All of these various troops, fight¬ ing either singly or jointly, repeatedly defeated the Qing forces. Some persisted in fighting until 1876. ^ Though not a united movement, these anti-Qing rebellions encouraged and supported one another. With the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as the centre, they did form a great revolutionary upsurge.

The Second Opium War; Russia’s Occupation of Chinese Territory

At the height of the Taiping revolutionary movement, Britain and France, with the support of Russia and the United States, launched a new war of aggression against China. Taking advantage of China’s civil war, they tried to force the Qing government to agree to complete revision of the treaties to extend the privileges obtained from the Opium War of 1840. This new war was, therefore, a continuation of the first Opium War, and so was called the Second Opium War. On October 8, 1856 the Chinese navy captured some pirates from a Chinese vessel, the lorcha Arrow, off Guangzhou. To start provocations, the British claimed the ship as one of theirs, saying that Chinese soldiers had insulted the British flag flown on the vessel. On the 23rd British warships attack¬ ed Guangzhou and on the 29th British troops entered the city, followed by wild looting. The local people and soldiers rose to resist the strength.

invaders

who withdrew because of inadequate

After the Arrow incident, Britain decided to enlarge its war of aggression and asked France, the United States and Russia also to send troops. Using the killing of a. French Catholic priest in Guangxi as an excuse, France joined Britain. Russia and the United States gave active support. Thus a unit¬ ed front of Britain, France, the United States and Russia was formed in a war of aggression against China. In December 1857 some 5,000 Anglo-French forces attacked Guangzhou. Since the Qing government was then fully engag¬ ed in suppressing the Taiping Revolution, it offered practically no resistance and Guangzhou quickly fell. In this grave situation, the people of Guangdong began a vigorous struggle. Once again the residents of Sanyuanli and other villagers took up arms against the invaders. In Hong¬ kong over 20,000 workers staged strikes, bringing the business there to a standstill.

�444

After the capture of Guangzhou, the Anglo-French forces, leaving a small force to guard the city, sailed north. In April 1858 they reached the sea off Dagu. The ministers of Russia and the United States also arrived, ostensibly to act as “mediators” but actually as advisors to the British and French. In May the Anglo-French forces took Dagu fort, approached Tianjin, and threatened they would advance to Beijing. The corrupt Qing court sent negotiators to Tianjin to sue for peace. On June 26 and 27 the treaties of Tientsin were concluded with Britain and France. In November Britain and France forced the Qing government to sign the agreement con¬ taining rules of trade. These unequal treaties established res¬ idence for foreign ministers in Beijing and opened additional trade ports: Niuzhuang (later Yingkou), Dengzhou (later Yantai), Taiwan (Tainan), Danshui, Chaozhou (later Shantou), Qiongzhou, Hankou, Jiujiang, Nanjing and Zhenjiang. They also allowed foreign warships and vessels to freely navigate to the ports on the Changjiang River and foreigners to travel, trade and carry on missionary activities in China’s inland. They provided for legalization of the opium trade; China’s Customs tariff to be fixed with the assistance of foreigners; import and export duties set at 5 per cent ad valorem and the transit tax of foreign goods to the inland at 2.5 per cent. Four million taels of silver were to be paid to Britain and two million to France as indemnity. Before the conclusion of the Sino-British and SinoFrench treaties at Tianjin, Russia and the United States had persuaded the Qing government to sign Sino-Russian and Sino-American treaties at Tianjin by which they obtained many privileges. The treaty with Russia specially provided that the two countries appoint men to study the “uncharted” border. In doing this Russia hoped to occupy more Chinese territory.

Russia had always aspired after China’s territory, and since the Opium War she had stepped up her armed aggression against China’s Heilongjiang basin. At the end of May, 1858,

445

two weeks before the conclusion of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Tientsin, N. Muraviev-Amursky, Russian GovernorGeneral of Eastern Siberia, taking advantage of the AngloFrench attack on Tianjin, forced Yishan,1 Chinese general in Heilongjiang, to sign the unequal Treaty of Aigun, through which Russia carved off over 600,000 square kilometres of China’s territory south of the Outer Hinggan Range and north of the Heilongjiang River, and which designated about 400,000 square kilometres of China’s territory from the eastern side of the Wusuli River to the sea as being under “Sino-Russian joint control”. According to Engels, Russia deprived “China of a country as large as France and Germany put together, and of a river as large as the Danube”.2 The treaties of Tientsin still did not satisfy the AngloFrench aggressors. In June 1859, under the pretext of exchang¬ ing ratifications of the treaties, the British and French ministers came to Dagu on warships. The Qing government notified them to land at Beitang on their way to Beijing. The notice was ignored. Their warships — with the warships of the

United

fortress.

States giving support — bombarded

the

Dagu

The Chinese garrison returned the fire, sinking and

damaging many enemy ships and inflicting some 500 casual¬ ties. The Anglo-French invaders fled. Threatening a large-scale retaliation, Britain and France sent a joint force of 16,000 men to Dagu in July 1860. The Russian minister followed and supplied the British and French with the intelligence that Beitang could be attacked as it was not on the alert. In August the invading forces land¬ ed at Beitang and occupied Dagu and Tianjin. In the following month they continued their advance to threaten Beijing. Emperor Xian Feng fled to Rehe (present Cheng1 The same Yishan who directed the war in Guangzhou in the first Opium War. 2 Engels, “Russia’s Successes in the Far East,” Karl Marx/Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1980, Vol. 16, p. 83.

�446

de, Hebei) with a group of officials, leaving his brother Yixin (Prince Gong) in Beiijng to negotiate peace. On the eve of the Anglo-French attack on Beijing, the Rus¬ sian minister contributed a map of Beijing which the Rus¬ sian legation had drawn from secret surveillance, showing the weak points in the city’s defence. With this information the Anglo-French forces in October entered the Andingmen gate and controlled the city. Along their way the invaders looted, burned and killed. *A.fter a wanton looting of the Yuan Ming Yuan Summer Palace, a magnificent palace combining Western and Chinese architectural art rarely seen in the world, housing many valuable artistic and cultural objects, they set this palace on fire and reduced it to ruins, inflicting inestimable loss on China’s cultural achievement. Charles George Gordon who led the expedition admitted his troops had committed the outrage by “destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property”.1 Submitting in late October, the Qing government exchang¬ ed ratifications of the treaties of Tientsin and signed the unequal treaty, Convention of Peking. Through these treaties, Tianjin became a trade port and Chinese labourers were “allowed to go abroad”, which in fact legalized trafficking in Chinese labourers; a portion of Kowloon was ceded to Britain; French missionaries were permitted “to buy or rent land and to construct as they wish”;2 and the war indemnity to be paid to Britain and France prescribed in the treaties of Tientsin was increased to eight million taels of silver each. In November 1860 Russia, again taking advantage of the Anglo-French attack and occupation of Beijing, by claiming that it had been a successful “mediator” and warning that war might again come, forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-Russian Additional Treaty of Peking. Besides reaf¬ firming the Treaty of Aigun, the new treaty gave Russia about 1 A. E. Hake: Gordon in China and the Soudan, London, 1896, p. 18. 2 This clause was secretly added to the treaty by J. M. Mouly, a Catholic missionary who acted as an interpreter for the French army.

447

400,000 square kilometres of China’s territory east of the Wusuli River and many other privileges. Through the Sino-Russian Additional Treaty of Peking and the later Sino-Russian Protocol of Chuguchak (which Russia forced the Qing government to sign in October 1864), Russia also seized 440,000 square kilometres of China’s territory east and south of Lake Balkhash. The amount of Chinese territory seized by foreign aggres¬ sors through the Second Opium War was unprecedented. They grabbed more and more rights and interests and stepped up political and economic control over China. Through their envoys stationed in Beijing, the capitalist countries were able to pressure the Qing government and dominate its internal and external affairs. The opening of more trade ports — ex¬ tending from the southeast coast to seven coastal provinces and the middle reaches of the Changjiang River — furthered capitalist economic penetration. Foreign administration of Chi¬ nese Customs also tightened foreign control of the Qing court. After the Second Opium War, domestic and foreign re¬ actionary forces began to work in collusion as the pace of China’s being turned into a colony quickened. In January 1861 the Qing government set up the Zongli Yamen under Prince Gong to deal with foreign affairs. It became an agency through which the Qing government betrayed the country by allowing foreign aggressors to carry out many-sided control over the Qing court. No sooner had the Zongli Yamen been established than a British citizen was appointed Inspector-General of Customs with full power of customs administration, including appointment of its personnel. As March went by, Britain, France and Russia set up their missions in Beijing. From then on their diplomats fostered Prince Gong and other Qing of¬ ficials as their agents. In August 1861 Emperor Xian Feng died of illness in Rehe and was succeeded by his son, Zai Chun, who was still under age and whose mother, Nala, was honoured with the name Empress Dowager Ci Xi. But power fell into the hands of

�

448

Zai Yuan, Prince Yi; Duan Hua, Prince Zheng; and Su Shun, Minister of the Board of Revenue. Empress Dowager Ci Xi then collaborated with Prince Gong, who had the support of the foreign aggressors, to plan a coup d’etat. In November she returned to Beijing from Rehe and took charge of state affairs “behind the screen”. She had Zai Yuan, Duan Hua and Su Shun executed, made Prince Gong the Prince Regent and put him in charge of the Privy Council, and changed the name of the reign “Qi Xiang” which had been proposed by Zai Yuan and others into “Tong Zhi” (joint reign), meaning that the Dowager and the Emperor ruled together. The foreign envoys were pleased with the rise to power of Ci Xi and Prince Gong.

F. W. A. Bruce, British minister to China, re¬

ported to his government, stating that in the previous 12 months a faction which favoured and believed in the pos¬ sibility of having friendly intercourse with foreign countries had been formed. It was an extraordinary success to have ef¬ fectively helped these people to come to power. He went on to say that in Beijing, satisfactory relations had been establish¬ ed and to a certain extent he had become a Qing government advisor. In other words, Qing rule and the foreign powers became collaborators. And one area in which the Qing rulers found their foreign advisors more than willing to help was in supply¬ ing arms and troops to suppress the Taiping Revolution, a movement which blocked the British, French, Russians and Americans from enjoying their full privileges under the treat¬ ies of Tientsin and the Convention of Peking.

The Later Period of the Taiping Peasant War

After the establishment of the capital at Tianjing, weaknesses began to surface in the revolutionary ranks. In the first place, a complicated feudal system of rank and grade — from the Heavenly King on down to the ordinary

449

soldier — began to corrode the Taipings’ original simple idea of equality. Ceremonial rules became strict and insurmount¬ able. Some leaders began to indulge in luxury and ex¬ travagance. Factionalism developed within the leading cliques. And some landlords and merchants — a few secret agents but mostly opportunists — managed to infiltrate the revolutionary ranks, trying to create contradictions and wait¬ ing for an opportunity to sabotage the revolution with the ideas and practices of the exploiting class. In September 1856, at the height of its military success, the leading core of the Taipings openly split. Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern Prince, had been of great service in the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. But as the revolution progressed, he became arrogant. In August 1856 he demanded that Hong Xiuquan give him the title of “Wan Sui” (His Majesty). Hong Xiuquan put him off and secretly ordered Wei Changhui, the Northern Prince, to return to the capital with troops to deal with Yang Xiuqing. Wei responded by not only killing Yang Xiuqing but also his whole family and all of his followers, over 20,000 people in all. Wei’s arbitrary exercise of power created a reign of terror in Tianjing. Shi Dakai, Prince Wing, returned to the capital to denounce Wei for his massacre, which only led to Wei’s wanting to kill Shi. Shi escaped to Anqing, Anhui Province, to prepare to lead troops against Wei. But, meanwhile, of¬ ficers and soldiers in Tianjing took matters into their own hands and killed Wei.

Hong Xiuquan then called Shi Dakai

back to the capital to administer state affairs but also appoint¬ ed two of his own brothers to share the same post to watch him. In June 1857, Shi Dakai, sensing that Hong did not trust him, left Tianjing with his crack troops to fight alone. In 1863 he was surrounded by the Qing troops at the Dadu River in Sichuan, and he and his entire army were destroyed. Wei Changhui’s violence and Shi Dakai’s departure gravely weakened the strength of the Taipings and became the turn¬ ing point from the rise to the decline of the revolution.

As a

�450

serious crisis appeared in the Heavenly Kingdom, the Qing forces launched counterattacks, occupying many places on the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River, re¬ building the Great Northern Camp and the Great Southern Camp which had been destroyed by the Taipings before and laying siege to Tianjing. In his efforts to avert the crisis, Hong Xiuquan promoted young commanders such as Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng to responsible positions in military affairs. In September 1858, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, joined by the Taiping forces from different routes, crushed the Qing’s Great Northern Camp. In November they anni¬ hilated 6,000 crack troops of the Hunan army at Sanhe Town, Shucheng, Anhui Province, and forced the Qing troops, who were besieging Anqing, to flee. These victories stabilized the war situation on the Changjiang River upstream from Tianjing. In April 1859 Hong Rengan, Hong Xiuquan’s cousin, came to Tianjing. He had lived in Hong Kong many years, where he had some contact with the conditions of Western capitalist countries. Given the title of Prince Gan, he was placed in charge of the kingdom’s state affairs. A little later Hong Xiuquan gave the titles of Prince Ying to Chen Yucheng and Prince Zhong to Li Xiucheng. Hong Rengan wrote New Guide to Government, advocating political reform by following the example of the Western countries in building railways and establishing post offices, factories, mines, banks, etc. Hong Xiuquan approved these proposals, but as the conditions for their realization did not exist, they could not be carried out. In March 1860, Li Xiucheng was sent to Hangzhou to spring a surprise attack to distract the attention of the enemy’s forces at the Great Southern Camp. Then his troops1 returned from Hangzhou and joined Chen Yucheng to attack*'the Great Southern Camp, crushing it in May and raising the siege of Tianjing. Following this victory, the Taipings advanced eastward and by the end of 1861 occupied virtually the whole of Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu.

451

While the Taipings marched to the southeast, Zeng Guofan’s Hunan army besieged Anqing. To lift the siege, Tianjing decided to send Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng by two routes to attack Wuchang in order to prevent the Hunan army from sending reinforcements.

Chen Yucheng, leading the northern

route troops from Anhui, approached Wuchang in March 1861.

Li Xiucheng, leading the southern route troops, wasted

so much time recruiting soldiers along the way that he failed to meet up with Chen Yucheng in time, upsetting the whole plan. Since Anqing was in danger Chen Yucheng first return¬ ed to rescue it, but failed when Anqing fell in September and Tianjing lost its protective screen. (present

Hefei,

Anhui)

to

Withdrawing to Luzhou

prepare a

counterattack, Chen

Yucheng was captured by the Qing troops. a still defiant hero at the age of 26.

He died in 1862,

The Qing court and foreign aggressors had collaborated from 1860 on to suppress the Taiping Revolution. The Amer¬ ican adventurer Frederick T. Ward, conspiring with the Qing officials and their agents in Shanghai, recruited foreign mer¬ cenaries and organized them into a “Foreign Rifle Detach¬ ment”.

Britain and France also sent troops to join the Qing

campaign, while Russia supplied the Qing government with 10,000 rifles and fifty cannon along with troops to intercept the Taipings in their attack against Shanghai.

The Taipings

fought the foreign aggressor troops with great courage.

In

May-June 1862, in battles around Shanghai, they repeatedly defeated the British, French and the Foreign Rifles. They killed the French naval commander, A. L. Protet, wounded the British naval commander, James Hope, and captured the Amer¬ ican deputy leader of the Foreign Rifles, Edward Forrester. They recovered Jiading and Qingpu and were approaching the city wall of Shanghai County. The domestic and foreign counter-revolutionary forces there gained a reprieve as the Taiping army had to back off and return to defend Tianjing which the Qing troops had again besieged.

�

452

From the spring of 1862 on, Zeng Guofan, a large landowner in Hunan who as early as 1853 organized a militia under an edict from the emperor to fight the Taipings, began offensives against the Taipings along three routes: Zeng Guoquan leading the Hunan army’s main force from Anqing against Tianjing; Zuo Zongtang leading the Hunan army from Jiangxi against Zhejiang; and Li Hongzhang leading the An¬ hui army — organized similarly to the Hunan army under the Anhui landlords — from Shanghai against Suzhou and Chang¬ zhou.

In June, Zeng Guoquan’s branch of the Hunan army

laid siege to Tianjing, threatening Yuhuatai in its outskirts. The Taipings fought the Hunan army for over forty days but could not break the siege. and

Qing reactionary

Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

In the meantime, the other foreign

troops

intensified

their

attacks

on

In Zhejiang, the British and French

troops helped the Qing forces capture Ningbo.

At Cixi the

Taipings engaged the British and French troops and Ward’s Foreign Rifles in pitched battles, killing Ward.

Then Zuo

Zongtang’s branch of the Hunan army, joined by the British and French at Shaoxing, attacked Hangzhou and nearby cities. Hangzhou fell in March 1864, and the Taiping forces in Zhe¬ jiang disintegrated.

In May, Suzhou and Changzhou also fell

under the joint attack of Li Hongzhang’s Anhui army and the Foreign Rifles, now led by the British officer Charles Gordon. The Taipings’ southern Jiangsu front also collapsed. The situation at the capital became increasingly critical and in the last stages of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s struggle, its outstanding leader, Hong Xiuquan died on June 1, 1864.

In July the Hunan army dynamited the city wall, and

Tianjing fell after fierce street fighting.

The Hunan army

committed all kinds of atrocities as it plundered >and burned the whole city. Li Xiucheng managed to break through the encirclement but was taken prisoner outside Tianjing. sion but Zeng executed him.

He wrote a confes¬

453

Hong Rengan was captured in Jiangxi. He refused to sur¬ render and was killed. The Taipings’ remaining forces con¬ tinued armed struggle north and south of the Changjiang until 1868. The failure of the Heavenly Kingdom gave the Qing gov¬ ernment a free hand to suppress the revolts of the Nians and the various nationalities in the Southwest. In the ShaanxiGansu area the Huis rose in 1862 and kept fighting for eleven years until they were defeated in 1873. The glorious Taiping Revolution in semi-colonial and semi-feudal China failed for the lack of proletarian leader¬ ship. But having failed in its fight against feudalism and foreign aggression, it nevertheless was the largest peasant rev¬ olution in China’s history. It established a revolutionary political power, put forward a clear-cut anti-feudal programme, engaged the greater part of the country in strug¬ gle for fourteen years and dealt heavy blows against Qing feudal rule and foreign capitalist forces of aggression. Its magnificent struggles and historic achievements will always be remembered for propelling the forward advance of history and stimulating the revolutionary will of the Chinese people.

Culture and Learning After the Opium War

Academic and cultural circles after the Opium War also witnessed a period of change and struggle. Some of the enlight¬ ened officials and educated people of the landlord class — like Lin Zexu (1785-1850) and Wei Yuan (1794-1857) — devel¬ oped the Ming-Qing tradition of stressing the practical applica¬ tion of learning. They turned their attention to real problems such as critically examining China’s relations with foreign countries and exploring the use of new technologies and theories to develop production. Lin Zexu, who so strongly opposed the British importation of opium, was farsighted on the question of China’s relations

�

454

with other countries.

He sought out information about condi¬

tions in foreign countries as well as their views on China. While in Guangzhou, he organized people for translation of foreign newspapers and books, and sponsored the publication of the books, Four Continents and China’s Affairs in the Words of Foreigners.

At the height of British aggression, he took

note of the question of defence of the northern border by say¬ ing, “Russia is the country that will give trouble to China!” Lin Zexu was also concerned with water conservation. In his later years, he helped agricultural development in Xinjiang by building canals and ditches and cultivating 37,000 qing (755,000 acres) of farmland there. His writings were compiled into The Works of Lin Zexu. Wei Yuan helped Lin Zexu draft proposals on water trans¬ port of grain to the capital, irrigation and salt revenue ad¬ ministration. Before the Opium War, he edited Imperial Col¬ lection of Essays on Government. At the outbreak of the war, he participated in planning the resistance against the British on the Zhejiang front.

Later he wrote Records of Warrior

Sages, a history of the military operations of the Qing emper¬ ors, as a contrast to the military incompetency of the time.

He

also wrote Illustrated Records of the Maritime Nations in one hundred juan on the history and geography of foreign coun¬ tries and the policies China should adopt towards them. Like Gong Zizhen who advocated political reform, Wei Yuan believed that “any change, whatever the extent may be, brings good order, and the more thoroughly the old ways are changed the greater the benefit to the people”.

He ad¬

vanced the idea of “learning from the foreigner to restrain the foreigner” and criticized those in power for refusing to adopt superior Western technology and looking down ab-machinery as a “strange trick”. In other words, he advocated China’s learning the advanced technology of the Western capitalist countries and their methods of organizing and training armed forces for defence against foreign aggression.

455

Wei Yuan’s idea of political reform was based on the view of historical evolution. He said: “There is no law which does not change over hundreds of years, and there is no law which is limitless and unchangeable.” Believing that “knowing” comes from “doing”, he opposed the idealistic theory of knowledge of “knowing before doing”. He believed knowl¬ edge originates from direct experience and denied there was any innate, supra-experience knowledge. His principal works also included Collected Works of the Guweitang Study. The raising of border region questions helped bring about study in the area of history and geography. Zhang Mu (180549) of Pingdingzhou (present Pingding County), Shanxi Prov¬ ince, investigated the geography of Mongolia and the activities — there by previous regimes. His famous work Shepherding in Mongolia was, after his death, supplemented, proofread and printed by He Qiutao. It consisted of sixteen juan. He Qiutao (1824-62) of Guangze County, Fujian Province, saw that there had been no special books written on the ques¬ tion of the Sino-Russian border and so he, having studied the history and geography of China’s Mongolia, Xinjiang and the Northeast and Sino-Russian relations, wrote Collected Arti¬ cles on the Northern Frontier Question in eighty juan. Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan, Zhang Mu and He Qiutao sponsored new academic research, widening the area of scholarly in¬ vestigation and reflecting changes in the cultural field. They all were greatly influential. In literature, many patriotic works after the Opium War praised the anti-aggression struggle of the Chinese people and condemned British invasion and the Qing rulers’ capitulation to foreigners. Famous poems included World Seas by Wei Yuan, which denounced the Qing officials’ shame¬ ful surrender to invaders, and Sanyuanli by Zhang Weiping, which portrayed the patriotic anti-British struggle of San¬ yuanli villagers and described the plight of the terrified in¬ truders under the blows of the Chinese people, and expressed the popular indignation against the decadent Qing rule.

�456

Posters and folk songs, in simple popular language, by de¬ nouncing foreign invaders and Qing rulers, also aroused the militancy and resistance of the masses. In science and technology, Wu Qixun, Zou Boqi and Zheng Fuguang made contributions. Wu Qixun (1789-1847) com¬ piled ancient essays on plants into the twenty-two-jucm Com¬ pendium of Illustrated Investigation of the Names and Natures of Plants, which contains 838 varieties of plants. Reporting on his own observations and investigations, he compiled the thirty-eight-juan Illustrated Investigation of the Names and Natures of Plants, which contains 1,714 varieties. These two are among the important works on plants published in modern China.

Zou Boqi (1819-69) was a scholar in astrono¬

my, calendar-making, mathematics, geography and surveying. Based on a synthesis of the country’s knowledge about geo¬ metric optics he further explained the basic principles of the reflecting mirror, transparent mirror, spectacles, telescope, magnifier and other optical instruments. Zheng Fuguang (7-1846) wrote Summary of Knowledge of Optics, systematizing the basic principles of Chinese and West¬ ern knowledge of optics and of the structure and application of the telescope, magnifier and other glasses. He wrote articles on the principles of the structure of the steamship with illustra¬ tions. This was the beginning of the study of the modern steamship by the Chinese. The reactionary landlord class did not forget to try to dominate the academic and cultural field. This class was represented by Zeng Guofan (1811-72) who, while ruthlessly suppressing the Taiping Revolution, propagated feudal ethics, claiming that relations between the emperor and minister, father and son, and superior and subordinate were like hats and shoes which could not change places. He thought foreign aggression was “Heaven’s doing” and maintained there was no way to defend against foreigners and the only way to deal with them was through courtesy and retreat. Foreign cultural activities in China included Britain, the United States and

�Bas-reliefs on the Monument to the People’s Heroes on Beijing’s Tian An Men Square. Burning Opium at Humen.

The Jintian Uprising of the Taipings.

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The temple where the people of Sanyuanli in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou met to resist the British aggressors in May 1841.

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�The jade name seal of the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan and the coins and marriage certificate issued by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

The Heavenly Land System and other books printed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

�The proclamation to the people issued in 1853 by Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern Prince of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

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�Kang Youwei (1858-1927).

Tan Sitong

(1865-98).

Manuscript of the pref¬ ace to the Chinese translation of T. H. Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, written by the translator Yan Fu (1853-1921).

�Picture of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, taken in 1912 when he assumed of¬ fice as Provisional President of the Re¬ public of China.

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Sun Yat-sen’s oath as Provisional President, January 1, 1912.

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�Tomb of the Seventy-two Martyrs at Huanghuagang, Guangzhou.

Huang Xing

(1874-1916).

Qiu

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(1879-1907).

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Lu

Xun

(1881-1936).

Li Dazhao (1889-1927).

457

other countries beginning to establish churches, run news¬ papers, and open hospitals and museums. In 1858, the British Royal Asiatic Society set up a branch in Shanghai. These •activities were actually cultural aggression carried on under the protection of guns. Sharp struggles went on in the aca¬ demic and cultural field after the Opium War, as in the political field.

Foreign Economic Aggression and the Official “Westernization” Drive

Relying on privileges extorted from China after the two Opium Wars, foreign capitalists continued to make inroads into China’s economy, turning China into a dumping-ground for their goods and a base for their industrial raw materials. They shipped and sold to China cotton textiles, kerosene, dyes and sewing needles, with the quantity of cotton goods increas¬ ing the most quickly. During the twenty years from 1873 to 1893, cotton yarn shipped and sold to China increased from 4.1 million kilogrammes to 59.3 million kilogrammes. Foreign capitalists also controlled China’s traditional exports of tea and silk and shipped from China enormous quantities of cot¬ ton, soybean and other farm produce and raw materials. The transformation of China into a market for world capitalism under imperialist control, which was an indication of the semi-colonial nature of her economy, brought about a depres¬ sion in agriculture and handicrafts and the impoverishment of Chinese peasants and other producers. Apart from dumping industrial goods and seizing China’s raw materials, foreign capitalists continued to open banks and factories in China. By the time of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, more than a dozen foreign banks had illegally opened in China. Prominent among them were the British Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (1865), the German Deutsche-Asiatische Bank (1889) and the Japanese Yokohama Shokin Bank (1893): they accepted money deposits, issued

�458

paper currencies, handled inland and overseas remittances and extended loans to the Qing government, and were im¬ portant instruments for foreign encroachments upon China’s economy. In total disregard of China’s sovereignty, foreign aggres¬ sors began to set up factories in many Chinese cities soon after the Opium Wars, and factories with foreign investment grew steadily in number from the 1860s on.

The majority were

either ship-repairing dockyards, serving the rapid develop¬ ment of inland navigation, or processing factories for making brick tea, reeling silk, ginning cotton and refining sugar with local raw materials.

There were also other light industries

such as match factories, paper mills and soap factories, which exploited cheap Chinese labour and the easily accessible local market. By 1894, there were more than a hundred foreignowned factories on Chinese territory, with a total investment amounting to twenty-eight million Chinese yuan, embodying a force that suppressed and hindered the growth of China’s na¬ tional industry.

Foreign export of capital and the establish¬

ment of banks and factories in China were further indications of the semi-colonial nature of the Chinese economy. Confronted with intensified foreign aggression, some of the Qing officials advocated “making the country strong and rich” by the establishment of “Western-style factories”.

They real¬

ized the importance of learning military and industrial tech¬ nology from Western capitalism so as to buttress their rule in the face of the Taiping Revolution and in contacts with foreign aggressors in the 1860s.

Unlike Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan

and others who wished to learn about foreign countries to resist aggression, the “Westernization group” sthdied Western technology in order to build up their military and civilian industries and a modern navy and army, relying on despotic rule and foreign assistance. Represented by Yixin (Prince Gong), Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong and others, the Westernization group can be distinguish-

459

ed from, members of landlord class who had little contact with foreign capitalism and were blindly anti-foreign. The Westernization group devoted the greatest effort to establishing war industries. In the course of suppressing the Taiping uprising, Zeng Guofan had an arsenal set up in An¬ qing, Anhui, in 1861. Li Hongzhang patronized the founding of the Kiangnan Machine Building Works in Shanghai in 1865 for making rifles, guns and ammunition. Zuo Zongtang had the Fukien Dockyard built in Fuzhou, the biggest of its kind at the time, in 1866; and Chonghou sponsored the estab¬ lishment of a machinery factory, which was in effect an ar¬ senal, in Tianjin in 1867.

It later came under Li Hongzhang’s

charge and was further expanded. More and more weapon and ammunition factories were set up in the 1870s in many cities. ment,

These factories were financed by the Qing govern¬ managed by officials appointed

by the court,

and

manned in part by soldiers. The products were directly issued to the armies. Not capitalist but government-owned enter¬ prises, they depended completely on foreign personnel from establishment to management and were under their sole control. To provide the necessary raw materials, fuels and means of transport for the war industries, and envying the large and profitable sale of foreign goods in China, the Westernization group began to open up factories, mines and transport and communication facilities of a capitalist nature in the 1870s. The earliest and largest among these was the China Merchants Steamship Navigation Company organized by Li Hongzhang in Shanghai in 1872. In 1876, he developed a mine in Kaiping, Zhili and prepared to open up a machine-weaving textile mill in Shanghai. Then in 1877 Zuo Zongtang projected to set up a machine-weaving worsted mill in Lanzhou, Gansu. And in 1890, Zuo Zongtang promoted the setting up of an ironworks in Hanyang. By 1894, more than twenty enterprises of this kind had been built up. In the form of “government-super¬ vised and merchant-managed” enterprises or “co-management

�

460

by government and merchants”, they absorbed capital from landlords, merchants and officials and were controlled mainly by the latter. An embryonic form of bureaucrat-capitalism, these officially-authorized enterprises monopolized production, and fettered the activities and development of national capital. Civilian industries similarly relied on foreign capital and were branded with a feudal birthmark. In the 1870s, the Westernization group planned to build up two navies, the Beiyang (North China coast) and the Nanyang (South China coast) fleets. In the 80s, Li Hongzhang founded a military academy in Tianjin, had a dockyard built in Lushun and a navy port in Weihaiwei, and bought warships and cannon from abroad for the Beiyang Fleet.

The Proletariat and the National Bourgeoisie in the Early Days; The Spread of Modern Western Science

With the appearance of modern industry in China, the first generation of modern industrial workers, the early Chinese proletariat, emerged. National capitalism engendered a na¬ tional bourgeoisie. With modern industry came modern Western science. From the 1870s onward, groups of officials, landlords and merchants invested in modern industries of a capitalist nature, mainly filatures, textile mills, flour mills, match factories and coal mines. Among those established were Jichanglong Fila¬ ture of Nanhai, Guangdong, 1872; Chizhou Coal Mine, Guichi, Anhui, 1877; Yilaimou Flour Mill, Tianjin, 1878; Gongheyong Silk Factory, Shanghai, 1881; Liguoyi Coal and Iron Mines, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, 1882; Tongjiuyuan Cotton-Ginning Plant, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 1887; and Yuyuan Cotton MilV Shanghai, 1894. Between 1872 and 1894, more than a hundred enter¬ prises of this kind came into operation, their total investment amounting to six million yuan, with about thirty thousand employees on their payroll. Most of these enterprises were

461

rather small with a slender capital of less than 100,000 yuan, or even only a few thousand yuan.

Though they were weak

compared with the foreign-owned and the officially-managed enterprises, their very existence indicated the presence of na¬ tional capitalism and consequently a national bourgeoisie in China. However, national capitalism could barely survive in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. tense.

Whereas foreign countries

Competition was in¬

and their factories and

mines in China could sell products and get hold of raw mate¬ rials due to their special privileges, the native industries, in addition to difficulties in obtaining raw materials and securing markets, were constantly faced with the danger of annexa¬ tion by foreign capital.

Instead of helping native industries,

the Qing government levied heavy taxes on them and fettered their growth in every way.

Chinese national industries relied

on foreign countries for machinery, technology and even “pro¬ tection” and had to turn to the feudal government for support as well, though the latter was more nominal than real.

Many

of the industrialists themselves were originally officials, land¬ lords or merchants, and some still possessed land and collected land rent from peasants.

They, therefore, were on the one

hand in constant and inevitable conflict with foreign capital¬ ism and domestic feudalism, and on the other were bound closely to them.

From its very first days, the Chinese bour¬

geoisie had a dual character; it opposed foreign capitalism and domestic feudalism, while at the same time it tried to com¬ promise with them. With the emergence of national capitalism, the initial demand voiced by reformists within the landlord class for political reform and learning from the West for self-defence developed into a trend towards bourgeois reformism in society at large in the 1870s. Early representatives of this trend were Wang Tao (1828-97) of Suzhou, Jiangsu; Xue Fucheng (183894) of Wuxi, Jiangsu, Ma Jianzhong (1844-1900) of Dantu,

�

462

Jiangsu,

and

Zheng

Guanying

(1842-1921)

of

Xiangshan

(present Zhongshan), Guangdong. The gist of their ideas was as follows: 1. Opposition to foreign aggression, a serious and constant danger to the country. They pointed out that the unilateral most-favoured-nation treatment, consular jurisdiction, tariff rates on Chinese imports and exports and other such provi¬ sions in the unequal treaties were sources of endless damage to China and demanded their revision. 2. Development of national capitalism and opposition to the Qing policy of restricting national industry and commerce. They criticized the Westernization-group sponsored enter¬ prises where the officials had sole control while the merchants had no say. They demanded that effective government sup¬ port be given to national industry and commerce and a protec¬ tive customs tariff adopted, so that Chinese capitalism would have the ability to compete with foreign rivals. Zheng Guan¬ ying criticized the feudal policy of “promoting agriculture, restricting commerce” and called for “a trade war”. He said: “To check Western forces and strengthen the country, no measures are more effective than the stimulation and tion of commerce.” The development of capitalism, lieved, was the only way out for China if she wanted to independent and prosperous. His demand of waging war had anti-imperialist and patriotic significance.

promo¬ he be¬ become a trade

3. Institution of a constitutional monarchy. Wang Tao, Zheng Guanying and others recommended various Western political systems and the substitution of feudal autocratic monarchism with parliamentarianism, as practised in certain foreign countries. Arguing that “it is not strong warships and powerful cannon alone that end chaos and bring prosperity, but the establishment of a parliament”, they considered that the institution of a political organ like parliament could unite the whole country for resistance to foreign aggression. This shows that the early reformists differed not only from the Westerni¬ zation group but was also more advanced than the landlord-

463

class reformists who called on people to learn the foreigners’ skills just for the purpose of resisting them. The early reformists, however, neither established any systematic theories nor brought about any political movement, showing that the Chinese national bourgeoisie was still very weak. Separated only recently from the Westernization group, they could not free themselves from the latter’s influence either politically or ideologically. China’s early proletariat arose in the 1840s when dockyards and factories were opened up by British, U.S. and French merchants in coastal port cities. Most of the workers were originally destitute peasants and handicraftsmen. The number of industrial workers increased in the

60s and 70s when

military and civilian industries were set up by the Westerniza¬ tion group and the Chinese national bourgeoisie.

By the 70s,

apart from dockers whose number fluctuated, the Chinese in¬ dustrial workforce amounted to 10,000 strong. The number rose to more than 40,000 by the beginning of 80s and to 100,000 by 1894. The proletariat in semi-colonial and semi-feudal China was subjected to the threefold oppression and exploitation by foreign capitalism, national capitalism and feudalism, with a harshness and ruthlessness seldom known elsewhere. Their meagre pay was often deferred. With their wages forfeited and deducted under various false pretences, they could hardly eke out a living. They were beaten and abused by supervisors and overseers. Working conditions were deplorable, and in¬ juries and accidents were daily occurrences. Without any freedom or rights, the Chinese workers led a miserable life. Suffering economic and political oppression, the Chinese proletariat had to fight for its survival. The earliest strikes against foreign exploitation were staged by workers of Farnham & Co. in Shanghai in 1868 and again in 1879 against the embezzlement of workers’ pay by overseers. In 1879, workers of Boyd & Co. demonstrated against the beating of a Chinese worker by a foreign overseer. In 1883 and 1890, workers of

�464

the Kiangnan Machine Building Works laid down their tools in protest against extensions of their working hours. In 1891, Kaiping miners protested against a foreign engineer’s abuse of Chinese workers, forcing the engineer to leave the mine temporarily. Workers’ struggles of this period, however, were mainly economic, as the Chinese proletariat was still very young. The propagation of Western science by the Jesuits at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing dynasties had very little impact on Chinese society as a whole. The real job was done by Chinese scholars like Li Shanlan (1810-82), who spread Western science by their systematic studies in the 1860s and 70s. Modern science had progressed rapidly in the West after the discovery of the solar system by Copernicus. The subsequent initiation of analytical geometry by Descartes, of logarithms by Napier and of calculus by Leibniz and Newton supplied the most important mathematical methods for scientific development. Basing his theory of rigid body mechanics on Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, Newton sum¬ marized the law governing the motion of matter in general and advanced the law of universal gravitation.

China lagged

far behind foreign countries in the study of natural sciences in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Li Shanlan’s translations and articles were of great significance in the history of develop¬ ment of modern science in China. A mathematician of con¬ siderable stature, he arrived independently at the funda¬ mental concept of calculus in his works. His stress on the im¬ portance of an objective study of nature in contradistinction to wishful thinking shows his scientific, materialist approach. Li’s contemporaries included Hua Hengfang (1833-1902), who wrote a 23-juan work on mathematics *knd translated more than 60 juan of works on algebra, trigonometi'y, calculus, the theory of probability and so on, and Xu Shou (1818-84) who was well versed in physics, chemistry and mechanics. Together with Hua Hengfang, Xu Shou compiled and trans¬ lated many scientific works. The two also built a 50-foot-long

465

timber steamboat, the Yellow Crane, which could cover more than 20 kilometres an hour. This was the first steamboat ever built by the Chinese. Around 1875, Xu Shou founded the Academy of Natural Sciences in Shanghai and gave demon¬ strations of chemical activity in laboratory experiments. He was a pioneer in propagating modern chemistry in China. A • firm materialist, Xu was opposed to superstitious beliefs and adhered to the principle of “enlightening students by experi¬ ments and demonstration of facts”. Though a few outstanding scientists appeared in China in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, they exerted little influence since semi-colonial and semi-feudal China had no developed modern industries to sustain their efforts. More¬ over, they were hampered ideologically by China’s feudal culture.

Foreign Aggression and China’s Border Crises

The last few decades of the nineteenth century saw a transition to imperialism in major capitalist countries. These countries were locked in an increasingly acute struggle over markets, sources of raw materials and areas for capital invest¬ ment in colonies and the territories of other countries. The Far East was a bone of contention. The United States, Japan, Britain, Russia, France and Germany extended their aggres¬ sion to China’s vast border regions, creating a critical situation. The United States had long coveted Taiwan. On the pretext that the crew of the Rover, a wrecked ship, had been killed in Taiwan, it sent warships to invade the island and landed its troops in Langqiao (present Hengchun) on the southwest tip of the island in 1867. The native Gaoshan people drove the invaders away. In 1874, encouraged by the United States, Japan invaded Taiwan with 3,000 troops. The local people, both Gaoshans

�466

and Hans, resisted the aggressors from strategic positions. The Japanese invaders suffered casualties and were unable to advance further. Through the “mediation” of the U.S. and Britain, however, the corrupt Qing government agreed to pay the Japanese 500,000 taels of silver as indemnity as a condi¬ tion for them to withdraw. From the 60s to the 70s, Britain constantly sent men to Tibet for espionage in the guise of travellers or explorers. When Emperor Guang Xu succeeded Emperor Tong Zhi in 1875, the British interpreter Augustus Raymond Margary, at the head of 200 armed men, crossed China’s southwest border and intruded into Yunnan Province from Burma. When the local Jingpo people tried to stop them, Margary opened fire, and the Chinese killed Margary and drove out the invaders. Seizing this excuse, Britain forced on the Qing court the 1876 Agreement of Chefoo which stipulated that Britain could send men to Yunnan to “investigate” trade, or to India from China’s hinterland via Tibet or back from India by the same route. This opened the way for Britain to enter Yunnan and Tibet. After the signing of the Agreement of Chefoo, Britain sent people to Tibet for aggression. The Tibetans and some local officials refused them entry. In 1888, Britain launched an aggressive war against Tibet, but met with stubborn resistance from the Tibetan army and civilians. More than a hundred of the aggressor troops were killed or wounded. The corrupt Qing government, however, forbade the Tibetan people to resist the invaders who continued with their aggression. In 1890, the Qing government negotiated with Britain on the border issue and signed the Sikkim-Tibet Convention. In 1893, the Qing government agreed to Britain’s request to open a trading city in Tibet, and British influence infiltrated Tibet as a result. vWhile the United States and Japan landed their troops in Taiwan and Britain made inroads on China’s southwestern frontier, Russia extended its aggression to Xinjiang. In 1865, Yakub Beg, an army officer from Khohand in Central Asia,

467

took advantage of internal strife in Xinjiang to occupy Kaxgar. By 1870, Yakub Beg had occupied most of the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. Since Britain and Russia both had plans for extending their influence to Xinjiang, they were in fierce competition over collaboration with Beg. In 1871, Russia sent troops to occupy the Ili region and imposed colonial rule on the people of different nationalities there. Aggression perpetrated by Russia and Beg stiffened the Xinjiang people’s resistance, who organized themselves for struggle in anticipation of Qing government action to restore the lost territories. In 1876 the Qing government ordered Zuo Zongtang to lead an army into Xinjiang. With the people of the different ethnic minorities arming themselves and fighting in co-ordination with the Qing army, the Beg bandits were eventually vanquished, and the lost territories were recovered in early 1878. However, the Russians remained in occupation of the Ili area. The Qing government repeatedly made representations to the Russian government, demanding the return of Ili. Russia refused and instead advanced a series of unreasonable re¬ quests. In February 1881, it forced the Qing government to sign the unequal Treaty of St. Petersburg. Though China re¬ covered Ili as a result, it lost large tracts of territory west of the Khorgos River. Through this and other boundary treaties concluded later, Russia exacted more than 70,000 square kilo¬ metres of territory and enormous political and economic pre¬ rogatives from China. After concluding the Treaty of St. Petersburg, Russia further intensified its encroachment upon China’s Pamir area. In 1892, violating the 1884 “protocol on the Sino-Russian boundary in the Kaxgar region”, a treaty on the Sino-Russian boundary in the Pamir area, Russia occupied more than 20,000 square kilometres of Chinese territory west of the Sarykol Range. The Qing government declared explicitly that it would not yield its sovereignty over territories in the Pamirs which were situated beyond the positions occupied at the time by the

�468

Chinese troops. However, in 1895 Russia and Britain conclud¬ ed an agreement and partitioned between themselves China’s Pamir territories west of the Sarykol Range. In the mid-nineteenth century, France followed its occupa¬ tion of the southern part of Viet Nam with invasion of the north. Using Viet Nam as a foothold, it made inroads into China. The Black Flag Army, a former peasant rebel force led by Liu Yongfu, active on the Sino-Vietnamese border and the middle section of the Honghe River, fought in co-operation with the Vietnamese army and civilians against the French invaders, and repeatedly repulsed their advance. However, China’s military and diplomatic power was then in the hands of Li Hongzhang who only knew how to appease the aggres¬ sors and who had time and again yielded to them. His ap¬ peasement only encouraged the French colonialists and the flames of war spread to China. In August 1884, France used warships to attack Jilong Fort, Taiwan, and landed its troops on the island. The Taiwan garrison troops counter-attacked, killing and wounding more than a hundred of the invading troops and driving away the rest. The routed French invaders turned to attack Fuzhou, Fujian. The administrative officials in Fujian, abiding by Li Hongzhang’s policy, made no preparations against attack and went so far as to forbid the Fujian Squadron under penalty of death to fire at the enemy. When the French warships bombarded the Chinese squadron, it acted in a hurry; some of its warships were hit and sunk even before weighing anchor. The Chinese officers and crew faced up to the enemy under very unfavourable conditions. The flag ship Yangwu, though badly damaged by enemy cannonade, hit the enemy flag ship with its stern gun and killed many^of the enemy. The Zhenwei came under crossfire and was pierbed through by enemy cannon balls, its bow and stern all aflame. Still the ship’s company fought to the end and just before submerging fired a last cannon at a French ship, seriously wounding its captain and some of its crew. The Fuxing engaged the enemy

469

ships in their midst and repeatedly gunned the enemy flag ship with unerring aim. Its company fought courageously and died heroically when the armoury was hit and exploded. In the sea battle, nine of the eleven ships of the Fujian Squadron were sunk and more than 700 officers and crew members died or were wounded. This revealed the worth¬ lessness of the “regeneration” policy of the Westernization group. The Chinese people were incensed by the French aggres¬ sion. In the coastal areas, struggles against French aggression culminated in the destruction of churches and expulsion of missionaries. Overseas Chinese pledged their support by con¬ tributions of money to the popular movements at home, while Chinese workers in Hong Kong went on strike in protest. In October of the same year, French warships once again invaded Taiwan. Meeting with resistance from the Taiwan army and civilians, they suffered a serious defeat at Danshui, northwestern Taiwan; dozens of the invaders died or were wounded and the rest beat a hasty retreat to the sea. In March 1885, French warships again harassed Zhenhai, Zhejiang, but were repulsed by Chinese garrison troops there. While invading Zhejiang, the French aggressors also at¬ tacked Zhennanguan Pass (present Youyiguan Pass), Guangxi, on the Sino-Vietnamese border. General Feng Zicai, who was then nearly 70, led his men to the front, deployed his forces and saw to the building of the defence works there, in prep¬ aration for the coming battle. Near the end of March, French troops charged at the long defence wall on the Chinese side of the battlefield, and some leaped over it. Feng Zicai, a spear in hand, appeared from behind the wall to fight the invaders. His men, inspired by their commander’s courage, plunged into the enemy ranks and engaged them in hand-to-hand fight. Faced with local people of the Zhuang, Yao, Bai, Yi and Han nationalities and more than 1,000 Vietnamese people joining in the battle, the French troops were defeated and fled. General Feng followed this victory with a hot pursuit and

�

470

the French invaders self-admittedly suffered “a disastrousdefeat”. When news

of the

defeat

reached

Paris,

the

French

cabinet resigned, and France found itself in political and military chaos. The situation was favourable for Chinese re¬ sistance to French aggression.

Nonetheless, the Qing govern¬

ment negotiated cease-fire terms with the aggressors despite its

own winning

position.

In April

1885,

James

Duncan

Campbell, a British customs commissioner, signed on behalf of the Qing government a cease-fire agreement with the French government in Paris. In June, Li Hongzhang and a French delegate signed the Treaty of Tientsin which stipulat¬ ed that France could open trading cities in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces bordering on Viet Nam and that China was obliged to consult France if it wished to build railways there. The gate to China’s Southwest was thus further opened to aggression.

The Sino-Japanese War and Imperialist Partition of China

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 was launched by Japan to annex Korea and extend Japanese influence into China. Japan had invaded Korea on several occasions since the 1870s, and exacted from it privileges in regard to trading and stationing troops there, turning Korea gradually into its semi¬ colony. The United States helped Japan to invade Korea and Britain also abetted Japanese aggression; since? Japanese and Russian interests in East Asia were often in collision, Britain supported Japan in order to counter Russia. A large-scale peasant uprising occurred in Korea in the spring of 1894. Panic-stricken, the Korean feudal rulers ap¬ pealed to the Qing government to send troops and help it

471

suppress the revolt. Taking advantage of the strife in Korea, Japan deployed nearly all its naval force and more than 10,000 infantry at Seoul and around Inchun. When 1,500 Chinese troops reached Asan in June, the uprising had already subsid¬ ed. The Qing government proposed to Japan that both coun¬ tries withdraw their troops from Korea. Japan refused, however, saying that it was helping Korea in its internal reform. Towards the end of July, the Japanese fleet near Pong Island off Asan suddenly attacked Chinese warships, sinking a transport ship leased from Britain and causing the deaths of more than 700 Chinese soldiers on board. Then the Japanese army attacked the Chinese army at Asan, forcing it to retreat to Pyongyang. On September 15, the Japanese mustered a strong force and stormed Pyongyang, but the Chinese troops supported by the Korean people fought back. Commander Zuo Baogui of field headquarters mounted the city wall to give orders and was killed at his post. General Ye Zhichao on the other hand carried out Li Hongzhang’s non-resistance policy, fleeing from Pyongyang and crossing the Yalu River in the latter half of September. Two days after the battle of Pyongyang, the Beiyang Fleet under the command of Admiral Ding Ruchang fought a fierce battle with the Japanese fleet on the Yellow Sea. Inexperienced at sea battle, the Beiyang Fleet was sur¬ rounded by Japanese warships, but it fought courageously. Captain Deng Shichang of the Zhiyuan intended to dash his badly damaged ship at the enemy Yoshino, but the Zhiyuan was sunk by an enemy torpedo, and Deng and two hundred of the ship’s company lost their lives. When Captain Lin Yongsheng of the Jingyuan died in the battle, the other of¬ ficers and crew fought on until the ship submerged. The battle lasted five hours. Five ships were lost on the Chinese side, and the Japanese flag ship Matsushima was also badly damag¬ ed. After the battle, Li Hongzhang instructed the Beiyang Fleet to anchor in Weihaiwei Harbour and not to engage

�472

OUTLINE HISTORY OP CHINA

the enemy under any circumstances.

As a result, the fleet

could only wait in harbour for its doom. At the end of October, the Japanese army began a doublepronged invasion of China: one force was to cross the Yalu River and capture Jiulian and Andong (present Dandong, Liaoning); the other was to land troops at Liaodong Peninsula, occupy Jinzhou, and eventually take Dalian and Lushun. The people of Shengjing (present Liaoning Province) rose up in arms against Japanese invasion. When the Japanese attacked Xiuyan, local coal-miners joined with peasants from dozens of villages to offer resistance against aggression. They killed and wounded many of the enemy. Peasants from around Liaoyang repulsed four successive advances by the enemy within a month, and the people of Lushun similarly refused to submit to the enemy’s slaughter. In mid-January 1895, the Japanese landed on the Shandong Peninsula, assaulting the Weihaiwei Harbour from behind and blockading its entrance. Attacked from both front and back, the Beiyang Fleet was paralyzed, and in February was completely destroyed. The enemy troops that entered from Korea occupied Niuzhuang, Yingkou and other places. Panicstricken, the Qing government sued for peace. This defeat proved that the new policy of Westernization could not make China independent and prosperous. In March 1895, Li Hongzhang, accompanied by his American advisor John Watson Foster, negotiated peace with Japan at Shimonoseki. Browbeaten by Japan and the United States, he signed the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki, which stipulated that China was to cede to Japan the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands;1 pay an indemnity of 200 million taels of silver; open Shashi, Chpngqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou to foreign trade; and give Japan the right to open factories in all trading cities. The occupation of the 1 Taiwan was proclaimed a province by the Qing government in October 1885, with the affiliated islands and the Penghu Islands under its jurisdiction.

473

Liaodong Peninsula by Japan on the conclusion of the treaty prevented Russia from extending its influence in the Northeast. It therefore aligned with France and Germany to request that China “redeem” the Liaodong Peninsula from Japan with 30 million taels of silver. The Treaty of Shimonoseki marked a new stage of foreign aggression in China. The provisions that allowed foreign powers to invest in factories in China satisfied their urgent need to export capital. China’s status as a semi-colony was further confirmed. However, the Chinese people were indignant over the treaty. They condemned the crimes of the aggressors, denounc¬ ed the Qing government for its treasonable conduct, opposed the cession of Taiwan and payment of indemnity and demanded resistance to aggression. When the news of the annexation of Taiwan reached the island province, the Taibei people beat gongs and stopped business in protest. They posted denuncia¬ tions pledging to execute traitors like Li Hongzhang and others. The local gentry sent telegrams to the Qing court op¬ posing the cession of territories. In May, the Japanese army landed in Jilong, on the north end of Taiwan. The governor, Tang Jingsong, fled back to the mainland and Taibei was lost without so much as a shot. The local Han and Gaoshan people organized themselves into a volunteer army headed by Xu Xiang and others. Together with the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu who now com¬ manded the Taiwan garrison, they put up a defence at Xinzhu, Taizhong and Zhanghua. The defence of Zhanghua was the largest engagement with the main enemy force, which suffered heavy casualties, but the Chinese volunteers and the Black Flag Army also sustained heavy losses. During the fighting near Tainan in October, Japanese marines landed near Tainan and entered the battle in support of the Japanese infantry, while the Chinese garrison troops had to fight single-handed. With their supplies exhausted and no reinforcements, they eventually lost the city. In their defence of the island the army

�474

and civilians inflicted 30,000 casualties on the enemy in less than five months, and during the half century of Japanese occupation, the various nationalities in Taiwan continued their unremitting resistance. After the conclusion of the SinoJapanese War, Britain, Russia, the United States, Japan, France and Germany competed for bigger shares in the partition of China. The imperialist partition of China occurred at the time when the chief capitalist countries reached the stage of im¬ perialism. In addition to dumping merchandise and seizing raw materials, the powers were also in competition in investing capital in China. They also lent money to the Qing government and opened more banks, including the French Banque de l’lndo-Chine, the Russo-Chinese Bank and later the U.S. International Banking Corporation. They opened up factories, built railways and operated mines, monopolizing and con¬ trolling Chinese finance and economy. The imperialist powers also grabbed ‘’'leased land” and divided China into spheres of influence. In November 1897, Germany supported by Russia sent troops to occupy Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong. In 1898, there was a series of moves by imperialist powers to capture seaports and claim spheres of influence in China. Germany leased Jiaozhou Bay and obtain¬ ed the right to build two railways in Shandong as well as to open up mines within 15 kilometres along them, making Shandong its sphere of influence. Russia had in 1896 forced the Qing government to sign the Contract for the Construction and Work of the Chinese Eastern Railway, gaining the right to build the Chinese Eastern Railway in Heilongjiang and Jilin. Now it leased Lushun and Dalian, thereby obtaining at the same time the right to construct and manage a branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway to Dalian. The Northeast, there¬ fore, became its sphere of influence. France took Guangzhou Bay (present Zhanjiang area, Guangdong) on lease, claimed the right of building a railway from Viet Nam to Yunnan, and demanded that Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi not be ceded

475

to any third country, so that the three provinces constituted a French sphere of influence, Britain had for sometime taken the Changjiang valley as its sphere of influence. Now it leased the Kowloon Peninsula and the Weihaiwei Harbour to offset French and Russian influence as well as to maintain a dominant position in the Changjiang valley. In addition to appropriating Taiwan, Japan carved out Fujian as its sphere of influence. While the other imperialist powers were staking out their spheres of influence in China, the United States was engaged in preparations for war against Spain over the Philippines and missed its opportunity. It therefore advanced in 1899 the “open-door” policy, which recognized the spheres of influence of the different powers and their privileges in China, and re¬ quested the powers to open their leased land and spheres of influence to the United States, which would thus share equal benefits and opportunities. Britain was the first to agree; the other powers followed suit.

The United States then expanded

its aggression in China. The violent contention between the powers brought China closer to dismemberment, and posed an unprecedentedly grave crisis for the whole nation.

The Modernization Movement of the Bourgeois Reformists

Defeat in the war against Japan and the serious crisis of partition by imperialists awakened the Chinese people. In 1898, bourgeois reformists initiated a modernization movement for reform and national revival. A wave of factory establishment swept the whole country after the Sino-Japanese War, with the result that na¬ tional capitalism began to thrive in China. Between 1895 and 1898, more than 50 enterprises, including textile mills, filatur¬ es, flour mills and other light industries, were established by

�476

OUTLINE HISTORY

OF

CHINA

Chinese merchants, their capital of about 12 million yuan ex¬ ceeding the total Chinese investments in the twenty years prior to the Sino-Japanese War. The influence of the national bourgeoisie grew. The most powerful element in this class was its upper stratum which was composed mainly of former of¬ ficials, former landlords and rich merchants who had close ties with the imperialists and feudal forces. They wanted to develop capitalism as a means of averting the national crisis and chose the reformist road of institutional change and modernization. The reformism of the 1870s and 80s, which aimed at chang¬ ing China’s status quo, grew into a popular political move¬ ment after the Sino-Japanese War. At the head of this move¬ ment were the bourgeois reformists

Kang Youwei, Liang

Qichao, Yan Fu and Tan Sitong, who advocated an institutional reform and modernization in China, and were hence known as the modernization group. Kang Youwei (1858-1927), from Nanhai, Guangdong, peti¬ tioned Emperor Guang Xu in 1888 for reform. When the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed in 1895, he led 1,300 scholars who had passed the provincial examination and were now in Beijing for the metropolitan examination to submit a memorial to the emperor, opposing the treaty and requesting immediate political reform. Kang Youwei maintained that the basis for reform and modernization was the substitution of bourgeois constitutional monarchy for feudal autocracy. His works A Study of the Forged Classics and An Inquiry into Confucius’ Reform supplied a theoretical basis for reformism. He blended Western evolutionism with the Confucian idea of the “Triple World”, alleging that a society invariably develop¬ ed along a sequence of chaos, peace and eventually “great harmony”. Current Chinese society, governed by aQ autocratic monarchy, he contended, was in the stage of chaos. To attain great harmony, the social system of a bourgeois democratic republic, it was imperative to reform first the chaotic world and set up the peaceful world of a constitutional monarchy.

477

His idea of historical evolution was progressive in combating feudal conservatism at the time. Though Kang’s memorial was intercepted and failed to reach the emperor, his activities produced a great impact on society at large. He himself as a result became a well-known leader of the reformist group. Hereafter he sent in memorial after memorial, reiterating his proposal for reform. He urged the Qing government, in order to avert the national crisis, to replace feudal autocracy with constitutional monarchy, encourage civilians to establish modern industries, develop national capitalism, abrogate the civil service examination system of selecting officials through the stereotyped “eight¬ legged essay” writing and encourage the study of Western bourgeois culture. Both the diehard clique in the court headed by Empress Dowager Ci Xi and the Westernization group res¬ olutely upheld the feudal order in opposition to any political reform. Kang Youwei’s petitions were intercepted by them and failed to reach the emperor. Nevertheless, the petitions appear¬ ed in printed pamphlets and were widely read by the public. In August 1895, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao published in Beijing the Zhong Wai Ji Wen (World Bulletin), a paper published every other day reporting on current affairs and call¬ ing for reform. In September they formed the Qiang Xue Hui (Learn-to-Be-Strong Society), which gave regular lectures and published and distributed books and periodicals recommend¬ ing Western learning, also known as new learning to China. (Western learning here refers to European bourgeois democratic culture, including socio-ideology, sciences and technology, recommended to China in the mid-nineteenth century by progressive Chinese intellectuals.) In this way, the Qiang Xue Hui, moulded public opinion and accumulated strength for reform. A branch society was organized in Shanghai, which put out the Qiang Xue Bao, a paper published every five days. In the court, the conflict between Emperor Guang Xu’s faction and that of Empress Dowager Ci Xi in¬ tensified. Weng Tonghe, Grand Minister of the Privy Council

�478

and Minister of the Board of Revenue, and others who rallied round Emperor Guang Xu supported the Qiang Xue Hui, While the feudal diehards and the Westernization group at¬ taching themselves to Empress Dowager Ci Xi attacked the other faction in force. Subsequently, the Qiang Xue Hui and its Shanghai branch were forced to disband and the Zhong Wai Ji Wen and Qiang Xue Bao were banned at the beginning of 1896. However, discussion of current affairs had become widespread: the tide of reform was surging forward irreversi¬ bly. From 1896 to 1898, more than 300 study societies, modern schools and newspapers mushroomed in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhili, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi. Among the most influential were the Shi Wu Bao (Contemporary Affairs) in Shanghai under the editorship of Liang Qichao, the Nan Xue Hui (Southern Society) and the Shi Wu Tang (School for Con¬ temporary Learning) founded by Tan Sitong in Hunan, and the Guo Wen Bao (National News) in Tianjin edited by Yan Fu. Liang Qichao (1873-1929), from Xinhui, Guangdong, was Kang Youwei’s student and close collaborator. His “Exposition on Institutional Reform” published in Shi Wu Bao advocated institutional reform and the doctrine of popular rights. This article exerted great influence at the time. Yan Fu (1854-1921) from Houguan, Fujian, had studied in England and had a relatively comprehensive understanding of the socio-political doctrines of the Western bourgeoisie. After the Sino-Japanese War, he translated Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, adding to the translated version some of his own interpretations. He laid great emphasis on such biological evolutionist ideas as “organic evolution and natural selection” and “the victory of the strong over the weak”. He believed in social development — “the ways of the world improve invariably and posterity will be better than its predecessor”. These ideas became powerful weapons against the ossified ideas of the feudal diehards and stimulated people’s demand for institutional reform and na¬ tional revival. Yan Fu also wrote A Refutation of Han Yu

479

and other articles, in which he criticized feudal monarchy on the basis of Western concepts of popular rights. He pointed out that according to the principle of the social division of labour, the king should be elected by the whole populace and be recalled by them if necessary. He denounced all the Chi¬ nese emperors from the Qin Dynasty down as “arch usurpers of state power”. Tan Sitong (1865-98), from Liuyang, Hunan, wrote On Benevolence, in which he called for the breaking off of all feudal trammels, censured feudal ethics, denounced all emperors as “despots and traitors to the

people” and

characterized autocratic monarchy as rule by bandits. None¬ theless, like Yan Fu, he did not call for the abrogation of monarchism, believing in the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. To propagate the need for institutional reform,

Liang

Qichao advocated changes in literary style. In his own essays, which were clear, fluent, colloquial and easy to understand, he broke away from the classical style, and created what was known as “the new style”. Liang Qichao, Tan Sitong and others also launched a “poetry revolution”, demanding that poetry mirror current political and social reality without violating the traditional poetic style. On this score, Huang Zunxian (1848-1905), from Jiaying (present Meixian), Guangdong, broke fresh ground. He was opposed to treading in the ancients’ footsteps, holding that poetry should express one’s own ideas and feelings. His poems described foreign lands and people and gave expression to new ideology and culture, opening a new and wide range of subject matter in poetry. More importantly, he wrote many poems in ordinary language and with great feeling during the wars against aggression, especially the Sino-Japanese War. The most widely recited was the “Ballad of Taiwan” which opposed the cession of Taiwan, with lines such as the following: All pledge to die resisting the foe, The people united are indomitable.

�480

The grave situation brought about by Germany’s annexa¬ tion of Jiaozhou Bay aroused popular anger at the corruption of the Qing court. Kang Youwei once again petitioned the emperor, pointing out that only institutional reform could avert the danger of partition and restrain the popular re¬ bellious activities that threatened Qing rule. To avert national crisis, free himself from Empress Dowager Ci Xi’s clutches and seize real power, Emperor Guang Xu instructed Kang Youwei to plan the reform. In January 1898 Kang presented his “Memorial on Policy Concerning the General Situation”, asking the emperor to use his imperial authority to carry out institutional reform, bring the reformists into the government, and reform the political system by establishing a constitutional monarchy which would in effect be based on the alliance of the bourgeoisie and the landlord class. In April Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others organized the Bao Guo Hui (Protectthe-Country Society) in Beijing and sponsored the establish¬ ment of branches at provincial, prefectural and county levels. They gave lectures to the society, adopting the slogan “protect the state, the race and the teaching (Confucianism)”. The call for institutional reform reached a new high. On June 11, 1898, Emperor Guang Xu declared an institu¬ tional reform, appointed Kang Youwei reform counsellor and Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui and Lin Xu to help in the Privy Council on matters relating to institutional reform. In the 103 days from June 11 to September 21, the reformists, on the authority of the emperor, issued a series of decrees to effect institutional reform. This is known in history as the Hundred Day Reform. The main features of the reform edicts were: to set up a bureau of agriculture, industry and commerce to protect and encourage industry and commerce; to establish a bureau of mines and railways to construct railwayk'and extract ores; to reform the administrative organs and dismiss unneces¬ sary staffs; to reform the civil service examination system and abolish the stereotyped “eight-legged essay”; to establish a modern school system for the study of Western learning; to

481

permit the publication of newspapers and founding of study societies; to encourage the expression of opinions through memorials to the throne; and to encourage new inventions. There was no mention whatsoever in these measures of instituting a parliament or adopting a constitution, or of any other act that might lead to substantial political changes. They -were only a few changes in the original system, favourable to the further development of national capitalism. Nonetheless, the diehards and the Westernization group frustrated the re¬ formists in their attempt to effect the new policies. Among the provincial officials, only the governor of Hunan supported the reform. The struggle between the reformists and their opposition was very acute. Three days after the reform edict was issued, Empress Dowager Ci Xi compelled the emperor to dismiss Weng Tonghe, the Grand Minister of the Privy Council, from all his other posts, and appointed her trust¬ ed follower Ronglu as Viceroy of Zhili and Supreme Com¬ mander of the Beiyang Army. In this way she took control over both Beijing and Tianjin, and awaited the opportunity to destroy the reform movement. In early September, the two cities were full of rumours that Ci Xi and Ronglu were con¬ spiring to coerce the emperor to abdicate during a military review in Tianjin. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Emperor Guang Xu secretly instructed Kang Youwei and his group to devise plans against the conspiracy. As the reformists did not rely on the masses, they had no real strength. And at this critical juncture, they thought they could rely on Yuan Shikai’s army, kill Ronglu during the military review, and avert the crisis. Yuan Shikai had organized and trained a modem army in Xiaozhan (near Tianjin), which was the embryo of the later Beiyang warlord army, and was Ronglu’s trusted subordinate. But as a skilled political opportunist he was also a member of the Learning-to-Be-Strong Society. When Tan Sitong paid him a secret visit he was very eloquent in his support but after the visit, he immediately informed Ronglu about the secrets of the reformists.

On September 21,

�

482

Empress Dowager Ci Xi staged a coup d’etat, imprisoned Emperor Guang Xu and arrested the reformist leaders. The reform movement ended in defeat. During the movement, the reformists harboured the illu¬ sion that the imperialist powers would help them. At that time, Britain, the United States, and Japan were in frequent conflict with

Russia,

and

since the

latter supported

the

Empress Dowager, the former tried to befriend the emperor and

the

reformists

in

order

to

counter

their

common

adversary. The reformists were also in favour of contacting Britain and Japan to enlist their support. After the coup d’etat, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped abroad with the help of Britain and Japan.

Tan Sitong was unwilling to

escape, saying: “No country in the world as yet has had a successful reform without blood being shed. In China no one has ever heard of someone shedding blood for the sake of reform. If this will happen now, let it begin with me.” At the end of September, Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui, Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu

and

Kang

Guangren

(Kang

Youwei’s

brother) were executed, and the officials who had supported the reform were dismissed. All of the new policies were abolished, except the establishment of a Metropolitan College. With their hopes of changing existing conditions in China to ward off a national crisis and enable China to develop capitalism through a political reform, the bourgeois reformists were progressive in the given historic conditions of their time. Their promotion of the new learning proved to be a heavy blow to the rule of feudal ideology. However, the reformists were completely alienated from the masses and even attempt¬ ed to counter the popular revolutionary movement through reform. They were opposed to a revolution to bring radical changes to China, believing that reform from the top down through the authority of a feudal emperor would make China a strong capitalist country. Moreover, they were under the illusion that if China would only learn from the West the

483

imperialist powers would give up their aggressive schemes. All this determined their inevitable defeat.

The Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Movement of the Yi He Tuan

The year following the defeat of the reform movement saw the outbreak of the Yi He Tuan movement (known to the West as the Boxers), which was mainly composed of peasants and which had international repercussions. It was the product of intensified foreign aggression and an unprecedentedly grave national disaster, and was a development of the struggle against the imperialist partition of China following the SinoJapanese War. It was also the culmination of decades of popular upheavals all over the country against aggression per¬ petrated by the missionaries and churches. The movement originated in Shandong. In 1899, the section of the Yi He Tuan led by Zhu Hongdeng rose in armed revolt in the northwestern part of Shandong. The insurgents destroy¬ ed churches and drove away the missionaries and defeated the Qing army which was sent to suppress them. Other con¬ tingents of the Yi He Tuan rose in response, and the move¬ ment gained enormous momentum. The rapid development of the Yi He Tuan anti-imperialist and patriotic movement frightened the aggressors. The United States and the British plenipotentiaries in Beijing pressed the Qing government to crush it. They even compelled the Qing government to replace the governor of Shandong with Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai led 7,000 men of his New Army from Zhili to Shandong and, in collaboration with the local armed forces, ruthlessly suppressed the insurgents. In early 1900, part of the Yi He Tuan insurgent army moved from Shandong to Zhili and merged with the local Yi He Tuan to form a stronger force. In May, one of its detachments occupied Zhuozhou (about 50 kilometres to the southwest of Beijing), threatening

�484

the capital; another detachment manoeuvred near Tianjin, trying to gain entrance to the city. The Yz He Tuan’s struggle against aggression won support from the whole country and people joined up with great enthusiasm. Its flag was hoisted in many of the townships and villages of Zhili. However, with people from the landlord class joining in the movement at its high tide, including even con¬ servative members of the gentry and small or medium land¬ lords who had old grievances against the churches, the com¬ position of the insurgent army grew more and more complicat¬ ed. These people whipped up retrogressive tendencies such as general xenophobia and rejection of modern industry, science and technology, which were inherent in a peasant army. The momentum of the Yi He Tuan movement shocked the Qing court, which then sought to use it to its own advantage. At that time, the Qing government was at loggerheads with the foreign aggressors. Empress Dowager Ci Xi bore a grudge to Britain and Japan for allowing Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to continue their activities abroad and opposeing her plan of dethroning Emperor Guang Xu. After formulating secret plans, the Qing court decided to recognize the legal status of the Yi He Tuan and covertly agreed to its entry into the capital. The combination of the local Beijing movement and the newcomers greatly magnified the influence of the Yi He Tuan movement. Thousands of the urban populace, including even Manchu and Han soldiers in the Qmg army, flocked to join the Yi He Tuan within a matter of a few days. They set fire to churches in Beijing, attacked the foreign aggressors and held continuous demonstrations in the streets. At the same time, the Yz He Tuan detachment that was active around Tianjin entered the city, exercised administrative functions in some areas of the city and struggled^against the foreign aggressors there. The expansion of the Yz He Tuan movement in Beijing and Tianjin encouraged the people of the whole country. Soon the movement spread from Shandong and Zhili to other

485

northern provinces — Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Inner Mongolia, and even to the northeastern provinces. Before long, mass action against the aggression of the churches flared up in the southern provinces as well, echoing the movement in the north. Anti-imperialist upheavals swept the country. To crush the Yi He Tuan, the imperialist powers joined forces and launched a war of aggression against China. In June 1900, Britain, Russia, Japan, the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Austria organized an army of 2,000 men, which landed at Dagu, a harbour on Bohai Bay some 60 kilometres to the southeast of Tianjin, and advanced towards Beijing under the pretext of “rescuing the envoys”. The insurgents and the Qing army engaged the aggressors in a battle at Luofa and Langfang, about 50 kilometres to the southeast of Beijing, causing heavy casualties to the enemy troops. The allied army retreated hastily to the foreign settle¬ ment in Tianjin. At this time, the foreign warships off Dagu Harbour at¬ tacked and occupied Dagu Fort under the command of a Rus¬ sian naval officer. More invading troops landed at Dagu and advanced towards Tianjin. As soon as the 2,000 Russian troops arrived at the Tianjin railway station, they fired cannon at the Yi He Tuan positions. The joint forces of the Yi He Tuan insurgents and the Qing army led by Cao Futian killed and wounded more than 500 Russians, winning a splendid victory. Another contingent of joint forces led by Zhang Decheng beleaguered the foreign settlement in Tianjin. The Red Lantern Detachment, composed mainly of young women, also took part in the battle. In Beijing, the foreign officials and troops in the Legation Quarter provoked the Yi He Tuan insurgents and shot Chinese inhabitants at sight. This roused the indignation of the Chi¬ nese civilians and the Qing troops. On June 20, the Chinese joint forces laid siege to the foreign legations to strike at the aggressors. They broke through the enemy defence lines, kill¬ ing and wounding enormous numbers of enemy troops.

�486

Bowing to the pressure of circumstances, the Qing court declared war on the imperialist powers on June 21, but this was no more than a devious trick. While rewarding the Yi He Tuan with silver and grain and praising its members as “righteous subjects”, the Qing court appointed officials as their commanding officers to lead them so as the better to cheat and control them, and at the same time surreptitiously engaged in capitulationist manoeuvres, getting ready to come to terms with the imperialists. Four days after the declaration of war, Empress Dowager Ci Xi decreed the lifting of the siege of the legations and preparations for truce talks. In late June, several thousand of additional foreign troops advanced towards Tianjin. The joint forces of the Yi He Tuan and part of the Qing army resisted the enemy, annihilating about 1,000 of them. However, some of the Qing army com¬ manders, carrying out secret orders from the Qing court, attacked the Yi He Tuan from behind. Fighting on two fronts against foreign and domestic counter-revolutionaries, the Yi He Tuan insurgents suffered terrible casualties.

Its strength

seriously sapped, it lost Tianjin on July 14. Even more eager to capitulate to the enemy now that Tian¬ jin had fallen, the Qing court sent envoys to the Legation Quar¬ ter to inquire after the well-being of the foreign diplomatic staff, saying that it was willing to apologize, pay an indem¬ nity and punish the culprits. The imperialists ignored these as they planned to extort greater gains from their aggression. On August 4, the 20,000-strong eight-power allied forces set out from Tianjin towards Beijing.

As the Yi He Tuan insurgent

army and part of the Qing army repulsed the enemy, the Qing court sent Li Hongzhang as plenipotentiary to'teue for peace. On August 14, the allied army occupied Beijingr*

Empress

Dowager Ci Xi fled to Xi’an, taking Emperor Guang Xu with her. On her way there, she instructed Li Hongzhang to beg the aggressors for a hasty peace, and decreed that local of¬ ficials should extirpate the Yi He Tuan. The allied forces on

487

their way from Tianjin to Beijing committed arson, murder, robbery and rape, razing entire villages. After they occupied Beijing, the troops were allowed to loot for three days in the capital.

They

plundered

and

destroyed

the

literary

and

artistic treasures of past dynasties and people’s property, and insulted and slaughtered the inhabitants. While joining in the allied army, Russia independently oc¬ cupied China’s Northeast.

In July 1900 when the Yi He Tuan

movement spread to the Northeast, Russia mustered 150,000 troops and invaded Heilongjiang, Jilin and Shengjing (present Liaoning) by several routes under the pretext of protecting the Chinese Eastern Railway.

By October, the whole of the

Northeast was under Russian control.

Everywhere the Rus¬

sian aggressors went, they set fire to people’s houses and plundered and murdered the inhabitants.

More than 7,000

people of Hailanpao and the sixty-four villages east of the Heilongjiang River were murdered, burned to death or drowned in the river. The ancient and historical city of Aihui (Aigun) was reduced to a heap of rubble. Lenin at the time denounced the Russian aggressors for “burning down whole villages, shooting, bayoneting, and drowning in the Amur River (Heilongjiang) unarmed inhabitants, their wives, and their children”.1 In face of the savage Russian aggression, the Yi He Tuan and people of various local minority nationalities in the Northeast launched an armed resistance against the invading enemy. The popular armed forces soon grew into a contingent 200,000 strong. With the motto “Resist the Russian bandits! Restore our lost territory!” they assaulted the enemy repeatedly, so that it could not relax its guard for a moment. The imperialist powers each strove against the other to seize the maximum gains from their aggression in China after

1 V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1960, Vol. 4, p. 374.

�488

the occupation of Beijing. The conflict between them became so acute that they were on the verge of an armed clash. Under such circumstances, they accepted the second “open-door’ policy put forward by the United States: to continue to main¬ tain Qing rule under Empress Dowager Ci Xi and outwardly guarantee China’s “territorial and administrative integrity”, while in reality setting up a condominium over China.

On

this basis, they opened peace negotiations with Li Hongzhang, forcing the International Protocol of 1901 on the Qing court in the ninth lunar month of 1901. By the terms of the unequal treaty, the Qing court would apologize to the powers and punish the officials who had “offended” them; pay an indem¬ nity of 450 million taels of silver by 39-year instalments which amounted to about a billion taels of silver with interest; allow the

imperialist powers to control China’s

maritime

customs and salt gabelle so as to provide for the payment of the indemnity; establish in Beijing a “legation quarter” where foreign troops were to be stationed and Chinese barred from residence; dismantle the fort at Dagu and allow foreign troops to be stationed in strategic areas along the railway line from Beijing to Tianjin and to Shanhaiguan; and ban forever any popular anti-imperialist activities under penalty of death. The protocol was a heavy manacle forced on the Chinese people, which further strengthened imperialist rule over China.

Em¬

press Dowager Ci Xi, however, was very satisfied with it, since it ensured the continuation of her dominance.

She declared

herself willing “to win the good graces of the powers, to the full extent of China’s resources”, and was fully determined to rule China as a faithful servant of imperialist powers. The momentous Yi He Tuan anti-imperialist and patriotic movement failed under the concerted suppression"-of the im¬ perialist powers and their flunkey, the Qing court. Never¬ theless, the tenacious struggle frustrated the foreign powers in their attempt to dismember China and demonstrated the potential strength of the Chinese people,

The Rise of the Bourgeois Revolutionary Movement

After the signing of the unequal International Protocol in 1901, the imperialist countries intensified their plunder and domination of China. In addition to continuing to establish factories in China, they further seized for themselves the right to open mines and gained control of China’s railways by means of direct investment and high-interest loans. The continued forfeiture of railways and mining rights became an extremely grave problem for China in the early twentieth century. The imperialist powers were engaged in fierce struggles in their contention for rights and interests in China, and the Northeast was the focus for their contention. After Russia invaded and occupied the Northeast, it nourished vain hopes of establishing a “yellow Russia” there and refused to with¬ draw its troops. Japan had long harboured ambitions in regard to this area and secured the support of the United States and Britain. In 1904, an imperialist war finally broke out between Russia and Japan on Chinese territory over their contention for China’s Northeast. In 1905, with the United States as mediator, they concluded a treaty for a division of the spoils, which provided that Russia should wholly “cede” to Japan its leased territories of Lushun and Dalian, the Changchun-Dalian (Southern Manchurian) railway and other related rights. When the conflict broke out, the Qing court proclaimed its “neutrality” and delineated the area east of the Liaohe River as the battlefield; after the war it recognized the spoils-sharing provisions of the treaty. Thus Russian influence withdrew to the northern part of the Northeast and Japanese influence penetrated the south. Since the latter half of the nineteenth century, Britain and Russia had been engaged in fierce contention over Tibet. At the end of 1903, taking advantage of Russian preoccupation in the Northeast, Britain launched an invasion of Tibet. The local Tibetan army and people resisted British aggression,

�490

putting up a particularly heroic defence at the battle of Gyangze (Gyantse) in southern Tibet. The British army occupied and looted Lhasa in August 1905, and in 1906 Britain forced the Qing court to sign an unequal treaty (Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet, 1906), opening Gyantse and Gartok as trading towns. The Qing court’s betrayal of the Yi He Tuan and its capitulation to the imperialist powers confronted its rule with serious difficulties. In 1901, the court promulgated some “institutional reforms” and for some years carried out a “new administration”. Some of the measures of the “new administration”, such as promoting national industry, abolishing the imperial examination system, establishing schools and sending students abroad, were for the purpose of mitigating the contradictions between the rulers and the na¬ tional bourgeoisie.

A major part of the “new administration”

was training troops and raising funds for their support. In 1903, a military training office was established in Beijing, and a reform of the military administration was undertaken. In 1905, an ambitious plan was drawn up for a national New Army of thirty-six zhen (garrisons or divisions). In the same year, a police department was set up and police were trained. All these measures aimed at strengthening its rule over the people. All items in the court’s “new administration” were financed by increasing old taxes and levies or adding new ones. Apart from this, the intention of the “new administration” was also to win further favour from the imperialist powers. In 1901, in accordance with the demands of the imperialist powers, the court changed the Zongli Yamen to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later, also answering to their needs, express provisions were made for the protection of foreign investment in building railways and opening mine's- in China. The aggression of the imperialist powers and the treachery and oppression of the Qing court brought increased hardship to the life of the labouring people. People in every part of the country staged an unremitting resistance. In 1902, peasant

491

uprisings in the Zhili Province raised anew the banner of “overthrow the Qing, destroy the foreigner”. On a larger scale were the armed uprisings of the Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yao and other nationalities in Guangxi, where the flames of battle raged throughout the whole province for altogether three years. The movement to restore rights and oppose imperial¬ ist control of railways and mines developed gradually after 1903. In 1905, in opposition to American imperialism’s maltreatment of Chinese migrant workers, a movement to boycott American goods swept the country. This movement, initiated by the national bourgeoisie, was also supported by workers, peasants, students and other urban residents. Spontaneous popular resistance increased rapidly after 1905. The records show that in 1909 there were more than 130 outbreaks of popular resistance in different regions, and the figure rose to over 290 in 1910. Struggles to resist taxes and levies and to seize rice were widespread throughout each province; two large-scale movements were the “rice raids” in Changsha,

Hunan,

and the anti-tax struggles in Laiyang,

Shandong. In 1910, there were floods and droughts in the Changjiang River basin, and the famine refugees of Hunan lived on bark and grass.

The gentry, landlords and Chinese

and foreign merchants took this opportunity to hoard grain for profiteering. Starving people from Changsha and surrounding districts demanded that local authorities reduce the price at which grain was sold, but their protest was crushed and dozens were killed or wounded. The starving people rose in force against the Qing army, and in the end tens of thou¬ sands were drawn into the movement. They raided grain shops and banks, burned down yamen and tax bureau, and smashed up consular residences, foreign firms and churches, pointing the spearhead of their struggle at the feudal rulers and im¬ perialist aggressors. Finally the court was forced to agree to official control of the sale of rice. In the same year, the peasants of Laiyang demanded that the rice stored in prepara¬ tion against disaster, which had been misappropriated by of-

�492

ficials and the gentry, be released to tide people over the famine and to pay taxes. Their demands were refused by the officials and their representatives arrested. Tens of thousands surrounded the county town of Laiyang and many fierce battles took place. The spontaneous resistance of the masses dealt a heavy blow against Qing feudal rule and at the same time promoted the development of the bourgeois democratic revolution. The anti-imperialist, anti-feudal Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution, in a strict sense, was started by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925, also known as Sun Wen or Sun Zhongshan) was born into a peasant family in the village of Cuiheng in Xiangshan, Guangdong Province (near Macao). As a teen-ager he went to Honolulu where he received a Western education. After he returned to China in 1885, he studied medicine in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and began to practise in Macao and Guangzhou. During this period he got to know some patriotic young men and secret society members who met regularly to assail the oppressive rule of the Qing court.

He had a strong admiration for the

Taiping Revolution, and called himself “Hong Xiuquan the Second”.

He was also influenced by reformist thinking.

In

1894, he wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang, hoping to see some capitalist reforms, but was met with rejection. Not long after this, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Sun Yat-sen felt that the crisis confronting the country was very grave, and considered that under Qing rule it would be impossible to make the country rich and powerful. The only way for national salvation was to take the path of revolution and over¬ throw Qing feudal rule. In November 1894, Sun Yat-sen assembled ‘many Chinese living in Honolulu to establish the Xing Zhong iftii (Society for the Revival of China), the first bourgeois revolutionary organization. The next year, he returned to Hong Kong and called together his comrades to establish the General Head¬ quarters of the Xing Zhong Hui. The Xing Zhong Hui put forth

493

in clear and definite terms the revolutionary aim of “estab¬ lishing a government for the people”. Immediately after its establishment, the Xing Zhong Hui prepared for an armed uprising, deciding to begin in Guang¬ zhou in 1895. But because the plan was leaked, the uprising was crushed before it began. Sun Yat-sen, under order of arrest by the Qing court, fled abroad. In Japan, Europe and America, he came into contact with many bourgeois revolu¬ tionary theories; he also developed a revolutionary organiza¬ tion and made preparations for another armed uprising. During the Yi He Tuan movement, the Xing Zhong Hui under Sun Yat-sen’s leadership took advantage of the opportunity to stage an armed uprising in Huizhou (Waichow), Guangdong. Within a fortnight its forces grew to over twenty thousand, and it repeatedly defeated the Qing army. Afterwards, under siege by superior forces, they ran out of ammunition and were cut off from aid, and the uprising was defeated. Sun Yat-sen did not lose heart but persevered in the revolutionary struggle, continuing to seek the path of national salvation. The initial development of Chinese capitalism took place in the early years of the twentieth century, as the middle and lower strata of the national bourgeoisie grew in strength. Thanks to the newly popular practice of going abroad to study and the opening of new schools at home, large numbers of in¬ tellectuals were trained for this class.

Learning from the

failure of the reformist movement and also from the peasants’ anti-imperialist patriotic movement, they began to feel that if the oppression of imperialism and feudalism were to be cast off, they would have to overthrow Qing rule. At home and abroad they organized many revolutionary groups, published newspapers and magazines, and spread bourgeois democratic revolutionary ideas. Shanghai and Tokyo were the centres of their activities. The influence of Zhang Taiyan in the area of propaganda was very great. Zhang Taiyan (1869-1936), also known as Zhang Binglin, was from Yuhang in Zhejiang. At that time,

�494

reformists like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao had fled abroad, but they adhered to their reformist ideas, promoting constitutional monarchy and opposing revolution. In 1903 Zhang Binglin published his famous “Letter in Refutation of Kang Youwei’s Views on Revolution” in the newspaper Su Bao (Jiangsu News), denouncing the mistaken notion spread by Kang Youwei that “China must have a constitution, but we cannot have revolution”. Pointing out that only through revolution can democratic freedom be attained, Zhang Taiyan expressed clearly the bourgeois democratic revolutionary viewpoint. In the same year, Zou Rong, a young man still in his teens, published in Shanghai his pamphlet The Revolu¬ tionary Army, which had a tremendous impact. Zou Rong (1885-1905) was from Baxian (present Chongqing) in Sichuan. He raised the slogan for the establishment of a bourgeois “Re¬ public of China”, demanded the eternal eradication of the monarchical autocratic form of government and opposed foreign intervention in China’s revolution and independence. The Revolutionary Army was reviewed and recommended by Zhang Taiyan in Su Bao, went through more than twenty printings and sold a million copies. The Qing court, in great fear and hatred of these activities and in collusion with the imperialist powers in Shanghai, closed down Su Bao and ar¬ rested Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong. Zou Rong died in jail after suffering two years’ imprisonment. Another prop¬ agandist was Chen Tianhua (1875-1905), from Xinhua in Hunan, who had been a fellow-student of Zou Rong in Japan. In 1904 he published two pamphlets, About Face! and Alarm Bell, exposing in simple language the aggressive acts of im¬ perialism and calling on people to arise and fight against im¬ perialism. He also pointed out that the Qing court was in fact a “foreigners’ court”, and “if we want to"*-resist the foreigners we must preach revolution and independence”. These two pamphlets also aroused a strong response. At the same time that the bourgeois revolutionary groups were spreading democratic revolutionary ideas, new revolu-

495

tionary organizations were being formed. In 1904, Huang Xing, together with Chen Tianhua, Song Jiaoren and others, set up the Hua Xing Hui (Society for the Revival of the Chi¬ nese Nation) in Changsha, and Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Taiyan, Tao Chengzhang and others organized the Guang Fu Hui (Restoration Society) in Shanghai. Revolutionary youth in Hubei also established the Kexue Buxi Suo (Science Study Group). All of these bodies organized armed uprisings, but none was successful. The Xing Zhong Hui was still carrying out activities abroad under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, developing organizations among overseas Chinese, advocating revolution and waging a struggle against reformists like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. In 1904 Sun Yat-sen published A Message to My Compatriots, exposing the true nature of Liang Qichao’s pseudo-revolution and his actual wish to protect the emperor, pointing out that revolution and protection of the emperor were two different courses which were mutually exclusive and repulsing the reformists’ onslaughts. In The True Solution of the Chinese Question, he also made the following points: Qing rule “is speedily approaching its doom”, “China is just now on the eve of a great national movement”, “the time is now ripe for a nationwide revolution” and “once our great aim of transforming China is achieved, not only will the dawn of a new age appear in our beautiful country, but the whole of mankind will attain through shared prosperity a more glorious future”.

The Founding of the Tong Meng Hui

The rapid development of the revolutionary situation re¬ quired a national, unified political party to lead the revolu¬ tionary movement. At this point, Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing amalgamated part of the membership of the Xing Zhong Hui, Hua Xing Hui, Guang Fu Hui, Kexue Buxi Suo and other revolutionary bodies to form the Zhongguo Tong

�496

Meng Hui (Chinese Revolutionary League) in Tokyo in August 1905. It elected Sun Yat-sen as president, set up an executive group and adopted the programme proposed by Sun Yat-sen to “drive out the Manchus, restore China, establish a republic and equalize landownership”. This programme was spelled out in the manifesto written by Sun Yat-sen for the first issue of the Tong Meng Hui’s journal, the Min Bao (People’s Journal) as the Three People’s Principles — the Principle of National¬ ism, the Principle of Democracy, and the Principle of People’s Livelihood. The Principle of Nationalism was to overthrow the government of the Manchu aristocracy. The Principle of Democracy was to overthrow the monarchical autocratic system and establish a republican government. The Prin¬ ciple of People’s Livelihood was to appraise and fix land prices, and to apportion to the state the increase in land prices that would result from the development of the social economy after the revolution, and gradually let the state purchase land from landowners. The Three People’s Principles was a polit¬ ical programme which embodied the hopes of the Chinese bourgeoisie for the establishment of a republic and the de¬ velopment of capitalism, and was a great rallying cry for the revolution at that time. The founding of the Tong Meng Hui and the formation of its programme indicated that the Chinese bourgeois demo¬ cratic revolutionary movement had entered a new stage. However, this programme did not raise in clear and definite terms the slogan of anti-imperialist, anti-feudal struggle, and did not include a thoroughgoing land programme. Hence it was a non-thoroughgoing national democratic revolutionary programme reflecting the weak and compromising character of the Chinese national bourgeoisie. 1 The activities of the Tong Meng Hui had two m&in aspects, the debates with the reformists on political ideology and the development of a series of armed uprisings. The reformists, headed by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao and with the journal Xin Min Congbao (New People’s Journal)

497

published in Japan as their fortress, praised constitutional monarchy and vilified revolution. They said that it was not necessary to overthrow the Qing to make China rich and powerful, that it would be enough to persuade it to reform and demand that it practise a form of constitutional monarchy. They attacked armed revolution, claiming that it would lead to an internecine war and the partitioning of the country by foreign powers, and that it was not an expression of patriotism but an invitation to disaster for the country. With Min Bao as their stronghold, the revolutionists pointed out, to the con¬ trary, that the court had not the slightest intention of re¬ nouncing its position, and would not function as a constitu¬ tional monarchy at all. They also pointed out that the court had already become a flunkey of the imperialists and unless this traitorous government was overthrown, China would be totally forfeited, so that the only way out for China was to “promote popular rights and establish democracy”. They considered that the “patriotism” paraded by the re¬ formists was in fact love for a traitorous government which acted as the foreigners’ slave, and that the reformists’ support for a monarchy and opposition to a republic was really “a criminal act against China”. This great debate fully exposed the reformists’ pro-Qing stance and opposition to revolution. By their defeat of the reformists on the theoretical front, the revolutionists took over the ideological leadership, winning over people to their side and heightening the revolutionary atmosphere of the time. The first armed uprisings led by the Tong Meng Hui were those staged in 1906 by peasants and miners in the areas around Pingxiang in Jiangxi and Liuyang and Liling in Hunan. Members of the Tong Meng Hui were active in the uprisings, spreading revolutionary messages on the political programme of the society to rally the masses to their forces. The troops of the uprising quickly grew to about thirty thousand men and rapidly gained control over four or five counties, defeating the Qing army time after time. Only after the court had rein-

�498

forced its army with troops from several provinces was it able to crush them. From 1907 to 1908 the Tong Meng Hui launched six uprisings in succession in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yun¬ nan. Sun Yat-sen personally took part in the fighting in Zhennanguan in Guangxi. Xu Xilin, a member of the Guang Fu Hui, and the revolutionary Qiu Jin (1877-1907), from Shanyin (modern Shaoxing), also launched uprisings in Anhui and Zhejiang in 1907. On April 27, 1911, after six months of preparation, Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing launched the Guangzhou Uprising which sent a tremor through the whole country. The revolu¬ tionists attacked from different directions. After more than a hundred men led by Huang Xing attacked the yamen of the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, fighting broke out in the streets between them and a large Qing army which had come to suppress them. Since the isolated force was numerically weak, it was defeated after a night of fierce battle, and Huang Xing and the other survivors escaped with their wounds.

More than eighty died in battle or were executed

after their capture.

Disregarding the danger to themselves,

the people of Guangzhou collected the remains of seventy-two of the martyrs which they found and buried them at Huanghuagang on the city outskirts. Because of the weakness in their mass base and the purely military adventuristic tactic of surprise attack they usually adopted, the repeated Tong Meng Hui uprisings ended in de¬ feat. However, each delivered a blow to Qing rule. The self¬ less heroism of the revolutionists aroused a nation-wide spirit of resistance and inspired more people to join the anti-Qing campaign. ' Confronted with the growing trend towards devolution, the Qing court looked for support from the upper strata of the bourgeoisie to prevent revolution and announced — to secure “eternal imperial stability” — a policy of “preparing for con¬ stitutional government” in 1906. Its first step was to reform the official system, that is, to concentrate political power in

499

the hands of the Manchu aristocracy and reduce the power of the local governors. It recalled to court Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan, and Yuan Shikai, the Governor-General of Zhili, the most powerful of the local governors, and gave them titles of Grand Ministers of the Privy Council while depriving them of actual power. After the Qing court announced its constitutional prepara¬ tions, reformists in places like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong organized bodies to prepare for setting up a constitution. Their plan was to demand by kowtowing and petitioning tactics that the court practise a constitutional monarchy, thus checking the development of revolution and also giving themselves an opportunity to join the government. Known as “constitutionalists”, their chief representatives were Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao abroad, and Zhang Jian, Tang Hualong, Tang Shouqian and Tan Yankai at home. In August 1908, the court issued an “Imperial Constitu¬ tion” stipulating a nine-year preparatory period for setting up constitutional government, which revealed their lack of sin¬ cerity.

The Empress Dowager, Ci Xi, died soon after in

November, one day after the death of Emperor Guang Xu. Puyi then succeeded to the throne with the reign title Xuan Tong, but because he was still a child, the political and mili¬ tary power devolved upon the regent, his father Zai Feng. Soon after coming to power, Zai Feng forced Yuan Shikai to retire. Between 1909 and 1911, provincial consultative councils were established one after the other and a National Consulta¬ tive Assembly was convened in Beijing in 1910, with constitu¬ tionalists playing a dominant role. The constitutionalists con¬ tinuously presented petitions for a constitution, but the court only issued strict prohibitions against them. The court set up a new cabinet in May 1911, but nine of the thirteen ministers were Manchu nobles and five were members of the imperial clan, so that the political and military power was further con¬ centrated in the hands of the imperial clan.

This revealed the

�

500

fraudulence of “constitutional preparation”, arousing universal dissatisfaction among the warlords, high officials and constitu¬ tionalists who represented the upper strata of the bourgeoisie, and isolating the court. For the sake of loans from the imperialist powers, the court issued a policy of the “nationalization” of trunk railway lines in May 1911, seizing the Guangzhou-Hankou and SichuanHankou railways to be built by local private investment and selling the rights to build the two railways to the foreign powers. Upon this a mass movement to protect railway rights promptly broke out in the four provinces immediately con¬ cerned, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei and Guangdong. The move¬ ment was particularly vigorous in Sichuan. In June, associa¬ tions for the protection of railway rights were set up every¬ where in Sichuan with hundreds of thousands taking part, and in Chengdu, tens of thousands attended a meeting for railway rights protection in August, calling for strikes among workers and students and refusal to pay taxes. The constitutionalists sought to control the movement but found themselves in¬ capable. In September, Zhao Erfeng, Governor-General of Sichuan, ordered the massacre of several dozen petitioners in Chengdu. This only prompted further popular outrage. Wu Yongshan (also known as Wu Yuzhang) and other members of the Tong Meng Hui established revolutionary political power in Rongxian after an uprising. The railway rights protection movement developed into an armed uprising, which furiously assailed Qing rule in Sichuan. The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty was drawing near.

The Wuchang Uprising; The Founding of the Republic of China and the Fall of the Qing Dynasty

The Wuchang Uprising broke out on October 10, 1911. The driving force behind it included two Tong Meng Hui associates, the Wen Xue She (Literary Association) and the Gong Jin Hui

501

(March Together League), which had been carrying out revolu¬ tionary propaganda and organizational work in the Hubei New Army and the secret societies for some time, drawing into their organizations more than five thousand officers and soldiers or approximately one-third of the provincial army. Encouraged by the armed uprising which developed out of the railway rights protection movement in Sichuan, they decided to stage an armed uprising on October 11. But due to the accidental explosion of a bomb on October 9 which alerted the authori¬ ties, the plans for the uprising were discovered and the upris¬ ing headquarters was raided. A large number of the revolu¬ tionary leaders were arrested and executed by Ruicheng, Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan. The revolutionaries in the New Army, seeing that the situation was critical, decided to go ahead with the uprising earlier than planned. On the night of October 10, the first shots in the revolution rang out: the Wuchang Uprising had begun. The revolutionary army at¬ tacked the governor-general’s yamen, sending Ruicheng and his officials fleeing in confusion. Wuchang was occupied after one night’s fighting. On the 12th, the revolutionary army also occupied Hanyang and Hankou, the other two towns which with Wuchang make up the city of Wuhan. The victory of the Wuchang Uprising quickly aroused a high tide of revolutionary enthusiasm throughout the whole country. Revolutionaries launched New Army and secret society uprisings in every province, and spontaneous struggles by peasants, workers, artisans and the urban poor took place. By the end of November, fourteen provinces had declared in¬ dependence from the Qing court, and the disintegration of Qing rule was under way. On the day after the Wuchang Uprising, the revolutionaries immediately began preparations to set up a government. On the recommendation of the constitutionalists, Li Yuanhong, former brigade commander of the New Army, was chosen as military governor, and a Hubei Military Government was set up. On the 12th, Tang Hualong, a well-known constitutional

�

502

monarchist, was chosen as minister of civil affairs in the government. Then, the abrogation of the Xuan Tong reign was announced and the name of the country changed to the Republic of China (Zhonghua Minguo). The revolutionaries forgot that Li Yuanhong was an extremely hostile opponent of the revolution and, even worse, failed to realize that they should keep political power in their own hands. Instead they considered that it was necessary for people who had some social standing to come forward to form a government so that it would have mass appeal, and therefore handed over lightly the political power they had won in battle to the feudal of¬ ficials. Following the victories of the provincial uprisings, the representatives of the constitutionalists and the old bureaucrat politicians, taking advantage of the compromising and concilia¬ tory nature of the bourgeois revolutionaries, infiltrated the revolutionary regime and usurped the leadership. The Jiangsu Governor, Cheng Dequan, merely hung a signboard over the yamen saying “Military Government” and changed his title to military governor, while keeping everything else exactly as it had been.

Ten days after Hunan had declared its in¬

dependence from the Qing court, the constitutionalist party headed by the leader of the Advisory Bureau, Tan Yankai, executed the revolutionary military governor, Jiao Dafeng, and usurped political power in Hunan. In November, the Hubei Military Government invited del¬ egates from the other independent provinces to Wuhan to dis¬ cuss the formation of a central government. On December 2, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang revolutionary army attacked and took Nanjing.

The convention of provincial delegates then decided

to make Nanjing the seat of the provisional government of the republic, where the provincial delegates soor^ assembled. Sun Yat-sen returned to China on December 25 and the con¬ vention of provincial delegates elected him Provisional Pres¬ ident of the republic four days later. On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office and proclaimed the establish-

503

ment of the Republic of China; with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, 1912 was declared as the first year of the republic. Next, Li Yuanhong was elected Vice-President, and a Provisional Senate was set up in Nanjing to act as a legisla¬ ture. A bourgeois republican regime came into being. The Provisional Government at Nanjing headed by Sun Yat-sen was the product of a bourgeois democratic revolution. Owing to the weakness and compromise of the bourgeois rev¬ olutionaries, it was actually a coalition government of revolu¬ tionaries, constitutionalists and former officials. Although the revolutionaries predominated in the government, the constitu¬ tionalists and former officials headed the ministries of internal affairs, industry, and communications, possessing considerable power.

Most of the provincial military governors were also

manipulated by the constitutionalists and former officials, but the Provisional Government in fact could not exercise central government authority over them. The Provisional Government at Nanjing issued many laws relating to political, social and economic reform.

The major

ones, like the abolition of torture, prohibition against traffic in Chinese labourers abroad, abolition of slavery, prohibition against the cultivation and smoking of opium, and encourage¬ ment of the initiation of industrial and commercial enterprises and overseas Chinese investment in their homeland, were for the benefit of democratic politics and the development of capi¬ talism.

But because the government did not touch the basis

of the semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, it could not resolve the immediate concerns of the people, especially the peasants’ demand for land, and so its mass base was very weak. The imperialist powers both feared and hated the Chinese revolution, and after the Wuchang Uprising they went to great lengths to support the Qing court and smash the revolution. In mid-October 1911, over a dozen British, American, Japanese, German and French warships assembled opposite Wuhan awaiting orders, threatening the revolutionary army. Because

�

504

of the speedy development of the revolution, the imperialist powers were forced to declare “neutrality”, but in fact they actively intervened. They continued to send customs duties to Beijing, and the Four-Power Consortium of British, French, German and American banks granted loans to the Qing court amounting to more than three million taels of silver.

They

hoped by these means to maintain Qing rule. Russia also tried to destroy the Chinese revolution, hoping to take this oppor¬ tunity to divide China.

It instigated a few princes of the

Mongols to declare the “independence” of Outer Mongolia, and sent troops to occupy Hulun Circuit (modern Hailar), Manzhouli and other areas in Heilongjiang Province. With the rapid disintegration of the Qing, the imperialist powers then sought a new flunkey.

Their choice fell upon

Yuan Shikai, a representative of landlord and comprador forces, and they put pressure on the Qing court to appoint him to an important position. The court first hastily appointed him Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan on October 14, and then as Imperial Commissioner in charge of all China’s armies on October 22, with orders to suppress the revolution.

Yuan

Shikai delayed his acceptance to gain further powers.

In

November, the court was forced to appoint him Premier of the cabinet at Beijing, and the old cabinet of the imperial clan resigned.

After he had gathered the military and political

power in his hands, Yuan Shikai dispatched troops to attack the revolutionary army at Wuhan, capturing Hanyang. The imperialist powers further supported Yuan Shikai, helping to engineer negotiations between the north and the revolu¬ tionaries in the south. When peace talks began in Shanghai on December 18, the British, American, Russian, Japanese, French and German consuls presented a note to. both sides asking them “to establish a peaceful resolution at all speed”, to force the revolutionists to hand over political power. The constitutionalists who had infiltrated the revolutionary ranks also gave support to Yuan Shikai and actively exerted pres-

505

sure from within the revolution, creating an atmosphere of compromise and destroying the revolution. Under pressure from reactionary forces inside and outside, the revolutionists compromised and on January 15 agreed, on condition that the Qing emperor abdicate and Yuan Shikai support the republic, to hand over political power to Yuan. On February 12, 1912, Emperor Puyi abdicated, bringing to an end two thousand years of feudal monarchy in China. Next day, Sun Yat-sen resigned as Provisional President, and on February 15 the Provisional Senate elected Yuan Shikai Pro¬ visional President of the republic. A few days later, Li Yuanhong was elected Vice-President. On March 10, Yuan Shikai formally assumed office in Beijing and established an anti¬ revolutionary regime representing the big landlords and com¬ prador class. The fruits of victory of the revolution had been usurped by Yuan Shikai, an agent of the imperialist powers, and thus began the rule of China by Beiyang warlords. The day after Yuan Shikai assumed office, Sun Yat-sen pro¬ claimed a Provisional Constitution which had been hastily drawn up by the Provisional Senate in Nanjing. The Provi¬ sional Constitution stipulated that sovereign rights belonged to the whole people in the Republic of China, and that the people uniformly enjoyed freedom of speech, publication, as¬ sembly and association, and the right to petition, elect and be elected. It had the character of a bourgeois republican con¬ stitution with a revolutionary and democratic character. As a bourgeois democratic republic, the Republic of China made only a brief appearance in history. The bourgeois democratic revolution of 1911 had been strangled by Chinese and foreign reactionary forces. It only overthrew a feudal emperor, but did not overthrow the exploitation and oppres¬ sion by imperialism and feudalism. China was still a semi¬ colonial, semi-feudal society. Imperialist and feudal forces continued to rule China, and the Chinese people’s anti¬ imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution was still far from being completed.

The Period of Beiyang Warlord Rule

After usurping the position of Provisional President, Yuan Shikai gradually established autocratic rule by suppressing the democratic forces. A group of Tong Meng Hui members headed by Song Jiaoren hoped to wage a parliamentary struggle against Yuan Shikai on the basis of the Provisional Constitution to bring into effect a bourgeois democratic government. In order to win the national parliamentary elections and to have the parliament organized along party lines, that is, on the basis of political parties rather than individuals or provincial associa¬ tions, Song Jiaoren and others formed the Kuomintang (Na¬ tionalist Party) in August 1912 from a central core of Tong Meng Hui members together with some constitutionalists and former officials. Its platform called for political unity, development of local autonomy and attention to people’s live¬ lihood. This was a considerable retreat from the old Tong Meng Hui platform. The Kuomintang won the majority of seats in the national parliamentary elections, which were held between, the end of 1912 and the beginning of 1913.

In the position of a majority

party, Song Jiaoren and other Kuomintang leaders hoped to form a cabinet, so as to restrict the power held by Yuan Shikai. But on March 20, 1913, Song Jiaoren was assassinated at the Shanghai railway station by Yuan Shikai’s agents. The assassination provoked different reactions from the revolutionists. Sun Yat-sen called for the immediate over¬ throw of Yuan Shikai, but Huang Xing, supported by the majority of Kuomintang parliamentarians, opposed the use of military force on the grounds that it stood little chance of suc¬ cess; instead, they argued for a peaceful solution by legal means in parliament. However, Yuan Shikai issued orders to exter¬ minate Kuomintang power in several of the southern provinces by military force. Yuan Shikai received substantial support from the imperialist powers: he was granted loans amounting to 25 million pounds sterling from the Five-Power Consor-

�508

tium formed by Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Russia, and gained U.S. recognition for his regime. In June 1913 he ordered the dismissal of the Kuomintang military governors of Jiangxi, Anhui and Guangdong. Faced with this new chal¬ lenge, the Kuomintang finally took up arms in the uprising known as the “Second Revolution”. In July 1913, Li Liejun, military governor of Jiangxi, and Huang Xing declared war on Yuan from their bases in Hukou and Nanjing respectively. Anhui, Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian and Sichuan also declared their independence. Because of internal laxness within the Kuomintang, the anti-Yuan forces were weak and the Second Revolution was completely defeated in less than two months. The provinces in the south thus came under the control of Yuan Shikai, and Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing were forced once again to flee to Japan. After having crushed his opposition in the Second Revolu¬ tion, Yuan Shikai turned his attention to gaining the formal presidency. On October 6, the day set for the election of President, he sent self-proclaimed “citizens’ groups”, consisting of several thousand plain-clothes military police and hooligans, to surround the parliament, not allowing the members of par¬ liament to leave until Yuan had been elected.

The following

day Li Yuanhong was elected Vice-President. Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Germany and other imperialist powers simul¬ taneously declared recognition of Yuan Shikai’s regime. On becoming President, Yuan Shikai declared the Kuomin¬ tang illegal in November and then in January 1914 ordered the dissolution of parliament. In April he annulled the Pro¬ visional Constitution and proclaimed his reactionary Constitu¬ tion of the Republic of China, substituting presidential for cabinet rule and expanding presidential power to^the maximum to carry out a dictatorship. ^ All that was left of the republic was an empty name, but Yuan Shikai even wanted to discard that name and start his own imperial dynasty. The imperialist countries continued to support his ambitions, thinking that thereby they could ex-

509

tend their own influence in China. In August 1914 World War I broke out in Europe. Taking advantage of the diversion of European interest to the war at home, the Japanese made plans to invade China, sending troops to occupy Qingdao (Tsingtao) and the Jiaozhou-Jinan railway. As a condition of their support for Yuan Shikai’s imperial ambitions, they put forward in January 1915 the “Twenty-One Demands”. The main items were that China transfer German rights in Shan¬ dong to Japan and also open other parts of the peninsula to Japan; recognize the special interests of Japan in Liaoning, Jilin and eastern Inner Mongolia; extend the lease on Lushun and Dalian and on the related railway; operate jointly with Japan the Hanyeping Iron and Steel Works; not lease or cede to other powers China’s coastal ports, harbours or off-shore islands; engage Japanese advisors on political, financial and military affairs; and operate jointly with Japan China’s police departments and arsenals. Apart from a few individual items reserved for further negotiation, Yuan Shikai in strict secrecy accepted these demands on May 25, 1915. With the support of Japan, the United States and other powers, Yuan Shikai declared himself “Emperor of the Chinese Empire” in December 1915. Yuan Shikai’s reactionary rule caused a great deal of hard¬ ship among the Chinese people, and spontaneous mass move¬ ments broke out all over the country in protest. The largest was the Bailang Uprising, which broke out in Henan in 1912 spread to other parts of Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi and Guangxi, and continued against Yuan Shikai’s forces for more than two years. After the news came out that Yuan had accepted the Twenty-One Demands, a movement for the boycott of Japanese goods immediately broke out in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenyang, Changsha, Hankou and elsewhere. Students went on strike, making speeches and distributing leaflets. Workers were also on strike in opposition to Japanese aggression and Yuan’s treachery, and patriotic businessmen organized alliances for the exclusion of Japanese goods.

�510

In July 1914 Sun Yat-sen organized the Zhong Hua Ge Ming Dang (Chinese Revolutionary Party) in Japan, whose aims were to “wipe out autocratic politics and establish a full republic” and to carry out the struggle against Yuan Shikai. After Yuan announced the restoration of the empire, Sun Yatsen issued a proclamation calling for the people to rise against him. When the anti-Yuan movement was at its height, Cai E, former military governor of Yunnan, formed the Hu Guo Jun (Republic Protection Army) and announced the independence of Yunnan on December 25, 1915. Other provinces responded with similar moves. On New Year’s Day, 1916, Yuan Shikai announced 1916 as the first year of his dynasty with the reign title Hong Xian (Great Constitution), and dispatched over one hundred thousand troops to Yunnan to exterminate the Hu Guo Jun. But Yuan’s army was low in morale and suffered one defeat after the other. Yuan’s trusted associates, such as Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui, were alarmed at the disintegra¬ tion of central control, and sent a joint telegram urging Yuan to abandon his attempt at imperial rule. Noting Yuan Shikai’s isolation, Japan, the United States and other powers also withdrew their support for him. Beset with difficulties in¬ ternally and externally, Yuan was forced to abrogate his dynasty on March 22, 1916. He still hoped to retain his position as President, but hostility towards him continued to mount, and he was unable to remain in power. He died on June 6 in despair. After Yuan’s death, the situation deteriorated rapidly as the warlords, each backed by an imperialist power, fought for control of the country. China then saw separatist warlord regimes and tangled warfare among warlords. Jn the south, the main warlord forces were the Yunnan clique treaded by Tang Jiyao, and the Guangxi clique headed by Lu Rongting; both were formed in the anti-Yuan war waged by the Hu Guo Jun and had close ties to the British and Americans. The Yunnan clique occupied Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Guang-

511

xi clique occupied Guangdong and Guangxi. The Beiyang warlords split into two groups, the Anhui clique headed by Duan Qirui, and the Zhili clique headed by Feng Guozhang. The Anhui clique had Japanese backing and controlled the Beijing government as well as Anhui, Shaanxi, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces.

The Zhili clique had

the support of Britain and the United States and was based in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Hubei.

In the Northeast, Zhang Zuolin

with Japanese support expanded his territory to form the Fengtian clique in Liaoning, which held the balance of power between the Anhui and Zhili cliques. staked out their own territory.

Minor warlords also

In June 1916, Li Yuanhong succeeded as President and resurrected

the

Provisional

Constitution;

parliament

was

reconvened in August 1916. Duan Qirui was appointed Premier with the real power of the government in his hand. He attempted to crush Li Yuanhong and the anti-Anhui op¬ position, while Li Yuanhong and the Zhili clique headed by Feng Guozhang for their part strove to resist the Anhui clique. The struggle between them broke out on the question of whether China should take part in World War I. The Zhili clique with the backing of the United States opposed a declaration of war against Germany, but Duan Qirui’s Anhui clique with the backing of Japan forced the parliament and Li Yuanhong to agree. In May 1917, with the backing of forces close to Britain and the United States, Li Yuanhong dismissed Duan Qirui as Premier. Deciding to retain his political power by military force, Duan incited warlords in Zhili, Fengtian (Liaoning), Shandong, Henan and other provinces to declare independence, organized a “General Headquarters for the Independent Provinces” in Tianjin and announced that he was dispatching troops to Beijing. With no military force of his own, Li Yuanhong was completely helpless, and invited the military governor of Anhui, Zhang Xun, to act as mediator.

�512

Zhang Xun had hitherto been a supporter of Qing restoration. With the secret backing of Duan Qirui, he first forced Li Yuanhong to dissolve the parliament, then led his army into Beijing, coercing Li Yuanhong into resignation. On July 1, he restored Puyi to the throne. The whole country was immediately up in arms. Most of the newspapers in Beijing closed down as a gesture of resistance. A rally of more than ten thousand people was held in Changsha, calling for troops to be dispatched against him. In Shanghai, Sun Yat-sen called a joint meeting of revolutionists and military and political figures, and issued a statement condemning the restorationist forces. Seeing that the aim of driving out Li Yuanhong and dissolving parliament had been achieved, Duan Qirui immediately about-faced and denounced the restoration, sending troops into Beijing to drive out Zhang Xun. Puyi abdicated for the second time and the twelve-day restoration thus came to an end. Duan Qirui consequently resumed his post as Premier. In conformity with the ambitions of Japanese imperialism, Duan Qirui declared war on Germany in August. At home, he did not revive the Provisional Constitution and parliament, but tried to unify the country by force. In order to expand his real power, he raised a Japanese loan of about 500,000,000 yen, mortgaging railways, the telecommunications system, mines, forests and so on, selling national sovereignty with a free hand. Sun Yat-sen strongly condemned Duan Qirui for “assum¬ ing the face of a republican while actually running an au¬ tocracy”, and advocated upholding the Provisional Constitu¬ tion and restoring parliament. In September he called an extraordinary session of the parliament in Guangzhou, and set up a military government to uphold the constitution. Sun Yat-sen was elected Generalissimo and Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao were its marshals. The slogan “protect the constitu¬ tion” had by that time lost its appeal and lacked a mass basis, and Sun Yat-sen was relying on local warlords. The warlords

513

in the southwest appeared to support the constitution but in reality they were anxious to maintain their own territory. In order to get rid of Sun Yat-sen, they collaborated with some officials and politicians to manipulate the extraordinary parliament, and in May 1918 reorganized the military government. Sun was forced to resign and left Guangzhou. The failure of the movement to protect the constitution made Sun Yat-sen realize that warlords north and south were “jackals of the same lair”, and that he could not carry out the revolution by relying on them.

Ideology and Culture During the Period of Bourgeois Revolution

The main ideological trend in the learning and culture of the early twentieth century was the ideology of the bour¬ geois democratic revolution. Compared with the reformists, the revolutionists led by Sun Yat-sen were even more conscientious in seeking truth from the West. They introduced a broad range of political theories, history, philosophy and so on from the Western bourgeois revolutionary period, with Rousseau’s Social Contract as their gospel and the French Revolution and the American War of Independence as their models. Thus equipped they criticized feudalism and reform¬ ism, raised the banner of the “democratic republic” and took the road to “bloody revolution”. The doctrine of the Three People’s Principles advocated by Sun Yat-sen became the political programme of the old democratic revolution led by the bourgeoisie. Sun Yat-sen believed in the Western theory of evolu¬ tion, but was opposed to the anti-revolutionary, vulgar theory of evolution held by the reformists. He held that the process whereby the old gave way to the new was an incontrovertible law of nature. Hence, the progress of civilization in human society and changes in political systems were unavoidable and necessary historical trends, which is

�514

also to say that democratic revolution was a historical necessity. Sun Yat-sen opposed the theories of the reformists that one must “proceed in an orderly way and in proper sequence” and not “skip the necessary steps” — hence, that reform, not revolution, was what was needed. He believed that the evolution of civilization was a consistent develop¬ ment from a lower stage to a higher stage. Opposing the tendency to crawl behind in other people’s footsteps by imitating every move, he foresaw, from a positive and progressive evolutionary view, the historical prospect in which “the newcomers surpass their elders”. In 1905, he predicted that a great leap forward would appear in the devel¬ opment of Chinese history, in which China would overtake arid surpass Japan and the Western capitalist countries in a few decades. His outlook was bourgeois and there were inevitably idealist and metaphysical mistakes in his evolu¬ tionary views. Nevertheless, from beginning to end he always stood at the forefront of the trend of the age, and realized that the struggle for national independence and liberation was an irresistible worldwide trend in the twentieth century. In regard to epistemology, Sun Yat-sen held that “knowledge follows practice” and “facts precede theories”, and expressed in simple terms a materialist theory of knowledge which was directly opposed to the idealistic apriorism of “knowledge precedes practice”. He emphasized the function of “practice” and upheld the doctrine that “knowledge is hard, practice is easy”, stating that revolu¬ tionists should “be fearless and enjoy practising”. However, he was basically an empiricist, content to enumerate perceptual facts in a simple synthesis; he ignored scientific summarization and could not advance to the sthge of seeking the intrinsic nature of phenomena. “Practice”, as- he spoke of it, was an independent individual act that went beyond class, not considered as social practice. He separated knowledge from practice, and sometimes stressed the func¬ tion of rational knowledge in isolation. Also, he divided

515

people into categories according to their relative degree of “innate ability”, such as “the foresighted” and “the ignorant”. He thus abandoned the viewpoint of “practice” and fell into the trap of the theory of genius. This contradiction in his theory of knowledge, which reflected his class bias as a bourgeois revolutionist, made him unable to perceive cor¬ rectly the historical function of the popular masses. The bourgeois revolutionist and propagandist, Zhang Taiyan, was also an influential thinker. In works such as Book of Grievances, he expressed a materialist and atheistic thinking. He opposed religion and theology, and denied the existence of gods and ghosts. He pointed out that there were no gods, and that after death people did not turn into ghosts but became “dry bones”, their flesh being transformed into inorganic matter or another form of organic matter. He also explained the origin of mankind according to Darwin’s theory of biological evolution, holding that man was not created by gods but evolved from the ape who had in turn evolved from marine life.

After the failure of the 1911 Revolution, how¬

ever, he did not further develop his materialistic views but on the contrary turned to Buddhist philosophy and dreamed of establishing a new religion in a compromise with idealism. In the early twentieth century, the histories of foreign countries were introduced into China through translations and commentaries to propagate bourgeois democratic revolu¬ tionary thinking. Chief among them were the histories of the English and French revolutions and the independence movements in America, Italy, Greece and other countries. In this period, Liang Qichao, along with others, made critiques of traditional Chinese historiography from the evolutionary viewpoint, pointing out that the old histories were only collections of biographies of emperors, kings, generals and ministers, and could not explain trends in historical evolution and causal relations in historical events. He advocated a bourgeois “new history”, demanding that

�

516

historians “describe the phenomenon of the evolution of the masses and seek its general rules”. Zhang Taiyan put forward similar views. Also along the same lines was Xia Zengyou s A Textbook History of China, published in 1904. In his own words, Xia hoped to explain in this book “the main principle of the evolution of the masses from ancient times to the present”. Proceeding from an idealist point of view, Xia was unable to expound the laws of historical development and made unscientific judgements on important historical problems. Education was also taken very seriously by the bourgeois revolutionists. olutionary

Zou

Rong

education”

stated

should

be

that

widespread

conducted

in

“rev¬

order

to

let people know of the revolutionary cause and struggle for the overthrow of Qing rule, and of opposition to the system of monarchical rule “to restore our natural human rights”. Chen Tianhua advocated “the establishment of schools and spread of education”. In his view, in order to withstand imperialist aggression, “we must first study the strong points of foreigners”, and “if we want to study them, we must have more schools and also send students abroad”.

In order to

raise new recruits for the revolution, and also to provide a base for revolutionary activity, the bourgeois revolutionists founded several new schools.

The most well-known was the

Patriotic School founded in Shanghai in 1902 by Cai Yuanpei, which propagated the idea of popular rights and anti-Qing revolution training.

among

the

students

and

carried

out

military

In Shaoxing, Xu Xilin established in succession

the Recheng Primary School, the Yuequn Public School and the Datong School.

The Datong School concentrated on mili¬

tary training for the students. Qiu Jin (1875-1907),'also known as Jianxiong or Woman Warrior of Jianhu Lake and from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was the administrative inspector of the school. She made it the centre of preparations for an uprising. Qiu Jin had also been one of the founders of the Chinese

517

Public Institute in Shanghai in 1906, which provided educa¬ tion for Chinese students who had returned from Japan. In the first years of the twentieth century, the Qing court under Empress Dowager Ci Xi, with deceptive intent, con¬ verted the old style academies in the provincial capitals into colleges and established a universal system of middle and primary schools. A Committee on Education was appointed to run the Metropolitan College and to administer national school affairs; a Ministry of Education was established in 1905. The Qing court’s educational reforms were changes in form only and the substance of education was still based on “self-cultivation and classical studies” with the primary stress given to rote learning the Confucian classics and observing feudal morality.

In 1906, the Qing court decreed that the aim

of education was to be the diffusion of “loyalty to the ruler” and “respect for Confucianism”; this clearly revealed the purpose of its educational reforms. Many schools as well as churches were founded by Western missionaries to serve the

cultural aggression

on

China. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were more than five hundred middle and primary schools run by the Catholic Church in Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi and Henan alone. By 1898, there were more than 1,100 American missionary schools in China. The missionaries also established colleges and universities in China, such as the Huiwen University in Beijing, the Wenhua University in Wuchang, the Qilu Uni¬ versity in Jinan and St. John’s University in Shanghai, by the early twentieth century. The large-scale translation of Western literary works was an important feature of this period. The most productive translator was Lin Shu (1852-1924, also known as Lin Qinnan), from Minghou, Fujian; his first and most popular translation, La Dame aux camelias by Dumas fils, was published in Fuzhou in 1899. The quantity of translations grew rapidly in the early years of the twentieth century. By 1911, several hundred novels had been translated, and the range of trans-

�518

lated material also grew wider with translations, mostly the work of Lin Shu, from Shakespeare, Dickens, Balzac, Hugo, Pushkin, Tolstoy and others. At the peak of the movement in protest against American mistreatment of Chinese migrant labour in 1905, Lin Shu translated Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, arousing Chinese patriotism with this story of American mistreatment of black slaves.

Lu Xun

(1881-1936), the famous writer, also translated fiction from foreign countries in the early twentieth century. The reformists advocated reform in Chinese

fiction,

stressing the role of fiction in reforming politics and society in defiance of the low esteem in which fiction was held by the orthodox feudal literati.

Among the large number of novels

reflecting reformist political demands and denouncing the sordid reality around them, the most famous were Li Baojia’s Exposure of the Official World, Wu Woyao’s Strange Events Seen in the Past Twenty Years and Zeng Pu’s The Flower in the Sea of Sin. The novels were written in a popular and easily understandable vernacular, making extensive use of satire and exaggeration to expose the criminal activities of the feudal ruling class and foreign aggressors.

However, at their best

these novels are still far below earlier works such as A Dream of the Red Mansions and The Scholars. The revolutionary intellectuals consciously disseminated revolutionary thinking through poetry and other popular literary forms. Qiu Jin, a poet as well as revolutionary, wrote many poems expressing her resolute revolutionary will and fervent patriotism. The lines: We will shed if we must the blood of a hundred thousand heads ^ For the sake of bringing about radical changes on our land, show her readiness to dedicate her life to the revolution. An association of poets who were mainly Tong Meng Hui members

519

founded the Southern Club in 1909 to publish poetry advocat¬ ing revolution in its journal, Southern Club. The dominant form of theatre in China from the second half of the nineteenth century until well into the twentieth was Peking opera. An amalgamation of several different kinds of local opera, it was deeply rooted in popular culture. In singing, acting, recitation and stage fighting, it gradually surpassed the other forms of opera or drama then prevalent, and attracted a very wide audience from all sections of society. Seeking temporary diversion after the suppression of the Taiping Revolution, the Qing court turned Beijing into a centre for operatic performers from all over the country, giving Peking opera further opportunity to profit from a diversity or regional opera styles. In the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, the repertoire of Peking opera was greatly enlarged, with a wide variety of subjects. Many famous actors took the stage, creating excellent and lively artistic forms, and Peking opera began to exert a great influence throughout the country. The actors who made the greatest contribution to the forma¬ tion and development of Peking opera were Cheng Changgeng and Tan Xinpei. Cheng Changgeng (1812-82), from Qianshan, Anhui, had a unique artistic accomplishment. His most famous roles include Lu Su in Meeting of the Heroes and Wu Zixu in Wenzhao Pass. Tan Xinpei (1847-1917) was from Jiangxia (modern Wuchang County), Hubei. He did not confine himself to one model of acting but blended together charac¬ teristics of different styles to form his own school. The development of the bourgeois revolutionary movement in the early twentieth century had an effect on Peking opera. After the siege of Beijing by the Eight-Power Allied Forces, the famous actor Wang Xiaonong (1858-1918) wrote Weeping at the Ancestral Temple, based on the story of Liu Chen, king of Northern Shu (in modern Sichuan) at the end of the Three Kingdoms period who was opposed to surrendering to the enemy and wept as he made a sacrifice at his ancestral temple, to stir up patriotism and attack the corruption of the Qing

�520

court. Some actors tried to stage operas in contemporary costumes to satirize the government. Some Peking opera actors in Shanghai took part in the attack on the Jiangnan Machine Building Works after the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution. However, the imperial patrons of Peking opera, such as the Empress Dowager, exerted considerable influence on the development of Peking opera by using it as an instru¬ ment to protect their reactionary rule and for their own diversion, so that the repertoire came to include many inferior works which preached feudal morality, superstition and sexual license. Western-style modern drama made its appearance in the early twentieth century, closely associated from its inception with the revolution. A group of Chinese students in Tokyo founded the Spring Willow Society in 1907. As part of the protest against American mistreatment of Chinese migrant labour, they put on a five-act play of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plays like Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin were staged in Shanghai.

Two professional companies, the Progress Troupe

and the New Drama Association, were founded in 1910 and 1912 respectively. Their performances such as Long Live the Republic! Huanghuagang (about the seventy-two martyrs) and About Face! played an important role in the bourgeois revolutionary movement. Early twentieth-century China was very backward in science and technology. Nevertheless, there were still some notable achievements. In 1905, a locally-run railway from Bei¬ jing to Zhangjiakou was constructed under the supervision of Zhan Tianyou as chief engineer. The two-hundred kilometre railway was not very long, but as it passed through the Yanshan mountain range the terrain was complex a^id there were many difficulties in construction. Some imperialist elements sneered at this undertaking, claiming that a Chinese' engineer capable of constructing such a railway “had yet to be born” and that “China must be dreaming if it wants to build a rail¬ way on its own without foreign assistance; even if it could

521

it would be at least fifty years before it got to that stage.” Zhan Tianyou (1861-1919), from Wuyuan in Anhui (today in Jiangxi), assumed the responsibility for building this railway to bring credit to his country. He and his workers conquered re¬ peated difficulties, reducing the length of track to half that in the original European and American blueprints, and using two engines to pull and push on winding tracks to solve the problems of a steep ascent. The railway went into full opera¬ tion in October 1909, two years ahead of schedule. At the same time, Feng Ru also achieved outstanding results in the design and manufacture of aeroplanes. Feng Ru, a Chinese resident in the United States, built his first plane in 1908, one of the earliest in the world, with t-he assistance of other local Chinese. After many experiments, he finally built a plane in 1910 which could reach a speed of 104 kilo¬ metres per hour and an altitude of more than 230' metres. This plane won first prize in an international aviation competition in October the same year. He returned to China in February 1911, bringing his monoplane and biplane with him and three assistants. After the Wuchang Uprising he organized together with some other revolutionaries the Northern Airforce Reconnaissance Squad. Unfortunately, he was killed in a plane crash in Guangzhou while testing a plane in 1912. The achievements of Zhan Tianyou and Feng Ru won under difficult circumstances are highly commendable, once again demonstrating the creative and inventive genius of the Chinese people. However, the repression and devastation by the im¬ perialist powers and the reactionary regime at home retarded for decades the development of science and technology in China’s semi-colonial, semi-feudal society.

The Dawn of the Chinese Revolution

The 1911 Revolution was followed by an upsurge in in¬ dustrial growth. The period of World War I provided an op¬ portunity for the development of Chinese capitalism. The

�522

import of British goods in 1918 was nearly reduced by half compared with 1913, French imports were reduced by onethird, and German imports almost came to a complete halt. The mass anti-imperialist struggle, especially the movement to boycott Japanese goods, also gave a strong impetus to the development of national capitalism. In the period 1912-19, national capital financed the construction of more than 470 new factories and mines, plus the expansion of existing en¬ terprises, bringing the total amount of new capital to at least 130 million yuan, which exceeded the total capital investment of the previous fifty years. The development of national industry found expres¬ sion mainly in the textile and flour mills in the light in¬ dustrial sector! In 1911 there were only 20 cotton mills, with a total of about 500,000 spindles; by 1917 this had increased to 35 mills and more than 650,000 spindles. The growth in flour milling was even greater, with 45 mills in 1911 increasing to more than 120 in 1919, and an increase in capital invest¬ ment from more than 6 million yuan to about 45 million yuan. Other branches of light industry which also developed greatly in this period included match factories, woollen and paper mills, tanneries and the manufacture of cigarettes and soap. Although there was some degree of increase in heavy in¬ dustry, it was chiefly under the control of the imperialist powers. World War I also provided Japan and the United States with the opportunity to step up their aggression against China. In 1917 and 1918, the United States imports in China were worth about 60 million taels of silver, about 60 per cent of the total value of British imports in 1913. Japanese invest¬ ment in Chinese enterprises increased from rpore than 380 million yen in 1913 to more than 880 million yqp. in 1919. Almost the entire production of pig iron and iron ore was controlled by Japanese capital, and one-third of coal pro¬ duction. Over one quarter of the equipment in operation in the cotton spinning industry was in Japanese enterprises. The

523

economic expansion of Japan in China was a new source of pressure on Chinese capitalism forming an obstacle to its development. The gradual development of Chinese capitalism did not change the semi-colonial, semi-feudal nature of Chinese so¬ ciety. National industry still could not break imperialist con¬ trol over heavy industry or its dominance of light industry. The development of national capitalism was also unable to affect the outstandingly superior position of the feudal econo¬ my in the national economy as a whole. High feudal land rents, usury and commercial profit all restricted the forma¬ tion and expansion of industrial capital. Chinese capitalism was in conflict with Chinese feudalism and at the same time dependent on it. Nevertheless capitalism developed to some extent and the ranks of the Chinese proletariat were correspondingly strengthened. Before the 1911 Revolution, industrial workers in China numbered about 500,000 to 600,000, but by 1919 this number had increased to more than 2,000,000. China’s industrial workers were mostly concentrated in mines, rail¬ ways, and textile, match, cigarette and steamship enterprises, in a dozen or more large cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Dalian and Harbin; 300,000 to 400,000 industrial workers were concentrated in Shanghai alone. This high degree of concentration was a special charac¬ teristic of the Chinese proletariat, which enabled them to form alliances and unite at a comparatively early stage and become a powerful fighting force. The 1911 Revolution failed to bring changes to the political and economic position of the Chinese proletariat. The life of the workers became even more difficult under warlord rule, and workers had no democratic rights whatsoever, being deprived of the freedom of assembly and discussion and the right to strike. Yuan Shikai’s Regula¬ tions Regarding Public Security and Police of 1912 and Public Security and Police Law of 1914 defined strikes as a criminal act obstructing “law and order” and openly proclaimed the

�524

need “to adopt all powers to prevent workers’ associations and activities”. The triple yoke of imperialist, feudal and capi¬ talist exploitation and oppression of the Chinese proletariat became heavier. This led to a rising wave of resistance and an increasing number of strikes. From 1912 to May 1919, there were more than 130 strikes, more than double the total of the previous seven years. These years saw notable advances in the scale of strikes and the level of the struggle. The role played by the Chinese proletariat in the political struggle to oppose imperialism and warlord treachery also became increasingly evident. When opposition arose to the Russian policy of “independence” for Outer Mongolia in 1912, the Chinese workers at the Russian-owned brick tea factories in Hankou held a spontaneous strike. In the 1915 patriotic movement to oppose the signing of the Twenty-One Demands between Japan and Yuan Shikai, Shanghai dock workers were the first to strike, and Chinese workers in Japaneseowned enterprises in Shanghai, Changsha and elsewhere also took part in the struggle. In 1916, the workers in Frenchowned enterprises in Tianjin went on strike in opposition to the forcible occupation by France of Laoxikai to enlarge its concession in Tianjin. Under the impetus of the workers’ strike, the Tianjin students also went on strike and merchants closed shop. Workers in Beijing and elsewhere held strikes in support, and the struggle against imperialism reached new heights. Workers from each branch of industry in Tianjin got organized to lead the strike and hold demonstrations. The struggle lasted five or six months, and the aggressive act of French imperialism was finally defeated. These struggles showed that the Chinese proletariat had become a powerful force. Phenomena such as supportive strikes and joint strikes show that by this stage in the Chinese labour movement, the scattered and spontaneous economic struggles for better living conditions were giving way to unified and organized anti-im¬ perialist, anti-feudal political struggles. From January 1912

525

to April 1919, there were six or seven large-scale joint strikes by industrial workers. Modern trade unions to replace the old trade associations were founded in the course of the strike movement. The strike at the Shanghai Commercial Press in 1917 demanding non-interference in union activities was led by a trade union. The development of the Chinese labour movement at this time shows the Chinese proletariat in the process of change from a class-in-itself to a class-for-itself, a precondition for the birth of the Chinese Communist Party. The new cultural movement to modernize Chinese culture dates from the foundation of Youth Magazine in Shanghai in 1915. The magazine’s first editor was Chen Duxiu (1880-1942), from Huaining, Anhui, who played a leading role in the new movement. In 1916, the magazine, now called New Youth, moved to Beijing, where it soon became the centre of the gradually unfolding movement. New Youth brought together a number of progressive intellectuals: among the earliest and most prominent editors and contributors were Li Dazhao and Lu Xun.

Li Dazhao (1889-1927), from Leting, Hebei, was a

leader in disseminating the new ways of thinking: one of Chi¬ na’s first Marxists, he was later one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party. Lu Xun, from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, whose real name was Zhou Shuren, was a leader of the new literary movement. The chief concern of the new cultural movement was the promotion of democracy and science. By democracy was meant a French-style bourgeois democratic government. The proponents of democracy at this time believed that the 1911 Revolution had not established true democracy in China. It was their hope to bring about, by promoting bourgeois democratic ideas and opposing autocratic rule, a bourgeois re¬ public in fact as well as in name. Li Dazhao pointed out that “the people” and “the ruler” and “freedom” and “autoc¬ racy” were irreconcilable concepts, and that “monarchy is death to a republic, autocracy is the destruction of liberty”. He urged resolute struggle against “the restorationists who

�526

are traitors to their country and enemies of the republic”, saying that no leniency should be shown towards them, but they should be “permanently uprooted so they cannot grow and spread”. Although such proposals could not be realized, they exposed and attacked the reactionary rule of the feudal landlords. The proponents of democracy promoted the study of science in order to combat superstition and blind obedience to authority, using modern knowledge of natural sciences to un¬ dermine belief in gods and ghosts. They also criticized theories of the divine sanction of rulers and predestination, upheld atheistic views and introduced bourgeois materialist philosophy from the West. As the new cultural movement developed, the proponents of democracy directed the spearhead of their attack against the doctrines of Confucius, which had been developed by Confucianists throughout the centuries as a bulwark for feudal autocracy. Li Dazhao pointed out that autocratic monarchs made Confucius an idol, and Confucius in turn became “an idol for the protection of monarchical rule” and “a screen to provide shelter for imperial autocracy”.

Hence the destruc¬

tion of the idol was at the same time criticism of the spirit of monarchical autocracy. Lu Xun’s attacks on the “cannibalism” in feudal ethics were particularly acute, and he expressed the hope that young people would unloosen the bonds of the feudal system and thinking. Such deep-going and powerful attacks as Lu Xun’s were unprecedented and played a great role in mobilizing people for the struggle. New Youth also called for the promotion of literature in the modern vernacular language and the overthrow of writings in classical language, the promotion of new literature and the overthrow of old literature. This was the start oisa revolu¬ tion in literature. Its commander-general was Lu Xun, whose “A Madman’s Diary”, published in New Youth in May 1918, was the first short story in the new literary movement, fol¬ lowed by stories such as “Kong Yiji” and “Medicine”. Lu

527

Xun was also famous for his short satirical essays on all aspects of society.

His stories and essays, with their combination of

revolutionary content and modern artistic form, established outstanding models for the new literature. The new cultural movement from 1915 to 1919 had serious shortcomings due to the bourgeois outlook of its leaders. It did not reach into the masses, was not closely united with the political movements of its time and treated cultural problems formalistically.

However, in its attacks on feudalism the new

cultural movement went far beyond any previous movement. It played a major role in helping young intellectuals to cast off the bonds of the old thinking, encouraged people to in¬ tensify their search for a means by which the country and its people could be saved from foreign aggression, was the pioneer in thinking for the May 4 Movement and paved the way for the spread of Marxism-Leninism in China. “The

salvoes

of

the

October

Revolution

brought

us

Marxism-Leninism.”1 The success of the 1917 October Revolu¬ tion in Russia was welcomed enthusiastically by progressive people in China, who took up the study of Marxism-Leninism and reevaluated China’s problems in its light. The process of propagation of Marxism-Leninism produced the first group of Chinese intellectuals with an elementary knowledge of communist ideology.

In “A Comparison Between the French

and Russian Revolutions”, published in July 1918, Li Dazhao pointed out the socialist nature of the October Revolution and called on the Chinese people to greet the new tide of revolu¬ tion. In “The Victory of Bolshevism”, published in November, he proclaimed that “we can see that the future of the universe is a world of the red flag”. From the beginning of the spread of Marxism-Leninism in China, Comrade Mao Zedong represented the correct direction

‘Mao Zedong, “On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship”, Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 413, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1975,

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in the combination of the universal truth of Marxism-Lenin¬ ism and the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. As the new cultural movement quickly developed into a movement for the study and dissemination of MarxismLeninism, the Chinese revolution also changed into a newdemocratic revolution. On May 4, 1919, an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal demonstration was held by students in Beijing, which grew into a large-scale nation-wide movement of students, workers and others known as the May 4 Movement. The May 4 Movement marked the end of the old democratic revolution led by the bourgeoisie and the beginning of the new-democratic revolution led by the proletariat.