[7] She not only had the right to issue edicts and pardons, but if the emperor died without a designated heir, she had the sole right to appoint a new emperor. Wang (1949), 166–168; Loewe (1968), 50–51; Bielenstein (1980), 5, 10–12, 116–117, 124. de Crespigny (2007), 589; Bielenstein (1986), 282–283. [75] A merchant who owned property worth a thousand catties of gold—equivalent to ten million cash coins—was considered a great merchant. [55] The social status of poor independent owner-cultivators was above tenants and wage laborers, yet below that of wealthy landowners. A new synthetic ideology of Han Confucianism was created when the scholar Dong Zhongshu (179–104 BCE) united the Confucian canon allegedly edited by Kongzi, or Confucius (551–479 BCE), with cosmological cycles of yin and yang and the Chinese five elements. [74] If they violated this law, their land and slaves would be confiscated by the state. [229] Evidence for this includes archaeological finds at Qin-era Shuihudi and Han-era Zhangjiashan. [264] Wine was also regularly consumed. [275] However, 'tomb-quelling texts' (zhenmuwen 鎮墓文) that appeared during the 1st century CE acted as passports for the dead so that they did not disturb or bring danger to the living. [7] If an emperor was only a child, he acted merely as a figurehead while the empress dowager dominated court politics. The amalgamation of these ideas into a theological system involving earlier cosmological theories of yin and yang as well as the five phases (i.e. A. (1986), 212; Mair (2001), 251. [276] However, Emperor Cheng (r. 33–7 BCE) cancelled state worship of the Five Powers in favor of ceremonies dedicated to Heaven (Tian 天) and the supreme god (Shangdi 上帝), who the kings of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050 – 256 BCE) had worshipped and traced their legitimacy to. Which sentence best describes how art in Buddhist cave temples along the Silk Road reflects the beliefs of the Chinese people? [120] In addition to an increase in salary (see table to the right), newly promoted men were granted wine and ox-meat for a celebratory banquet. [110] Although slaves were subject to beatings if they did not obey their masters, it was against the law to murder a slave; kings were stripped of their kingdoms after it was found that they had murdered slaves, while Wang Mang even forced one of his sons to commit suicide for murdering a slave. Names taken from Hardy and Kinney (2005), 89. [287], The first mentioning of Buddhism in China occurred in 65 CE. Nishijima (1986), 581–583; Wang (1982), 83–85. Zhao Kuangyin, later known as Emperor Taizu (r. 960–976), usurped the throne and deposed the last Zhou ruler Guo Zongxun with the support of military commanders in 960, initiating the Song dynasty. [162] However, there are many recorded deviations from this rule, as some Han women are written to have engaged in heated arguments with their husbands over concubines (sometimes beating concubines out of jealousy and to punish the husband), wrote essays and letters for husbands serving as government officials, and sometimes husbands turned to their wives for advice on political affairs of the court. The former represented works transmitted orally after the Qin book burning of 213 BCE, and the latter was newly discovered texts alleged by Kong Anguo, Liu Xin, and others to have been excavated from the walls of Kongzi's home, displayed archaic written characters, and thus were more authentic versions. Not only were there many different burial customs and views on how one journeyed through the afterlife, but even the names hun and po for spirit-soul and body-soul could be substituted with demon (gui 鬼) and spirit (shen 神). [176] 'Legalism' was the label created by Han scholars to describe the socio-political philosophy formulated largely by Shen Buhai (d. 340 BCE), Shang Yang (d. 338 BCE), and Han Fei (c. 280 – c. 233 BCE), a philosophy which stressed that government had to rely on a strict system of punishments and rewards to maintain law and order. "An Outline of The Central Government of The Former Han Dynasty,", Xue, Shiqi. (1986). Hardy (1999), 1–3 & 14–17; Hansen (2000), 110–112. It lasted from 206BC to 9 AD, then from 22 AD to 220 AD. [195] In his New Discussions (Xinlun 新論), Huan Tan (43 BCE −28 CE) argued that although the Han court sponsored Confucian education, the government had become corrupt and thus undermined Dong Zhongshu's cosmically ordained belief that Confucian education went hand-in-hand with political success. Your IP: 94.23.250.140 [265] The Han also had tools for ironing clothes. [126] The official reach of government extended no further than the district level, where county-appointed officials included the chief of police who maintained law and order and the district tax collector. 4th century BCE) centuries before. Hulsewé (1986), 528–529; Hucker (1975), 163. [300] By the end of the year their leadership—including Zhang Jue—had been killed and only scattered groups remained until they were amalgamated into the forces of Cao Cao in 192 CE.[300]. [246], During the Western Han, grave goods were usually wares and pieces of art that were used by the tomb occupant when he or she was alive. This became accepted as the mainstream guide to ethics and custom. [124], During the Han, the empire was divided into large administrative units of kingdoms and commanderies; within a commandery there were counties, and within counties there were districts that contained at least several hamlets. [219], Aside from the biographies found in the Standard Histories, it became popular amongst gentrymen to write stylistic essays and commission private biographies on other gentlemen. involving military merit during rebellions of late Eastern Han) when subordinate officers of county-level administrations advanced to the level of central government. [181] Emperor Gaozu found Shusun Tong's Confucian reforms of court rituals useful so long as they further exalted his status, yet it was not until Emperor Wu's reign that Confucianism gained exclusive patronage at court. [202] However, Sima's work is considered the first of China's Standard Histories, laid the groundwork for Chinese historiography by creating the first universal history of China. [155], The two types of inheritance during Han included the common inheritance of property from the deceased, which all social groups (except for slaves) participated in, and the inheritance of titles, which only the people of twenty ranks, nobility, and royalty could enjoy. Barbieri-Low (2007), 36–38; Ch'ü (1972), 112. Despite its undeniable power and technological innovation, the empire's collapse sent the country into disarray for nearly four centuries. [145] Once a couple had married, the new wife was obligated to visit the family temple so she could become part of the husband's clan and be properly worshipped by her descendants after death. [120] All males above the age of 15 (excluding slaves) could be promoted in rank up to level eight. [133] The Chinese family was patrilineal, since a father's sons did not consider a mother's kin to be part of their clan; instead, they were considered 'outside relatives'. [187] Despite mainstream acceptance of Confucianism for the rest of Han (and until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911), philosophers still defended some Legalist ideas while the state's laws and policies reflect a compromise reached between Legalism and Han Confucianism. Csikszentmihalyi (2006), 23–24; Hansen (2000), 110–112. They brought together the established, popular metaphysics and Buddhist doctrines.In the north of China there were quite a few reputed monks while in the south many scholar-bureaucrats were well versed in Buddhism. [238], Sometimes criminals were beaten with the bastinado to gain confessions, but Han scholars argued that torture was not the best means of gaining confession, while court conferences were called into session to decide how many strokes should be given and what size the stick should be so as not to cause permanent injury. [197] Eastern Han Confucians incorporated ideas of Legalism and Daoism to explain how society could be salvaged, such as Wang Fu (78–163 CE) in his Comments of a Recluse (Qian fu lun) who argued that the evils accumulated by mankind over time could be rectified by direct engagement of the body-politic (the Legalist approach), but that the individual had to cultivate personal virtue in the meantime as a long-term solution (the Daoist approach). You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. [295] He moved to what is now Sichuan province and claimed to have a revelation where the deified Laozi appointed him as his earthly representative and Celestial Master. Opening trade on the Silk Road O B. Hinsch (2002), 25–26; de Crespigny (2007), 511; Beck (1986), 323. [240] Mutilating punishments also existed in early Han, borrowed from previous practice in Qin. [270], Han-era Chinese believed that a person had two souls, the hun and po. [118] Being a butcher was another lowly occupation, yet there is one case where a butcher became an official during Emperor Gaozu's reign, while Empress He (d. 189 CE) and her brother, the regent He Jin (d. 189 CE), came from a family of butchers. [74] The effectiveness of this law is questionable, since contemporary Han writers mention merchants owning huge tracts of land. "Standing man and woman," in, Bower, Virginia (2005). [167] Some women formed communal spinning and weaving groups to pool resources together to pay for candles, lamp oil, and heat during night and winter. [128] Influential families within the wards usually maintained social order. [287] Valerie Hansen writes that Han-era Daoists were organized into small groups of people who believed that individual immortality could be obtained through "breathing exercises, sexual techniques, and medical potions. [275] Both Western Han and Eastern Han tombs contained 'land contracts' (diquan 地券) which stated that the deceased owned the land they were buried in. [174], The historian Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) wrote that the Legalist tradition inherited by Han from the previous Qin dynasty taught that imposing severe man-made laws which were short of kindness would produce a well-ordered society, given that human nature was innately immoral and had to be checked. The Song system of government was also advanced for its time. [277] One of the underlying reasons for this shift in state policy was Emperor Cheng's desire to gain Heaven's direct favor and thus become blessed with a male heir. [59] The military service obligation could even be avoided if a peasant paid a commuting tax, since the Eastern Han military became largely a volunteer force. 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