China is the oldest civilization existing today. Its experience in this regard requires special understanding in terms of historical viability. One of the detectable traditional bonds of the Chinese state is the national idea.
It is China, along with its other world inventions, that takes the lead in discovering the phenomenon of general civil ideology. The oldest ideological doctrines in the history of mankind can be considered Confucianism, Legalism and, with certain reservations, Taoism. Their identification as national ideas refutes the widespread view of ideology as an exclusive product of the modern era (industrialism, bourgeois society). Accordingly, the completion of the modernist phase of development does not mean the objectivity of deideologization.
The specificity of the structure of Chinese society lies in the special significance of the institution of clans (tribal associations). If for Western countries clanism is most often considered as an obstacle to social development, then for China it is a natural form of civilizational existence. Clans still play a structure-forming role in Chinese society. Understanding their fundamental importance as a factor in the vitality of the social organism, the communist authorities of China never put forward the task of destroying the clan system. For comparison, in the USSR there was an active struggle against this kind of traditionalist institutions, classified as a relic of pre-capitalist formations.
Clans in China act as bearers of the value traditions of the Chinese people. They represent the link between the state and the individual. In this sense, the clan system provides the integration potential of the Chinese state, being one of the most important civilizational bonds of China.
The entry into the modern era confronted China, as well as other states, with the task of self-determination as a civil nation. First of all, this was expressed in the policy of consolidation of the state-forming Han people. Today it makes up 92% of the Chinese population. However, a century ago, a single Han ethnic group actually did not exist. It united very different ethnic groups by the political will of the state. Significant differences in the dialects of dozens of groups united as Han are still evident to this day, even at the level of vocabulary and grammar. And today, in everyday life, the Chinese communicate mainly in dialectical dialects.
Ethnically, the Chinese people were much more heterogeneous than the Russians. However
The Chinese managed to achieve ethnic unity in the twentieth century, while at the same time the Russian ethnic group was completely split into Great Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.
One of the main instruments of Chinese consolidation was a deliberate policy of supporting the generally accepted version of the official language - Putonghua [ Reshetov A.M. Chinese (Han) in the light of the theory of ethnicity // XXVIII Scientific Conference "Society and State in China". M., 1998. S. 265-270.].
The idea of the Chinese nation-state was first theoretically formulated by the founder of the Kuomintang party, Sun Yat-sen. His assessment as “Confucius in real politics” reflects the ideological continuity in relation to the Confucian national tradition of the new doctrine he formulated. Being a Protestant Congregationalist by religion, he introduced categories and concepts characteristic of Western modernity into the traditional Chinese arsenal of values. The doctrine of the “three principles of the people” developed by Sun Yat-sen is to this day the state ideology of the Republic of Taiwan. This also includes the appeal in the preamble to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Three popular principles: nationalism, democracy and people's welfare - correspond, respectively, with the factors of national sovereignty, state-political management coming from below and economic development based on socialist egalitarianism (culture, politics, economics) [ Sun Yatsen. Three People's Principles ("San Min Zhong"). M., 1928; Senin I.G. Socially - political and philosophical views of Sun Yat-Sen. M., 1956; Kuzmin I.D. Confucianism and the evolution of Kuomintang ideology. L., 1975; Matveeva G.S. Father of the Republic: The Tale of Sun Yat-Sen. M., 1975; Sun Yat-sen. Selected works. M., 1985.].
The consolidation of the Han was the first stage of the project of forming a unified Chinese nation. On the second stage, the task of uniting other ethnic groups located on the periphery of the state around the state-forming people was realized. The Third Congress of the Kuomintang officially declared a program for uniting “400 million people into one state nation.” The concept of “zhonghua minzu” or “nation of China” was used to designate this format of consolidation. Today, its content is being modified to apply not only to citizens of the PRC, but also to ethnic Chinese living outside their homeland (huaqiao). Their activities in the political, economic and cultural spheres are now largely coordinated from Beijing. The direct coordinators are the Committees for Overseas Chinese Affairs under the State Council of the People's Republic of China and the Association of Overseas Chinese. Since 1991, the World Congresses of Chinese Entrepreneurs have been held, positioned as the Chinese analogue of the forums in Davos. In parallel, such events as the World Forum of Representatives of Chinese-language Media are being organized.
Russian programs for interaction with compatriots abroad cannot be compared in this regard.
Overseas Chinese communities are officially considered in the PRC as a factor in the implementation of China's new world mission. To call a spade a spade, they constitute an external army in the Chinese geopolitical offensive strategy [ Gelbras V.G. People's Republic of China: revival of the national idea // National idea: history, ideology, myth. M., 2004. pp. 256-258.].
Recently, the view that China is culturally introverted has become widespread. According to it, being focused exclusively on itself, it does not, like the United States, pose a threat to global external expansion. However, only one component of Chinese civilization is characterized by introversion—culture. In all other aspects of civilizational existence - ideology, economics, geopolitics - China is developing towards achieving the status of a world superpower.
In accordance with the Confucian tradition, China presents itself as the Celestial Empire or the Middle Empire. Through these names the idea of Chinese national superiority is emphasized. The mental trauma to the imperial self-consciousness of the Chinese was inflicted in the 19th century. the transformation of the Celestial Empire into a semi-colony of Western states. A derivative of it at the level of popular memory was the intention to exterminate the “white barbarians” (“Boxer Rebellion”) [ Myshlaevsky A.Z. Military operations in China. 1900-1901 Part 1. St. Petersburg, 1905.].
The memory of ethnocide is of fundamental importance for national identity. The tragedies of the peoples of Armenians and Jews are known. The motives for the psychological trauma of ethnocide are contained in the memory of other peoples. This kind of trauma is present in national self-reflection in China as well. For the Chinese, this is a memory of the “Opium Wars.” A symbol of European atrocities is the summer residence of the Qing emperors, Yuanshinyuan, which is still in ruins on the territory of modern Beijing. The Chinese authorities deliberately do not restore it, preserving it as evidence of the cultural xenophobia of the West [ Selishchev A.S., Selishchev N.A. Chinese economy in the 21st century. St. Petersburg, 2004. pp. 8-9.].
Reflection on the colonial past is reflected in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. To this day, according to researchers, China’s development strategy is largely implicitly motivated by the idea of “revenge for almost 100 years of humiliation by imperialist states, including Russia” [ Gelbras V.G. People's Republic of China: revival of the national idea // National idea: history, ideology, myth. M., 2004. P. 256.].
Under Mao Zedong, the ideology of Chinese expansionism was presented in an uncamouflaged form. It was expressed in the concept of the “paper tiger”, according to which victory in the coming world war will be on the side of the PRC as a power with numerical superiority over its opponents. The United States and the USSR were presented as “paper tigers,” whose nuclear power, in the opinion of the Chinese leadership, was significantly exaggerated. Being absurd in military-strategic terms, this ideologeme had a high mobilization potential, instilling in the minds of the PRC population a sense of confidence in the ability to resist any rival [ Burlatsky F.M. Mao Zedong: “our signature number is war, dictatorship.” M.: International relations, 1976.].
In modern China, the idea of external expansion is presented largely in the form of an economic offensive. From the official platform they talk about a “new great campaign.” Specific gross indicators and dates for the PRC to gain a leading position in the world economy are known. China's foreign economic offensive has been designated by Chairman Jiang Zemin as the "main battlefield." “Going outward” has become the new motto of Chinese policy. So
the idea of China's introversion does not correspond to either the ideological or political realities of its historical and modern development.
Meanwhile, territorial claims put forward in various Chinese-language media regarding Russia vary on a scale from 1.5 million to 5.88 million sq. km [ Gelbras V.G. People's Republic of China: revival of the national idea // National idea: history, ideology, myth. M., 2004. S. 254-256, 259.].
The state ideology of the PRC is enshrined in the Constitution. In modern China, the doctrine of socialism with national Chinese characteristics has been adopted. The idea of the specificity of the socialist model in the PRC received justification within the framework of Maoism. However, under Mao the emphasis was more on socialism than on national specificity. Maoism was an ultra-left ideology, the banner of radical left forces in various countries of the world. The Maoist "cultural revolution" is a fundamental break with the country's national traditions. Confucian and Taoist cultural accumulations were subject to categorical eradication. From the historical past of China, only the ideology of legalism and the policy of the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, implemented on its basis, turned out to be value-acceptable for the Maoists [ Rumyantsev A. Maoism, Origins and evolution of the “ideas of Mao Zedong” (On the anti-Marxist essence of Maoism). M., 1972; Burlatsky F.M. Mao Zedong: “our signature number is war, dictatorship.” M.: International relations, 1976.].
Today in the PRC the main slogan is not the construction of a communist society, but the “great revival of the Chinese nation.” In the still relevant ideologeme of socialism with Chinese national characteristics, there has been a reorientation to the second component of the ideological structure. Socialism is no longer perceived as a goal, but as a means of ensuring the greatness of the nation.
Chapter from the book: V.E. Bagdasaryan, S.S. Sulakshin. "The highest values of the Russian state." Series "Political axiology". Scientific monograph. M.: Scientific expert, 2012. - 624 p. - pp. 297-302.
As a result of the aggressive wars of Wu-di and his successors in the 2nd-1st centuries. BC e. The territory of the Han Empire reached enormous proportions. In the northeast, it covered the Liaodong Peninsula and a small part of the Korean Peninsula; its northern border was the Great Wall of China; the western districts of the empire occupied almost the entire modern province of Gansu; southwestern-eastern parts of Sichuan and Yunnan; in the south the empire included Guangxi, Guangdong and about. Hainan and the northern part of modern Vietnam; in the east - all coastal areas. It goes without saying that, ethnically, the population of the Han Empire presented an extremely “variegated picture.”
The unification of the country contributed to the consolidation of the ethnic unity of the ancient Chinese, which took shape in the Yellow River basin during the Zhanguo era. In the Han era, the population of Northern China emerged as a fully formed nation, and it is no coincidence that the name Han Dynasty later became the self-name of the Chinese. 3 On the other hand, the expansion of the ancient Chinese's ethnic territory stimulated their contacts with neighboring non-Chinese groups. The Han philosopher Wang Chong wrote about this: “The inhabitants of Ba, Shu, Yue, Xi, Yulin, Zhinan, Liaodong, Lolan during the Zhou era walked unkempt or braided their hair - now they wear Chinese headdresses. During the Zhou era, they communicated with the Chinese through translators, and now they recite the “Book of Songs 44” by heart. At the same time, the Chinese inevitably experienced the influence of neighboring ethnically alien peoples. As the Chinese spread to the south, their physical appearance gradually changed, acquiring more and more pronounced southern Mongoloid features, the language changed, and southern features appeared in customs and way of life.
The intensive process of acculturation of southern ethnic groups did not cover all newly annexed areas. In Han times, they had not yet affected the territories of the extreme south and southwest. A striking example of the existence of pockets of a distinctive aboriginal culture in the territories dependent on the Han was provided by recent excavations in Shizhaishan (Yunnan Province). According to historical tradition, Zhuang Qiao, one of the generals of the Chu kingdom of the Zhanguo era, was sent on a campaign against the local Dian tribes. Due to a number of circumstances, Zhuang Qiao did not return back and remained among the aborigines; he had to "change his clothes and follow their customs." The descendants of Zhuang Qiao recognized the Han emperor and were granted the title of Dian Wang. The discovery of a seal with a similar inscription in one of the Shizhaishan burials made it possible to establish the identity of the monuments excavated by archaeologists. The Dian tribes already knew iron, but the vast majority of tools and weapons were made from bronze. Among these products, we should note bronze drums, widespread among many modern peoples of Southern China. The sculptural scenes of the bringing of gifts, also made in bronze, are extremely interesting. Studying the costumes and hairstyles depicted in these images allowed the Chinese ethnographer Feng Han-chi to identify seven different local groups whose destinies during the Han era were closely linked to the Dian tribes.
Socio-economic development of the country in the last centuries BC
The spread of private land ownership in Han China meant the undermining of the community's priority in land ownership and land use. Former community members become the owners of their plot, which they can now sell and buy.
The emergence of a class of free landowners was in itself the beginning of a new stage of social differentiation. Property stratification leads to the separation of rich and poor families within patronymics.
The process of dispossession of the bulk of the peasantry and the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a small slave-owning nobility acquired the character of a major contradiction in society in the last centuries BC. According to the figurative expression of one of the Han leaders, “the rich have fields stretching one after another, but the poor have nowhere to stick an awl.” This was the reason that, along with the use of slave labor in production (still mainly in crafts and mining), new forms of exploitation - wage labor and rental relations - were becoming increasingly widespread in Han China. It is important to emphasize that the rental relations of this period were of a “free” nature: the tenant continued to pay taxes to the state and serve military service, and was not formally deprived of the right to hold public office. Thus, his legal position was fundamentally different from that of a slave, who did not pay taxes and did not serve military service, and from a serf, personally dependent on the feudal lord. However, the tenant's position was extremely precarious. According to sources, the payment for the use of a land plot, collected by the landowner from the tenant, reached half the harvest in the Han period.
At the same time, if we consider that the continuous wars of the 2nd-1st centuries. BC e. led to an increase in the tax burden, it will become clear why the ruin of the peasants led to their transformation into slaves, which took on such significant proportions in the last years of Wu-di’s reign. The last decades BC were marked by a growing wave of peasant uprisings.
Wang Mang's reforms were a unique attempt to solve this problem. In 8 AD e. representative of the reigning house Wang Mang carries out a palace coup. Having seized power, he announced the beginning of a “new reign” and began to implement reforms. All fields were declared the property of the state. The purchase and sale of land and slaves was prohibited. A state monopoly was introduced on the sale of salt and wine, as well as on the mining of iron ore. The monetary system was reformed and the administrative divisions were changed. Van Man's reforms, the main idea of which was the desire to legally prohibit the spread of private ownership of land, were a utopian attempt to reverse the economic development of the country. The reforms met with sharp opposition from both the landed nobility and merchants, and small landowners. In 17, uprisings broke out in various parts of the country. The rebel army of the "red brows" captures the capital. However, supporters of the Han dynasty overthrown by Wang Mang, taking advantage of the successes of the rebels, again proclaimed it in 25. This dynasty is known in history as the Eastern Han because it moved the capital from Changan east to Luoyang.
Power in the country passes into the hands of the Han aristocracy. During the Eastern Han, successes were achieved in the fight against the Huns, who recognized themselves as tributaries of the empire. Connections are established with Central Asia along the Great Silk Road; The activities of Ban Chao, who was the Han ambassador to the states of the Western Territory for 30 years, played a large role in this. The first centuries AD date to the beginning of the penetration of Buddhism into China from India.
One of the main problems that the Eastern Han rulers had to face soon after the accession of the dynasty was the relationship with the Qiang. The semi-nomadic Qiang tribes have long inhabited the region of Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The advance of the Chinese into Gansu, which took place during the time of Wu-di, pushed the Qiang to the southwest. However, towards the end of the early Han dynasty, the Qiang began to settle again in their old lands. The Han administration tried to resolve the issue by military force, physically exterminating the Qiang or relocating individual groups of them deep into the country, where they were doomed to forced assimilation. The Qiang offered resistance to the Chinese, which resulted in fierce military action, and often invaded far into the country. In 136, the Qiang approached Chanan and burned the former imperial palaces in its vicinity. The wars with the Qiang, which lasted a total of about 60 years, required enormous expenditures of material and military resources from the Han rulers. However, they were never able to resolve the Qiang problem. Meanwhile, new peasant unrest was brewing in the country. The struggle between palace cliques weakened centralized power.
In 184, the Yellow Turban uprising led by the Taoist preacher Zhang Jiao swept the entire country. All the palace cliques, the aristocracy and the emperor acted as a united front against the rebels. The imperial army, led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei, inflicted a number of serious defeats on the rebels in the late winter of 184. However, the movement grew in other areas and only began to decline in 216. In 220, the Han dynasty fell and the unified empire ceased to exist.
The empire split into three kingdoms: Wei in the north, in the Yellow River Valley, Wu in the south, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze, and Shu in the southwest, in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze. The era of the Three Kingdoms began (220-265).
In 280, the emperor of the Jin dynasty, which replaced Wei in Northern China, managed to unify the country, but not for long. In 316, the capital of the Jin dynasty fell under the attacks of northern semi-nomadic tribes. The Jin emperor was captured, and part of his court, army and population fled south, beyond the Yangtze.
The Eastern Jin period began (317-420). In the north, in the Yellow River Valley, from 316 to 439, 16 dynasties of different ethnic origins ruled. In the south, after the fall of the Jin, four dynasties ruled in succession. Therefore, IV-VI centuries. received in historiography the name of the era of the Southern and Northern dynasties. This was the era of assertion in China
The emergence of the feudal mode of production
As is known, modern historical science has not yet developed a single point of view on when ancient Chinese society moved from a slave-owning formation to feudalism. A number of Chinese scientists (Fan Wen-lan, Jian Po-tsang, etc.) attribute the origin of feudal relations to the end of the Yin era (end of the 2nd millennium BC); the majority of Chinese scientists, led by Guo Mo-jo, believe that the transition to feudalism took place on the verge of Chunqiu-Zhangguo (VI-V centuries BC); Some Soviet scientists (JI. I. Duman) attribute the final formation of the feudal system to the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e.; Most Soviet scientists, as well as some Chinese historians, believe that feudal relations were established in China in the 3rd-4th centuries. n. e. It is extremely significant that the first two points of view (Fan Wen-lan and Kuo Mo-ro), which are in obvious contradiction with the scientific concept of a single path of world-historical development, are not confirmed in the real facts of the history of China. Apparently, the last point of view is the most acceptable, since it correctly reflects the process of the formation of relations of feudal dependence in the Chinese countryside.
It was already mentioned above that the spread of rental relations in the IV-II centuries. BC e. did not yet affect the legal position of the tenant, who continued to remain personally free. However, already at the end of the reign of the early Han dynasty, and especially in the first centuries of our era, rental relations began to undergo qualitative changes. Sources contain references to the fact that landowners seek to “shelter” their tenants from the state and prevent the latter from paying taxes to the treasury. Thus, the legal position of the tenant begins to change: he gradually falls into the fetters of personal dependence on the owner of the land.
The peculiarity of this process in Han China was that the emergence of forms of feudal dependence was combined with the preservation of significant remnants of the patronymic organization. Property stratification within patronymics, consisting of a number of large and small families, led to the emergence of poor and rich families. In conditions where the settlement coincided with a patronym, the most natural way out of this situation was to rent land from a rich family within the same patronymy. According to tradition, the head of the patronymy, who in most cases was also the head of the richest family, was supposed to provide patronage to his relatives, which further increased the dependence of poor tenants on the owner of the land. Another source of the emergence of a dependent peasantry was the emancipation of slaves who were forced onto the land.
It is quite obvious that the change in the legal status of the tenant, who now depended only on the landowner and could not pay state taxes, meant a reduction in the sources of the financial and military power of the centralized state. It is no coincidence that many political figures of the Han era (Shi Dan, Zhang Chang-tung, etc.) one after another came out with a demand for allocating land to the peasants from the state fund and limiting the land ownership of the nobility. However, these measures could not stop the process of feudalization of the village. The first (and, moreover, very unclear) mention that the state was forced to recognize the right of large landowners to own personally dependent peasants dates back to the Wei kingdom of the Three Kingdoms era (mid-3rd century). And in 280, the founder of the Western Jin dynasty, Sima Yan, issued a decree allowing landowners to have up to 50 households of dependent tenants. This figure in itself is small, and this decree was, according to the emperor, supposed to limit the number of personally dependent peasants. At the same time, it was a recognition of the legitimacy of the new relationship between landowner and tenant. The process of the formation of feudal relations ended with their legal registration.
Ethnic processes of the era of the Southern and Northern dynasties
In traditional historiography, the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties was usually characterized as a “time of troubles,” a period of destruction of traditional Chinese culture. This is a deeply erroneous opinion. In the history of the peoples of China as a whole, IV-VI centuries. were a period when the ethnic processes that had taken place in this territory at an earlier time accelerated and acquired a hitherto unprecedented scale. This was a period of displacement of huge masses of the population, clashes of peoples of the most diverse groups and areas. The era of the Southern and Northern dynasties is one of the most important stages in the ethnic history of China.
The ethnic processes taking place in the depths of Han society were accelerated by the political events of the last period of the dynasty. The Han emperor was nominally still in power, but in fact, an internecine war was already going on in the territory of Northern China. The favorite method of applicants for power in the country was the violent deportation of the population: by this they tried to preserve their military potential and deprive their opponents of manpower. The result of the bloody civil strife was that flourishing cities were wiped off the face of the earth, a huge number of the population was destroyed, and even larger masses of civilians were forced to leave their homes and flee in search of protection from fire and hunger. However, this was only a kind of prelude to one of the largest migrations of northern residents in the history of China, which began in the 4th century, after the invasion of the Yellow River basin by nomadic tribes. Some researchers believe that the total population that moved south during this period reached 900 thousand people, which was about Vs of the total population of the northern regions and 7b of the population in the territory south of the Yangtze. Most of the migrants were in the southern part of the modern province of Jiangsu, where the capital of the Eastern Jin dynasty was founded: if in general in the territory of Southern China every sixth resident in this era was a migrant from the north, then here there was one migrant for every native. The local population of these areas, known in the sources of that time as the mountain Yue, for the first time in their history found themselves drawn into an intensive process of assimilation. Some of the mountain Yue were forced to move to more southern regions, and probably also to Taiwan, while the other part gradually mixed with the Chinese. This mixing did not mean the dissolution of the aborigines among the settlers, since as a result of this process the settlers themselves changed. This affected the language especially clearly. If initially newcomers from the north contemptuously called the local dialect “bird language,” then after one or two centuries the situation changed dramatically: the language of the local population began to be spoken not only by common people, but also by the nobility, who had previously boasted of their northern origin. Therefore, we can accept the hypothesis of the Chinese ethnographer Lin Hui-hsiang, who explains the features of the physical appearance and language of the modern Chinese of Fujian as a result of the mixing of settlers from the north and the indigenous Yue population. With the migration of the Chinese to the south in the 5th-6th centuries. The formation of a very peculiar Hakka dialect (kejia) is also associated G which is now widespread among the Chinese population of Southern China.
Much more complex ethnic processes took place in the 4th-6th centuries. in northern China. The formation of a number of “barbarian” states in the Yellow River basin was not the result of their sudden invasion from outside. Already in the Han era, various non-Chinese ethnic groups began to settle in the northern and northwestern regions of the empire - the Huns, Qiang, Wuhuan, Xianbi. In some districts (for example, in the province of Shaanxi) the “barbarian” population was by this time no less than the Chinese. This situation arose due to various reasons: the settlement of semi-nomadic tribes in new territories (Xianbi, partly Huns and Qiang) or forced relocation (Wuhuan, some groups of Qiang). Where the “barbarians” settled in large compact groups, they retained their tribal organization, which was recognized by the Chinese administration. The weakening of the central government and the outbreak of internecine wars between various groups of local nobility created favorable conditions for the restoration of the independence of these tribes. In the north of China, one after another, the “states” of the Huns (Early Zhao, Northern Liang, Xia), Qiang (Later Qin), related to the Qiang di (Chen Han, Early Qin, Later Liang, etc.), Xianbi (Yan, Western Qin).
The Xianbi are gradually strengthening, completing the transition from the primitive communal system to class society. In 439, the Xianbei clan of Toba united the entire territory of the north under the rule of the Wei dynasty (439-550). This period was characterized, on the one hand, by the process of consolidation of the Hun and Qiang tribes under the auspices of the Xianbi, and on the other hand, by the interaction of the Xianbi with the Han ethnic substrate. The well-known “Syanbization” of the population of the north at this time is beyond doubt. It was expressed primarily in the wide distribution of the Xianbei language throughout the north. It is curious that the founder of the kingdom of Northern Qi (it arose on the site of Wei in 550), Gao Huan, was Chinese by origin, but considered himself a Xianbi and spoke Xianbi. Overall, however, the influence of the numerically superior Chinese population could not help but prevail. Most of the Xianbeans eventually dissolved into the Chinese environment, although they passed on some of their traditions to it. More than a hundred years of Xianbi dominance in the Yellow River basin did not pass without a trace in this regard. It is the influence of northern nomads that can explain such significant changes in the life of the Chinese population of the north, such as the consumption of milk and flatbreads made from wheat flour. At this time, those differences in the food of the northern and southern Chinese that are characteristic of the entire subsequent period begin to take shape: flatbreads, meat in the diet of the northerners and fish, vegetables, tea (borrowed from the Yue) in the diet of the southerners.
Qin Dynasty in Ancient China
From the middle of the 4th century. BC e. Among the strongest kingdoms, the outlying northwestern kingdom of Qin surges ahead. Located in the fertile river basin. Weihe, it was distinguished by the richness and diversity of natural resources and its favorable geographical location. Being protected by natural boundaries - the river. Yellow River and mountain ranges - from the invasion of neighboring kingdoms from the east, Qin at the same time occupied a convenient strategic position for attacking both the kingdoms of the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the border tribes. Trade with the northern tribes - intermediaries in the trade of the ancient Chinese kingdoms with the countries of Central and Central Asia - was an important source of enrichment for the Qin kingdom. Excavations in recent years at the site of the first long-term Qin capital, Yongcheng (in Shaanxi), which existed from 771 to 382 BC. e., showed a high level of development of the material culture of the Qin kingdom: iron products found here from the end of the 6th century. BC e. are the earliest of all found on the territory of China and force us to attribute the Qin kingdom to one of the earliest (if not the earliest) centers of iron metallurgy in ancient China. Excavations revealed a city surrounded by strong walls and a moat with a regular layout, almost square in plan, covering an area of 11 square meters. km, with palace and temple complexes and a vast market square. Burials were found near the city, including the huge grave of the Qin ruler Jing-gong (577-537), reaching 24 m in depth - one of the largest ancient graves in China. Until the 5th century BC e. Qin did not take an active part in the internecine struggle of the kingdoms and was considered relatively weak among the “seven strongest”. The reason for its strengthening was the political-administrative, financial-economic and military measures carried out by Shang Yang, which were mentioned above. The laws of Shang Yan protected the interests of wealthy households that separated from the community. Under him, the power of hereditary noble families was undermined by the uniform administrative division of the state. Small territorial units - five- and ten-yards - were bound by mutual responsibility; in the event of a transgression by one person, all members of the mutually responsible group of households became state slaves - thereby expanding the contingent of people enslaved by the state under criminal law. Shang Yang's unification of weight, length and volume measures, as well as monetary reform, stimulated the development of market relations. Instead of a harvest tax, Shang Yang introduced a tax on the area of cultivated land, shifting all losses from natural disasters from the treasury to the shoulders of the farmer. Shang Yang relied on the new nobility, not associated with noble origin, and on the wealthy strata of the community, for whom the opportunity to acquire fields and slaves opened up. The Qin state itself became a major land owner and slave owner. The Shang Yang government focused on increasing agricultural productivity and developing military affairs. The permission to freely plow the wastelands with the release of three generations of borrowers from tax oppression attracted streams of immigrants from neighboring kingdoms to Qin - a reserve of future conscripts. Only the state enjoyed the right to manufacture weapons. The military - holders of bureaucratic ranks - constituted the most privileged layer of Qin society. Shang Yang was a staunch supporter of the omnidirective power of legal law, one of the founders of the Fajia school. At the same time, he solved the problem of the relationship between law and power in favor of an autocratic form of government. “Just as there cannot be two suns in the sky, so a people cannot have two rulers,” declared Shang Yang, referring in this case to the authority of Confucius. The measures carried out by Shang Yang gave the Qin kingdom the features of a centralized military-bureaucratic state. The old hereditary nobility was deprived of all privileges and torn away from the helm of government. This caused her indignation, and after the death of the ruler, Shang Yang was executed. However, his reforms remained in force. After the reforms of Shang Yang, including the most important of them - the military one, which replaced bronze weapons with iron ones, and chariots with maneuverable cavalry, the kingdom of Qin, which turned into a military-bureaucratic monarchy according to the type of state system, became the strongest in ancient China and immediately entered into path of aggression. One of the first to be captured was the Shu-Ba region in Sichuan with its fertile lands and mountain riches (primarily iron); this area was a bone of contention between Qin and Chu. After carrying out large-scale irrigation works here, the Qin secured an additional, very important source of agricultural products. The acquisition of Sichuan's wealth made it easier for the Qin to expand further. At the end of the 4th century. The Qin people captured the upper reaches of the river. Hanshui (southern Shaanxi) and western Henan, coming into close contact with the kingdoms of Chu, Wei and Han. It was in vain that the central kingdoms concluded alliances against the Qin kings; they gradually lost their territories; finally, through bribery, deception and intrigue, the Qin managed to destroy the coalition opposing them and in 278 BC. e. capture the capital of Chu - the city of In. But even after the loss of the ancient capital, it remained Qin’s strongest rival. The bloodiest war between Qin and Zhao soon followed, costing hundreds of thousands of dead. However, although Qin greatly expanded its possessions at the expense of other kingdoms, they still remained quite strong. In 241 BC. e. The kingdoms of Wei, Han, Zhao and Chu concluded a new military alliance against Qin, but their united troops were also defeated. In addition to them, the Qin were also opposed by Yan and Qi - i.e. only six kingdoms, all the others had already died during internecine wars. In 238 BC. e. The energetic young ruler Ying Zheng ascended to the Qin throne, and he managed to defeat all his opponents one by one, capturing one territory after another during seventeen years of continuous wars. He ordered every captured capital to be razed to the ground. In 221, Qin conquered the last independent kingdom - Qi on the Shandong Peninsula. After this, Ying Zheng took on a completely new title of supreme supreme power -
Qin Shi Huang extended the establishment of Shang Yang to the entire country, creating a strong centralized military-bureaucratic empire led by a sovereign monarch. The Qin conquerors occupied a privileged position in it; they owned all the leading official positions in the state. The laws of the Qin kingdom were supplemented with cruel criminal articles. The unification of weights and measures, as well as the monetary reform, which removed all means of circulation except Qin bronze money, led to the rapid growth of commodity-money relations. Hieroglyphic writing was unified and simplified. Office work has been standardized. The empire was divided into 36 territories - administrative regions, without taking into account previous political and ethnic boundaries. The law approved a single civil name for all full-fledged free people: “Blackheads” ( Qianshou).Even for his sons and brothers, Qin Shi Huang made no exception, “reducing them to commoners,” as later sources testify. A unified written legislation, a unified system of bureaucracy, as well as an inspectorate were introduced, which supervised the activities of the entire administrative apparatus from top to bottom and was subordinated personally to the emperor himself. Legalism, with its developed theory of centralized administrative-territorial control, essentially became the official ideology of the Qin Empire.
Following the example of Shang Yang, Qin Shi Huang introduced a punitive system, which provided for, as a mass form of punishment, the enslavement by the state of all members of the criminal’s family in three generations, as well as families connected to each other by a system of mutual responsibility, the circle of which expanded so much that entire groups of villages were simultaneously subjected to punishment. Crimes that seemed particularly serious to the authorities were punishable by execution not only of the perpetrator, but also of all his relatives in three generations.
To introduce new orders, the most drastic measures were used. Terror reigned in the country, everyone who expressed dissatisfaction was executed along with their entire family, and according to the law of mutual responsibility, “accomplices” were turned into slavery. Due to the enslavement of the masses of prisoners of war and those convicted by courts, the number of state slaves in the empire turned out to be enormous. Their labor was widely used in the diversified tsarist-state economy. “The Qin established markets for slaves and slaves, where they were kept in pens along with livestock; governing their subjects, they were in complete control of their lives,” ancient Chinese authors report, seeing in this circumstance, as well as in the legalization of land ownership, almost the main reason for the rapid decline Qin Dynasty. Enormous costs and enormous human sacrifices were required by continuous long-distance campaigns, the construction of the Great Wall, irrigation structures, roads throughout the empire, extensive urban planning, the construction of numerous palaces and temples, and finally, the construction of a grandiose tomb for Qin Shi Huang - recent excavations have revealed the enormous scale of this underground mausoleum. State slaves were sent to work in hundreds of thousands, but there were not enough of them, despite the constant influx. The heaviest labor obligations fell on the shoulders of the bulk of the “blackheads”. In 216, Qin Shi Huang issued an order ordering the “blackheads” to urgently report their existing land property, and introduced an extremely heavy land tax, reaching 2/3 of the income of farmers. Those hiding from taxes and duties (they fled in communities led by a council of elders) were sought out and exiled to the outskirts to colonize new lands. In 210, at the age of 48, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly.
Immediately after the death of Qin Shi Huang, uprisings broke out in the empire. The first wave of rebellion aroused the most disadvantaged people, putting forward leaders of the lowest social status, such as the enslaved poor man Chen Sheng and the homeless farm laborer Wu Guang. It was quickly suppressed by imperial forces. But a broad anti-Qin movement immediately arose, in which all segments of the empire’s population participated - from the very bottom to the aristocratic tops. The most successful of the rebel leaders, originally from the former kingdom of Chu, coming from among ordinary community members, Liu Bang, managed to rally the forces of the popular movement and win over to his side the enemies of Qin, experienced in military affairs, from among the hereditary aristocracy. In 206 BC. e. The Qin dynasty fell, after which a struggle for power began between rebel leaders. The winner was Liu Bang. In 202 BC. e. Liu Bang was proclaimed emperor and became the founder of a new dynasty - the Han. It is divided into two periods of rule: the Elder (or Early) Han (202 BC - 8 AD) and the Younger (or Later) Han (25-220). Liu Bang declared the city of Chang'an (near the former Qin capital) the capital of the empire.
As a result of the long-term interaction of various ethnic components in the Yellow River basin and the middle reaches of the Yangtze from approximately the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. The process of ethnogenesis of the ancient Chinese people was actively underway, during which the ethnic community “Hua Xia” took shape and on its basis the formation of the cultural complex of the “Middle Kingdoms” took place. However, until the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. The formation of the ancient Chinese ethnocultural community was not completely completed; neither a common ethnic identity nor a generally accepted self-name for the ancient Chinese people emerged. The political unification of ancient China within the framework of the centralized Qin Empire became a powerful catalyst for the process of consolidation of the ancient Chinese ethnos. Despite the short-term existence of the Qin Empire, its name became the main ethnic self-name of the ancient Chinese in the subsequent Han era, remaining until the end of the ancient era. As an ethnonym for the ancient Chinese, “Qin” entered the language of neighboring peoples. All Western European names for China came from it: Latin Sine, German Hina, French Shin, English China.
The first ancient empire of China, the Qin, lasted only about two decades, but it laid a solid socio-economic, administrative and political foundation for the Han empire that emerged from its ruins.
The political unification of the country under Qin Shi Huang, the legalization of private land ownership throughout the empire, the consistent implementation of territorial and administrative divisions, the actual division of the population based on property, and the implementation of measures promoting the development of trade and money circulation, opened up opportunities for the rise of productive forces and the establishment of social -the political system of the empire - a completely new type of state, brought to life by all the previous socio-economic and political development of ancient China. Ultimately, the reason for the phenomenal successes of Qin Shi Huang and the inevitability of the restoration of the most important Qin imperial institutions after the collapse of his dynasty were rooted in this historical pattern of the replacement of the archaic system of ancient Chinese early state formations by a developed ancient society. The long, almost five-century existence of the huge Qin-Han Empire in East Asia refutes the widespread belief that ancient empires were ephemeral. The reasons for such a long and lasting existence of the Han power lay in the mode of production of the ancient society of China, as well as the ancient East as a whole, with a tendency towards the formation of large empires characteristic of its later stages.
Qin conquests
As already, after the reforms of Shang Yang, the kingdom of Qin turned into a powerful power. From this time on, the Qin rulers took the path of aggression. Using the internal contradictions of the ancient Chinese kingdoms and their civil strife, the Qin Wangs captured one territory after another and, after a fierce struggle, subjugated all the states of Ancient China. In 221 BC. Qin conquered the last independent kingdom of Qi on the Shandong Peninsula. The Qin Wang adopted the new title of “huangdi” - emperor - and went down in history as the “First Emperor of Qin”. The capital of the Qin kingdom, Xianyang, was declared the capital of the empire.
Qin lacquer boat. From excavations in Hubei. III century BC.
Qin Shi Huang did not limit himself to the conquest of the ancient Chinese kingdoms; he continued his expansion to the north, where the Xiongnu tribal union took shape. The 300,000-strong Qin army defeated the Xiongnu and pushed them beyond the bend of the Yellow River. To secure the northern border of the empire, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of a gigantic fortification structure - the Great Wall of China. He undertook conquests in South China and North Vietnam. At the cost of enormous losses, his armies managed to achieve the nominal submission of the ancient Vietnamese states of Nam Viet and Aulak.
Internal situation of the state
Qin Shi Huang extended the rules of Shang Yang to the entire country, creating a military-bureaucratic empire headed by an autocratic despot. The Qin people occupied a privileged position in it; they held all leading bureaucratic positions. The hieroglyphic writing was unified and simplified. The law established a single civil name “Blackheads” for all full-fledged free people. Qin Shi Huang's activities were carried out with drastic measures.
Terror reigned in the country. Anyone who expressed dissatisfaction was executed, and, according to the law of mutual responsibility, the accomplices were enslaved. Due to the enslavement of masses of prisoners of war and those convicted by courts, the number of state slaves turned out to be enormous.
“The Qin established markets for male and female slaves in pens along with livestock; governing his subjects, he completely controlled their lives,” ancient Chinese authors report, seeing this as almost the main reason for the rapid fall of the Qin dynasty. Long campaigns, the construction of the Great Wall, irrigation canals, roads, extensive urban planning, the construction of palaces and temples, and the creation of a tomb for Qin Shi Huang required colossal costs and human sacrifices - recent excavations have revealed the enormous scale of this underground mausoleum. The heaviest labor obligations fell on the shoulders of the bulk of the working population.
Han Empire (2nd century BC – 3rd century AD)
In 210 BC, at the age of 48, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly, and immediately after his death a powerful uprising broke out in the empire. The most successful of the rebel leaders, Liu Bang, who came from among ordinary community members, rallied the forces of the popular movement and attracted to his side the enemies of Qin from the hereditary aristocracy, experienced in military affairs. In 202 BC. Liu Bang was proclaimed emperor and became the founder of the new Han dynasty.
Archer of the Imperial Guard. Terracotta. End of the 3rd century BC. From excavations of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang near Xi'an.
The first ancient empire of China, the Qin, lasted only a decade and a half, but it laid a solid socio-economic foundation for the Han empire. The new empire became one of the strongest powers of the ancient world. Its more than four-century existence was an important stage in the development of all of East Asia, which, within the framework of the world-historical process, covered the era of the rise and collapse of the slave-owning mode of production. For the national history of China, this was an important stage in the consolidation of the ancient Chinese people. To this day, the Chinese call themselves Han, an ethnic self-designation originating from the Han Empire.
The history of the Han Empire is divided into two periods:
- Elder (or Early) Han (202 BC-8 AD)
- Younger (or Later) Han (25-220 AD)
Formation of the state of Liu Bang
Having come to power on the crest of the anti-Qin movement, Liu Bang abolished Qin laws and eased the burden of taxes and duties. However, the Qin administrative division and bureaucratic system of government, as well as most of the economic regulations of the Qin empire, remained in force. True, the political situation forced Liu Bang to violate the principle of unconditional centralization and distribute part of the lands to his comrades-in-arms - the seven strongest of them received the title "wang", which from now on became the highest aristocratic rank. The fight against their separatism was the primary internal political task of Liu Bang's successors. The power of the Vanir was finally broken under Emperor Udi (140-87 BC).
In the agricultural production of the empire, the bulk of producers were free communal farmers. They were subject to land taxes (from 1/15 to 1/3 of the harvest), per capita and household taxes. Men carried out labor (one month a year for 3 years) and military (2-year army and annually 3-day garrison) duties. Farmers made up a certain part of the population in cities. The capital of the empire, Chang'an (near Xi'an) and the largest cities, such as Linzi, numbered up to half a million, many others - over 50 thousand inhabitants. Cities had self-government bodies, which were a characteristic feature of ancient Chinese “urban culture.”
Slavery was the basis of production in industry, both private and public. Slave labor, although to a lesser extent, was widely used in agriculture. The slave trade was developing rapidly at this time. Slaves could be bought in almost every city; in the markets they were counted, like draft animals, by their “fingers.” Consignments of chained slaves were transported hundreds of kilometers.
Spear tip. Shizhaishan. Han era.
Udi's reign
By the time of Wudi's reign, the Han state had become a strong centralized state. The expansion that unfolded under this emperor was aimed at seizing foreign territories, conquering neighboring peoples, dominating international trade routes and expanding foreign markets. From the very beginning, the empire was threatened by the invasion of the nomadic Xiongnu. Their raids on China were accompanied by the theft of thousands of prisoners and even reached the capital. Udi set a course for a decisive struggle against the Xiongnu. The Han armies managed to push them back from the Great Wall, and then expand the territory of the empire in the northwest and establish the influence of the Han empire in the Western Region (as Chinese sources called the Tarim River basin), through which the Great Silk Road passed. At the same time, Udi waged wars of conquest against the Vietnamese states in the south and in 111 BC. forced them to submit, annexing the lands of Guangdong and northern Vietnam to the empire. After this, Han naval and land forces attacked and forced the ancient Korean state of Joseon in 108 BC. recognize the power of the Hans.
The embassy of Zhang Qian (died 114 BC) sent to the west under Wudi opened up a huge world of foreign culture to China. Zhang Qian visited Daxia (Bactria), Kangyu, Davan (Fergana), found out about Anxi (Parthia), Shendu (India) and other countries. Ambassadors from the Son of Heaven were sent to these countries. The Han Empire established connections with many states on the Great Silk Road - an international transcontinental route stretching over a distance of 7 thousand km from Chang'an to the Mediterranean countries. Along this route, caravans stretched in a continuous line, in the figurative expression of the historian Sima Qian (145-86 BC), “one did not let the other out of sight.”
Iron, considered the best in the world, nickel, precious metals, lacquer, bronze and other artistic and craft products were brought to the West from the Han Empire. But the main export item was silk, which was then produced only in China. International, trade and diplomatic ties along the Great Silk Road contributed to the exchange of cultural achievements. Of particular importance to Han China were agricultural crops borrowed from Central Asia: grapes, beans, alfalfa, pomegranate and nut trees. However, the arrival of foreign ambassadors was perceived by the Son of Heaven as an expression of submission to the Han Empire, and the goods brought to Chang'an as “tribute” from foreign “barbarians.”
Udi's aggressive foreign policy required enormous funds. Taxes and duties have increased greatly. Sima Qian notes: “The country is tired of continuous wars, people are overwhelmed with sadness, supplies are depleted.” Already at the end of Udi's reign, popular unrest broke out in the empire.
Wang Mang's Rebellion and the Red Eyebrow Movement
In the last quarter of the 1st century. BC. A wave of slave uprisings swept across the country. The most far-sighted representatives of the ruling class were aware of the need to carry out reforms in order to weaken class contradictions. Indicative in this regard is the policy of Wang Mang (9-23 AD), who carried out a palace coup, overthrew the Han Dynasty and declared himself emperor of the New Dynasty.
Wang Mang's decrees prohibited the purchase and sale of land and slaves; it was intended to allocate land to the poor by confiscating its surplus from the rich community. However, after three years, Wang Mang was forced to cancel these regulations due to resistance from the owners. Wang Mang's laws on coin smelting and rationing market prices, which represented an attempt at state intervention in the country's economy, also failed. The mentioned reforms not only did not soften social contradictions, but also led to their further aggravation. Spontaneous uprisings swept across the country. The Red Eyebrow movement, which began in 18 AD, was particularly widespread. e. in Shandong, where the population's misfortunes were multiplied by the catastrophic Yellow River flood. Chang'an fell into the hands of the rebels. Wang Mang was beheaded.
A squad of horsemen. Painted clay. Shaanxi. First half of the 2nd century. BC.
Younger Han Dynasty
The spontaneity of the protest of the masses, their lack of military and political experience led to the fact that the movement followed the lead of representatives of the ruling class, interested in overthrowing Wang Mang and placing their protege on the throne. He became a scion of the Han house, known as Guan Wudi (25-57 AD), who founded the Younger Han Dynasty. Guan Wudi began his reign with a punitive campaign against the Red Eyebrows. By 29, he managed to defeat them, and then suppress the remaining centers of movement.
The scale of the uprisings showed the need for concessions to the lower classes. If earlier any attempts from above to limit private slavery and invade the rights of landowners provoked resistance from the rich, now, faced with a real threat of mass uprising, they did not protest against the laws of Guan Wudi, which prohibited the branding of slaves, limited the owner’s right to kill slaves, and a number of measures aimed at reduction of slavery and some relief of the situation of the people.
In 40 AD. a people's liberation uprising broke out against the Han authorities in North Vietnam under the leadership of the Trung sisters, which Guan Udi managed to suppress with great difficulty only by 44. In the second half of the 1st century, skillfully using (and to a certain extent provoking) the split of the Huns into northern and southern, the empire began to restore Han rule in the Western Region, which under Wang Man fell under the rule of the Xiongnu. The Han Empire succeeded by the end of the 1st century. establish influence in the Western Region and establish hegemony on this section of the Silk Road.
The Han governor of the Western Region, Ban Chao, launched active diplomatic activities at this time, aiming to achieve direct contacts with Daqin (Great Qin, as the Han called the Roman Empire). However, the embassy he sent only reached Roman Syria, being detained by Parthian merchants.
A squad of infantrymen. Painted clay. Shaanxi. First half of the 2nd century. BC.
Rise of the Han Empire
From the second half of the 1st century. n. e. intermediary Han-Roman trade develops. The ancient Chinese first saw the Romans with their own eyes in 120, when a troupe of traveling magicians from Rome arrived in Luoyang and performed at the court of the Son of Heaven. At the same time, the Han Empire established connections with Hindustan through Upper Burma and Assam and established sea links from the port of Bac Bo in North Vietnam to the east coast of India, and through Korea to Japan.
The first “embassy” from Rome, as a private Roman trading company called itself, arrived in Luoyang along the southern sea route in 166. From the middle of the 2nd century, with the loss of the empire’s hegemony on the Silk Road, foreign trade of the Han people with the countries of the South Seas, Lanka and Hanchipura (South India) began to develop. The Han Empire is desperately striving in all directions for foreign markets. It seemed that never before had the Han Empire achieved such power. It was home to about 60 million people, which was more than 1/5 of the world's population at that time.
Crisis of the Empire
However, the apparent prosperity of the late Han empire was fraught with deep contradictions. By this time, serious changes had emerged in its social and political system. Slave-holding farms continued to exist, but the estates of the so-called strong houses became increasingly widespread, where often, along with slaves, the labor of “those who do not have their own land, but take it from the rich and cultivate it” was widely used. This category of workers found themselves personally dependent on land owners. Several thousand such families were under the patronage of powerful houses.
The area of arable land registered by the state was steadily declining, the number of tax-paying population fell catastrophically: from 49.5 million people in the middle of the 2nd century. up to 7.5 million according to the census of the mid-3rd century. The estates of strong houses became economically closed farms.
Funeral vestment of the wife of Emperor Wudi's brother made of 2156 jade plates fastened with gold threads. Henan. II century BC.
A rapid decline in commodity-money relations began. The number of cities has more than halved since the turn of our era. At the very beginning of the 3rd century. a decree was issued to replace cash payments in kind in the empire, and then the coin was officially abolished and silk and grain were introduced into circulation as commodity money. From the second quarter of the 2nd century. Chronicles record local uprisings almost every year - more than a hundred of them have been recorded over half a century.
Rebellion of the Yellow Turbans and the end of the Han Empire
In the context of a political and deep socio-economic crisis in the empire, the most powerful uprising in the history of Ancient China, known as the “Yellow Turban” uprising, broke out. It was led by the magician-healer Zhang Jiao, the founder of a secret pro-Taoist sect that had been preparing an uprising for 10 years. Zhang Jiao created a 300,000-strong paramilitary organization. According to reports from the authorities, “the entire empire accepted the faith of Zhang Jiao.”
Wooden figurine of a rhinoceros. Gansu. Han era.
The movement broke out in 184 in all parts of the empire at once. The rebels wore yellow headbands to symbolize the victory of the righteous Yellow Sky over the Blue Sky - the unrighteous Han Dynasty. They destroyed government buildings and killed government officials. The uprising of the “Yellow Turbans” had the character of a broad social movement with an undoubted eschatological overtones. Acting under the religious guise of the teachings of the Way of Great Prosperity (Taiping Dao), the Yellow Turban movement was the first uprising of the oppressed masses with their own ideology in Chinese history. The authorities were powerless to cope with the uprising, and then armies of strong houses rose up to fight the “Yellow Turbans” and together they brutally dealt with the rebels. To commemorate the victory, a tower of hundreds of thousands of severed heads of the “yellows” was built at the main gate of the capital. The division of power between the executioners of the movement began. Their civil strife ended with the collapse of the Han Empire: in 220, it broke up into three kingdoms, in which the process of feudalization was actively underway.
Han cultural achievements
Scientific knowledge
The Han period was a kind of culmination of the cultural achievements of Ancient China. Based on centuries of astronomical observations, the lunisolar calendar was improved. In 28 BC. Han astronomers first noted the existence of sunspots. An achievement of world significance in the field of physical knowledge was the invention of a compass in the form of a square iron plate with a magnetic “spoon” freely rotating on its surface, the handle of which invariably pointed to the south.
Scientist Zhang Heng (78-139) was the first in the world to construct a prototype seismograph, build a celestial globe, describe 2500 stars, including them in 320 constellations. He developed the theory of the Earth and the boundlessness of the Universe in time and space. Han mathematicians knew decimal fractions, invented negative numbers for the first time in history, and clarified the meaning of the number π. Medical catalog of the 1st century. lists 35 treatises on various diseases. Zhang Zhongjing (150-219) developed methods for pulse diagnosis and treatment of epidemiological diseases.
A horse is galloping. Bronze. From the burial of the commander. Gansu. Han era.
The end of the ancient era was marked by the invention of mechanical engines using the power of falling water, a water-lifting pump, and the improvement of the plow. Han agronomists create works describing the bed culture, the system of variable fields and rotation of crops, methods of fertilizing land and pre-sowing impregnation of seeds, they contain guidelines for irrigation and reclamation. The treatises of Fan Shenzhi (1st century) and Cui Shi (2nd century) summarized the centuries-old achievements of the ancient Chinese in the field of agriculture.
Ancient Chinese lacquer production is one of the outstanding achievements of material culture. Lacquer products constituted an important item of foreign trade of the Han Empire. Weapons and military equipment were coated with varnish to protect wood and fabrics from moisture, and metal from corrosion. It was used to decorate architectural details, burial goods, and varnish was widely used in fresco painting. Chinese varnishes were highly valued for their unique physical and chemical properties, such as the ability to preserve wood and resist acids and high temperatures (up to 500°C).
The meaning of silk in ancient China
Since the “opening” of the Great Silk Road, the Han Empire has become a world famous supplier of silk. China was the only country in the ancient world that mastered the silkworm culture. In the Han Empire, silkworm breeding was a home trade for farmers. There were large private and state silk factories (some numbered up to a thousand slaves). Exporting silkworms outside the country was punishable by death. But such attempts were still made. Zhang Qian, during his ambassadorial mission, learned about the export of silkworms from Sichuan to India in a cache of bamboo staff by foreign merchants. And yet no one managed to find out the secrets of sericulture from the ancient Chinese. Fantastic assumptions were made about its origin: Virgil and Strabo, for example, said that silk grows on trees and is “combed” from them.
Bull with a cart. Painted wood. Gansu. Han era.
Antique sources mention silk from the 1st century. BC. Pliny wrote about silk as one of the most prized luxury goods of the Romans, which siphoned colossal sums of money out of the Roman Empire every year. The Parthians controlled the Han-Roman silk trade, charging at least 25% of its selling price for intermediation. Silk, which was often used as money, played an important role in the development of international trade relations between the ancient peoples of Europe and Asia. India was also an intermediary in the silk trade. Ties between China and India date back to the Han era, but at this time they became especially active.
Invention of paper
The great contribution of Ancient China to human culture was the invention of paper. Its production from waste silk cocoons began before our era. Silk paper was very expensive, available only to a select few. A real discovery that had revolutionary significance for the development of human culture, paper appeared when it became a cheap mass material for writing. Tradition associates the invention of a publicly available method for producing paper from wood fiber with the name of Cai Lun, a former slave originally from Henan who lived in the 2nd century, but archaeologists date the oldest samples of paper back to the 2nd-1st centuries. BC.
The invention of paper and ink created the conditions for the development of printmaking techniques, and then the emergence of the printed book. The improvement of Chinese writing was also associated with paper and ink: in Han times, the standard kaishu writing style was created, which laid the foundation for modern hieroglyphs. Han materials and means of writing were, along with hieroglyphics, adopted by the ancient peoples of Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, which in turn influenced the cultural development of Ancient China - in the field of agriculture, in particular rice growing, navigation, and artistic crafts.
Lacquerware with the inscriptions: “Sir, try the dish”, “Sir, taste the wine.” Hunan. Mid-2nd century BC.
Historical works
During the Han period, ancient monuments were collected, systematized and commented on. In fact, everything that remains of the ancient Chinese spiritual heritage has come to us thanks to the recordings made at this time. At the same time, philology and poetics were born, and the first dictionaries were compiled. Large works of fiction, primarily historical ones, appeared. The “Father of Chinese History” Sima Qian created the fundamental work “Historical Notes” (“Shiji”) - a 130-volume history of China from the mythical ancestor Huangdi to the end of the reign of Wudi.
Sima Qian sought not only to reflect the events of the past and present, but also to comprehend them, to trace the internal pattern in them, to “penetrate the essence of change.” Sima Qian's work sums up the previous development of ancient Chinese historiography. At the same time, he departs from the traditional style of weather chronicling and creates a new type of historical writing. "Shiji" are the only source on the ancient history of the peoples neighboring China. An outstanding stylist, Sima Qian vividly and concisely described the political and economic situation, life and morals. For the first time in China, he created a literary portrait, which puts him on a par with the largest representatives of Han literature. “Historical Notes” became a model for subsequent ancient and medieval historiography in China and other countries of the Far East.
Ritual utensils. From excavations in Hebei.
Sima Qian’s method was developed in the official “History of the Elder Han Dynasty” (“Han Shu”). The main author of this work is considered to be Ban Gu (32-93). “History of the Elder Han Dynasty” is in the spirit of orthodox Confucianism, the presentation strictly adheres to the official point of view, often differing in assessments of the same events with Sima Qian, whom Ban Gu criticizes for his adherence to Taoism. "Han Shu" opened a series of dynastic histories. Since then, according to tradition, each of the dynasties that came to power compiled a description of the reign of its predecessor.
Poetry
Sima Xiangru (179-118) stands out as the most brilliant poet among the galaxy of Han writers, who glorified the power of the empire and the “great man” himself - the autocrat Wudi. His work continued the traditions of the Chu ode, which is characteristic of Han literature, which absorbed the song and poetic heritage of the peoples of Southern China. The Ode “Beauty” continues the poetic genre begun by Song Yu in “Ode on the Immortal.” Among the works of Sima Xiangru there are imitations of folk lyrical songs, such as the song “Fishing Rod”.
Ceramic vessel in the shape of a duck. From excavations in Hebei.
The system of imperial administration included the organization of national cults as opposed to aristocratic local ones. This task was pursued by the Musical Chamber (Yuefu) created under Wudi, where folk songs, including “songs of distant barbarians,” were collected and processed, and ritual chants were created. Despite its utilitarian nature, the Music Chamber played an important role in the history of Chinese poetry. Thanks to her, works of folk songs from the ancient era have been preserved.
Author's songs in the Yuefu style are close to folklore; for them, folk songs of various genres, including labor and love, served as subjects of imitation. Among the love lyrics, the works of two poetesses stand out - “Crying for a Gray Head” by Zhuo Wenjun (2nd century BC), where she reproaches her husband, the poet Sima Xiangzhu, for his infidelity, and “Song of My Resentment” by Ban Jieyu (1st century BC). . BC), in which the bitter fate of an abandoned lover is represented in the image of an abandoned snow-white fan. Yuefu lyrics reached a special rise during the Jian'an period (196-220), which is considered the golden age of Chinese poetry. The best of the literary yuefu of this time were created on the basis of folk works.
Only in rare cases were songs preserved that expressed the rebellious spirit of the people. Among them are “Eastern Gate”, “East of the Pingling Mound”, as well as quatrains of the Yao genre, in which there is social protest up to the call to overthrow the emperor (especially in the so-called tongyao, obviously slave songs). One of them, attributed to the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Jiao, begins with the proclamation: “Let the Blue Sky perish!”, in other words, the Han Dynasty.
Fragment of a funeral silk banner depicting the consort of the Jingdi Emperor. Hunan. Mid-2nd century BC.
Towards the end of the Han Empire, the content of secular poems increasingly became anacreontic and fairy-tale themes. Mystical and fantastic literature is spreading. The authorities encourage theatrical rituals and secular performances. The organization of spectacles becomes an important function of the state. However, the beginnings of performing arts did not lead to the development of drama as a type of literature in Ancient China.
Architecture
During the Qin-Han era, the main features of traditional Chinese architecture developed. Judging by fragments of frescoes from Han burials, the beginnings of portraiture appeared during this period. The discovery of a Qin monumental sculpture was a sensation. Recent excavations of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang revealed an entire “clay army” of the emperor, consisting of three thousand life-size infantrymen and horsemen. This find suggests the appearance of portrait sculpture in early imperial times.
Confucianism as a state ideology
From the time of Wudi, transformed Confucianism became the official ideology of the Han Empire, turning into a kind of state religion. In Confucianism, ideas about the conscious intervention of Heaven in people's lives are strengthened. The founder of Confucian theology, Dong Zhongshu (180-115), developed the theory of the divine origin of imperial power and proclaimed Heaven as the supreme, almost anthropomorphic deity. He laid the foundation for the deification of Confucius. Dong Zhongshu demanded to “eradicate all one hundred schools” except the Confucian one.
Tower model. Glazed ceramics. Henan. II century BC.
The religious-idealistic essence of Han Confucianism was reflected in the creed of Liu Xiang (79-8 BC), who argued that “spirit is the root of heaven and earth and the beginning of all things”. Under the influence of social and ideological processes occurring in the empire, Confucianism at the turn of our era split into two main schools:
- mystical, continuing the line of Dong Zhongshu (school of New Texts),
- and the one opposing it, which is more rationalistic in nature (the school of Old Texts), of which Wang Mang was an adherent.
The state is increasingly using Confucianism to its advantage and interfering in the struggle between its various interpretations. The emperor initiates religious and philosophical disputes, seeking to end the split in Confucianism. Cathedral of the end of the 1st century. AD formally ended controversies in Confucianism, declared all apocryphal literature false, and established the doctrine of the New Texts school as the official religious orthodoxy. In 195 AD. the state copy of the Confucian Pentateuch in the version of the New Texts school was carved on the stone. From that time on, violation of Confucian precepts, incorporated into criminal law, was punishable up to the death penalty as the “most serious crime.”
Secret Taoism and the penetration of Buddhism
With the beginning of the persecution of “false” teachings, secret sects of a religious and mystical nature began to spread in the country. Those who disagreed with the ruling regime were united by religious Taoism, which was opposed to Confucianism, which dissociated itself from philosophical Taoism, which continued to develop ancient materialistic ideas.
At the beginning of the 2nd century. The Taoist religion took shape. Its founder is considered to be Zhang Daoling from Sichuan, who was called the Teacher. His prophecies of achieving immortality attracted crowds of dispossessed people who lived in a closed colony under his leadership, laying the foundation for secret Taoist organizations. By preaching the equality of all on the basis of faith and condemning wealth, the Taoist “heresy” attracted the masses. At the turn of the II-III centuries. The movement of religious Taoism, led by the Five Measures of Rice sect, led to the creation of a short-lived theocratic state in Sichuan.
Chip players. Wooden sculpture. Gansu. Han era.
The tendency to transform ancient philosophical teachings into religious doctrines, manifested in the transformation of Confucianism and Taoism, was a sign of profound socio-psychological changes. However, not the ethical religions of Ancient China, but Buddhism, having penetrated China at the turn of our era, became for the agonizing Late Han world the world religion that played the role of an active ideological factor in the process of feudalization of China and the entire East Asian region.
Wang Chong's Materialism
Achievements in the field of natural and humanitarian knowledge created the basis for the rise of materialist thought, which manifested itself in the work of the most outstanding Han thinker (27-97). In an atmosphere of ideological pressure, Wang Chong had the courage to challenge Confucian dogma and religious mysticism.
His treatise “Critical Reasonings” (“Lunheng”) sets out a coherent system of materialist philosophy. Wang Chong criticized Confucian theology from a scientific point of view. The philosopher contrasted the deification of the sky with the fundamentally materialistic and atheistic assertion that “the sky is a body similar to the earth.” Wang Chong supported his positions with clear examples, “understandable to everyone.” “Some believe,” he wrote, “that heaven gives birth to five grains and produces mulberries and hemp only to feed and clothe people. This means likening the sky to a male or female slave, whose purpose is to cultivate the land and feed silkworms for the benefit of people. Such a judgment is false, it contradicts the naturalness of things themselves.".
Fragment of a wall painting. Liaoning. Han era.
Wang Chong proclaimed the unity, eternity and materiality of the world. Continuing the traditions of ancient Chinese natural philosophy, he recognized the most subtle material substance qi as the source of being. Everything in nature arises naturally, as a result of the condensation of this substance, regardless of any supermundane force. Wang Chong denied innate knowledge, the mystical intuition that the Confucians endowed the ancient sages with, and saw the path of knowledge in the sensory perception of the real world. “Among the creatures born of heaven and earth, man is the most valuable, and this value is determined by his capacity for knowledge.”, he wrote. Wang Chong developed the idea of the dialectical unity of life and death: “Everything that has a beginning must have its end. Everything that has an end must have its beginning... Death is the result of birth, in birth lies the inevitability of death.”.
He opposed the Confucian concept of cultural exceptionalism of the ancient Chinese, their moral superiority over the supposedly ethically inferior “barbarians.”
Ornamental figurines depicting mythical creatures. Gilt bronze, 2nd-1st centuries. BC.
Using many specific examples, Wang Chong proved that customs, morals and human qualities are not determined by unchangeable innate properties. In this, he agreed with other Han thinkers who denied the fundamental differences between the “barbarians” and the ancient Chinese. Wang Chong was one of the most educated people of his time. He set broad educational goals, exposing from a rationalistic position the prejudices and superstitions widespread among the people.
Wang Chong's materialistic worldview, especially his doctrine of “naturalness” (ziran) - a naturally necessary process of development of the objective world, played an important role in the history of Chinese philosophy. But in contemporary reality, Wang Chong's philosophy could not gain recognition.
His creation was even persecuted for criticizing Confucius. Only a thousand years later, his manuscript was accidentally discovered, giving the world the legacy of one of the most outstanding materialists and educators of ancient times.
Brief conclusion
The Zhanguo-Qin-Han era for the historical development of China and all of East Asia, in principle, had the same meaning as the Greco-Roman world for Europe. Ancient Chinese civilization laid the foundations of a cultural tradition that can be traced further throughout the centuries-old history of China right up to modern and modern times.
The era of the Han Dynasty in the history of Chinese civilization is divided into two stages: Western Han (Elder or Early Han: 206 BC 8 AD) and Eastern Han (Younger or Later Han: 25 220 AD) .). The Han Dynasty founded by Liu Bang got its name from the area where he defeated his opponents in the struggle for the imperial throne. During the Western Han period, the capital of the newly created Han Empire became the city of Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), which was home to up to half a million people. During the Younger Han era, its rulers moved the capital to the city of Luoyang. In the 1st century AD A census was conducted in China, which showed that the Han Empire in terms of population was close to the Roman Empire and numbered about 60 million people.
When, at the end of 207, the last emperor of the Qin dynasty surrendered to one of the rebel leaders, Liu Bang, the future founder of the Han dynasty, China was experiencing a deep crisis in the country, political chaos reigned, the administrative system was falling apart, the fields were deserted, and famine was reducing the population. And yet China survived, organically developing the traditions of its civilization. For the Han Dynasty era, its specificity can be defined by three keywords reforms, Confucianism as the dominant religion and foreign policy expansion.
It was not without difficulty that Liu Bang, the former headman of a small village who became the Emperor of the Blue Sky, as the Han were called, managed to restore order in an exhausted multimillion-dollar country. Acting flexibly and carefully, through a series of decrees he abolished the Qin laws with their barracks discipline and cruel punishments, declared an amnesty, and reduced taxes on peasants. However, the Qin administrative-bureaucratic system and basic economic institutions continued to exist. And although officials still stood out sharply for their status and place in society, Liu Bang relied on landowners, proclaiming agriculture to be the basis of the empire’s economy and the most respected occupation. Heads of families received full citizenship with the lowest of 18 class ranks assigned to them.
Many leaders of the rebel groups who helped Liu Bang come to power were granted hereditary possessions. Part of the lands, as a manifestation of the emperor's highest favor, was given to some representatives of the nobility. This practice of granting allotments created the threat of separatism, which Liu Bang's successors, including Wu Ti (140-87 BC), fought against.
The years of Wu Di's reign were the heyday of the Chinese civilization of the Han era. The central government managed to finally subjugate the new local aristocracy, improve the country's economy and improve public welfare. The number of cities with a population of up to 50 thousand increased, and the slave trade reached unprecedented proportions. The monopoly on salt, iron and wine brought income to the empire. Foreign trade has received exceptional development. The northern trade route connecting China with Western countries was called the Great Silk Road.
Since the reign of Wu Di, the Han Empire has become a strong centralized state. The central government, which consisted of various departments, was subordinate to the regions (83), which, in turn, included districts, then counties and volosts. The country was ruled by an army of officials, the number of which exceeded 130 thousand. Officials, or scientists, were divided into 9 ranks depending on the degree awarded to them after passing exams. A system of examinations to select the worthy and award them the title of polymath of the appropriate degree was introduced in 136 BC.
Once every three years, the winners of the provincial rounds came to the capital and took exams to the emperor himself. During the exams, they had to write an essay on a given topic. Applicants for the rank in the exams had to demonstrate knowledge of the books that formed the basis of the Confucian canon of the Pentateuch, which included Shujing (Book of Historical Documents), Shijing (Book of Songs), I Ching (Book of Changes), Li Ji (Records of Rituals). The state copy of the Pentateuch was carved in stone. Those who passed the test were awarded academic degrees, which opened up the possibility of receiving appointments to positions in central and local authorities.
The appointment of the official changed every 5 years. For their service they received a salary or land allotment. An official could not inherit either his title and rank, or land. However, they had more opportunities than commoners to provide their children with an education that would enable them to pass the exam and obtain a position. Chinese civilization owes its mandarins to these learned officials both in terms of the consolidation of the ancient Chinese people (Han is the ethnic self-name of the Chinese), and in terms of the formation of a special model of state administration, a special Chinese class hierarchy.
In the II century. BC. The Han Empire recognized Confucianism and in its person acquired an official ideology with a distinctly religious overtone. Violation of Confucian precepts was punishable by death as the most serious crime. Based on Confucianism, a comprehensive system of lifestyle and management organization was developed. The emperor in his reign had to rely on the principles of philanthropy and justice, and learned officials had to help him pursue the right policy. Relations in society had to be regulated on the basis of rituals that determined the responsibilities and rights of each group of the population. All people were to build family relationships based on the principles of filial piety and brotherly love. This meant. That every person had to unquestioningly carry out the will of his father. Listen to your older brothers, take care of your parents in old age. Since the era of the Elder Han, Chinese society has become class-based not only in the state, but also in the Confucian-moral sense of this concept. The obedience of the younger to the elder, the lower to the higher, and all together to the emperor is the basis for the development of Chinese civilization with its universal strict regulation of life down to the smallest detail.
The increased strength of Chinese civilization was also manifested in its foreign policy expansion, in the fight against external enemies, primarily the unification of nomadic tribes Xiongnu, who lived over a vast territory near the northern borders of China. The rulers of the Han Empire sought to expand its territory by seizing foreign lands, taking control of international trade routes and expanding foreign markets for their goods.
One of the most important features of the civilization of Han China is continuous intensive interaction with the outside world, with the barbarian periphery inhabited by steppe nomads. The Han's northern neighbors constantly threatened the security of the empire, whose troops largely successfully held back their onslaught, gradually pushing them away from the Great Wall of China. But when the Han were unable to protect their borders from raids, the nomads not only invaded their lands, ravaging cities and villages and taking the loot to their headquarters, but also seized the ancestral lands of the Han Empire. The nomads were often superior to the Han militarily, but always lagged behind culturally. They had to use the experience and laws of the Han people, adopt their language, traditions, and religion.
After the reconnaissance expedition of the traveler Zhang Qian to Central Asia (138-125 BC), the Han headed for the conquest of the Western Region (East Turkestan). Having ousted the Xiongnu, subdued a number of city-states and established contacts with Central Asia, they took control of the Great Silk Road connecting China with the West. The establishment of regular trade significantly affected the cultural interaction of the two great civilizations of the ancient world, Chinese and Roman. Chinese silks, lacquerware, precious metals, iron and nickel penetrated far to the west through Western and Central Asia, along the trade routes of the Roman East, reaching Rome. Glassware from the Mediterranean, jade from Khotan, horses and furs from nomads were imported to China. The market as a meeting place of civilizations opened China to such agricultural crops as grapes, pomegranates, nuts, beans, saffron, alfalfa, supplied from Central Asia.
The Great Silk Road is a zone of contacts between different civilizations. Here, over the centuries, not only goods, but innovative technologies, new religious ideas and examples of art were distributed. Along this most famous transit trade route in the ancient world, individual peoples settled, determining the processes of ethnogenesis.
Almost simultaneously, the Han Empire expanded to the southwest and east. The ancient Korean state of Joseon was conquered. Active aggressive actions were carried out south of China and in Southeast Asia with the capture of the ancient Vietnamese states of Aupac and Nam Vien.
The expansionist aspirations of the Han Empire led to the depletion of state resources, an increase in taxes, levies and forced labor, and a deterioration in the situation of people overwhelmed by sadness. The influence of enunuchs and relatives of the emperor's wives increased at court. One after another, waves of uprisings of the poor sections of the population rolled across the tired country. Interests collided rural houses and educated service class. Concluding the Elder Han Dynasty, the brief interim reign of Wang Mang (9-23 AD), a relative of one of the emperors' wives, led to the restoration of the Younger Han Dynasty. Having come to power, Wang Mang began reforms in order to restore the happy order of antiquity. The reforms, reasonable in their orientation, represented an attempt to use state power to control the economic life of the country: transfer of land into state ownership, a ban on trade in land and slaves, the elimination of private slavery, a monopoly on wine, salt, and iron. However, the lack of coordination of reforms and their too rapid and energetic implementation led to an aggravation of social contradictions. Rebellion of the Red Eyebrows in 18 AD. (the rebels painted their eyebrows red), civil war in the country and an environmental disaster (in 11 AD, a large-scale flood of the Yellow River, which changed its course, led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people) sealed the end of Wang Mang’s reign.
In 25 AD. a representative of the imperial family Guan Wu Di (25-57 AD) seized power and restored the Han Dynasty. Desperate efforts were made to overcome the crisis in the country. It was possible to re-establish influence in the Western Region. The Han expanded their foreign trade as never before. Estates of strong houses became widespread, which gradually turned into economically closed farms, thereby reducing the level of government revenues. In the 3rd century. officially abolished coin circulation, using silk and grain as money. The population has decreased, and the number of cities has halved. This, along with the continuous infighting of cliques at court, led to the weakening of central authority, social destabilization (the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184) and the fall of the dynasty. In 220, the Han Empire split into three kingdoms, thereby ceasing to exist. Existing through a centralized system of government for more than four centuries, the Han Empire became a model for subsequent eras.