DOCSLIB.ORG

Europe and China Compared

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Fairfield University DigitalCommons@Fairfield Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Publications Sociology & Anthropology Department Fall 2002 Europe and China Compared Eric Mielants Fairfield University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/sociologyandanthropology- facultypubs Copyright 2002 SUNY Binghamton University Archived with the permission of the author and the copyright holder. Peer Reviewed Repository Citation Mielants, Eric, "Europe and China Compared" (2002). Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Publications. 46. https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/sociologyandanthropology-facultypubs/46 Published Citation Mielants, Eric. “Europe and China Compared” in Review of the Fernand Braudel Center, Vol. 25 (4), Fall 2002, pp.401-449. This item has been accepted for inclusion in DigitalCommons@Fairfield by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Fairfield. It is brought to you by DigitalCommons@Fairfield with permission from the rights- holder(s) and is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Essay-Review Europeand ChinaCompared* Eric Mielants /^hina hasbeen regarded as one ofthe most glorious civilizations V><throughout human history. In theMiddle Ages, China was prob- ablythe most developed of all regions: socioeconomically, politically, and militarily.By about 1100 it had a populationof almost 100 mil- lionpeople, the economy had a highlevel of monetization(use of papermoney, written contracts, mercantile credits, checks, promis- sorynotes, bills of exchange) while the largest cities must have had up to a millioninhabitants (Elvin, 1973: 159; Kracke,1969: 11). MedievalChina's economic advance outshone anything in Europe. Militarilyspeaking the Chinese Emperor was the strongest overlord ofthe entire Eurasian landmass: in thetwelfth century AD he could easilymobilize about one millionsoldiers (McNeill, 1982: 40). A visi- torfrom outer space whowould have compared Medieval China withMedieval Europe in 1000 AD,would have staked his bet on Chinaas faras socioeconomic,military, and technologicaldevelop- mentwas concerned(Lippit, 1987: 37-38; Deng,2000). Yet,800 yearslater, Europe dominated the globe politically, militarily, eco- nomically,and technologically.Was theChinese Empire incapable orunwilling to develop by conquering, subordinating, and systemati- callyexploiting its peripheries as westernEurope would? Tradition- ally,scholars have located the "great divergence" between China and Europein theperiod of the Industrial Revolution, which then opens up thequestion why China "failed" to experience an IndustrialRevo- lution(e.g., Elvin, 1973), and thebenefit of recurring growth. Pomeranz's(2000) recentstudy is a majorcontribution to the fieldof worldhistory as it attemptsto present,by way of Charles * I would like to acknowledgemy gratitude to NorihisaYamashita (Hokkaido Uni- versity),John Chaffee (Binghamton University),and George Satterfield(SUNY- Morrisville)for their comments and suggestionson the firstversion of thisarticle. Of course, no one but myselfis responsiblefor any errorsof factor interpretation. review,xxv, 4, 2002,401-49 401 This content downloaded on Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:37:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 402 EricMielants Tilly's(1984) "encompassingcomparative method," a convincing explanationof whythe Westexperienced recurring growth and China(or India)did not. Pomeranz challenges the traditional (Euro- centric)position of Western social scientists who continue to believe thatmore "perfect competition," and morefree labor in Western marketsthan elsewhere enabled a take-offtooccur in Europe (2000: 17),as ifthe Industrial Revolution in Europewas an almostinevita- bleevent, due toits unique internal features. Pomeranz does a great job in carefullygoing over the available literature to dismissEu- rope'suniqueness (or predisposednatural or teleologicalpath to uniqueness)prior to 1800.He underminesany scholarly attempt to explainthe "rise of the West" (or the emergence of capitalism within Europe)by solely looking at Europe(e.g., Bois, 2000; Lachmann, 2000) or byexplaining Europe's advantage in termsof cultural and religiouspeculiarities to theregion (e.g., Park, 1995). He repeatedlypoints out that Europe was not the motor behind worldhistory before the Industrial Revolution, that there existed multiplecores prior to Europe'sdomination of world trade in the nineteenthcentury, and that these areas were all experiencing mod- estper capita growth as well.In hiswords the mostdeveloped parts of westernEurope seem to have sharedcrucial economic features- commercialization, corn- modificationofgoods, land, and labor, market-driven growth, and adjustmentby households of both fertility and labor allo- cationto economic trends- with other densely populated core areasin Eurasia(Pomeranz, 2000: 107). In his carefuland thoroughoverview of theliterature, Pomeranz rightfullydebunks Eurocentric myths, but unlike Frank (1998), he at- temptsto re-evaluatethe era beforethe nineteenth century as a fundamentally"polycentric world with no dominantcenter" (Pomer- anz,2000: 4, 273). AlthoughPomeranz distances himself from world-systems anal- ysisby claiming that "the exploitation of non-Europeans- and access to overseasresources more generally- [is] not the sole motorof Europeandevelopment" (2000: 3), hisfocus on theunique exploit- ativerelations of westernEurope with the New World,"and the exceptionalscale of the New World windfall" (2000: 11) whichthis generated,the importance he attributesto thelink between "capi- This content downloaded on Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:37:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Europe and China Compared 403 talism,overseas coercion and industrialization" and his emphasis on thevisible hands of political-economicinstitutions of Europeancapitalism and violentinterstate competition, combined with some very lucky (forEurope) globalconjunctures, [which] made European (especiallyBritish) relations with the rest of the world unique amongcore-periphery relationships (2000: 185) comescloser to the world-systems paradigm than he seemswilling to admit. LikeWallerstein (1983), Pomeranz (2000: 187) is quitecritical of O'Brien's(1990) outrightdismissal of Europeanprofits generated outsideof Europe, and likeWallerstein (1974) theconquest of the NewWorld (in turn "the result of intense military competition with- in Europe")is consideredto be crucialto explainEurope's rise (Pomeranz,2000: 282). More importantly, Pomeranz himself insists on theimportance of fundamental differences between European- dominatedperipheries, and therelations China had withits own peripheries(2000: 255, 267, 289). WhilePomeranz's book should be appreciatedfor its efforts to underscoreonce more the vitalityand importanceof the non- European(especially East Asian) arena in termsof socioeconomic developments-since world-systems analysis sometimes stresses the increasingpower of Europe and the "passivity" ofthe to-be-incorpo- ratedexternal arena- the study is neverthelessproblematic from the pointof view of Braudel's longue durée. I contendthat both the structural (geographical, demographic, geopolitical)constraints and limitations China was facing on theone hand,and theagency and policychoices made by elites, in theface of internaland externalchallenges on theother, have to be taken intoaccount in orderto comprehendthe different political/eco- nomictrajectories of Europe and China in the long run. Although it has latelybeen in vogueto dismisseither the impact of European influenceto a verylimited period in time(e.g., Frank, 1998) or to attributeit(mainly) to a military/technological breakthrough because ofthe Industrial Revolution,1 I will attempt to tracethe roots of the 1 Pomeranzalso regardsthe Industrial Revolution as thewatershed that ultimately transformedthe world, and in variousparts of hisbook he discussesthe debates on (proto)-industrialdevelopments (2000). The obsessionof equating modernity with the This content downloaded on Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:37:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 404 EricMielants greatdivergence in the thirteenth-fifteenthcenturies. Only by lookingat thehistorical trajectory of China and Europein thelong run(from c. 1200on) can one assessthe specific divergent trajecto- ries(or pathdependencies) at play.2 THE CHINESE SOCIOECONOMIC REVOLUTION DURINGTHE SUNG DYNASTIES(C. 900-1280). Pomeranzis ofcourse correct in claimingthat the scale of trade networksand themultitude of goodsexchanged in Asia weredaz- zlingwhen compared to Europe throughout most of the premodern era (2000).From the tenth century, the Chinese took to theseas in increasingnumbers with junks of 200 tons.Although some scholars havesuggested that mostly luxury products were transported by the Chinesemerchants in theIndian Ocean (e.g., Lewis, 1978: XI, 462), itappears that already under the Sung dynasty significant amounts ofbulk goods such as "rice,porcelain, pepper, lumber, and miner- als"were transported overseas (Shiba, 1983: 104).3 During the Sung, jointventures in shippingand leasesof vessel services had become "quitecommon" (Deng, 1997a: 102), and
Recommended publications
  • Scanned Using Book Scancenter 5033

    Scanned Using Book Scancenter 5033

    THE INNER MONGOLIAN RESPONSE TO THE CHINESE REPUBLIC, 1911-1917 Sechin Jagchid Brigham Young University After the outbreak of the Opium War, and especially during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the political environment of continental East Asia changed considerably. The power of the Western imperialists and Tsarist Russia expanded to both China and Mongolia. The Manchu defeat in that war created hard­ ships for Chinese peasants, and the Ch'ing dynasty replaced its ban on Chinese migration into Mongolian pasture lands with a positive policy of encouraging such migration in order to fortify against the Russian threat and ease the sit­ uation inside China. In doing so, however, the Ch'ing violated the Mongolian people's right to a livelihood in their own homeland. The dynasty placed the better grazing areas under Chinese occupation while undermining the Mongolian "feudalistic" league and banner organizations through establishing Chinese-style local governments under the pretext of administering the affairs of the Chinese settlers. The ensuing resentment and growing sense of instability gave rise to anti-Manchu movements among the Mongol nobility. A Mongolian volunteer force under Prince Senggerinchin did assist the Manchus against the T'aip'ing rebel­ lion {I85O-I86U), but thereafter Mongolian rebels, recorded in Chinese materials as "Mongolian bandits," became a continuous phenomenon. Also during this period, the Ch'ing court witnessed a gradual but steady de­ cline in the number and frequency of visits by Mongolian nobles coming to render personal homage to the Manchu emperor. This was especially marked after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The Ch'ing's "self-strengthening movement" to modernize the country generally had little influence on the Mongol nobility.
  • The Great Empires of Asia the Great Empires of Asia

    The Great Empires of Asia the Great Empires of Asia

    The Great Empires of Asia The Great Empires of Asia EDITED BY JIM MASSELOS FOREWORD BY JONATHAN FENBY WITH 27 ILLUSTRATIONS Note on spellings and transliterations There is no single agreed system for transliterating into the Western CONTENTS alphabet names, titles and terms from the different cultures and languages represented in this book. Each culture has separate traditions FOREWORD 8 for the most ‘correct’ way in which words should be transliterated from The Legacy of Empire Arabic and other scripts. However, to avoid any potential confusion JONATHAN FENBY to the non-specialist reader, in this volume we have adopted a single system of spellings and have generally used the versions of names and titles that will be most familiar to Western readers. INTRODUCTION 14 The Distinctiveness of Asian Empires JIM MASSELOS Elements of Empire Emperors and Empires Maintaining Empire Advancing Empire CHAPTER ONE 27 Central Asia: The Mongols 1206–1405 On the cover: Map of Unidentified Islands off the Southern Anatolian Coast, by Ottoman admiral and geographer Piri Reis (1465–1555). TIMOTHY MAY Photo: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Rise of Chinggis Khan The Empire after Chinggis Khan First published in the United Kingdom in 2010 by Thames & Hudson Ltd, 181A High Holborn, London WC1V 7QX The Army of the Empire Civil Government This compact paperback edition first published in 2018 The Rule of Law The Great Empires of Asia © 2010 and 2018 Decline and Dissolution Thames & Hudson Ltd, London The Greatness of the Mongol Empire Foreword © 2018 Jonathan Fenby All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced CHAPTER TWO 53 or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, China: The Ming 1368–1644 including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
  • Achieving High Coverage for Floating-Point Code Via Unconstrained Programming

    Achieving High Coverage for Floating-Point Code Via Unconstrained Programming

    Achieving High Coverage for Floating-Point Code via Unconstrained Programming Zhoulai Fu Zhendong Su University of California, Davis, USA [email protected] [email protected] Abstract have driven the research community to develop a spectrum Achieving high code coverage is essential in testing, which of automated testing techniques for achieving high code gives us confidence in code quality. Testing floating-point coverage. code usually requires painstaking efforts in handling floating- A significant challenge in coverage-based testing lies in point constraints, e.g., in symbolic execution. This paper turns the testing of numerical code, e.g., programs with floating- the challenge of testing floating-point code into the oppor- point arithmetic, non-linear variable relations, or external tunity of applying unconstrained programming — the math- function calls, such as logarithmic and trigonometric func- ematical solution for calculating function minimum points tions. Existing solutions include random testing [14, 23], over the entire search space. Our core insight is to derive a symbolic execution [17, 24], and various search-based strate- representing function from the floating-point program, any of gies [12, 25, 28, 31], which have found their way into many whose minimum points is a test input guaranteed to exercise mature implementations [16, 39]. Random testing is easy to a new branch of the tested program. This guarantee allows employ and fast, but ineffective in finding deep semantic is- us to achieve high coverage of the floating-point program by sues and handling large input spaces; symbolic execution and repeatedly minimizing the representing function. its variants can perform systematic path exploration, but suf- We have realized this approach in a tool called CoverMe fer from path explosion and are weak in dealing with complex and conducted an extensive evaluation of it on Sun’s C math program logic involving numerical constraints.
  • The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier

    The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier

    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Wai Kit Wicky Tse University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tse, Wai Kit Wicky, "Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Abstract As a frontier region of the Qin-Han (221BCE-220CE) empire, the northwest was a new territory to the Chinese realm. Until the Later Han (25-220CE) times, some portions of the northwestern region had only been part of imperial soil for one hundred years. Its coalescence into the Chinese empire was a product of long-term expansion and conquest, which arguably defined the egionr 's military nature. Furthermore, in the harsh natural environment of the region, only tough people could survive, and unsurprisingly, the region fostered vigorous warriors. Mixed culture and multi-ethnicity featured prominently in this highly militarized frontier society, which contrasted sharply with the imperial center that promoted unified cultural values and stood in the way of a greater degree of transregional integration. As this project shows, it was the northwesterners who went through a process of political peripheralization during the Later Han times played a harbinger role of the disintegration of the empire and eventually led to the breakdown of the early imperial system in Chinese history.
  • The Spreading of Christianity and the Introduction of Modern Architecture in Shannxi, China (1840-1949)

    The Spreading of Christianity and the Introduction of Modern Architecture in Shannxi, China (1840-1949)

    Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid Programa de doctorado en Concervación y Restauración del Patrimonio Architectónico The Spreading of Christianity and the introduction of Modern Architecture in Shannxi, China (1840-1949) Christian churches and traditional Chinese architecture Author: Shan HUANG (Architect) Director: Antonio LOPERA (Doctor, Arquitecto) 2014 Tribunal nombrado por el Magfco. y Excmo. Sr. Rector de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, el día de de 20 . Presidente: Vocal: Vocal: Vocal: Secretario: Suplente: Suplente: Realizado el acto de defensa y lectura de la Tesis el día de de 20 en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid. Calificación:………………………………. El PRESIDENTE LOS VOCALES EL SECRETARIO Index Index Abstract Resumen Introduction General Background........................................................................................... 1 A) Definition of the Concepts ................................................................ 3 B) Research Background........................................................................ 4 C) Significance and Objects of the Study .......................................... 6 D) Research Methodology ...................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Chinese traditional architecture 1.1 The concept of traditional Chinese architecture ......................... 13 1.2 Main characteristics of the traditional Chinese architecture .... 14 1.2.1 Wood was used as the main construction materials ........ 14 1.2.2
  • Daily Life for the Common People of China, 1850 to 1950

    Daily Life for the Common People of China, 1850 to 1950

    Daily Life for the Common People of China, 1850 to 1950 Ronald Suleski - 978-90-04-36103-4 Downloaded from Brill.com04/05/2019 09:12:12AM via free access China Studies published for the institute for chinese studies, university of oxford Edited by Micah Muscolino (University of Oxford) volume 39 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/chs Ronald Suleski - 978-90-04-36103-4 Downloaded from Brill.com04/05/2019 09:12:12AM via free access Ronald Suleski - 978-90-04-36103-4 Downloaded from Brill.com04/05/2019 09:12:12AM via free access Ronald Suleski - 978-90-04-36103-4 Downloaded from Brill.com04/05/2019 09:12:12AM via free access Daily Life for the Common People of China, 1850 to 1950 Understanding Chaoben Culture By Ronald Suleski leiden | boston Ronald Suleski - 978-90-04-36103-4 Downloaded from Brill.com04/05/2019 09:12:12AM via free access This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the prevailing cc-by-nc License at the time of publication, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. Cover Image: Chaoben Covers. Photo by author. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Suleski, Ronald Stanley, author. Title: Daily life for the common people of China, 1850 to 1950 : understanding Chaoben culture / By Ronald Suleski.
  • Confucianism: How Analects Promoted Patriarchy and Influenced the Subordination of Women in East Asia

    Confucianism: How Analects Promoted Patriarchy and Influenced the Subordination of Women in East Asia

    Portland State University PDXScholar Young Historians Conference Young Historians Conference 2017 Apr 20th, 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Confucianism: How Analects Promoted Patriarchy and Influenced the Subordination of Women in East Asia Lauren J. Littlejohn Grant High School Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians Part of the Asian History Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, and the Women's History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Littlejohn, Lauren J., "Confucianism: How Analects Promoted Patriarchy and Influenced the Subordination of Women in East Asia" (2017). Young Historians Conference. 9. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2017/oralpres/9 This Event is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Young Historians Conference by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Confucianism: How Analects Promoted Patriarchy and Influenced the ​ ​ Subordination of Women in East Asia Lauren Littlejohn History 105 Gavitte Littlejohn 1 Introduction Primary sources provide historians insight into how people used to live and are vital to understanding the past. Primary sources are sources of information-artifacts, books, art, and more- that were created close to the time period they are about and by someone who lived in proximity to that period. Primary sources can be first hand accounts, original data, or direct knowledge and their contents are analyzed by historians to draw conclusions about the past. There are many fields where scholars use different forms of primary sources; for example, archaeologists study artifacts while philologists study language.
  • Who Began the Wars Between the Jin and Song Empires? (Based on Materials Used in Jurchen Studies in Russia)

    Who Began the Wars Between the Jin and Song Empires? (Based on Materials Used in Jurchen Studies in Russia)

    Who began the wars between the Jin and Song Empires? (based on materials used in Jurchen studies in Russia) The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Kim, Alexander A. 2013. Who began the wars between the Jin and Song Empires? (based on materials used in Jurchen studies in Russia). Annales d’Université Valahia Targoviste, Section d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, Tome XV, Numéro 2, p. 59-66. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33088188 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Annales d’Université Valahia Targoviste, Section d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, Tome XV, Numéro 2, 2013, p. 59-66 ISSN : 1584-1855 Who began the wars between the Jin and Song Empires? (based on materials used in Jurchen studies in Russia) Alexander Kim* *Department of Historical education, School of education, Far Eastern Federal University, 692500, Russia, t, Ussuriysk, Timiryazeva st. 33 -305, email: [email protected] Abstract: Who began the wars between the Jin and Song Empires? (based on materials used in Jurchen studies in Russia) . The Jurchen (on Chinese reading – Ruchen, 女眞 / 女真 , Russian - чжурчжэни , Korean – 여진 / 녀진 ) tribes inhabited what is now the south and central part of Russian Far East, North Korea and North and Central China in the eleventh to sixteenth centuries.
  • Mongolian Cultural Orientation

    Mongolian Cultural Orientation

    Table of Contents Chapter 1: Profile ............................................................................................................................ 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 6 Geography ................................................................................................................................... 6 Area ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Climate .................................................................................................................................... 7 Geographic Divisions and Topographic Features ................................................................... 8 Rivers and Lakes ..................................................................................................................... 9 Major Cities ............................................................................................................................... 10 Ulaanbaatar ............................................................................................................................ 10 Erdenet ................................................................................................................................... 11 Darhan ..................................................................................................................................
  • Escaping the Rhetoric: a Monglian Perspective on Participation in Rural

    Escaping the Rhetoric: a Monglian Perspective on Participation in Rural

    Escaping the Rhetoric A Mongolian Perspective on Participation in Rural Development Projects _________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in International Rural Development at Lincoln University by J.W. Berends _________________________ Lincoln University 2009 i ii Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of M.Appl.Sc. Escaping the Rhetoric: A Mongolian Perspective on Participation in Rural Development Projects By J.W. Berends This thesis explores how stakeholders in Mongolian rural development projects interpret the concept of „participation‟. While previous research has provided an ethnographic snapshot of participation in rural development projects, none has yet focused on Mongolia – a post- socialist nation that receives significant amounts of foreign aid. To gain a holistic picture of „participation‟, this study explores: how stakeholders understand participation; what stakeholders perceive and prioritise as the benefits of participation; and which factors motivate or inhibit participation. This study‟s methodology involved an inductive, qualitative approach with a multiple case study design. Three Mongolia rural development projects, each with objectives of poverty- reduction and participation, were selected from three different development organisations and interviews were conducted with different stakeholder groups: development organisation managers, field staff, and local people of the project sites (participants and non-participants). The results of this study revealed a dominant or „Mongolian‟ understanding of „participation‟ existed across the various stakeholders: „Participation is local contributions of group labour and information for material benefits, within a top-down authoritarian structure (including local institutions)‟. This understanding arose from development organisations‟ emphasis on efficiency and sustainable results and local people engaging with the project as a normative livelihood strategy.
  • China's Dynastic History

    China's Dynastic History

    A Learning Resource Report Reading Materials for Participants of The International Forum December 2003 China – A Selection of Dynastic Histories In April 2004, The International Forum will travel through three cities of historical significance in China. Beginning in Shanghai, one of the younger cities in China – it grew to prominence during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and during the Republic of China (1911-1949). Now it is the key financial center under the People’s Republic. The City of Hangzhou, south west of Shanghai, was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) until it fell to the Mongols in 1276. The city of Wuhan dates back to the Shang Dynasty (3,500 years ago) and it was part of the Chu during the Warring States Period (476 BC-221 BC) and during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) it became a busy trading port on the Yangtze River. Chinese civilized history is re-told through its dynasties – a reminder that nothing remains the same and that everything has a rise and fall, a birth and death. The account of China’s history follows a cyclical pattern with the rise and fall of each dynasty, unlike western history which is re-told in a fairly linear progression from the Ancient Greeks onward. The attached reading chronicles parts of China’s history from the Shang Dynasty through the forming of the People’s Republic. It is a brief overview and a simple introduction designed to peak your interest, yet not tell the whole story. _______________________________________________________ This material is provided for the participants of The International Forum and is to be used for learning purposes only.
  • My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Yearsâ•Ž: a New Way Of

    My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Yearsâ•Ž: a New Way Of

    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College History of Art Faculty Research and Scholarship History of Art 2012 'My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Years’: A New Way of Seeing the Afterlife in Six Dynasties China Jie Shi Bryn Mawr College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.brynmawr.edu/hart_pubs Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Custom Citation Shi, Jie. 2012. "‘My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Years’: A New Way of Seeing the Afterlife in Six Dynasties China." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 72.2: 117–157. This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. https://repository.brynmawr.edu/hart_pubs/82 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Shi, Jie. 2012. "‘My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Years’: Another View of the Afterlife in the Six Dynasties China." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 72.2: 117–157. http://doi.org/10.1353/jas.2012.0027 “My Tomb Will Be Opened in Eight Hundred Years”: A New Way of Seeing the Afterlife in Six Dynasties China Jie Shi, University of Chicago Abstract: Jie Shi analyzes the sixth-century epitaph of Prince Shedi Huiluo as both a funerary text and a burial object in order to show that the means of achieving posthumous immortality radically changed during the Six Dynasties. Whereas the Han-dynasty vision of an immortal afterlife counted mainly on the imperishability of the tomb itself, Shedi’s epitaph predicted that the tomb housing it would eventually be ruined.