Understanding China) “In Association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.” Includes Bibliographical References and Index

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Britannica Educational Publishing Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor J.E. Luebering: Senior Manager Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition Kenneth Pletcher: Senior Editor, Geography and History

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The history of China / edited by Kenneth Pletcher.—1st ed. p. cm.—(Understanding China) “In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61530-181-2 (eBook) 1. China—History—Juvenile literature. I. Pletcher, Kenneth. DS735.H56 2010 951—dc22 2009046655

On the cover: The Great Wall, China’s most famous landmark, was built over a period of more than 2,000 years. © www.istockphoto.com/Robert Churchill

Page 14 © www.istockphoto.com/Hanquan Chen.

On page 20: The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, part of a large religious complex called the Temple of Heaven, was built in 1420 in Beijing. © www.istockphoto.com/Hanquan Chen 25 CONTENTS Introduction 14

Chapter i: The Beginnings of Chinese history 21 Introduction 21 Prehistory 22 Early Humans 22 Neolithic Period 24 Climate and Environment 24 Food Production 25 Major Cultures and Sites 26 Incipient Neolithic 26 Silk 27 Religious Beliefs and Social Organization 32 57 The First Historical Dynasty: The Shang 33 The Advent of Bronze Casting 33 The Shang Dynasty 35 Royal Burials 36 The Chariot 37 Art 37 Late Shang Divination and Religion 38 State and Society 39

Chapter 2: The Zhou and Qin Dynasties 41 The History of the Zhou (1046–256 BC) 41 Zhou and Shang 42 The Zhou Feudal System 44 Social, Political, and Cultural Changes 47 The Decline of Feudalism 47 59 Urbanization and Assimilation 47 The Rise of Monarchy 48 Economic Development 50 Cultural Change 53 The Qin Empire (221–207 BC) 54 The Qin State 54 Struggle for Power 55 The Empire 56 The Great Wall of China 57 73

Chapter 3: The han Dynasty 60 Dynastic Authority and the Succession of Emperors 61 Xi (Western) Han 61 Prelude to the Han 62 The Imperial Succession 63 From Wudi to Yuandi 65 Wudi 65 From Chengdi to Wang Mang 66 Dong (Eastern) Han 67 The Administration of the Han Empire 69 The Structure of Government 69 The Civil Service 69 Provincial Government 71 The Armed Forces 72 81 The Practice of Government 73 Relations with Other Peoples 76 Cultural Developments 78

Chapter 4: The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty 83 Political Developments During the Six Dynasties 83 The Division of China 83 Sanguo (Three Kingdoms; AD 220–280) 84 The Xi (Western) Jin (AD 265–316/317) 84 The Era of Barbarian Invasions and Rule 85 The Dong (Eastern) Jin (317–420) and Later Dynasties in the South (420–589) 85 The Shiliuguo (Sixteen Kingdoms) in the North (303–439) 86 93 Intellectual and Religious Trends During the Six Dynasties 87 Confucianism and Philosophical Daoism 87 Confucius 88 Daoism 90 Buddhism 92 The Sui Dynasty 95 Wendi’s Institutional Reforms 96 Integration of the South 97 Foreign Aff airs Under Yangdi 100 108

Chapter 5: The Tang Dynasty 102 Early Tang (618–626) 102 Administration of the State 104 Fiscal and Legal System 105 The Period of Tang Power (626–755) 107 The “Era of Good Government” 107 Rise of the Empress Wuhou 110 Prosperity and Progress 114 Military Reorganization 115 Late Tang (755–907) 117 Provincial Separatism 118 The Struggle for Central Authority 120 Cultural Developments 122 The Infl uence of Buddhism 122 Trends in the Arts 125 123 Du Fu 125 Social Change 126 Decline of the Aristocracy 126 Population Movements 127 Growth of the Economy 128

Chapter 6: Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties 130 The Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms 130 The Wudai (Five Dynasties) 131 Huang He 132 The Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms) 133 Barbarian Dynasties 135 The Tangut 135 The Khitan 135 The Juchen 136 124

Chapter 7: The Song Dynasty 138 Bei (Northern) Song (960–1127) 138 Unifi cation 138 Consolidation 140 Reforms 142 Decline and Fall 145 Nan (Southern) Song (1127–1279) 147 Survival and Consolidation 148 Relations with the Juchen 150 160

The Court’s Relations with the Bureaucracy 151 The Chief Councillors 153 The Bureaucratic Style 155 Chinese Civil Service 157 The Clerical Staff 158 The Rise of Neo-Confucianism 159 Internal Solidarity During the Decline of the Nan Song 162 Song Culture 163

Chapter 8: The yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty 168 The Mongol Conquest of China 168 Invasion of the Jin State 168 Genghis Khan 169 179 Invasion of the Song State 170 China Under the Mongols 172 Mongol Government and Administration 172 Early Mongol Rule 172 Changes Under Kublai Khan and His Successors 173 Economy 177 Religious and Intellectual Life 178 Daoism 178 Buddhism 180 Foreign Religions 181 Confucianism 181 Literature 182 The Arts 183 Yuan China and the West 186 The End of Mongol Rule 188 191

Chapter 9: The Ming Dynasty 190 Political History 190 The Dynasty’s Founder 191 Hongwu 192 The Dynastic Succession 192 Government and Administration 196 Local Government 197 Central Government 197 Later Innovations 198 209

Foreign Relations 201 Economic Policy and Developments 205 Population 205 Agriculture 206 Taxation 207 Coinage 208 Culture 208 Philosophy and Religion 209 Fine Arts 211 Literature and Scholarship 211

Chapter 10: The Early Qing Dynasty 214 The Rise of the Manchu 214 Dorgon 217 The Qing Empire 217 210 Political Institutions 218 Foreign Relations 222 Economic Development 223 Qing Society 226 Social Organization 228 State and Society 229 Trends in the Early Qing 230

Chapter 11: Late Qing 231 Western Challenge, 1839–60 231 The First Opium War and its Aftermath 232 The Antiforeign Movement and the Second Opium War (Arrow War) 234 Popular Uprising 236 The Taiping Rebellion 236 The Nian Rebellion 238 215 Muslim Rebellions 239 Eff ects of the Rebellions 240 The Self-Strengthening Movement 240 Foreign Relations in the 1860s 241 Industrialization for “Self-Strengthening” 242 Changes in Outlying Areas 244 East Turkistan 244 Tibet and Nepal 244 Myanmar (Burma) 245 Vietnam 245 251

Japan and the Ryukyu Islands 246 Korea and the Sino-Japanese War 247 Reform and Upheaval 248 The Hundred Days of Reform of 1898 249 The Boxer Rebellion 251 Reformist and Revolutionist Movements at the End of the Dynasty 253 Sun Yat-sen and the United League 254 Sun Yat-sen 255 Constitutional Movements After 1905 256 The Chinese Revolution (1911–12) 257

Chapter 12: The Early Republican Period 259 The Development of the Republic (1912–20) 259 255 Early Power Struggles 259 China in World War I 260 Japanese Gains 260 Yuan’s Attempts to Become Emperor 261 Confl ict Over Entry into the War 262 Formation of a Rival Southern Government 263 Wartime Changes 263 Intellectual Movements 264 An Intellectual Revolution 264 Riots and Protests 265 The Interwar Years (1920–37) 265 Beginnings of a National Revolution 265 The Nationalist Party 265 The Chinese Communist Party 266 Mao Zedong 268 Communist-Nationalist Cooperation 268 267 Reactions to Warlords and Foreigners 269 Militarism in China 270 The Foreign Presence 271 Reorganization of the KMT 271 Struggles Within the Two-Party Coalition 273 Clashes with Foreigners 273 KMT Opposition to Radicals 273 The Northern Expedition 274 Expulsion of Communists from the KMT 275 285

The Nationalist Government from 1928 to 1937 276 Japanese Aggression 278 War Between Nationalists and Communists 278 The United Front Against Japan 280

Chapter 13: The Late Republican Period and the War against Japan 281 The Early Sino-Japanese War 281 Phase One 281 Nanjing Massacre 282 Phase Two: Stalemate and Stagnation 283 Renewed Communist-Nationalist Confl cti 285 The International Alliance Against Japan 286 301 U.S. Aid to China 286 Confl icts Within the International Alliance 287 Phase Three: Approaching Crisis (1944–45) 289 Nationalist Deterioration 290 Communist Growth 290 Eff orts to Prevent Civil War 291 Civil War (1945–49) 291 A Race for Territory 292 Attempts to End the War 293 Resumption of Fighting 294 The Tide Begins to Shift 296 A Land Revolution 297 The Decisive Year, 1948 297 Communist Victory 298

Chapter 14: Establishment 310 of the People’s Republic 300 Reconstruction and Consolidation, 1949–52 302 The Transition to Socialism, 1953–57 305 Rural Collectivization 306 Urban Socialist Changes 307 Political Developments 307 Foreign Policy 310 New Directions in National Policy, 1958–61 311 Great Leap Forward 313 Readjustment and Reaction, 1961–65 316 324

Chapter 15: China Since 1965 323 The Cultural Revolution, 1966–76 323 Attacks on Cultural Figures 323 Attacks on Party Members 325 Red Guards 326 Seizure of Power 327 The End of the Radical Period 328 Social Changes 330 Struggle for the Premiership 331 Consequences of the Cultural Revolution 334 China After the Death of Mao 334 Domestic Developments 335 Readjustment and Recovery 335 Economic Policy Changes 336 Political Developments 338 326 Educational and Cultural Policy Changes 340 International Relations 340 Relations with Taiwan 341 Conclusion 342

Glossary 346 For Further Reading 348 Index 349

339

INTRODuCTION Introduction | 15

n October 1, 2009, the People’s The Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) was ORepublic of China celebrated its so influential that the name “China” is 60th anniversary with a stunning display derived from Qin. Shihuangdi was its of weapons, rumbling tanks, and smartly founder and most notable emperor. On dressed soldiers under a blue sky in the the one hand, he was a cruel tyrant. On capital city of Beijing. It was an impres- the other hand, changes he made during sive show of military might that displayed his reign helped to define China even China’s rising power in the modern world. today. The boundaries he set during his From a nation devastated by civil war reign became the traditional territory of and the ravages of World War II, China China. In later eras China sometimes has become the world’s third-largest held other territories, but the Qin bound- economy and a major player on the world aries were always considered to embrace stage. But the ability to renew itself is far the indivisible area of China proper. He from new for China. Despite upheavals developed networks of highways and uni- that have shattered the country, China is fied a number of existing fortifications unique among nations: its many cultural into the Great Wall of China, a UNESCO and economic accomplishments stretch World Heritage site today. He established across a continuous period, from its earli- a basic administrative system that all est recorded history, more than 4,000 succeeding dynasties followed for the years ago, to today. This book will reveal next 2,000 years. His tomb near Xi’an much about this exceptional nation and contains one of China’s most famous its long, varied history, which reaches treasures—6,000 life-sized terra-cotta back to one of the earliest periods in statues of warriors. world civilzation. The Han (202 BC–220 AD), the next China was ruled for centuries by great Chinese imperial dynasty estab- dynasties, each contributing to the coun- lished much of Chinese culture, so much try’s cultural development. The first so that “Han” became the Chinese word Chinese dynasty for which there is archae- denoting someone who is Chinese. Under ological evidence is the Shang dynasty its most famous emperor, Han Wudi, (c. 1600–1046 BC). They left behind beau- China fought against its northern nomad tiful bronze objects, including massive neighbours, the Xiongnu, and took con- ritual vessels and bronze chariots, which trol of the eastern portion of the Silk showed that Shang society was sophisti- Road, a trading route that allowed China cated and organized enough for its to sell goods as far away as Rome. He also people to create large-scale foundries. started China’s civil service system in Eventually, the Shang were conquered by which young men competed through their western neighbours, the Zhou (1046- exams for government jobs. 256 BC). The great philosopher Confucius After the Han dynasty fell apart, China was born during Zhou times. was a fractured state. This time was known 16 | The History of China as the time of the Six Dynasties. Although The Song (960–1279) was one of China was not united in government, it China’s most brilliant dynasties. During retained its essentially Chinese charac- the Song period, commerce increased, ter. This era was a time of development the widespread printing of literature for two of China’s three major religions: became popular and a growing number Daoism and Buddhism (The other is of people became educated. An agricul- Confucianism). tural revolution, including cultivation of The short-lived yet significant Sui an early ripening strain of rice, produced dynasty (581–618) unified the country after enough food to feed a population of 100 more than three centuries of fragmenta- million people—by far the largest population. One of the greatest accomplishments tion in the world at the time. Artistically, of the Sui dynasty was building a great the Song dynasty marked a high point for waterway, the Bian Canal, which linked Chinese pottery. But militarily, the Song north and south China. This system, were less powerful. During this dynasty further enlarged in later times, was a valu- the Juchen continued to control much of able transportation network that proved China’s central plains. This caused a spir- to be extremely important in maintaining itual crisis that led to a new form of a unified empire. Confucianism known as Lixue “School of The Sui set the stage for the succeed- Universal Principles,” which synthesized ing Tang dynasty (618–907), which metaphysics, ethics, and self-cultivation, stimulated a cultural and artistic golden and became important in China for cen- age. Some of China’s greatest poets, such turies to come. as Li Bai and Du Fu, lived and wrote dur- In the late 12th and 13th century, ing the Tang dynasty. Genghis Khan, the great Mongol war- Next came another time of political rior-ruler, was slashing his way across instability (907–960) during which three Asia and Europe. He started the work of northern peoples, the Tangut, Khitan, conquering the rich prize that was China, and Juchen, occupied parts of China’s and began the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) traditional territory. The Tangut became but was only partially successful. It middlemen in trade between Central wasn’t until his grandson, Kublai, took Asia and China. The Khitan founded the control that the Song dynasty was com- Liao dynasty by expanding from the bor- pletely defeated—a fight that took several der of Mongolia into southern Manchuria. decades. Being ruled by a foreign invader This area remained out of Chinese politi- was difficult for native Chinese, who cal control for more than 400 years and were not allowed to hold the highest acted for centuries as a centre for the positions in court and were called “south- mutual exchange of culture between ern barbarians.” But at the same time, the Chinese and the northern peoples. The Yuan rule had certain benefits for the Liao were overthrown by the Juchen. Chinese. The Mongols reunited China. Introduction | 17

They left religion alone. A large, well-read 19th century as Chinese rebelled against bourgeoisie enjoyed novels and plays. both Qing policies and these foreign Because the empire was so vast, China incursions. engaged in more extensive foreign trade Finally, in 1912, the Qing dynasty than ever before, allowing the country to abdicated and Yuan Shikai became presi- become richer and more stable. dent of China’s new republic. But when Chinese rulers reclaimed leadership the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or of the country during the Ming dynasty KMT), made up mostly of former revolu- (1368–1644). During the Ming, China tionaries, won a commanding majority of exerted immense cultural and political seats in the new legislature and influence on East Asia. This era was obstructed Yuan’s agenda, the president famous for its brilliant art, especially craft undermined parliament and eventually goods, such as cloisonné and porcelain. took on dictatorial powers. He then tried The “willow pattern” porcelain wares to appoint himself as emperor but died in became a famous export good to Europe. 1916 before doing so. Still, Yuan managed The Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12) the to leave behind foreign debt, a legacy of last of China’s imperial dynasties, began brutality, and a country fracturing into when the Manchu, descendants of the warlordism. Juchen, took over China. From the begin- On May 4, 1919, students organized ning, the Manchu made efforts to become protests and riots in the nation’s major assimilated into Chinese culture. These cities, and waves of workers went on efforts bred strongly conservative, strike to pressure the government to Confucian cultural attitudes in official oppose the decisions made at the Paris society and stimulated a great period of Peace Conference after World War I collecting, cataloging, and commenting ended, especially the decision to allow upon the traditions of the past. During the Japanese to keep control of valuable this time, there was significant trade with Chinese land, resources, and railroads other countries—in the 18th century, 10 that they had taken in the previous million Spanish silver dollars a year decade. This outburst led to the estab- flowed into China. In its early days, Qing lishment of the Chinese Communist China had a favourable trade balance, Party (CCP). After spending several but gradually it became weak, and begin- years recruiting new members, the CCP ning in the 1820s, European powers such began to compete with the KMT for con- as Britain began demanding conces- trol of China. sions and other special favours from In 1928, the Nationalists formally China (including control of some Chinese established a reorganized National territory). The Qing dynasty was not Government of the Republic of China. strong enough to resist. A series of brief Meanwhile, Japan was moving aggres- wars and uprisings took place during the sively to extend its power in Manchuria, 18 | The History of China and nationalism was growing among the 10 years of civil war, had developed a Chinese people. powerful discipline and sense of cama- Throughout most of the 1930s, the raderie. After the war ended with Japan’s KMT clashed with the CCP. The commu- defeat in 1945, the Nationalist govern- nists established their own rival ment began to deteriorate. government in 1931 at several bases in In 1949, the communists took con- rural areas of central China. In late 1934, trol, establishing the People’s Republic the Nationalists forced the communists of China and installing Mao Zedong, the to abandon their bases. The communists chairman of the CCP, as its leader. Using fought their way across western China in the Soviet model, Mao’s government what became known as the Long March. wanted to focus on organizing China’s By 1936, the remnants of several Red industrial workers. But four-fifths of armies had gathered into an impover- China’s people were underemployed, ished area in northern Shaanxi and impoverished farmers. To address this reorganized themselves. During the problem, Mao came up with the First Long March, the communists developed Five-Year Plan (1953-57), which redis- cohesion and discipline. Mao Zedong tributed land and forced farmworkers rose to preeminence as a leader. into small agricultural collectives. This The Sino-Japanese War (which later plan had some success in helping to developed into the Pacific theatre of reduce hunger. However, this success World War II) began in 1937 with did not carry out in his next large pro- Japanese attacks near Beijing. The CCP gram, the Great Leap Forward (1958–60). and KMT formed an alliance (the United During that campaign, the large-scale Front) to fight against the enemy, but collectives Mao had envisioned to during the war’s first year, Japan won increase China’s food were also pressed victory after victory. By late December, to engage in small-scale industrial pro- the Japanese had invaded Shanghai and duction. However, agricultural output Nanjing. Between 100,000 and 300,000 declined, and this, combined with a series people were massacred by Japanese sol- of natural disasters that further ravaged diers in Nanjing. By mid-1938, Japan crop production, led to mass starvation controlled the rail lines and major cities in the country. of northern China. The next years con- Indeed, life under Mao was a time of tinued to be a bitter time, and the constant social upheaval and uproar. Chinese suffered terribly. Eventually, the Under his leadership, China went through alliance between the CCP and KMT one kind of social revolution after began to fracture, as both sides fought another. Posters extolling the virtues of to control territory. The Nationalist gov- the latest propaganda campaigns, with ernment became increasingly corrupt, names like “Let a hundred flowers blos- while the communists, having survived som,” “The Four Olds,” and “Bombard the Introduction | 19 headquarters,” blanketed the country. priorities changed. It began to reach out Often, those who participated in one social more to the world, and to develop as an movement were attacked in the next. economic powerhouse. In 1978, China for- In 1966, Mao unleashed the most far- mally agreed to establish full diplomatic reaching of his upheavals: the Great relations with the United States. In educa- Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a time tion, top priority was given to raising when many authors, scholars, school- technical, scientific, and scholarly talent teachers, former party leaders, and other to world-class standards. The collective intellectuals were denounced as subver- farming system was gradually disman- sive to the country’s cause. Bands of tled. Private entrepreneurship in the cities Red Guards (paramilitary units of radical increased. It modernized its factories and students) roamed the country attacking developed its transportation infrastruc- those whom they deemed unsuitable. ture; its cities grew rapidly. China joined Sometimes different Red Guard groups the World Trade Organization in 2001. even attacked each other. Students, China faces many problems, among intellectuals, and party members were them serious environmental issues, encouraged or forced to moved out to the widespread economic inequality, and a countryside and told to “learn from the sometimes repressive government. Its poor and middle-class peasants.” image was tarnished in 1989, following The consequences of the 10 years of the deaths of protestors in Tiananmen the Cultural Revolution were severe. In Square. Still, the world clamours for the short run, political instability pro- Chinese goods, and this has led to China duced slower economic growth. In the becoming a major player on the world long term, the Cultural Revolution left a stage—it now has the world’s third larg- severe generation gap in which poorly est economy and is among the top educated young people only knew how to trading countries. China remains cohe- redress grievances by taking to the sive and vital, as it showed when it hosted streets, an increase in corruption within the glittering 2008 Summer Olympics in the CCP, and a loss of legitimacy as Beijing and again demonstrated its abil- China’s people became disillusioned by ity to reinvent itself and to innovate, even politicians’ obvious power plays. Perhaps after 4,000 years of history. never before had a political leader What follows is a more detailed nar- unleashed such massive forces against rative of China’s vast history with more the system that he had created. comprehensive information on the dynas- After Mao died in 1976 and the ties, movements, and events that account Cultural Revolution subsided, China’s for the nation’s rich history.

ChaPTER 1

The Beginnings of Chinese history

INTRODuCTION

With more than 4,000 years of recorded history, China is one of the few existing countries that also fl ourished economically and culturally in the earliest stages of world civilization. Indeed, despite the political and social upheavals that frequently have ravaged the country, China is unique among nations in its longevity and resilience as a discrete political and cultural unit. Much of China’s cultural development has been accomplished with relatively little outside infl uence, the introduction of Buddhism from India constituting a major exception. Even when the country was penetrated by such “barbarian” peoples as the Manchu, these groups soon became largely absorbed into the fabric of Han Chinese culture. This relative isolation from the outside world made possible over the centuries the fl owering and refi nement of the Chinese culture, but it also left China ill-prepared to cope with that world when, from the mid-19th century, it was confronted by technologically superior foreign nations. There followed a century of decline and decrepitude, as China found itself relatively helpless in the face of a foreign onslaught. The trauma of this external challenge became the catalyst for a revolution that began in the early 20th century against the old regime and culminated in the establishment of a communist government in 1949. This event reshaped 22 | The History of China

A Chinese scientist holds the unearthed bones of a human who lived 25,000 years ago. AFP/ Getty Images global political geography, and China Paleolithic Period [Old Stone Age] began has since come to rank among the most about 2,500,000 years ago and ended infl uential countries in the world. 10,000 years ago) at sites such as Lantian, Shaanxi; Hexian, Anhui; Yuanmou, PREhISTORy Yunnan; and, the most famous, that of Peking man at Zhoukoudian, Beijing Early Humans municipality. The Lower Cave at Zhoukoudian has yielded evidence of The fossil record in China promises intermittent human use from about fundamental contributions to the under- 460,000 to 230,000 years ago, and fossils standing of human origins. There is of Peking man found in the complex considerable evidence of Homo erectus have been dated to about 770,000 years by the time of the Lower Paleolithic (the ago. Many caves and other sites in The Beginnings of Chinese History | 23

This map shows China and its special administrative regions. 24 | The History of China

Anhui, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Shandong, Neolithic Period Shanxi and Shaanxi in northern China and in Guizhou and Hubei in the south The complex of developments in stone suggest that H. erectus achieved wide tool technology, food production and distribution in China. Whether H. erectus storage, and social organization that is pekinensis intentionally used fire and often characterized as the “Neolithic practiced ritual cannibalism are matters Revolution” was in progress in China under debate. by at least the 6th millennium BC. Significant Homo sapiens cranial Developments during the Chinese and dental fragments have been found Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) together with Middle Paleolithic arti- were to establish some of the major facts. Such assemblages have been cultural dimensions of the subsequent unearthed at Dingcun, Shanxi; Changyang, Bronze Age. Hubei; Dali, Shaanxi; Xujiayao, Shanxi; and Maba, Guangdong. Morphological Climate and Environment characteristics such as the shovel-shaped incisor, broad nose, and mandibular torus Although the precise nature of the link these remains to modern Asians. Few paleoenvironment is still in dispute, tem- archaeological sites have been identified peratures in Neolithic China were in the south. probably some 4 to 7 °F (2 to 4 °C) warmer A number of widely distributed H. than they are today. Precipitation, erectus sites dating from the early although more abundant, may have been Pleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 1.8 million declining in quantity. The Qin (Tsinling) years ago) manifest considerable Mountains in north-central China sepa- regional and temporal diversity. Upper rated the two phytogeographical zones of Paleolithic sites are numerous in north- northern and southern China, while the ern China. Thousands of stone artifacts, absence of such a mountain barrier far- most of them small (called microliths), ther east encouraged a more uniform have been found, for example, at environment and the freer movement of Xiaonanhai, near Anyang, at Shuoxian Neolithic peoples about the North China and Qinshui (Shanxi), and at Yangyuan Plain. East China, particularly toward the (Hebei); these findings suggest an exten- south, may have been covered with thick sive microlith culture in northern China. vegetation, some deciduous forest, and Hematite, a common iron oxide ore used scattered marsh. The Loess Plateau north for colouring, was found scattered around and west of the Qin Mountains is thought skeletal remains in the Upper Cave at to have been drier and even semiarid, Zhoukoudian (c. 10th millennium BC) with some coniferous forest growing on and may represent the first sign of the hills and with brush and open wood- human ritual. land in the valleys. The Beginnings of Chinese History | 25

A farmer in Shaoshan, Hunan province, China, gathers bundles of dried millet stalks. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

food Production shellfi sh. By the Bronze Age, millet, rice, soybeans, tea, mulberries, hemp, and The primary Neolithic crops, domesti- lacquer had become characteristic cated by the 5th millennium BC, were Chinese crops. That most if not all of drought-resistant millet (usually Setaria these plants were native to China indi- italica), grown on the eolian and alluvial cates the degree to which Neolithic loess soils of the northwest and the north, culture developed indigenously. The and glutenous rice (Oryza sativa), grown distinctive cereal, fruit, and vegetable in the wetlands of the southeast. These complexes of the northern and southern staples were supplemented by a variety zones in Neolithic and early historic of fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables, and times suggest, however, that at least two aquatic plants. The main sources of ani- independent traditions of plant domesti- mal protein were pigs, dogs, fi sh, and cation may have been present. 26 | The History of China

The stone tools used to clear and and geographical, are not discussed in prepare the land reveal generally improv- detail in the following paragraphs. ing technology. There was increasing use of ground and polished edges and of Incipient Neolithic perforation. Regional variations of shape included oval-shaped axes in central and Study of the historical reduction of the northwest China, square- and trapezoid- size of human teeth suggests that the shaped axes in the east, and axes with first human beings to eat cooked food stepped shoulders in the southeast. By did so in southern China. The sites of the Late Neolithic a decrease in the pro- Xianrendong in Jiangxi and Zengpiyan portion of stone axes to adzes suggests in Guangxi have yielded artifacts from the the increasing dominance of permanent 10th to the 7th millennium BC that include agriculture and a reduction in the open- low-fired, cord-marked shards with some ing up of new land. The burial in incised decoration and mostly chipped high-status graves of finely polished, stone tools; these pots may have been perforated stone and jade tools such as used for cooking and storage. Pottery axes and adzes with no sign of edge wear and stone tools from shell middens in indicates the symbolic role such southern China also suggest Incipient emblems of work had come to play by Neolithic occupations. These early south- the 4th and 3rd millennia. ern sites may have been related to the Neolithic Bac Son culture in Vietnam; Major Cultures and Sites connections to the subsequent Neolithic cultures of northwestern and northern There was not one Chinese Neolithic China have yet to be demonstrated. but a mosaic of regional cultures whose scope and significance are still being 6th Millennium BC determined. Their location in the area defined today as China does not neces- Two major cultures can be identified in sarily mean that all the Neolithic the northwest: Laoguantai, in eastern and cultures were Chinese or even proto- southern Shaanxi and northwestern Chinese. Their contributions to the Henan, and Dadiwan I—a development of Bronze Age civilization of the Shang, Laoguantai culture—in eastern Gansu which may be taken as unmistakably and western Shaanxi. The pots in both Chinese in both cultural as well as cultures were low-fired, sand-tempered, geographical terms, need to be assessed and mainly red in colour, and bowls with in each case. In addition, the presence three stubby feet or ring feet were com- of a particular ceramic ware does not mon. The painted bands of this pottery necessarily define a cultural horizon; may represent the start of the Painted transitional phases, both chronological Pottery culture. The Beginnings of Chinese History | 27

Silk

Silk is an animal fi bre produced by certain insects as building material for cocoons and webs. In commercial use it refers almost entirely to fi lament from cocoons produced by the caterpillars of several moth species of the genus Bombyx, commonly called silkworms. Silk is a continuous fi lament around each cocoon. It is freed by softening the cocoon in water and then locating the fi lament end; the fi laments from several cocoons are unwound at the same time, sometimes with a slight twist, to form a single strand. In the process called throwing, several very thin strands are twisted together to make thicker, stronger yarn. Produced since ancient times, the secret of how silk is made was closely guarded for millennia. Along with jade and spices, silk was the primary commodity traded along the Silk Road beginning about 100 BC. Since World War II, nylon and other synthetic fi bres have replaced silk in many applications (e.g., parachutes, hosiery, dental fl oss), but silk remains an important material for clothing and home furnishings.

Silkworms spin cocoons on a silk farm in Zhejiang province. China is the leader in silk production and trade. China Photos/Getty Images 28 | The History of China

In northern China the people of southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu Peiligang (north-central Henan) made was characterized by fine clay or sand- less use of cord marking and painted tempered pots decorated with comb design on their pots than did those at markings, incised and impressed designs, Dadiwan I; the variety of their stone tools, and narrow appliquéd bands. Artifacts including sawtooth sickles, indicates the include many three-legged, deep-bodied importance of agriculture. The Cishan tripods, gobletlike serving vessels, bowls, potters (southern Hebei) employed more and pot supports. Hougang (lower stra- cord-marked decoration and made a tum) remains have been found in southern greater variety of forms, including basins, Hebei and central Henan. The vessels, cups, serving stands, and pot supports. some finished on a slow wheel, were The discovery of two pottery models of mainly red-coloured and had been fired at silkworm chrysalides and 70 shuttlelike high heat. They include jars, tripods, and objects at a 6th-millennium-BC site at round-bottomed, flat-bottomed, and ring- Nanyangzhuang (southern Hebei) sug- footed bowls. No pointed amphorae have gests the early production of silk, the been found, and there were few painted characteristic Chinese textile. designs. A characteristic red band under the rim of most gray-ware bowls was pro- 5th Millennium BC duced during the firing process. Archaeologists have generally classi- The lower stratum of the Beishouling cul- fied the lower strata of Beishouling, ture is represented by finds along the Wei Banpo, and Hougang cultures under the and Jing rivers; bowls, deep-bodied jugs, rubric of Painted Pottery (or, after a later and three-footed vessels, mainly red in site, Yangshao) culture, but two cautions colour, were common. The lower stratum should be noted. First, a distinction may of the related Banpo culture, also in the have existed between a more westerly Wei River drainage area, was character- culture in the Wei valley (early ized by cord-marked red or red-brown Beishouling and early Banpo) that was ware, especially round and flat-bottomed rooted in the Laoguantai culture and a bowls and pointed-bottomed amphorae. more easterly one (Beixin and Hougang) The Banpo inhabitants lived in partially that developed from the Peiligang and subterranean houses and were supported Cishan cultures. Second, since only 2 to 3 by a mixed economy of millet agriculture, percent of the Banpo pots were painted, hunting, and gathering. The importance the designation Painted Pottery culture of fishing is confirmed by designs of styl- seems premature. ized fish painted on a few of the bowls In the region of the lower Yangtze and by numerous hooks and net sinkers. River (Chang Jiang), the Hemudu site in In the east, by the start of the 5th mil- northern Zhejiang has yielded caldrons, lennium, the Beixin culture in central and cups, bowls, and pot supports made of The Beginnings of Chinese History | 29 porous, charcoal-tempered black pottery. valley and Banpo traditions of the 5th The site is remarkable for its wooden and millennium. The Miaodigou I horizon, bone farming tools, the bird designs dated from the first half of the 4th millen- carved on bone and ivory, the superior nium, produced burnished bowls and carpentry of its pile dwellings (a response basins of fine red pottery, some 15 per- to the damp environment), a wooden cent of which were painted, generally in weaving shuttle, and the earliest lacquer- black, with dots, spirals, and sinuous ware and rice remains yet reported in the lines. It was succeeded by a variety of world (c. 5000–4750 BC). Majiayao cultures (late 4th to early 3rd The Qingliangang culture, which millennium) in eastern Gansu, eastern succeeded that of Hemudu in Jiangsu, Qinghai, and northern Sichuan. About northern Zhejiang, and southern one-third of Majiayao vessels were deco- Shandong, was characterized by ring- rated on the upper two-thirds of the body footed and flat-bottomed pots, gui with a variety of designs in black pig- (wide-mouthed vessels), tripods (com- ment; multiarmed radial spirals, painted mon north of the Yangtze), and serving with calligraphic ease, were the most stands (common south of the Yangtze). prominent. Related designs involving Early fine-paste redware gave way in the sawtooth lines, gourd-shaped panels, spi- later period to fine-paste gray and black rals, and zoomorphic stick figures were ware. Polished stone artifacts include painted on pots of the Banshan (mid-3rd axes and spades, some perforated, and millennium) and Machang (last half of jade ornaments. 3rd millennium) cultures. Some two- Another descendant of Hemudu cul- thirds of the pots found in the Machang ture was that of Majiabang, which had burial area at Liuwan in Qinghai, for close ties with the Qingliangang culture example, were painted. In the North in southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, China Plain, Dahe culture sites contain a and Shanghai. In southeastern China a mixture of Miaodigou and eastern, cord-marked pottery horizon, repre- Dawenkou vessel types (see below), indi- sented by the site of Fuguodun on the cating that a meeting of two major island of Quemoy (Kinmen), existed by at traditions was taking place in this area in least the early 5th millennium. The sug- the late 4th millennium. gestion that some of these southeastern In the northeast the Hongshan cul- cultures belonged to an Austronesian ture (4th millennium and probably complex remains to be fully explored. earlier) was centred in western Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia. It was char- 4th and 3rd Millennia BC acterized by small bowls (some with red tops), fine redware serving stands, A true Painted Pottery culture developed painted pottery, and microliths. in the northwest, partly from the Wei Numerous jade amulets in the form of 30 | The History of China birds, turtles, and coiled dragons reveal and serving stands, and many styles of strong affiliations with the other jade- tripods. Admirably executed and painted working cultures of the east coast, such clay whorls suggest a thriving textile as Liangzhu. industry. The chronological distribution In east China the Liulin and Huating of ceramic features suggests a transmis- sites in northern Jiangsu (first half of 4th sion from Daxi to Qujialing, but the millennium) represent regional cultures precise relationship between the two cul- that derived in large part from that of tures has been much debated. Qingliangang. Upper strata also show The Majiabang culture in the Lake strong affinities with contemporary Tai basin was succeeded during the 4th Dawenkou sites in southern Shandong, millennium by that of Songze. The pots, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. increasingly wheel-made, were predomi- Dawenkou culture (mid-5th to at least nantly clay-tempered gray ware. Tripods mid-3rd millennium) is characterized by with a variety of leg shapes, serving the emergence of wheel-made pots of stands, gui pitchers with handles, and various colours, some of them remark- goblets with petal-shaped feet were char- ably thin and delicate; vessels with ring acteristic. Ring feet were used, silhouettes feet and tall legs (such as tripods, serving became more angular, and triangular stands, and goblets); carved, perforated, and circular perforations were cut to and polished tools; and ornaments in form openwork designs on the short- stone, jade, and bone. The people prac- stemmed serving stands. A variety of ticed skull deformation and tooth jade ornaments, a feature of Qingliangang extraction. Mortuary customs involved culture, has been excavated from Songze ledges for displaying grave goods, coffin burial sites. chambers, and the burial of animal teeth, Sites of the Liangzhu culture (from pig heads, and pig jawbones. the last half of the 4th to the last half of In the middle and lower Yangtze the 3rd millennium) have generally been River valley during the 4th and 3rd mil- found in the same area. The pots were lennia, the Daxi and Qujialing cultures mainly wheel-made, clay-tempered gray shared a significant number of traits, ware with a black skin and were pro- including rice production, ring-footed duced by reduction firing; oxidized vessels, goblets with sharply angled pro- redware was less prevalent. Some of the files, ceramic whorls, and black pottery serving stand and tripod shapes had with designs painted in red after firing. evolved from Majiabang prototypes, Characteristic Qujialing ceramic objects while other vessel forms included long- not generally found in Daxi sites include necked gui pitchers. The walls of some eggshell-thin goblets and bowls painted vessels were black throughout, eggshell- with black or orange designs, double- thin, and burnished, resembling those waisted bowls, tall, ring-footed goblets found in Late Neolithic sites in Shandong The Beginnings of Chinese History | 31

(see below). Extravagant numbers of highly worked jade bi disks and cong tubes were placed in certain burials, such as one at Sidun (southern Jiangsu) that contained 57 of them. Liangzhu farmers had developed a characteristic triangular shale plow for cultivating the wet soils of the region. Fragments of woven silk from about 3000 BC have been found at Qianshanyang (northern Zhejiang). Along the southeast coast and on Taiwan, the Dapenkeng corded- ware culture emerged during the 4th and 3rd millennia. This culture, with a fuller inventory of pot and tool types than had previously been seen in the area, developed in part from that of Fuguodun but may also have been infl uenced by cultures to the west and north, including Qingliangang, Liangzhu, and Liulin. The pots were characterized by incised line patterns on neck and rim, low, perforated foot rims, and some painted decoration.

Regional Cultures of the Late Neolithic

By the 3rd millennium BC, the regional cultures in the areas discussed above showed increased signs of interaction and even convergence. That they are frequently referred to as varieties of the Longshan culture (c. 2500–2000 BC) of east-central Shandong—characterized by Black pottery stem cup, Neolithic its lustrous, eggshell-thin black ware— Longshan culture, c. late 3rd millennium BC, from Rizhao, Shandong province, suggests the degree to which these China; in the Shandong Provincial cultures are thought to have experienced Museum, Jinan. Height 26.5 cm. Wang eastern infl uence. That infl uence, diverse Lu/ChinaStock Photo Library in origin and of varying intensity, entered 32 | The History of China the North China Plain from sites such as aesthetic coherence. It was evidently the Dadunzi and Dawenkou to the east and mixing in the 3rd and 2nd millennia of also moved up the Han River from the these eastern elements with the strong Qujialing area to the south. A variety of and extensive traditions native to the eastern features are evident in the North China Plain—represented by such ceramic objects of the period, including Late Neolithic sites as Gelawangcun use of the fast wheel, unpainted surfaces, (near Zhengzhou), Wangwan (near sharply angled profiles, and eccentric Luoyang), Miaodigou (in central and shapes. There was a greater production western Henan), and Taosi and of gray and black, rather than red, ware; Dengxiafeng (in southwest Shanxi)—that componential construction was empha- stimulated the rise of early Bronze Age sized, in which legs, spouts, and handles culture in the North China Plain and not were appended to the basic form (which in the east. might itself have been built sectionally). Greater elevation was achieved by means Religious Beliefs and of ring feet and tall legs. Ceramic objects Social Organization included three-legged tripods, steamer cooking vessels, gui pouring pitchers, The inhabitants of Neolithic China were, serving stands, fitted lids, cups and gob- by the 5th millennium if not earlier, lets, and asymmetrical beihu vases for remarkably assiduous in the attention carrying water that were flattened on one they paid to the disposition and com- side to lie against a person’s body. In memoration of their dead. There was a stone and jade objects, eastern influence consistency of orientation and posture, is evidenced by perforated stone tools with the dead of the northwest given a and ornaments such as bi disks and cong westerly orientation and those of the tubes used in burials. Other burial cus- east an easterly one. The dead were seg- toms involved ledges to display the regated, frequently in what appear to be goods buried with the deceased and large kinship groupings (e.g., at Yuanjunmiao, wooden coffin chambers. In handicrafts Shaanxi). There were graveside ritual an emphasis was placed on precise men- offerings of liquids, pig skulls, and pig suration in working clay, stone, and wood. jaws (e.g., Banpo and Dawenkou), and Although the first, primitive versions of the demanding practice of collective the eastern ceramic types may have been secondary burial, in which the bones of made on occasion in the North China up to 70 or 80 corpses were stripped of Plain, in virtually every case these types their flesh and reburied together, was were elaborated in the east and given extensively practiced as early as the first more-precise functional definition, half of the 5th millennium (e.g., greater structural strength, and greater Yuanjunmiao). Evidence of divination The Beginnings of Chinese History | 33 using scapulae (shoulder blades) dating served to validate and encourage the from the end of the 4th millennium decline of the more egalitarian societies (from Fuhegoumen, Liaoning) implies of earlier periods. the existence of ritual specialists. There was a lavish expenditure of energy by The first historical the 3rd millennium on tomb ramps and dynasty: the Shang coffin chambers (e.g., Liuwan [in eastern Qinghai] and Dawenkou) and on the The Advent burial of redundant quantities of expen- of Bronze Casting sive grave goods (e.g., Dafanzhuang in Shandong, Fuquanshan in Shanghai, The 3rd and 2nd millennia were marked and Liuwan), presumably for use by the by the appearance of increasing warfare, dead in some afterlife. complex urban settlements, intense sta- Although there is no firm archaeo- tus differentiation, and administrative logical evidence of a shift from matrilineal and religious hierarchies that legitimated to patrilineal society, the goods buried in and controlled the massive mobilization graves indicate during the course of the of labour for dynastic work or warfare. 4th and 3rd millennia an increase in gen- The casting of bronze left the most-evi- eral wealth, the gradual emergence of dent archaeological traces of these private or lineage property, an increase momentous changes, but its introduction in social differentiation and gender dis- must be seen as part of a far-larger shift tinction of work roles, and a reduction in in the nature of society as a whole, repre- the relative wealth of women. The occa- senting an intensification of the social sional practice of human sacrifice or and religious practices of the Neolithic. accompanying-in-death from scattered A Chalcolithic Period (Copper Age; 4th- and 3rd-millennium sites (e.g., i.e., transitional period between the Late Miaodigou I, Zhanglingshan in Jiangsu, Neolithic and the Bronze Age) dating to Qinweijia in Gansu, and Liuwan) the mid-5th millennium may be dimly suggests that ties of dependency and perceived. A growing number of 3rd-mil- obligation were conceived as continuing lennium sites, primarily in the northwest beyond death and that women were likely but also in Henan and Shandong, have to be in the dependent position. Early yielded primitive knives, awls, and drills forms of ancestor worship, together with made of copper and bronze. Stylistic evi- all that they imply for social organization dence, such as the sharp angles, flat and obligation among the living, were bottoms, and strap handles of certain deeply rooted and extensively developed Qijia clay pots (in Gansu; c. 2250–1900 by the Late Neolithic Period. Such reli- BC), has led some scholars to posit an gious belief and practice undoubtedly early sheet- or wrought-metal tradition 34 | The History of China

possibly introduced from the west by migrating Indo-European peoples, but no wrought-metal objects have been found. The construction and baking of the clay cores and sectional piece molds employed in Chinese bronze casting of the 2nd millennium indicate that early metalworking in China rapidly adapted to, if it did not develop indigenously from, the sophisticated high-heat ceramic technology of the Late Neolithic potters, who were already using ceramic molds and cores to produce forms such as the hollow legs of the li cooking caldron. Chinese bronze casting represents, as the continuity in vessel shapes suggests, an aesthetic and technological extension of that ceramic tradition rather than its replacement. The bronze casters’ preference for vessels elevated on ring feet or legs further suggests aesthetic links to the east rather than the northwest. The number, complexity, and size— the Simuwu tetrapod weighed 1,925 pounds (875 kg)—of the Late Shang ritual vessels reveal high technological competence married to large-scale, labour-intensive metal production. Bronze casting of this scale and character—in which large groups of ore miners, fuel gatherers, ceramists, and foundry workers were under the prescriptive control of the model designers and labour coordinators—must be understood as a Bronze jia, Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 manifestation, both technological and BC); in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, social, of the high value that Shang cul- Kansas City, Mo. Courtesy of the Nelson ture placed on hierarchy, social discipline, Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri (Nelson Fund) and central direction in all walks of life. The prestige of owning these metal The Beginnings of Chinese History | 35 objects must have derived in part from thought to have ruled from about 1600 to the political control over others that their 1046 BC. (Some scholars date the Shang production implied. from the mid-18th to the late 12th cen- Chinese legends of the 1st millen- tury BC.) One must, however, distinguish nium BC describe the labours of Yu, the Shang as an archaeological term from Chinese “Noah” who drained away the Shang as a dynastic one. Erlitou, in floods to render China habitable and north-central Henan, for example, was established the first Chinese dynasty, initially classified archaeologically as called Xia. Seventeen Xia kings are listed Early Shang; its developmental sequence in the Shiji, a comprehensive history writ- from about 2400 to 1450 BC documents ten during the 1st century BC, and much the vessel types and burial customs that ingenuity has been devoted to identify- link Early Shang culture to the Late ing certain Late Neolithic fortified Neolithic cultures of the east. In dynastic sites—such as Wangchenggang (“Mound terms, however, Erlitou periods I and II of the Royal City”) in north-central Henan (c. 1900 BC?) are now thought by many and Dengxiafeng in Xia county (possibly to represent a pre-Shang (and thus, per- the site of Xiaxu, “Ruins of Xia”?), south- haps, Xia) horizon. In this view, the two ern Shanxi—as early Xia capitals. Taosi, palace foundations, the elite burials, the also in southern Shanxi, has been identi- ceremonial jade blades and sceptres, the fied as a Xia capital because of the “royal” bronze axes and dagger axes, and the nature of five large male burials found simple ritual bronzes—said to be the ear- there that were lavishly provided with liest yet found in China—of Erlitou III (c. grave goods. Although they fall within 1700–1600 BC?) signal the advent of the the region traditionally assigned to the dynastic Shang. Xia, particular archaeological sites can The archaeological classification of be hard to identify dynastically unless Middle Shang is represented by the written records are found. The possibility remains found at Erligang (c. 1600 BC) that the Xia and Shang were partly con- near Zhengzhou, some 50 miles (80 km) temporary, as cultures if not as dynasties, to the east of Erlitou. The massive further complicates site identifications. A rammed-earth fortification, 118 feet (36 related approach has been to identify as metres) wide at its base and enclosing an Xia an archaeological horizon that lies area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 square km), developmentally between Late Neolithic would have taken 10,000 people more and Shang strata. than 12 years to build. Also found were ritual bronzes, including four monumen- The Shang Dynasty tal tetrapods (the largest weighing 190 pounds [86 kg]); palace foundations; work- The Shang dynasty—the first Chinese shops for bronze casting, pot making, and dynasty to leave historical records—is bone working; burials; and two inscribed 36 | The History of China fragments of oracle bones. Another village of Xiaotun, west of Anyang in rammed-earth fortification, enclosing northern Henan. Known to history as about 450 acres (180 hectares) and also Yinxu, “the Ruins of Yin” (Yin was the dated to the Erligang period, was found name used by the succeeding Zhou at Yanshi, about 3 miles (5 km) east of dynasty for the Shang), it was a seat of the Erlitou III palace foundations. These royal power for the last nine Shang kings, walls and palaces have been variously from Wuding to Dixin. According to the identified by modern scholars—the “short chronology” used in this article, identification now favoured is of which is based on modern studies of Zhengzhou as Bo, the capital of the lunar eclipse records and reinterpreta- Shang dynasty during the reign of Tang, tions of Zhou annals, these kings would the dynasty’s founder—and their dynas- have reigned from about 1250 to 1046 BC. tic affiliations are yet to be firmly (One version of the traditional “long established. The presence of two large, chronology,” based primarily on a 1st- relatively close contemporary fortifica- century-BC source, would place the last tions at Zhengzhou and Yanshi, however, 12 Shang kings, from Pangeng onward, at indicates the strategic importance of Yinxu from 1398 to 1112 BC.) Sophisticated the area and considerable powers of bronze, ceramic, stone, and bone indus- labour mobilization. tries were housed in a network of Panlongcheng in Hubei, 280 miles settlements surrounding the unwalled (450 km) south of Zhengzhou, is an exam- cult centre at Xiaotun, which had ple of Middle Shang expansion into the rammed-earth temple-palace founda- northwest, northeast, and south. A city tions. And Xiaotun itself lay at the centre wall, palace foundations, burials with of a larger network of Late Shang sites, human sacrifices, bronze workshops, and such as Xingtai to the north and Xinxiang mortuary bronzes of the Erligang type to the south, in southern Hebei and north- form a complex that duplicates on a ern Henan. smaller scale Zhengzhou. A transitional period spanning the gap between the Royal Burials Late Erligang phase of Middle Shang and the Yinxu phase of Late Shang indicates The royal cemetery lay at Xibeigang, only a widespread network of Shang cultural a short distance northwest of Xiaotun. The sites that were linked by uniform bronze- hierarchy of burials at that and other cem- casting styles and mortuary practices. A eteries in the area reflected the social relatively homogeneous culture united organization of the living. Large pit tombs, the Bronze Age elite through much of some nearly 40 feet (12 metres) deep, were China around the 14th century BC. furnished with four ramps and massive The Late Shang period is best repre- grave chambers for the kings. Retainers sented by a cluster of sites focused on the who accompanied their lords in death lay The Beginnings of Chinese History | 37 in or near the larger tombs, members of contained 468 bronze objects, 775 jades, the lesser elite and commoners were bur- and more than 6,880 cowries suggests ied in pits that ranged from medium size how great the wealth placed in the far- to shallow, those of still lower status were larger royal tombs must have been. thrown into refuse pits and disused wells, and human and animal victims of the The Chariot royal mortuary cult were placed in sacrifi - cial pits. Only a few undisturbed elite The light chariot, with 18 to 26 spokes per burials have been unearthed, the most wheel, fi rst appeared, according to the notable being that of Fuhao, a consort of archaeological and inscriptional record, Wuding. That her relatively small grave about 1200 BC. Glistening with bronze, it was initially a prestigious command car used primarily in hunting. The 16 chariot burials found at Xiaotun raise the possibility of some form of Indo-European contact with China, and there is little doubt that the chariot, which probably originated in the Caucasus, entered China via Central Asia and the northern steppe. Animal-headed knives, always associated with chariot burials, are further evidence of a northern connection.

art

Late Shang culture is also defi ned by the size, elaborate shapes, and evolved decor of the ritual bronzes, many of which were used in wine off erings to the ancestors and some of which were inscribed with ancestral dedications such as “Made for Father Ding.” Their surfaces were orna- Ceremonial ivory goblet inlaid with mented with zoomorphic and turquoise, c. 12th century BC, Shang theriomorphic elements set against intri- dynasty, from the tomb of Lady Fuhao, cate backgrounds of geometric meanders, Anyang, Henan province, China; in the spirals, and quills. Some of the animal Archaeology Institute, Beijing. Height forms—which include tigers, birds, 30.5 cm. Wang Lu/ChinaStock Photo Library snakes, dragons, cicadas, and water buf- falo—have been thought to represent 38 | The History of China shamanistic familiars or emblems that surface of the bone. Among the topics ward away evil. The exact meaning of the divined were sacrifi ces, campaigns, iconography, however, may never be hunts, the good fortune of the 10-day known. That the predominant taotie week or of the night or day, weather, har- monster mask—with bulging eyes, fangs, vests, sickness, childbearing, dreams, horns, and claws—may have been antici- settlement building, the issuing of pated by designs carved on jade cong orders, tribute, divine assistance, and tubes and axes from Liangzhu culture prayers to various spirits. Some evolu- sites in the Yangtze delta and from the tion in divinatory practice and theology Late Neolithic in Shandong suggests that evidently occurred. By the reigns of the its origins are ancient. But the degree to last two Shang kings, Diyi and Dixin (c. which pure form or intrinsic meaning took priority, in either Neolithic or Shang times, is hard to assess.

Late Shang Divination and Religion

Although certain complex symbols painted on Late Neolithic pots from Shandong suggest that primitive writing was emerging in the east in the 3rd millennium, the Shang divination inscriptions that appear at Xiaotun form the earliest body of Chinese writing yet known. In Late Shang divination as practiced during the reign of Wuding (c. 1250–1192 BC), cattle scapulae or turtle plastrons, in a refi nement of Neolithic practice, were fi rst planed and bored with hollow depressions to which an intense heat source was then applied. The resulting T-shaped stress cracks were interpreted as lucky or unlucky. After the prognostication had been Oracle bone inscriptions from the village of Xiaotun, Henan province, China; made, the day, the name of the presiding Shang dynasty, 14th or 12th century BC. diviner (some 120 are known), the sub- Courtesy of the Syndics of the University ject of the charge, the prognostication, Library, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and the result might be carved into the The Beginnings of Chinese History | 39

1101–1046 BC), the scope and form of sources), appears to have been divided Shang divination had become consider- into 10 units corresponding to the 10 ably simplified: prognostications were stems. Succession to the kingship alter- uniformly optimistic, and divination nated on a generational basis between topics were limited mainly to the sacrifi- two major groupings of jia and yi kings cial schedule, the coming 10 days, the on the one hand and ding kings on the coming night, and hunting. other. The attention paid in the sacrificial system to the consorts of “great lineage” State and Society kings—who were themselves both sons (possibly nephews) and fathers (possibly The ritual schedule records 29 royal uncles) of kings—indicates that women ancestors over a span of 17 generations may have played a key role in the mar- who, from at least Wuding to Dixin, were riage alliances that ensured such each known as wang (“king”). Presiding circulation of power. over a stable politico-religious hierarchy The goodwill of the ancestors, and of of ritual specialists, officers, artisans, certain river and mountain powers, was retainers, and servile peasants, they ruled sought through prayer and offerings of with varying degrees of intensity over the grain, millet wine, and animal and human North China Plain and parts of Shandong, sacrifice. The highest power of all, with Shanxi, and Shaanxi, mobilizing armies whom the ancestors mediated for the liv- of at least several thousand men as the ing king, was the relatively remote deity occasion arose. Di, or Shangdi, “the Lord on High.” Di The worship of royal ancestors was controlled victory in battle, the harvest, central to the maintenance of the dynasty. the fate of the capital, and the weather, The ancestors were designated by 10 but, on the evidence of the oracle bone “stem” names (jia, yi, bing, ding, etc.) that inscriptions, he received no cult. This were often prefixed by kin titles, such as suggests that Di’s command was too “father” and “grandfather,” or by status inscrutable to be divined or influenced; appellations, such as “great” or “small.” he was in all likelihood an impartial fig- The same stems were used to name the ure of last theological resort, needed to 10 days (or suns) of the week, and ances- account for inexplicable events. tors received cult on their name days Although Marxist historians have according to a fixed schedule, particu- categorized the Shang as a slave society, larly after the reforms of Zujia. For it would be more accurate to describe it example, Dayi (“Great I,” the sacrificial as a dependent society. The king ruled a name of Tang, the dynasty founder) was patrimonial state in which royal author- worshiped on yi days, Wuding on ding ity, treated as an extension of patriarchal days. The Shang dynastic group, whose control, was embedded in kinship and lineage name was Zi (according to later kinshiplike ties. Despite the existence of 40 | The History of China such formal titles as “the many horses” or originally based on kinship was one of “the many archers,” administration was the characteristic strengths of early apparently based primarily on kinship Chinese civilization. alliances, generational status, and per- Such ties were fundamentally personal charisma. The intensity with which sonal in nature. The king referred to ancestors were worshipped suggests the himself as yu yiren, “I, the one man,” and strength of the kinship system among the he was, like many early monarchs, peripa- living; the ritualized ties of fi liation and tetic. Only by traveling through his dependency that bound a son to his domains could he ensure political and father, both before and after death, are economic support. These considerations, likely to have had profound political coupled with the probability that the implications for society as a whole. This position of king circulated between social was not a world in which concepts such or ritual units, suggest that, lacking a as freedom and slavery would have been national bureaucracy or eff ective means readily comprehensible. Everybody, from of control over distance, the dynasty was king to peasant, was bound by ties of relatively weak. The Zi should above all obligation—to former kings, to ancestors, be regarded as a politically dominant lin- to superiors, and to dependents. The rou- eage that may have displaced the Si tine sacrifi cial off ering of human beings, lineage of the Xia and that was in turn to usually prisoners from the Qiang tribe, as be displaced by the Ji lineage of the Zhou. if they were sacrifi cial animals and the But the choices that the Shang made— rarer practice of accompanying-in-death, involving ancestor worship, the in which 40 or more retainers, often of politico-religious nature of the state, pat- high status, were buried with a dead king, rimonial administration, the mantic role suggest the degree to which ties of aff ec- of the ruler, and a pervasive sense of tion, obligation, or servitude were social obligation—were not displaced. thought to be stronger than life itself. If These choices endured and were to slavery existed, it was psychological and defi ne, restrict, and enhance the institu- ideological, not legal. The political ability tions and political culture of the to create and exploit ties of dependency full-fl edged dynasties yet to come. ChaPTER 2

The Zhou and Qin Dynasties

ThE hISTORy Of ThE ZhOu (1046–256 BC)

he vast time sweep of the Zhou dynasty—encompassing Tsome eight centuries—is the single longest period of Chinese history. However, the great longevity of the Ji lineage was not matched by a similar continuity of its rule. During the Xi (Western) Zhou (1046–771 BC ), the fi rst of the two major divisions of the period, the Zhou court maintained

Ceremonial bronze jian, Dong (Eastern) Zhou dynasty (770– 256 BC); in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn. Courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts 42 | The History of China a tenuous control over the country Zhou and Shang through a network of feudal states. This system broke down during the Dong The name Zhou appears often in the ora- (Eastern) Zhou (770–256 BC), however, as cle bone inscriptions of the Shang those states and new ones that arose vied kingdom, sometimes as a friendly tribu- for power. The Dong Zhou is commonly tary neighbour and at other times as a subdivided into the Chunqiu (Spring and hostile one. This pattern is confirmed by Autumn) period (770–476 BC) and the records found at the Zhou archaeological Zhanguo (Warring States) period (475– site. Marriages were occasionally made 221 BC), the latter extending some three between the two ruling houses. The Zhou decades beyond the death of the last also borrowed arts such as bronze casting Zhou ruler until the rise of the Qin in 221. from their more cultivated neighbour. The origin of the Zhou royal house is The Zhou royal house, however, had lost in the mists of time. Although the tra- already conceived the idea of replacing ditional historical system of the Chinese Shang as the master of China—a con- contains a Zhou genealogy, no dates can quest that took three generations. be assigned to the ancestors. The first Although the conquest was actually car- ancestor was Houji, literally translated as ried out by his sons, Wenwang should be “Lord of Millet.” He appears to have been a credited with molding the Zhou kingdom cultural hero and agricultural deity rather into the most formidable power west of than a tribal chief. The earliest plausible the Shang. Wenwang extended the Zhou Zhou ancestor was Danfu, the grandfather sphere of influence to the north of the of Wenwang. Prior to and during the time Shang kingdom and also made incur- of Danfu, the Zhou people seem to have sions to the south, thus paving the way migrated to avoid pressure from powerful for the final conquest by Wuwang. neighbours, possibly nomadic people to In Chinese historical tradition the north. Under the leadership of Danfu, Wenwang was depicted as intelligent and they settled in the valley of the Wei River benevolent, a man of virtue who won in the present province of Shaanxi. The popularity among his contemporaries fertility of the loess soil there apparently and expanded the realm of the Zhou. His made a great impression on these people, son Wuwang, though not as colourful as who had already been engaged in farming his father, was always regarded as the when they entered their new homeland. A conqueror. In fact, Wu, his posthumous walled city was built, and a new nation was name, means “Martial.” However, the lit- formed. Archaeological remains, includ- erary records indicate that the Zhou ing ruins of courtyards surrounded by actually controlled two-thirds of all China walls and halls on platforms, confirm liter- at the time of Wenwang, who continued ary evidence of a Zhou state. to recognize the cultural and political The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 43 superiority of the Shang out of feudal loy- (as tabulated by Dong Zuobin, although alty. There is not enough evidence either it is traditionally dated at 1122; other to establish or to deny this. A careful his- dates have also been suggested, includ- torian, however, tends to take the Zhou ing 1046, which has been adopted for this subjugation to the Shang as a recogni- article). Wuwang died shortly after the tion of Shang strength. It was not until conquest, leaving a huge territory to be the reign of the last Shang ruler, Zhou, consolidated. This was accomplished by that the kingdom exhausted its strength one of his brothers, Zhougong, who by engaging in large-scale military cam- served as regent during the reign of Wu’s paigns against nomads to the north and son, Chengwang. against a group of native tribes to the The defeated Shang could not be east. At that time Wuwang organized the ruled out as a potential force, even first probing expedition and reached the though their ruler, Zhou, had immolated neighbourhood of the Shang capital. A himself. Many groups of hostile “barbar- full-scale invasion soon followed. Along ians” were still outside the sphere of with forces of the Zhou, the army was Zhou power. The Zhou leaders had to made up of the Jiang, southern neigh- yield to reality by establishing a rather bours of the Zhou, and of eight allied weak control over the conquered terri- tribes from the west. The Shang dis- tory. The son of Zhou was allowed to patched a large army to meet the invaders. organize a subservient state under the The pro-Zhou records say that, after the close watch of two other brothers of Shang vanguard defected to join the Wuwang, who were garrisoned in the Zhou, the entire army collapsed, and immediate vicinity. Other leaders of the Wuwang entered the capital without Zhou and their allies were assigned lands resistance. Yet Mencius, the 4th-century- surrounding the old Shang domain. But BC thinker, cast doubt on the reliability no sooner had Zhougong assumed the of this account by pointing out that a vic- role of regent than a large-scale rebellion tory without enemy resistance should not broke out. His two brothers, entrusted have been accompanied by the heavy with overseeing the activities of the son casualties mentioned in the classical doc- of Zhou, joined the Shang prince in rebel- ument. One may speculate that the Shang lion, and it took Zhougong three full vanguard consisted of remnants of the years to reconquer the Shang domain, eastern tribes suppressed by the Shang subjugate the eastern tribes, and reestab- ruler Zhou during his last expedition and lish the suzerainty of the Zhou court. that their sudden defection caught the These three years of extensive cam- Shang defenders by surprise, making paigning consolidated the rule of the them easy prey for the invading enemy. Zhou over all of China. An eastern capital The decisive battle took place in 1111 BC was constructed on the middle reach of 44 | The History of China the Huang He (Yellow River) as a strong- and the city were therefore identical, hold to support the feudal lords in the both being guo, a combination of city east. Several states established by Zhou wall and weapons. Satellite cities were kinsmen and relatives were transferred established at convenient distances from farther east and northeast as the van- the main city in order to expand the ter- guard of expansion, including one ritory under control. Each feudal state established by the son of Zhougong. The consisted of an alliance of the Zhou, the total number of such feudal states men- Shang, and the local population. A tioned in historical records and later Chinese nation was formed on the foun- accounts varies from 20 to 70; the figures dation of Zhou feudalism. in later records would naturally be higher, The scattered feudal states gradually since enfeoffment might take place more acquired something like territorial solid- than once. Each of these states included ity as the neighbouring populations fortified cities. They were strung out established closer ties with them, either along the valley of the Huang He between by marriage or by accepting vassal sta- the old capital and the new eastern capi- tus; the gaps between the fortified cities tal, reaching as far as the valleys of the were thus filled by political control and Huai and Han rivers in the south and cultural assimilation. This created a extending eastward to the Shandong dilemma for the Zhou central court: the Peninsula and the coastal area north of it. evolution of the feudal network but- All these colonies mutually supported tressed the structure of the Zhou order, each other and were buttressed by the but the strong local ties and parochial strength of the eastern capital, where the interests of the feudal lords tended to pull conquered Shang troops were kept, them away from the centre. Each of these together with several divisions of the opposing forces became at one time or Zhou legions. Ancient bronze inscrip- another strong enough to affect the his- tions make frequent mention of tory of the Zhou order. mobilizing the military units at the east- For about two centuries Zhou China ern capital at times when the Zhou feudal enjoyed stability and peace. There were states needed assistance. wars against the non-Zhou peoples of the interior and against the nomads The Zhou Feudal System along the northern frontier, but there was little dispute among the Chinese states The feudal states were not contiguous themselves. The southern expansion was but rather were scattered at strategic successful, and the northern expansion locations surrounded by potentially dan- worked to keep the nomads away from gerous and hostile lands. The fortified the Chinese areas. The changing city of the feudal lord was often the only strength of the feudal order can be seen area that he controlled directly; the state from two occurrences at the Zhou court. The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 45

In 841 BC the nobles jointly expelled feudal structure and familial ties fell Liwang, a tyrant, and replaced him with a apart, continuing in several of the collective leadership headed by the two Chunqiu states for various lengths of most influential nobles until the crown time, with various degrees of modifica- prince was enthroned. In 771 BC the tion. Over the next two centuries the Zhou royal line was again broken when feudal-familial system gradually declined Youwang was killed by invading barbar- and disappeared. ians. The nobles apparently were split at In the first half of the Chunqiu period, that time, because the break gave rise to the feudal system was a stratified society, two courts, headed by two princes, each divided into ranks as follows: the ruler of of whom had the support of part of the a state; the feudal lords who served at the nobility. One of the pretenders, ruler’s court as ministers; the shi (roughly Pingwang, survived the other (thus inau- translated as “gentlemen”) who served at gurating the Dong [Eastern] Zhou the households of the feudal lords as period), but the royal order had lost pres- stewards, sheriffs, or simply warriors; tige and influence. The cohesion of the and, finally, the commoners and slaves. feudal system had weakened. Thereafter, The state ruler and the ministers were it entered the phase traditionally known clearly a superior class, and the common- as Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn). ers and slaves were an inferior class; the The familial relationship among the class of shi was an intermediate one in nobles gradually was diluted during the which the younger sons of the ministers, Chunqiu period. A characteristic of the the sons of shi, and selected commoners Zhou feudal system was that the extended all mingled to serve as functionaries and family and the political structure were officials. The state rulers were, in theory, identical. The line of lordship was divided into five grades; in reality, the regarded as the line of elder brothers, importance of a ruler was determined by who therefore enjoyed not only political the strength of his state. The ministerial superiority but also seniority in the fam- feudal lords, however, often had two or ily line. The head of the family not only three grades among themselves, as was the political chief but also had the determined by the lord-vassal relation- unique privilege of offering sacrifice to ship. In general, each state was ruled by a and worshipping the ancestors, who group of hereditary feudal lords who would bestow their blessings and guar- might or might not be of the same sur- antee the continuity of the mandate of name as the state ruler. The system was heaven. After the weakening of the posi- not stable in the Chunqiu period, and tion of the Zhou king in the feudal everywhere there were changes. structure, he was not able to maintain the The first important change occurred position of being the head of a large fam- with the advent of interstate leadership. ily in any more than a normal sense. The For several decades after 722 BC, the 46 | The History of China records chiefly show battles and diplo- the meetings became regular, and the vol- matic maneuvers among the states on untary contribution was transformed into the central plain and in the middle and a compulsory tribute to the court of the lower reaches of the Huang He valley. overlord. The new system of states under These states, however, were too small to the leadership of an overlord developed hold the leadership and too constricted in not only in northern China under Jin but the already crowded plain to have poten- also in the south under Chu. Two other tiality for further development. The states, Qin and Qi, though not command- leadership was soon taken over by states ing the strength of the formidable Jin and on the peripheral areas. Chu, each absorbed weaker neighbours The first to achieve this leadership into a system of satellite states. A balance was Huangong (reigned 685–643 BC), of power thus emerged among the four the ruler of the state of Qi on the states of Qi, Qin, Jin, and Chu. The bal- Shandong Peninsula. He successfully ance was occasionally tipped when two of rallied around him many other Chinese them went to war, but it was subsequently states to resist the pressure of non-Chi- restored by the transference of some nese powers in the north and south. small states from one camp to another. While formally respecting the suzer- A further change began in the 5th ainty of the Zhou monarchy, Huangong century BC, when the states of Wu and adopted a new title of “overlord” (ba). He Yue far to the south suddenly challenged convened interstate meetings, settled Chu for hegemony over the southern disputes among states, and led cam- part of China, at a time when the strong paigns to protect his followers from the state of Jin was much weakened by an intimidation of non-Chinese powers. internecine struggle among powerful After his death the state of Qi failed magnates. Wu got so far as to claim over- to maintain its leading status. The leader- lordship over northern China in an ship, after a number of years, passed to interstate meeting held in 482 BC after Wengong of Jin (reigned 636–628 BC), defeating Chu. But Wu’s hegemony was the ruler of the mountainous state north short-lived; it collapsed after being of the Huang He. Under Wengong and attacked by Yue. Yue held the nominal his capable successors, the overlordship overlordship for only a brief period; Jin, was institutionalized until it took the Qin, and Qi were weakened by internal place of the Zhou monarchy. Interstate disturbances (Jin split into three con- meetings were held at first during emer- tending powers) and declined; and a gencies caused by challenges from the series of defeats paralyzed Chu. Thus, the rising southern state of Chu. States balance-of-power system was rendered answering the call of the overlord were unworkable. expected to contribute and maintain a A half century of disorder followed. certain number of war chariots. Gradually Small states fell prey to big ones, while in The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 47 the big states usurpers replaced the old The Zhou feudalism suffered from a con- rulers. When the chaos ended, there were tinual dilution of authority. As a state seven major powers and half a dozen expanded, its nobility acquired vassals, minor ones. Among the seven major pow- and these in turn acquired their own vas- ers, Zhao, Han, and Wei had formerly sals. The longer this went on, the more been parts of Jin; the Qi ruling house had diluted the family tie became and the changed hands; and Qin was undergoing more dependent the ruler became on the succession problems. The only “old” state combined strength of the vassals. At a cer- was Chu. Even Chu, a southern state, had tain point, the vassals might acquire an become almost completely assimilated to advantageous position, and the most the northern culture (except in art, litera- dominant figures among them might ture, and folklore). The minor powers had eclipse the king. The Zhou royal house also changed: some had retained only perhaps reached the turning point earlier small portions of their old territories, than the other feudal states. As a result, some had new ruling houses, and some the Zhou royal domain and its influence were new states that had emerged from shrank when Pingwang moved his court non-Chinese tribes. The long interval of to the east. The ruling houses of other power struggle that followed (475–221 states suffered the same fate. Within a BC) is known as the Zhanguo (Warring century after the Zhou court had moved to States) period. the east, the ruling houses in most of the feudal states had changed. In some cases Social, political, and a dominating branch replaced the major cultural changes lineage, and in others a powerful minister formed a strong vassaldom and usurped The years from the 8th century BC to 221 the authority of the legitimate ruler. BC witnessed the painful birth of a uni- Bloody court intrigues and power strug- fied China. It was a period of bloody wars gles eliminated many established houses. and also of far-reaching changes in poli- The new power centres were reluctant to tics, society, and intellectual outlook. see the process continue and therefore refused to allow further segmentation and The Decline of Feudalism subinfeudation. Thus, the feudal system withered and finally collapsed. The most obvious change in political institutions was that the old feudal struc- Urbanization and ture was replaced by systems of incipient Assimilation bureaucracy under monarchy. The decline of feudalism took its course in the Simultaneous with the demise of feudal- Chunqiu period, and the rise of the new ism was a rise in urbanization. Minor order may be seen in the Zhanguo period. fortified cities were built, radiating out 48 | The History of China from each of the major centres, and other difference in writing system and style towns radiated from the minor cities. from those of the Chinese states. From these cities and towns orders were Zhou civilization was not assimilated issued, and to them the resources of the so easily in the south, where the markedly countryside were sent. The central plain different Chu culture flourished. For along the Huang He was the first to be some centuries, Chu was the archenemy saturated by clusters of cities. This is of the Chinese states, yet the nobles of probably the reason why the central the Chu acquired enough of the northern states soon reached the maximum of culture to enable their envoy to the courts their influence in the interstate power of the north to cite the same verses and struggle: unlike the states in peripheral observe the same manners. The Chu lit- areas, they had no room to expand. erature that has survived is the fruit of The period of urbanization was also a these two distinctive heritages. time of assimilation. The non-Zhou popu- To the north were the nomadic peo- lation caught in the reach of feudal cities ples of the steppe. As long as they could not but feel the magnetic attraction remained divided, they constituted no of the civilization represented by the threat; however, when they were under Zhou people and Zhou feudalism. The strong leaders, able to forge a united bronze inscriptions of the Xi Zhou period nomadic empire challenging the domi- (1046–771 BC) refer to the disturbances of nance of the Chinese, there were the barbarians, who could be found prac- confrontations. The “punitive” action tically everywhere. They were the into the north during the reign of non-Zhou groups scattered in the open Xuanwang (827–782 BC) does not seem spaces. The barbarians in inland China to have been very large in scope; both were forced to integrate with one or sides apparently had little ambition for another of the contenders in the inter- territorial aggrandizement. Cultural state conflicts. Their lands were annexed, exchange in the northern frontier region and their populations were moved or was far less than the assimilation that absorbed. The strength of the large states occurred in the south along the Yangtze owed much to their success at incorpo- valley, and it was mainly concerned with rating these non-Chinese groups. By the techniques of cavalry warfare. time of the unification of China in the 3rd century BC, there was virtually no signifi- The Rise of Monarchy cant concentration of non-Chinese groups north of the Yangtze River valley Internal political changes also took place and south of the steppe. Bronze pieces as states grew in population and area. attributable to non-Zhou chiefs in the late The most basic of these was in the pattern Chunqiu period show no significant of power delegation. Under feudalism, The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 49 authority had been delegated by the lord principal form of local administration in to the vassal. The new state rulers sought the Zhanguo period. ways of maintaining and organizing By that time, practically all the major their power. states had chancellors, who acted as lead- In the state of Jin the influence of ers of the courts, which were composed of kinsmen of the ruling house had been numerous officials. Whereas in the feudal trimmed even before Wengong estab- state the officials had been military offi- lished his overlordship. Wengong cers, the more functionally differentiated reorganized the government, installing court of the Zhanguo period usually had his most capable followers in the key a separate corps of civil service person- posts. He set up a hierarchical structure nel. Local administration was entrusted that corresponded to the channels of to prefects, who served limited terms. military command. Appointments to Prefects were often required to submit these key positions came to be based on annual reports to the court so that the a combination of merit and seniority, ruler could judge their performance. thus establishing a type of bureaucracy Regional supervisors were sometimes that was to become traditional in Chinese dispatched to check the work of the pre- government. fects, a system developed by the later The Chu government was perhaps Chinese imperial government into the the oldest true monarchy among all the “censor” system. Fiefs of substantial size Chunqiu states. The authority of the king were given to only a few people, usually was absolute. Chu was the only major close relatives of the ruler. There was lit- state in which the ruling house survived tle opportunity for anyone to challenge the chaotic years of the Zhanguo period. the sovereignty of the state. The majority Local administration went through a of government employees were not rela- slow evolution. The prefecture system tives of the ruler, and some of them might developed in both Jin and Chu was one not even have been citizens of the state. innovation. In Jin there were several Officials were paid in grain or perhaps in dozen prefects across the state, each hav- a combination of cash and grain. Archives ing limited authority and tenure. The Jin were kept by scribes on wooden blocks prefect was no more than a functionary, and bamboo strips. These features com- in contrast to the feudal practice. Similar bined indicate the emergence of some local administrative units grew up in form of bureaucracy. Chu. New lands taken by conquest were The new pattern was the result of the organized into prefectures governed by efforts of many reformers in different ranking officials who were evidently states. Both practical men and theoreti- appointed by the king. The prefecture cians helped to form the emerging system of Jin and Chu was to become the structure, which, though still crude, was 50 | The History of China the forerunner of the large and complex developed among the northern states, bureaucracy of later Chinese dynasties. including Qin, Zhao, and Yan. The Qin Military technique also underwent cavalrymen were generally drawn from great changes in the Zhanguo period. In the northern and northwestern border the feudal era, war had been a profession areas, where there were constant contacts of the nobles. Lengthy training was with the steppe peoples. The rise of Yan needed to learn how to drive and shoot from a rather obscure state to a major from a chariot drawn by horses. There power probably owed much to its suc- was also an elaborate code of behaviour cessful adoption of cavalry tactics, as well in combat. The nature of war had already as to its northern expansion. changed by the late Chunqiu period, as the nobility had given way to professional Economic Development warriors and mercenaries. In some states, special titles of nobility were created for Important changes occurred in agricul- successful warriors, regardless of their ture. Millet had once been the major origin. Foot soldiers were replacing war cereal crop in the north, but wheat gradu- chariots as the main force on the battle- ally grew in importance. Rice, imported field: the expansion of the major states from the south, was extended to the dry into mountainous areas and the rise of soil of the north. The soybean, in a num- the southern powers in an area of swamps, ber of varieties, proved to be one of the lakes, and rivers increased the impor- most important crops. Chinese farmers tance of the infantry. gradually developed a kind of intensive Battles were fought mostly by hordes agriculture. Soil was improved by adding of foot soldiers, most of them common- manure and night soil. Planting fields in ers, aided by cavalry units; war chariots carefully regulated rows replaced the fal- apparently served only auxiliary roles, low system. Great importance was placed probably as mobile commanding plat- on plowing and seeding at the proper forms or perhaps as carriers. All of the time (especially in the fine-grained loess Zhanguo powers seem to have used con- soil of northern China). Fields were scription systems to recruit able-bodied weeded frequently throughout the grow- male citizens. The organization, training, ing season. Farmers also knew the value and command of the infantry required of rotating crops to preserve the fertility experts of a special type, and professional of the soil, and soybeans were often part commanders emerged who conducted of the rotation. Although iron was used battles involving several thousand men to cast implements in the 5th century BC along lines extending hundreds of miles. (probably even as early as the 8th cen- A few treatises on the principles of war- tury BC), those early examples fare still survive, including Bingfa (The discovered by archaeologists are of Art of War) by Sunzi. Cavalry warfare rather inferior quality. The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 51

Irrigation became necessary as pop- alkaline soil and replace it with fertile ulation pressure forced cropland to be topsoil, and, in the south and in the expanded, and irrigation works were con- Sichuan Basin, to carry water into the structed in many states beginning in the rice paddies. The irrigation systems late Chunqiu period. These projects were unearthed by archaeologists indicate built to drain swampy areas, leach out that these were small-scale works carried

Wood bowl decorated in red and black lacquer with stylized birds and animals, from Changsha, Hunan province, China, late Zhou dynasty, 3rd century BC; in the Seattle Art Museum, Washington. Diameter 25 cm (10 in). Courtesy of the Seattle Art Museum, Washington 52 | The History of China out for the most part by state or local arts. The shi provided the administrators, authorities. teachers, and intellectual leaders of the Another significant change in the new society. The philosophers Confucius economic sphere was the growth of trade (551–479 BC), Mencius (c. 372–289 BC), among regions. Coins excavated in scat- Mozi (Mo-tzu; 5th century BC), and Xunzi tered spots show by their great variety (Hsün-tzu; c. 300–c. 230 BC) were mem- that active trade had expanded into all bers of the shi class, as was also a large parts of Zhou China. Great commercial proportion of high-ranking officials and centres had arisen, and the new cities leaders of prominence. The interstate brought a demand for luxuries. The liter- competition that drove rulers to select the ary records as well as the archaeological most capable and meritorious individu- evidence show that wealthy persons had als to serve in their courts resulted in an possessions made of bronze and gold, sil- unprecedented degree of social mobility. ver inlays, lacquer, silk, ceramics, and The populace, most of whom were precious stones. The advancement of fer- farmers, also underwent changes in sta- rous metallurgy led to the earliest tus. In feudal times the peasants had recorded blast furnace and the earliest been subjects of their lords. They owned steel. The Chinese had been casting no property, at most being permitted to bronze for more than a millennium; turn- till a piece of the lord’s land for their own ing to iron, they became highly skilled at needs. The ancient texts tell of the “well- making weapons and tools. The Han his- field” system, under which eight families torian Sima Qian (writing c. 100 BC) told were assigned 100 mu (15 acres, or 6 of individuals making fortunes in the hectares) each of land to live on while col- iron industry. lectively cultivating another 100 mu as As the old feudal regimes collapsed the lord’s reservation. Individual owner- and were replaced by centralized monar- ship grew as farming became more chies during the Zhanguo period, the intensive, and, increasingly, farmers were feudal nobility fell victim to power taxed according to the amount of land struggles within the states and to con- they “owned.” The land tax had become a quest by stronger states. During the common practice by Zhanguo times. By Chunqiu period these parallel processes paying taxes, the tiller of the field drastically reduced the numbers of the acquired the privilege of using the land nobility. as his own possession, which perhaps A new elite class arose in the late was the first step toward private owner- Chunqiu, composed of the former shi ship. As states expanded and new lands class and the descendants of the old were given to cultivation, an increasing nobility. The members of this class were number of “free” farmers were to be found distinguished by being educated, either tilling land that had never been part of a in the literary tradition or in the military lord’s manor. With the collapse of The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 53 the feudal structure, farmers in general development of Confucius’s notion of gradually ceased to be subjects of a mas- excellence, combining virtue and ability. ter and became subjects of a state. Even the individualist thinkers known as A similar transformation occurred Daoists (Taoists), who did not follow among the merchants and artisans, who Confucius, formulated their teachings as gradually passed from being household a rebuttal to the Confucian system. retainers of a lord to the status of indepen- Confucius and other pre-Qin think- dent subjects. Thus, the feudal society was ers viewed the traditional political completely reshaped in the two centuries institutions of China as bankrupt and preceding the Qin unification. tried to devise a rationale for something to replace them. Some, such as Confucius, Cultural Change put their main emphasis on the quality of the ruling elite group; others, such as These great political and socioeconomic Shang Yang (died 338 BC) and Hanfeizi changes were accompanied by intellec- (died 233 BC), regarded a well-organized tual ferment, as the people tried to adjust governing mechanism as the only way to themselves to a rapidly changing world. an orderly society. The development of Ideas about the proper relationships the new centralized monarchical state between members of society were natu- after the middle of the Chunqiu period is rally questioned when the old feudal order not only the embodiment of the ideas of was shaken, and in that period the great these various thinkers but also the work- teacher Confucius elaborated the social ing premise in the context of which they concepts that henceforth became norma- elaborated their theories. The high tive for Chinese civilization. In place of degree of social and political conscious- rigid feudal obligations, he posited an ness that characterized most of the order based on more-universal human pre-Qin philosophical schools set the relationships (such as that between father pattern for the close association of the and son) and taught that ability and intellectual with government and society moral excellence rather than birth were in later China. what fitted a person for leadership. The burgeoning commercial life of The great thinkers who came after the period also influenced other spheres, Confucius, whether or not they agreed especially in the prevalence of contrac- with his views, were conditioned by his tual relationships. Thus, a minister would basic assumptions. Mozi, originally a roam from one court to another, “selling” Confucian, based his system on a con- his knowledge and service to the most cept of universal love that was largely accommodating prince, and the quality an extension of the Confucian idea of of his service was determined by the humanity; the “worthy man” Mozi rec- treatment he received. This kind of con- ommended as the ideal leader was a tractual relationship remained common 54 | The History of China in China until the tide of commercialism Zhou court. The record is not clear. In the was ended by the restriction of commer- old annals Qin did not appear as a signifi- cial activity under the Han emperor Wudi cant power until the time of Mugong in the 2nd century BC. (reigned 659–621 BC), who made Qin the The local cultures of China were main power in the western part of China. blended into one common civilization during Chunqiu times. Through contacts The Qin State and interchanges, the gods and legends of one region became identified and Although Qin attempted to obtain a foot- assimilated with those of other regions. hold in the central heartland along the Local differences remained, but, from Huang He, it was blocked by the territo- that time on, the general Chinese pan- ries of Jin. Qin failed several times to theon took the form of a congregation of enter the eastern bloc of powers and had gods with specific functions, represent- to limit its activities to conquering, ing a celestial projection of the unified absorbing, and incorporating the non- Chinese empire with its bureaucratic Chinese tribes and states scattered society. within and west of the big loop of the Bold challenges to tradition have Huang He. Qin’s success in this was duly been rare in Chinese history, and the recognized by other powers of the questioning and innovating spirit of the Chunqiu period, so that the two super- Chunqiu period was to have no parallel powers Chu and Jin had to grant Qin, until the ferment of the 20th century, along with Qi, the status of overlord in its after two millennia had elapsed under the own region. The eastern powers, how- domination of Confucian orthodoxy. ever, regarded Qin as a barbarian state because of the non-Chinese elements it The Qin empire (221–207 BC) contained. Qin played only a supporting role The history of the Qin dynasty may be in the Chunqiu power struggle; its loca- traced to the 8th century BC. According tion made it immune to the cutthroat to the Qin historical record, when the competition of the states in the central Zhou royal house was reestablished at the plain. Qin, in fact, was the only major eastern capital in 770 BC, the Qin ruling power that did not suffer battle within its house was entrusted with the mission of own territory. Moreover, being a newly maintaining order in the previous capital. emerged state, Qin did not have the This may be an exaggeration of the burden of a long-established feudal sys- importance of the Qin rulers, and the Qin tem, which allowed it more freedom to may have been only one of the ruling develop its own pattern of government. families of the old states that recognized As a result of being “underdeveloped,” it Zhou suzerainty and went to serve the offered opportunity for eastern-educated The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 55 persons; with the infusion of such talent, royal decree. The law was to be enforced it was able to compete well with the east- impartially, without regard to status or ern powers, yet without the overexpanded position. He convinced Xiaogong that ministerial apparatus that embarrassed the rank of nobility and the privileges other rulers. This may be one reason why attached to it should be awarded only to Qin was one of the handful of ruling those who rendered good service to the houses that survived the great turmoil of state, especially for valour in battle. This the late Chunqiu period. deprived the existing nobility of their A period of silence followed. Even the titles and privileges, arousing much Qin historical record that was adopted by antagonism in the court. the historian Sima Qian yields almost no One of his most influential reforms information for a period of some 90 years was that of standardizing local adminis- in the 5th century BC. The evidence sug- tration. It was a step toward creating a gests that Qin underwent a period of unified state by combining various locali- consolidation and assimilation during ties into counties, which were then the years of silence. When it reemerged organized into prefectures under direct as an important power, its culture supervision of the court. This system was appeared to be simpler and more martial, expanded to all of China after unification perhaps because of the non-Chinese in 221 BC. tribes it had absorbed. Another measure taken by Shang Yang was that he encouraged production, Struggle for Power especially in agriculture. Farmers were given incentive to reclaim wasteland, and Until the 5th century BC, China was dom- game and fishing reserves were also inated by the central-plain power Wei, a opened to cultivation. A shortage of successor to Jin, and by the eastern labour was met by recruiting the able- power Qi, a wealthy state with a new rul- bodied from neighbouring states, ing house. Qin remained a secondary especially from Han, Zhao, and Wei. This power until after the great reforms of policy of drawing workers to Qin had two Xiaogong (361–338 BC) and Shang Yang consequences: it increased production in (Wei Yang). Qin, and manpower was lost in the neigh- Shang Yang, a frustrated bureaucrat bouring states. In order to increase in the court of Wei, went westward seek- incentives, the Qin government levied a ing a chance to try out his ideas. In the double tax on any male citizen who was court of Qin he established a rare part- not the master of a household. The result nership with the ruler Xiaogong and was a breakdown of the extended-family created the best-organized state of their system, since younger children were time. Shang Yang first took strong mea- forced to move out and establish their sures to establish the authority of law and own households. The nuclear family 56 | The History of China became the prevalent form in Qin there- the other contending powers. It contin- after. As late as the 2nd century BC, Han ued maneuvering in order to prevent the scholars were still attacking the Qin fam- others from uniting against it. A common ily structure as failing to observe the topic of debate in the courts of the other principle of filial piety, a cardinal virtue states was whether to establish friendly in the Confucian moral code. Shang Yang relations with Qin or to join with other also standardized the system of weights states in order to resist Qin’s expansion. and measures, a reform of some impor- The Qin strategists were ruthless: all tance for the development of trade and means, including lies, espionage, bribery, commerce. and assassination, were pressed into the Qin grew wealthy and powerful under service of their state. the joint labours of Xiaogong and Shang For a time, the eastern power Qi had Yang. After Xiaogong’s death, Shang seemed the most likely to win. It defeated Yang was put to death by enemies at the Wei, crushed Yan in 314 BC, and annexed Qin court. Tablets of the Qin law substan- Song in 286 BC. But Qi was overturned tiate the survival of Shang Yang’s policies by an allied force of five states, including after his death. Qin. Zhao, the power with extensive terri- What remained of the Zhou royal tory in the northern frontier, succeeded court still survived, ruling over a frag- Qi as the most formidable contender mentary domain—poor, weak, and totally against Qin. In 260 BC a decisive battle at the mercy of the contending powers. It between Qin and Zhao destroyed Zhao’s was commonly felt that China ought to military strength, though Qin was not be unified politically, although the pow- able to complete its conquest of Zhao for ers disagreed as to how it was to be done several decades. and who would be the universal king. Huiwang, son of Xiaogong, claimed the The Empire royal title in 325 BC. The adoption of the royal title by Qin was of course a chal- When Qin succeeded in unifying China lenge to Qi and Wei. Qin pursued a in 221 BC, its king claimed the title of strategy of dividing its rivals and individ- “First Sovereign Emperor,” Shihuangdi. ually defeating them. Qin appealed to the He was a strong and energetic ruler, and, self-interest of other powers in order to although he appointed a number of capa- keep them from intervening in any mili- ble aides, the emperor remained the final tary action it was taking against one of its authority and the sole source of power. neighbours. It befriended the more dis- Shihuangdi made a number of important states while gradually absorbing the tant reforms. He abolished the feudal territories of those close to it. system completely and extended the Within half a century, Qin had administration system of prefectures and acquired undisputed predominance over counties, with officials appointed by the The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 57

great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (Chinese: Wanli Changcheng; “10,000-Li Long Wall”) consists of a series of defensive structures built across northern China. One of the largest building-construction projects ever carried out, it runs (with all its branches) about 4,500 miles (7,300 km) east to west. Large parts of the fortifi cation date from the 7th to the 4th century BC. In the 3rd century BC the emperor Shihuangdi connected existing defensive walls into a single system fortifi ed by watchtowers. These served both to guard the rampart and to communicate with the capital, Xianyang (near modern Xi’an) by signal—smoke by day and fi re by night. Originally constructed partly of masonry and earth, it was faced with brick in its eastern portion. It was rebuilt in later times, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries. The basic wall is about 23 to 26 feet (7 to 8 metres) high; at intervals towers rise above it to varying heights. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

The Great Wall of China covered in winter snow. China Photos/Getty Images 58 | The History of China central government sent into all of China. influential men in the provinces were Circuit inspectors were dispatched to compelled to move to the capital. oversee the local magistrates. China was Weapons were confiscated. Hundreds of divided into some 40 prefectures. The intellectuals were massacred for daring empire created by Shihuangdi was to to criticize the emperor’s policies. Books become the traditional territory of China. dealing with subjects other than law, In later eras China sometimes held other horticulture, and herbal medicine were territories, but the Qin boundaries were kept out of public circulation because always considered to embrace the indivis- the emperor considered such knowl- ible area of China proper. In order to edge to be dangerous and unsettling. control this vast area, Shihuangdi con- These things have contributed to make structed a network of highways to Shihuangdi appear the arch tyrant of facilitate moving his troops. Several hun- Chinese history. dred thousand workers were conscripted Some of the accusations leveled to connect and strengthen the existing against him by historians are perhaps walls along the northern border. The exaggerated, such as the burning of result was a complex of fortified walls, gar- books and the indiscriminate massacre rison stations, and signal towers extending of intellectuals. Shihuangdi himself from near the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) claimed in the stone inscriptions of his westward across the pastureland of what time that he had corrected the miscon- is today Inner Mongolia and through the duct of a corrupted age and given the fertile loop of the Huang He to what is people peace and order. Indeed, his polit- now northwestern Gansu province. This ical philosophy did not deviate much defense line, known as the Great Wall, from that already developed by the great marked the frontier where the nomads of thinkers of the Zhanguo period and the great steppe and the Chinese farmers adopted later by the Han emperors, who on the loess soil confronted each other. have been generally regarded as benevo- Yet the emperor failed in another great lent rulers. project: digging a canal across the moun- Shihuangdi was afraid of death. He tains in the south to link the southern did everything possible to achieve coastal areas with the main body of China. immortality. Deities were propitiated, Shihuangdi, with his capable chancellor and messengers were dispatched to look Li Si, also unified and simplified the writ- for an elixir of life. He died in 210 BC ing system and codified the law. while on a tour of the empire. Excavation All of China felt the burden of these of his tomb, near modern Xi’an (ancient 11 or 12 years of change. Millions of Chang’an), revealed more than 6,000 life- people were dragooned to the huge con- size statues of soldiers still on guard. struction jobs, many dying on the long His death led to the fall of his dynasty. journey to their destination. Wealthy and The legitimate heir was compelled to The Zhou and Qin Dynasties | 59

Some of the army of terra-cotta warriors that have been excavated at the Qin tomb near Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China. In all, some 8,000 pottery soldiers, horses, and chariots were buried there, only a portion of which have been unearthed. Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images commit suicide when his younger The uprising spread rapidly as old rul- brother usurped the throne. Capable ing elements of the six states rose to and loyal servants, including Li Si and claim their former titles. Escaped con- Gen. Meng Tian, were put to death. scripts and soldiers who had been Ershidi, the second emperor, reigned hiding throughout the land emerged in only four years. Rebellion broke out in large numbers to attack the imperial the Yangtze River area when a small armies. The second emperor was killed group of conscripts led by a peasant by a powerful eunuch minister, and in killed their escort offi cers and claimed 206 BC a rebel leader accepted the sur- sovereignty for the former state of Chu. render of the last Qin prince. ChaPTER 3

The han Dynasty

he Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang (best known Tby his temple name, Gaozu), who assumed the title of emperor in 202 BC . Eleven members of the Liu family followed in his place as eff ective emperors until AD 6 (a 12th briefl y occupied the throne as a puppet). In AD 9 the dynastic line was challenged by Wang Mang, who established his own regime under the title of Xin. In AD 25 the authority of the Han dynasty was reaffi rmed by Liu Xiu (posthumous name Guangwudi), who reigned as Han emperor until 57. Thirteen of his descendants maintained the dynastic succession until 220, when the rule of a single empire was replaced by that of three separate kingdoms. While the entire period from 206 (or 202) BC to AD 220 is generally described as that of the Han dynasty, the terms Xi (Western) Han (also called Former Han) and Dong (Eastern) Han (also called Later Han) are used to denote the two subperiods. During the fi rst period, from 206 BC to AD 25, the capital city was situated at Chang’an (modern Xi’an), in the west; in the second period, from AD 25 to 220, it lay farther east at Luoyang. The four centuries in question may be treated as a single historical period by virtue of dynastic continuity, for, apart from the short interval of 9–25, imperial authority was unques- tionably vested in successive members of the same family. The period, however, was one of considerable changes in imperial, political, and social development. Organs of government were established, tried, modifi ed, or replaced, and The Han Dynasty | 61 new social distinctions were brought into intensive administration. Several reigns being. Chinese prestige among other were characterized by palace intrigue and peoples varied with the political stability corrupt infl uences at court, and on a num- and military strength of the Han house, ber of occasions the future of the dynasty and the extent of territory that was sub- was seriously endangered by outbreaks ject to the jurisdiction of Han offi cials of violence, seizure of political power, or varied with the success of Han arms. At a crisis in the imperial succession. the same time, the example of the palace, the activities of government, and the DyNaSTIC growing luxuries of city life gave rise to auThORITy aND ThE new standards of cultural and technologi- SuCCESSION Of EMPERORS cal achievement. China’s fi rst imperial dynasty, that of Xi (Western) Han Qin, had lasted barely 15 years before its dissolution in the face of rebellion and Since at least as early as the Shang civil war. By contrast, Han formed the dynasty, the Chinese had been accus- fi rst long-lasting regime that could suc- tomed to acknowledging the temporal cessfully claim to be the sole authority and spiritual authority of a single leader entitled to wield administrative power. and its transmission within a family, at The Han forms of government, however, fi rst from brother to brother and later were derived in the fi rst instance from from father to son. Some of the early the Qin dynasty, and these in turn incor- kings had been military commanders, porated a number of features of the and they may have organized the corpo- government that had been practiced by rate work of the community, such as the earlier kingdoms. The Han empire left as manufacture of bronze tools and ves- a heritage a practical example of impe- sels. In addition, they acted as religious rial government and an ideal of dynastic leaders, appointing scribes or priests to authority to which its successors aspired. consult the oracles and thus to assist But the Han period has been credited in making major decisions covering with more success than is its due; it has communal activities, such as warfare been represented as a period of 400 years and hunting expeditions. In succeeding of eff ective dynastic rule, punctuated by centuries the growing sophistication of a short period in which a pretender to Chinese culture was accompanied by power usurped authority, and it has been demands for more-intensive political assumed that imperial unity and eff ec- organization and for more-regular tive administration advanced steadily administration; as kings came to dele- with each decade. In fact, there were gate tasks to more offi cials, so was their only a few short periods marked by own authority enhanced and the obedi- dynastic strength, stable government, and ence that they commanded the more 62 | The History of China widely acknowledged. Under the king- scarcely survived the death of the first doms of Zhou, an association was emperor in 210 BC. The choice of his suc- deliberately fostered between the author- cessor was subject to manipulation by ity of the king and the dispensation statesmen, and local rebellions soon exercised over the universe by heaven, developed into large-scale warfare. Gaozu, with the result that the kings of Zhou and, whose family had not thus far figured in later, the emperors of Chinese dynasties Chinese history, emerged as the victor of were regarded as being the sons of heaven. two principal contestants for power. Anxious to avoid the reputation of having Prelude to the Han replaced one oppressive regime by another, he and his advisers endeavoured From 403 BC onward seven kingdoms to display their own empire—of Han—as a other than Zhou constituted the ruling regime whose political principles were in authorities in different parts of China, keeping with a Chinese tradition of lib- each of which was led by its own king or eral and beneficent administration. As duke. In theory, the king of Zhou, whose yet, however, the concept of a single cen- territory was by now greatly reduced, tralized government that could command was recognized as possessing superior universal obedience was still subject to powers and moral overlordship over the trial. In order to exercise and perpetuate other kingdoms, but practical adminis- its authority, therefore, Gaozu’s govern- tration lay in the hands of the seven ment perforce adopted the organs of kings and their professional advisers or government, and possibly many of the in the hands of well-established fami- methods, of its discredited predecessor. lies. Then in 221 BC, after a long process The authority of the Han emperors of expansion and takeover, a radical had been won in the first instance by force change occurred in Chinese politics: of arms, and both Gaozu and his succes- the kingdom of Qin succeeded in sors relied on the loyal cooperation of eliminating the power of its six rivals military leaders and on officials who orga- and established a single rule that was nized the work of civil government. In acknowledged in their territories. theory and to a large extent in practice, According to later Chinese historians, the emperor remained the single source this success was achieved and the Qin from whom all powers of government empire was thereafter maintained by were delegated. It was the Han emperors oppressive methods and the rigorous who appointed men to the senior offices enforcement of a harsh penal code, but of the central government and in whose this view was probably coloured by later name the governors of the commanderies political prejudices. Whatever the quality (provinces) collected taxes, recruited men of Qin imperial government, the regime for the labour corps and army, and The Han Dynasty | 63 dispensed justice. And it was the Han emperors who invested some of their kinsmen with powers to rule as kings over certain territories or divested them of such powers in order to consolidate the strength of the central government.

The Imperial Succession

The succession of emperors was hereditary, but it was complicated to a considerable extent by a system of imperial consorts and the implication of their families in politics. Of the large number of women who were housed in the palace as the emperor’s favourites, one was selected for nomination as the empress; while it was theoretically possible for an emperor to appoint any one of his sons heir apparent, this honour, in practice, usually fell on one of the sons of the empress. Changes could be made in the declared succession, however, by deposing one empress and giving the title to another favourite, and sometimes, when an emperor died without having nominated his heir, it was left to the senior statesmen of the day to arrange for a suitable successor. Whether or not an heir had been named, the succession was

Funerary banner from the tomb of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), Mawangdui, Hunan province, ink and colours on silk, c. 168 BC, Western Han dynasty; in the Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha, China. Wang Lu/ChinaStock Photo Library 64 | The History of China often open to question, as pressure could dowager Gaohou arranged for two infants be exerted on an emperor over his choice. to succeed consecutively. During that Sometimes a young or weak emperor was time (188–180 BC) she issued imperial overawed by the expressed will of his edicts under her own name and by virtue mother or by anxiety to please a newly of her own authority as empress dowager. favoured concubine. She set a precedent that was to be fol- Throughout the Xi Han and Dong lowed in later dynastic crises—e.g., when Han periods, the succession and other the throne was vacant and no heir had important political considerations were been appointed. In such cases, although affected by the members of the imperial statesmen or officials would in fact deter- consorts’ families. Often the father or mine how to proceed, their decisions brothers of an empress or concubine were implemented in the form of edicts were appointed to high office in the cen- promulgated by the senior surviving tral government; alternatively, senior empress. statesmen might be able to curry favour Gaohou appointed a number of with their emperor or consolidate their members of her own family to highly position at court by presenting a young important positions of state and clearly female relative for the imperial pleasure. hoped to substitute her own family for In either situation the succession of the reigning Liu family. But these plans emperors might be affected, jealousies were frustrated on her death (180) by would be aroused between the different men whose loyalties remained with the families concerned, and the actual pow- founding emperor and his family. Liu ers of a newly acceded emperor would be Heng, better known as Wendi, reigned overshadowed by the women in his from 180 to 157. He soon came to be entourage or their male relatives. Such regarded (with Gaozu and Wudi) as one situations were particularly likely to of three outstanding emperors of the Xi develop if, as often happened, an emperor Han. He was credited with the ideal was succeeded by an infant son. behaviour of a reigning monarch The imperial succession was thus fre- according to later Confucian doctrine; quently bound up with the political i.e., he was supposedly ready to yield machinations of statesmen, particularly place to others, hearken to the advice as the court grew more sophisticated and and remonstrances of his statesmen, statesmen acquired coteries of clients and eschew personal extravagance. It engaged in factional rivalry. On the death can be claimed that his reign saw the of the first emperor, Gaozu (195 BC), the peaceful consolidation of imperial palace came under the domination of his power, successful experimentation in widow. Outliving her son, who had suc- operating the organs of government, ceeded as emperor under the title of and the steady growth of China’s mate- Huidi (reigned 195–188), the empress rial resources. The Han Dynasty | 65

from Wudi to yuandi (Hsiung-nu; northern nomads) and in Central Asia, though Wudi never took a The third emperor of the Xi Han to be personal part in the fi ghting. The policy singled out for special praise by tradi- of taking the off ensive and extending tional Chinese historians was Wudi Chinese infl uence into unknown territory (reigned 141–87 BC ), whose reign was resulted not from the emperor’s initiative the longest of the entire Han period. His but from the stimulus of a few statesmen, reputation as a vigorous and brave ruler whose decisions were opposed vigorously derives from the long series of cam- at the time. Thanks to the same states- paigns fought chiefl y against the Xiongnu men, manpower was more intensively

Wudi

Wudi (b. 156 BC—d. March 29, 87 BC) is the posthumous name given to Liu Che, the sixth emperor of the Xi (Western) Han dynasty. He is noted for vastly increasing the Han’s authority and infl uence abroad and for making Confucianism China’s state religion. Under Wudi, China’s armies drove back the nomadic Xiongnu tribes that plagued the northern border, incorporated southern China and northern and central Vietnam into the empire, and reconquered Korea. Their farthest expedition was to Fergana (in modern Uzbekistan). Wudi’s military campaigns strained the state’s reserves; seeking new income, he decreed new taxes and established state monopolies on salt, iron, and wine. The Wudi emperor is best remem- bered for his military conquests; hence, his posthumous title, Wudi, meaning “Martial Emperor.” His administrative reforms left an enduring mark on the Chinese state, Drawing of the Wudi emperor (lower right) and his exclusive recognition of of the Xi (Western) Han dynasty, receiving Confucianism had a permanent eff ect on a letter. Snark/Art Resource, NY subsequent East Asian history. 66 | The History of China used and natural resources more heavily to contrive a replacement candidate exploited during Wudi’s reign, which (posthumous name Xuandi) whom he required more active administration by could control or manipulate. Xuandi Han officials. Wudi participated person- (reigned 74–49/48), who began to take a ally in the religious cults of state far personal part in government after Huo more actively than his predecessors and Guang’s death, had a predilection for a some of his successors. And it was dur- practical rather than a scholastic ing his reign that the state took new approach to matters of state. While his steps to promote scholarship and reign was marked by a more rigorous develop the civil service. attention to implementing the laws than From about 90 BC it became appar- had heretofore been fashionable, his ent that Han military strength had been edicts paid marked attention to the ideals overtaxed, leading to a retrenchment in of governing a people in their own inter- military and economic policies. The last ests and distributing bounties where they few years of the reign were darkened by a were most needed. The move away from dynastic crisis arising out of jealousies the aggressive policies of Wudi’s states- between the empress and heir apparent men was even more noticeable during on the one hand and a rival imperial con- the next reign (Yuandi; 49/48–33). sort’s family on the other. Intense and violent fighting erupted in Chang’an in From Chengdi to Wang Mang 91, and the two families were almost eliminated. A compromise was reached just In the reigns of Chengdi (33–7 BC), Aidi before Wudi’s death, whereby an infant— (7–1 BC), and Pingdi (1 BC–AD 6) the con- known by his posthumous name Zhaodi duct of state affairs and the atmosphere (reigned 87–74)—who came from neither of the court were subject to the weakness family was chosen to succeed. The stew- or youth of the emperors, the lack of an ardship of the empire was vested in the heir to succeed Chengdi, and the rivalries hands of a regent, Huo Guang, a shrewd between four families of imperial con- and circumspect statesman who already sorts. It was also a time when considerable had been in government service for some attention was paid to omens. Changes two decades; even after Huo’s death (68 that were first introduced in the state reli- BC), his family retained a dominating gious cults in 32 BC were alternately influence in Chinese politics until 64 BC. countermanded and reintroduced in the Zhaodi had been married to a grand- hope of securing material blessings by daughter of Huo Guang; his successor, means of intercession with different spir- who was brought to the throne at the invi- itual powers. To satisfy the jealousies of a tation of Huo and other statesmen, favourite, Chengdi went so far as to mur- proved unfit and was deposed after a der two sons born to him by other women. reign of 27 days. Huo, however, was able Aidi took steps to control the growing The Han Dynasty | 67 monopoly exercised by other families to precedents of the dim past. He appealed over state affairs. It was alleged at the to the poorer classes by instituting mea- time that the deaths of both Chengdi, sures of relief, but his attempts to who had enjoyed robust health, and eliminate private landholding and abol- Pingdi, not yet 14 years old when he died, ish private slaveholding antagonized had been arranged for political reasons. the more wealthy members of society. In the meantime the Wang family had Experiments in new types of coinage come to dominate the court. Wang and in controlling economic transac- Zhengjun, who had been the empress of tions failed to achieve their purpose of Yuandi and mother of Chengdi, exercised increasing state resources, which were considerable powers not only in her own depleted by enormously costly prepara- capacity but also through several of her tions for campaigns against the Xiongnu. eight brothers. From 33 to 7 BC five mem- The last years of his reign were dislo- bers of the family were appointed in cated by the rise of dissident bands in a succession to the most powerful position number of provinces; several leaders in the government, and the status of other declared themselves emperor in differ- members was raised by bestowing titles ent regions, and, in the course of the of nobilities. The empress dowager lived fighting, Chang’an was entered and dam- until AD 13, surviving the decline of the aged. Later it was captured by the Red family’s influence under Aidi, who sought Eyebrows, one of the most active of the to restore a balance at court by honouring robber bands, and Wang Mang was the families of other consorts (the Fu and killed in a scene of violence played out Ding families). Wang Mang, nephew of within the palace buildings. the empress dowager Wang, restored the family’s position during the reign of Dong (Eastern) Han Pingdi. After the latter died and an infant succeeded to the throne, Wang Mang was The Han house was restored by Liu Xiu, appointed regent, but in AD 9 he assumed better known as Guangwudi, who reigned the imperial position himself, under the from AD 25 to 57. His claim had been con- dynastic title of Xin. Insofar as he took tested by another member of the Liu imperial power from the Liu family, Wang house—Liu Xuan, better known as Liu Mang’s short reign from 9 to 23 may be Gengshi—who had been actually described as an act of usurpation. His pol- enthroned for two years, until his death in icies were marked by both traditionalism the course of turbulent civil fighting. and innovation. In creating new social Chang’an had been virtually destroyed distinctions, he tried to revert to a system by warfare, and Guangwudi established allegedly in operation before the imperial his capital at Luoyang. age, and some of his changes in the struc- The new emperor completed defeat- ture of government were similarly related ing rival aspirants to the throne in 36. As 68 | The History of China had occurred in Xi Han, dynastic estab- place their own interests above those of lishment was followed by a period of the state. internal consolidation rather than expan- During the last 50 years of Dong Han, sion. Guangwudi resumed the structure northern China became subject to inva- of government of the Xi Han emperors, sion from different sides, and, as was together with the earlier coinage and sys- observed by several philosopher-states- tem of taxation. The palace once more men, the administration became corrupt promoted the cause of scholarship. and ineffective. Powerful regional offi- Eunuchs had come to the fore in the Han cials were able to establish themselves palace during Yuandi’s reign, and several almost independently of the central gov- had succeeded in reaching powerful posi- ernment. Rivalry between consorts’ tions. Guangwudi’s policy was to rid the families and eunuchs led to a massacre of government of such influences, together the latter in 189, and the rebel bands that with that of the families of imperial con- arose included the Yellow Turbans, who sorts. Under Mingdi (57–75) and Zhangdi were fired by beliefs in supernatural influ- (75–88), China was once more strong ences and led by inspired demagogues. enough to adopt a positive foreign policy Soldiers of fortune and contestants for and set Chinese armies on the march power were putting troops in the field in against the Xiongnu. To prevent incur- their attempts to establish themselves as sions by the latter, and possibly to emperors of a single united China. By encourage the growth of trade, Han influ- 207 the great Han general Cao Cao had ence was again brought to bear in Central gained control over the north, and, had he Asia. Chinese prestige reached its zenith not been defeated by Sun Quan at the around 90 and fell markedly after 125. battle of the Red Cliff, which later became Dynastic decline can be dated from famous in Chinese literature, he might the reign of Hedi (88–105/106), when the well have succeeded in establishing a court once more came under the influence single dynastic rule. Other participants of consorts’ families and eunuchs. The in the fighting included Dong Zhou, Liu succession of emperors became a matter Bei, and Zhuge Liang. The situation was of dexterous manipulation designed to resolved in 220 when Cao Pi, son of Cao preserve the advantages of interested Cao, accepted an instrument of abdica- parties. The weakness of the throne can tion from Xiandi, last of the Han emperors be judged from the fact that, of the 14 (acceded 189). Cao Pi duly became emperors of Dong Han, no less than 8 emperor of a dynasty styled Wei, whose took the throne as boys aged between territories stretched over the northern 100 days and 15 years. Factions gradu- part of China and whose capital was at ally increased in number, and their Luoyang. A year later, in 221, Liu Bei was members, like the families of imperial declared emperor of the Shu-Han dynasty, consorts and like the eunuchs, tended to thereby maintaining the fiction that as a The Han Dynasty | 69 member of the Liu family he was continu- altering the underlying principles of gov- ing its rule of the Han dynasty, albeit in ernment but at applying them expediently the restricted regions of Shu in the south- to the changing dynastic, political, social, west (capital at Chengdu). In the and economic conditions of later centu- southeast there was formed the third of ries. One of the problems faced by Han the Sanguo (Three Kingdoms), as the governments was recruiting able and period from 220 to 280 has come to be honest men to staff the civil service of an described. This was the kingdom of Wu, empire; those individuals eventually with its capital at Jianye, under the initial became known in the West as mandarins. dispensation of Sun Quan. Although the Chinese writing system had recently been reformed, which facilitated The administration drafting documents, officials still needed of the Han empire considerable training before they attained sufficient competence. Much of the train- One of the main contributions of the Han ing occurred in local-level bureaus, where dynasty to the future of imperial China aspirants for imperial appointments lay in the development of the civil service served the equivalent of apprenticeships. and the structure of central and provin- Meritorious young men advanced from cial government. The evolutionary clerical positions to head various local changes that subsequently transformed bureaus. Having proved themselves in Han polity beyond recognition were not these positions, they were then eligible for directed at altering the underlying prin- recommendation or sponsorship, the ciples of government but at applying standard means by which civil servants them expediently to the changing dynas- were recruited. Officials were invited to tic, political, social, and economic present candidates who possessed suit- conditions of later centuries. able qualities of intelligence and integrity, usually established in their service in The Structure of local bureaus, and at certain regular inter- Government vals provincial units were ordered to send a quota of men to the capital. At times The Civil Service candidates were required to submit answers on questions of policy or admin- One of the main contributions of the Han istration. They might then be kept at the dynasty to the future of imperial China palace to act as advisers in attendance, or lay in the development of the civil service they might be given appointments in the and the structure of central and provincial central government or in the provinces, government. The evolutionary changes depending on their success. However, at that subsequently transformed Han polity that time there was no regular system of beyond recognition were not directed at examination and appointment akin to 70 | The History of China what evolved during the Sui and Tang adherence to regular hierarchies of dynasties. authority, by the division of specialist The recruitment system was impor- responsibilities, and by a duplication of tant for two reasons directly related to the certain functions. It was hoped that these nature and development of Han society. measures would keep individual officials First, the apprenticeship system assured from accumulating excessive amounts of that entry into the imperial bureaucracy power. The uppermost stratum of officials was based on administrative merit. Thus, or statesmen comprised the chancellor, men of little wealth could enter clerical the imperial counselor, and, sometimes, positions and support themselves while the commander in chief. These men acted preparing for higher-level careers. (This as the emperor’s highest advisers and recruitment system differed strikingly retained final control over the activities of from the later examination system that government. Responsibility was shared often required years of study in order to with nine ministers of state, who cared for master the Confucian Classics and to matters such as religious cults, security of develop writing skills.) Second, powerful the palace, adjudication in criminal cases, families, increasingly in the Dong Han diplomatic dealings with foreign leaders, period, were able to dominate the clerical and the collection and distribution of rev- and other positions in the local bureaus, enue. Each minister of state was supported thereby limiting to those powerful fami- by a department staffed by directors and lies the candidates for imperial subordinates. There were a few other bureaucratic service. Control of local major agencies, which ranked slightly positions in turn strengthened the pow- below the nine ministries and were erful families by allowing them to responsible for specialist tasks. Functions manipulate tax and census registers. were duplicated so as to check the growth Such families created the social milieu of power. Occasionally, for example, two from which the aristocratic families of chancellors were appointed concurrently. the post-Han period were to emerge. Similarly, financial matters were con- There was a total of 12 grades in the trolled by two permanent ministries: the Han civil service, ranging from that of Department of Agriculture and Revenue clerk to the most senior minister of state. and the Privy Treasury. No division in principle existed between The foregoing structure of regular men serving in the central offices or the organs of government was known as the provincial units. Promotion could be Outer Court. With the passage of time, it achieved from one grade of the service to became balanced by the growth of a sec- the next, and in theory a man could rise ondary seat of power known as the Inner from the humblest to the highest post. In Court. This grew up from members of the theory and partly in practice, the structure secretariat and had started as a subordi- of Han government was marked by an nate agency in the Privy Treasury. The The Han Dynasty | 71 secretariat officials had acquired direct end of the period, their administration access to the emperor and could thus cir- came to differ less and less from that of cumvent the more formal approaches the commanderies, which formed the reg- that protocol required of other officials. ular provincial units. Each commandery The secretariat rose to prominence dur- was controlled by two senior officials, the ing the latter part of the 1st century BC governor and the commandant, who were and was at times staffed by eunuchs. Its appointed by the central government. members were sometimes distinguished Commanderies could be established at by receiving privileged titles that con- will: by dividing larger into smaller units, veyed a mark of imperial favour without by taking over the lands of the kings, or specific administrative responsibility. by establishing organs of government in The highest of these titles was that of regions only recently penetrated by supreme commander, and, when this Chinese officials. Provincial government title was accompanied by the right or the was not necessarily pervasive throughout imperial instruction to assume leader- the lands where commandery offices ship of the secretariat, the powers of existed, but there was a steady advance in the incumbent outweighed those of the provincial government during the Han highest ministers of the Outer Court. An period. During Gaozu’s reign 16 com- official thus named could effectively manderies existed, but by the end of the control decisions of state, to the discom- Xi Han there were 83 commanderies and fiture of senior officials such as the 20 kingdoms. chancellor. It was in this capacity that Each of the commanderies consisted Wang Mang and his four predecessors of some 10 or 20 prefectures, the size of had been able to assert their power with- which corresponded to that of English out fear of check. counties. The prefect’s headquarters were situated in a walled town, from which his Provincial Government administration was extended and his officials were sent to collect taxes, settle At the outset of the Han dynasty, vast disputes, or recruit able-bodied men for areas were entrusted as kingdoms to the service. The prefectures were themselves emperor’s kinsmen, while the central subdivided into districts. The command- government administered the interior eries included a number of nobilities, the provinces as commanderies. But by about holders of which enjoyed a noble title 100 BC the imperial government had and income from the taxes collected in deprived the kingdoms of their strength, them by central government officials. and most of their lands had been incorpo- The nobles exercised no administrative, rated as commanderies under the central judicial, or other power over their nobili- government. Although the kingdoms sur- ties. The number of nobilities varied vived in a much-reduced form until the considerably, sometimes totaling several 72 | The History of China hundred. The system was used as a politi- emergency or when a campaign was being cal instrument for reducing the power of planned with a defined objective, those the kings, rewarding military officers and officers were appointed for a specific task; civil officials, and treating surrendered when their mission was fulfilled, their enemy leaders. Special arrangements commands were brought to a close. were instituted for provincial govern- Beneath that level was a complement of ment at the periphery of the empire. colonels whose duties consisted of smaller- Agencies of a specialist nature were set scale activities. In addition, the governors up both there and in the provinces of the and commandants of the commanderies interior, with responsibilities for such were sometimes ordered to lead forces. matters as supervision of the salt and The commandants were also responsible iron industries, manufacture of textiles, for training conscript soldiers and setting fruit growing, and sponsored agriculture, them to maintain internal discipline and as well as control of passage in and out of to man the static lines of defense in the the frontier. north and northwest. From 106 BC the government tried to The Han armies drew their recruits supervise the work of provincial officials from conscripts, volunteers, and convicts. more directly. A total of 13 regional inspec- Conscripts, who formed the majority, tors were appointed, with orders to visit were obliged to serve for two years, either the commanderies and kingdoms of a under training or on active service. This specified area and to report to the central duty devolved on all able-bodied males government on the efficiency of officials, other than those who had acquired privi- the degree of oppression or corruption, leges of rank or those who could pay for and the state of popular affection or disaf- substitutes. The latter practice was prob- fection. Although the arrangement was ably rare. In addition, men were liable for not yet tantamount to the creation of a lim- recall to the armed forces in times of ited number (about 20) of large provinces, emergency. Volunteers were the sons of such as came about from about the 13th privileged families and probably served century, it may have facilitated the estab- as cavalrymen, and convicts were some- lishment of separatist provincial regimes times drafted to work out their terms of at times of dynastic decline. sentence in the army. There is ample evidence to show that Han commanders The Armed Forces used to draw on Central Asian tribesmen as recruits, and the tribesmen were par- The command of the armed forces was ticularly valuable as skilled cavalrymen. also arranged so as to avoid giving exces- A number of foreigners also served with sive powers to a single individual. Officers distinction as officers. While little is equivalent to generals were usually known of the organization of armies on appointed in pairs, and, in times of campaign, garrison forces were divided The Han Dynasty | 73

Horse and Swallow, bronze sculpture from the tomb of General Chang, Leitai, Wuwei county, Gansu province, 2nd century AD, Dong (Eastern) Han dynasty; in the Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, China. Height 32.4 cm. Robert Harding Picture Library into separate commands consisting of edicts declaring the imperial will. Such perhaps four companies. Each company instructions often took the form of repeat- had a strength of some 40 or 50 sections, ing offi cials’ proposals with a note of each of which comprised one offi cer and approval. Some edicts were couched as up to fi ve men. comments on the current situation and called in general terms for an improve- The Practice of Government ment in the quality of government or for more-vigorous attempts to achieve a just As the fi nal arbiter of power, the emperor— administration. The emperor also issued and at times the empress dowager—issued formal deeds of investiture to kings or 74 | The History of China noblemen and letters of appointment for varied with the age and sex of the mem- senior officials. Edicts were circulated bers of the household. Other taxes were to the relevant authorities for action, levied in respect to wealth and by means together with books of other regulations of property assessments. such as the statutes and ordinances, lay- In addition to service in the army, ing down entitlements for services able-bodied males were expected to pro- rendered to the state and penalties for vide one month’s service annually in the infringing its prohibitions. Officials could state labour corps; tasks included build- suggest methods of government by sub- ing palaces and imperial mausoleums, mitting written memorials, and there transporting staple goods such as grain were occasions when an emperor called a and hemp, and constructing roads and conference of senior statesmen and asked bridges. Sometimes conscript labour was their views on topical problems. used to repair breaches in riverbanks or The Han governments regularly dikes, and men were sent to work in the issued calendars to enable the court to salt and iron industries after these were follow a cosmically correct ritual sched- taken over by the state. ule and officials to maintain their records The establishment of state monopo- correctly. Regular means of transport lies for salt and iron was one of several were kept for the use of officials traveling measures taken in Wudi’s reign to bring on business and for the conveyance of China’s resources under the control of official mail from one office to another. the government. Agencies were set up Provincial and local officials were respon- about 117 BC to supervise mining, man- sible for two regular counts without ufacturing, and distribution and to raise which government could not proceed: revenue in the process. The measure the census of the population and the reg- was criticized on the grounds of both ister of the land and its production. principle and expedience and was with- Returns, which were submitted for the drawn for three years from 44 BC, and by number of households and individuals the mid-1st century AD the industries and for land under cultivation, eventually had in practice reverted to private hands. found their way to the capital. One count Final measures to standardize the coin- that has been preserved records the exis- age and to limit minting to state tence of some 12,233,000 households and agencies were taken in 112 BC, and, with 59,595,000 individuals in AD 2. Two other the exception of Wang Mang’s experi- main forms of revenue collection were ments, the copper coin of a single the land tax and the poll tax. The land tax denomination, minted from Wudi’s was levied in kind at a 30th (sometimes a reign onward, remained the standard 15th) part of the produce, the assessment medium of exchange. Little is known of depending partly on the quality of the the work of other agencies established land. Poll tax was usually paid in cash and in Xi Han to stabilize the prices of The Han Dynasty | 75 staple commodities and to regulate their The Han government, like the Qin, transport. Such measures had been the ruled by dispensing rewards for service answer of Wudi’s government to the and exacting punishment for disobedi- problem of moving goods from an area ence and crime. Rewards consisted of of surplus to one of shortage. exemptions from tax; bounties of gold, The government ordered migrations meat, spirits, or silk; amnesties for crimi- of the population for several reasons. At nals; and orders of honour. The latter times, such a migration was intended to were bestowed either individually or to populate an area artificially—the city of groups. There was a ranked scale of 20 Xianyang during the Qin dynasty, for degrees, and, after receiving several of example, and the state-sponsored farms these awards cumulatively, one could rise of the borderlands. Alternatively, if the to the eighth place in the scale. The more- defense of the periphery was impractical, senior orders were given for specified the population was sometimes moved acts of valour, charity, or good adminis- away from danger, and distressed folk tration, usually to officials, and the were moved to areas where they could highest order was the rank of nobility. In find a more prosperous way of life. addition to conferring social status, the From about 100 BC it was evident to orders carried with them legal privileges some statesmen that great disparities of and freedom from some tax and service wealth existed and that this was most obligations. noticeable in respect of landownership. In theory, the laws of Han were bind- Some philosophers looked back nostal- ing on all members of the population, gically to an ideal state in which land and some incidents testify to the pun- was said to have been allotted and held ishment of the highest in the land. But on a basis of equality, thereby eliminat- some privileged persons were able to ing the wide differences between rich get their sentences mitigated. Nobles, and poor. It was only in Wang Mang’s for example, could ransom themselves time that an attempt was made to abolish from most punishments by forfeiting private landownership and private slave- their nobilities. Han laws specified a holding. But the attempt failed because variety of crimes, including those of a of powerful economic and social opposi- social nature such as murder or theft, tion, and the accumulation of land those that infringed the imperial maj- continued during Dong Han. In the last esty, and those that were classed as gross half century or so of the dynasty, country immorality. There was a regular proce- estates acquired retainers and armed dure for impeachment and trial, and defenders, almost independently of the some difficult cases could be referred to writ of government. The great families the emperor for a final decision. The thus came to exercise more power than punishments to which criminals were appointed officials of state. sentenced included exile, hard labour, 76 | The History of China flogging, castration, and death. In the relations with the Xiongnu at the price of most heinous cases the death sentence gold, silk, and even the hand of a Chinese was carried out publicly, but senior offi- princess. However, as Wudi’s govern- cials and members of the imperial family ments began establishing strong policies, were usually allowed to avoid such a China took the offensive in an attempt to scene by committing suicide. When the throw back the Xiongnu to Central Asia death penalty was invoked, a criminal’s and to free the northern provinces from goods, including members of his family, the threat of invasion and violence. By were confiscated by the state. Such per- 119 BC, campaigns fought to the north of sons then became slaves of the state and Chinese territory had attained this objec- were employed on menial or domestic tive, and after a short interval it was tasks in government offices. Government possible to send Han armies to advance slaves were sometimes given as rewards in the northeast (present-day North to meritorious officials. Korea), the south (present-day Vietnam), and the southwest. As a result of the cam- Relations paigns fought from 135 BC onward, 18 with other peoples additional commanderies were founded, and organs of Han provincial govern- Simultaneously with the rise of the Qin ment were installed as outposts among and Han empires, some of the nomadic peoples who were unassimilated to a peoples of Central Asia, known as the Chinese way of life. Xiongnu, succeeded in achieving a mea- Chinese government was by no sure of unity under a single leader. As a means universally accepted in those out- result, while the Chinese were consoli- lying regions. But despite large losses dating their government, the lands lying and expenditures incurred in fighting to the north of the empire—and the the Xiongnu, the Chinese were able to northern provinces themselves—became mount expeditions into Central Asia subject to incursion by Xiongnu horse- from about 112 BC. The defensive walls men. One of the achievements of the Qin were repaired and remanned, and by dynasty had been the unification of the about 100 they were extended to the several lines of defense into a single sys- northwest as far as Dunhuang. Chinese tem of fortification, the Great Wall. By travelers, whether diplomats or mer- keeping that wall, or line of earthworks, chants, were thus protected as far as the manned, the Qin dynasty had been free Takla Makan Desert. It was at about that of invasion. With the fall of Qin and time that trade routes skirting the desert China’s subsequent weakness, the wall were established and came to be known fell into a state of disrepair and lacked a collectively as the Silk Road. garrison. Until about 135 BC, Han gov- The success of Chinese arms in those ernments were obliged to seek peaceful remote areas was short-lived. Long lines The Han Dynasty | 77 of communication made it impossible to disruptive factor in the 2nd and 3rd cen- set up garrisons or colonies in the forbid- turies, to the detriment of imperial unity. ding country to the west of Dunhuang. The Han expansion into Central Asia Diplomatic moves were made to implant has been represented by the Chinese as a Chinese prestige more firmly among the defensive measure designed to weaken communities that were situated around the Xiongnu and to free China from inva- the Takla Makan Desert and that con- sion. Allowance must also be made for trolled the oases; it was necessary for the commercial motives. Some of Wudi’s Chinese to win those peoples’ support, statesmen were well aware of the advan- thus denying it to the Xiongnu. In a few tages of exporting China’s surplus cases the Chinese resorted to violence or products in return for animals and ani- plots to remove a leader and to replace mal products from Central Asia, and him with a candidate known to favour the there is evidence that Chinese silk was Han cause. More commonly, one of the exported at this time. No attempt can be alien leaders was married to a Chinese made to estimate the volume of trade, princess, with the intention that he and, as the transactions were conducted should in time be succeeded by an heir through Parthian middlemen, no direct who was half-Chinese. These endeavours contact was made by this means between and the military ventures met with partial Han China and the world of Rome and success. While the Chinese position in the Mediterranean. China’s export trade Central Asia was subject to question, was sponsored by the government and relations with the Xiongnu leaders var- not entrusted to private merchants. ied. The visit of a Xiongnu leader to The Great Wall formed a boundary Chang’an in 51 BC was hailed as a mark separating the Chinese provinces from of Chinese success, but the ensuing the outside world. Traffic was controlled decades were not free from fighting. at points of access, not only to check Chinese prestige declined toward the incoming travelers to China but also to end of the Xi Han and recovered only prevent the escape of criminals or desert- during the reigns of Mingdi and Zhangdi, ers. At the same time, a ban was imposed when the Han government was once on the export of certain goods such as more strong enough to take the field. Ban iron manufactures and weapons of war. Chao’s campaigns in Central Asia (from The wall also formed a protected cause- AD 94) reestablished the Chinese posi- way for travelers to the west. Watch tion, but again the full strength of Chinese stations were erected in sight of each prestige lasted for only a few decades. other to signal the approach of the enemy, During the Dong Han, China suffered and the garrison troops were highly invasion from the northeast as well as trained and disciplined. Meticulous from the north. The settlement of records were kept to show how govern- Xiongnu peoples south of the wall was a ment stores were expended and rations 78 | The History of China

Tourists travel by carriage through the ruins of the ancient capital of the Gaochang empire, Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China. The city lay on the famous Silk Road at the foot of Huoyan (“Flaming”) Mountain, noted for the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha caves. China Photos/Getty Images issued; routine signals were relayed along observations, Han advances were con- the line and daily patrols were sent out centrated in the northwest. In AD 97 to reconnoitre. Chinese envoys were frustrated in an As a result of the campaigns and dip- attempt to visit the western part of the lomatic activity, China’s immediate world, but a mission from Rome reached contacts with other peoples grew more China by ship in 166. The fi rst record of brisk. Many of the Xiongnu and other offi cial visitors arriving at the Han court neighbouring leaders who had surren- from Japan is for the year AD 57. dered to Han arms were given nobilities and settled in the interior of the empire. CuLTuRaL DEvELOPMENTS Zhang Qian was a pioneer who had set out about 130 BC to explore the routes The Han emperors and governments into Central Asia and northern China, posed as having a temporal dispensation and, as a result of his report and that had received the blessing of heaven The Han Dynasty | 79 together with its instructions to spread completed in AD 121, included more than the benefits of a cultured life as widely as 9,000 separate ideograms (characters), possible. By a cultured life the Chinese with explanations of their meanings and had in mind a clear distinction between the variant forms used in writing. their own settled agriculture and the In an attempt to break with earlier delights of the cities, as opposed to the tradition, the Qin government had taken rough and hardy life spent in the saddle certain steps to proscribe literature and by the nomads of Central Asia. The learning. Han governments stressed their growth of Han government both desire to promote these causes as part of depended on and encouraged the devel- their mission. In particular, they dis- opment of literary accomplishment, played a veneration for works with which scholastic competence, religious activity, Confucius had been associated, either as scientific discovery, and technological a collector of texts or as an editor, and achievement. these works became known as the Wujing, Han administration required detailed or the Confucian Classics. Beginning record keeping, which generated a prolif- during the reign of Wendi, orders were eration of documents. Official returns given to search for books lost during the were sometimes kept in duplicate, and previous dynasty. Knowledge of texts each agency kept running files to record such as the Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”), its business. Following a reform of the the Shujing (“Classic of History”), the script that had evolved before the Han Yijing (“Classic of Changes”), and the period, a new style of writing was devel- Chunqiu (“Spring and Autumn”) annals oped that was suited to compiling official became a necessary accomplishment for documents. These were written mostly officials and candidates for the civil ser- on bulky and fragile wooden strips; silk vice. To support an argument laid before was also used as a writing medium. A the throne, statesmen would find a rele- major development in world history vant quotation from these works; already occurred in China in AD 105 when offi- in the 1st century BC the tradition was cials reported to the throne the being formed whereby the civil service of manufacture of a new substance. imperial China was nurtured on a Although archaeological evidence indi- Classical education. On two occasions cates the existence of paper for more than (51 BC and AD 79) the government a century before this incident, the earlier ordered official discussions about inter- materials were not completely super- preting texts and the validity of differing seded until some three or four centuries versions; in AD 175 work was completed later. In the meantime, the written vocab- on a project that inscribed an approved ulary of the Chinese had increased in version on stone tablets, so as to allay response to the demands of a growing scholastic doubts in the future. In the civilization. The first Chinese dictionary, meantime—and still before the invention 80 | The History of China of paper—a collection of literary texts had earliest acts of the Han government ( c. been made for the imperial library. The 200 BC ) had been to order the formula- catalog of this collection, which dates tion of such modes of behaviour as a from the early 1st century AD , was pre- means of enhancing the dignity of the pared after comparing diff erent copies throne, and one of the latest compilations and eliminating duplicates. The list of (c. AD 175) that still survives is a list of titles has been preserved and constitutes such prescriptions, drawn up at a time China’s fi rst bibliographical list. The when the dynasty was manifestly losing works are classifi ed according to subject, its majesty and natural authority. Some of but many have been lost. The importance the emperors were themselves compos- of these measures lies both in their intrin- ers of versifi ed prose; their eff orts have sic achievement and in the example they also been preserved in the standard set for subsequent dynasties. histories. The prose style of Han writers was The emperor was charged with the later taken as a model of simplicity, and, solemn duty of securing the blessings of as a reaction to the literary embellish- spiritual powers for mankind. One of the ments and artifi cialities introduced in the nine ministries of state existed to assist 5th and 6th centuries, deliberate attempts in this work of mediation, but from the were made to revert to its natural ele- time of Wudi onward the emperor himself gance. Examples of this direct prose may began to play a more active part in wor- be seen in the imperial edicts, the memo- ship and sacrifi ce. The cults were initially rials ascribed to statesmen, and, above addressed to the Five Elements (fi re, all, the text of the standard histories water, earth, wood, and metal), to the themselves, in which such documents of Supreme Unity, and to the Lord of the state were incorporated. Compiling the Soil. In 31 BC these cults were replaced by standard histories was a private under- sacrifi ces dedicated to heaven and earth. taking in Han times, but it already The sites of worship were transferred to received imperial patronage and assis- the southern and northern outskirts of tance. History was written partly to justify Chang’an, and a new series of altars and the authority and conduct of the contem- shrines was inaugurated. The Han porary regime and partly as a matter of emperor occasionally paid his respects to pride in Chinese achievement. Further supreme powers and reported on the examples of prose writing are the descrip- state of the dynasty at the summit of tions of protocol for the court. One of the Mount Tai. Wudi’s desire for immortality

Terraced rice ﬁ elds near Longsheng, Guangzi province, nicknamed the “Dragon’s Backbone.” Christian Kober/Robert Harding World Imagery/Getty Images The Han Dynasty | 81 82 | The History of China and for quickening his deceased favou- troops and horses serving on the north- rites led him to patronize a number of western frontier. Water clocks and intermediaries who claimed to possess sundials were used to enable officials to the secret of making contact with the complete their work on schedule. The world of the immortals. From such beliefs palace demanded the services of artists and from a fear of the malevolent influ- and craftsmen to decorate imperial build- ences that the unappeased souls of the ings with paintings and sculptures and to dead could wreak on humanity, a few phi- design and execute jades, gold and silver losophers such as Wang Chong (AD 27–c. wares, and lacquer bowls for use at the 100) reacted by propounding an ordered imperial table. Intricate patterns in mul- and rational explanation of the universe. ticoloured silks were woven on looms in But their skepticism received little sup- the imperial workshops. On a more mun- port. Sometime during the 1st century dane level, technology served the cause AD, Buddhism reached China, propa- of practical government. The state’s iron- gated in all probability by travelers who work factories produced precision-made had taken the Silk Road from northern instruments and weapons of war, and the India. Shortly thereafter Buddhist founda- state’s agencies for the salt industry tions were established in China, as well as supervised the recovery of brine from the first official patronage of the faith. deep shafts cut in the rocks of western From the 2nd century AD there arose a China. Water engineers planned the con- variety of beliefs, practices, and disci- struction of dikes to divert the flow of plines from which alchemy and scientific excess waters and the excavation of experiment were to spring and which canals to serve the needs of transport or were to give rise to Daoism. irrigation, and in many parts of the coun- Most of the cultural attainments of tryside there could be seen a sight that the Han period derived from imperial remained typical of the Chinese land- encouragement and the needs of offi- scape up to the 20th century—a team of cials. A textbook of mathematical two or three peasants sitting astride a problems was probably compiled to beam and pedaling the lugs of the “drag- assist officials in work such as land on’s backbone” that raised water from the assessment; fragments of a medical case- sluggish channels below to the upper lev- book were concerned with the care of els of the cultivated land. ChaPTER 4

The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty

POLITICaL DEvELOPMENTS DuRINg ThE SIX DyNaSTIES

y the end of the 2nd century AD the Han empire had vir- Btually ceased to exist. The repression of the Daoist rebellions of the Yellow Turbans and related sects marked the beginning of a period of unbridled warlordism and political chaos, from which three independent centres of political power emerged.

The Division of China

In the north all authority had passed into the hands of the generalissimo and “protector of the dynasty,” Cao Cao; in AD 220 the last puppet emperor of the Han offi cially ceded the throne to Cao Cao’s son, who thereby became the legitimate heir of the empire and the fi rst ruler of the Wei dynasty. Soon afterward, two competing military leaders proclaimed themselves emperor, one in the far interior (Shu-Han dynasty, in the present-day Sichuan province) and one in the south, behind the formidable barrier of the Yangtze River (the empire of Wu, with its capital at Jianye, present-day Nanjing). The short and turbulent period of these “Three Kingdoms” (Sanguo), fi lled with bloody warfare and diplomatic intrigue, has ever since been glorifi ed in Chinese historical fi ction as an age of chivalry and individual heroism.

84 | The History of China

Sanguo (Three Kingdoms; The role of Wu was extremely impor- AD 220–280) tant: it marked the beginning of the progressive Sinicization of the region In fact, even Wei, the strongest of the three south of the Yangtze River, which before Sanguo kingdoms, hardly represented that time had been a frontier area inhab- any real political power. The great socio- ited mainly by non-Chinese tribal economic changes that had started in the peoples. The rise of Jianye (renamed Dong (Eastern) Han period had trans- Jiankang during Jin times) as a great formed the structure of society to such an administrative and cultural centre on the extent that all attempts to reestablish the lower Yangtze paved the way for future centralized bureaucratic state—the ideal developments: after the north was lost to of the Qin and Han dynasties—were barbarian invaders (311), it was to become doomed to failure. While central authority the capital of Chinese successor states declined, the great families—aristocratic and an important locus of Chinese cul- clans of large landowners—survived the ture for more than 250 years. decades of civil war on their fortified estates under the protection of their pri- The Xi (Western) Jin (AD vate armies of serfs and clients and even 265–316/317) increased their power. These conditions were to remain characteristic of medieval In addition to restoring order, The Xi Jin China. The Han system of recruiting offi- renewed contacts with the oasis king- cials on the basis of talent was replaced by doms of Central Asia and the Indianized a network of personal relations and states of the far south (Funan and patronage. The hierarchy of state officials Champa), and in 285 the Jin court even and government institutions was never sent an envoy to distant Fergana in abolished, but it became monopolized by Central Asia to confer the title of king on a few aristocratic clans who filled the its ruler—a grand imperial gesture remi- highest offices with their own members niscent of the great days of Han. But this and the minor posts with their clients. ghost of the Han empire disappeared Wei succeeded in conquering Shu- almost as soon as it had been evoked. Han in 263/264, but two years later a Within two decades the Jin disintegrated general of the dominant Sima clan over- through the struggles of rival clans. There threw the house of Wei (265/266) and in followed an internecine war between the 265 founded the first of two dynasties various Sima princes, collapse of the cen- under the name Jin: the Xi (Western) tral government, decentralized military Jin. Wu, however, was able to maintain control of the provinces, famine, large- itself until 280, when it was overrun by scale banditry, and messianic peasant the Jin armies. movements. The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 85

The Era of Barbarian consisting mainly of members of the Invasions and Rule exiled northern aristocracy. From the beginning the Jin court was completely For the first time the power vacuum was at the mercy of the great landowning filled by non-Chinese forces. In 304 a families. Government in the Chinese Sinicized Xiongnu chieftain, Liu Yuan, south became a kind of oligarchy exer- assumed the title of king of Han and cised by ever-changing groups and started the conquest of northern China. juntas of aristocratic clans. The so-called Operating from bases in western and Six Dynasties were politically and mili- southern Shanxi, the Xiongnu armies, tarily weak and constantly plagued by supported by local Chinese rebels, con- internal feuds and revolts. (The six were quered the ancient homeland of Chinese actually five—Dong Jin, 317–420; Liu- civilization; the fall and destruction of Song, 420–479; Nan [Southern] Qi, the two capitals, Luoyang (311) and 479–502; Nan Liang, 502–557; and Nan Chang’an (316), ended Chinese dynastic Chen, 557–589—and all but Dong Jin are rule in the north for centuries. Although also known as Nanchao [Southern in the far northeast, in present-day Dynasties] in Chinese history; the ear- Gansu, and in the inaccessible interior lier kingdom of Wu, 222–280, is counted (Sichuan), Chinese local kingdoms did as the sixth dynasty.) Their annihilation occasionally succeed in maintaining (in 589) was postponed only by the inter- themselves for some time, the whole nal division of the north and by the North China Plain itself became the protection afforded by the Yangtze. To scene of a bewildering variety of barbar- the very end, their opposition to the ian states, collectively known in Chinese north remained alive, but occasional historiography as the Shiliuguo (Sixteen attempts to reconquer the ancient home- Kingdoms). land were doomed to failure. The final reunification of China was to start from The Dong (Eastern) Jin (317–420) the northern plains, not from Jiankang. and Later Dynasties in the South Although politically insecure, these (420–589) dynasties were characterized by cultural brilliance: in literature, art, philosophy, During the entire medieval period the and religion, they constituted one of the lower Yangtze region—the former terri- most creative periods in Chinese history. tory of Wu—remained the stronghold of They reached their highest flowering a series of “legitimate” Chinese dynas- under the long and relatively stable reign ties, with Jiankang as their capital. In of the great protector of Buddhism, Wudi 317 a member of the Jin imperial family (reigned 502–549), the first emperor of the had set up a refugee regime at Jiankang, Nan Liang dynasty. 86 | The History of China

The Shiliuguo (Sixteen Kingdoms) spite of various and sometimes highly in the North (303–439) interesting experiments, most of these short-lived empires did not survive this The term Sixteen Kingdoms traditionally tension. Significantly, the only one that denotes the plethora of short-lived non- proved to have more lasting power and Chinese dynasties that from 303 came to that was able to unify the whole of north- rule the whole or parts of northern China. ern China—the Tuoba, or Bei (Northern) Many ethnic groups were involved, Wei (386–534/535)—was largely Sinicized including ancestors of the Turks (such as within a century. In the late 5th century the Xiongnu, possibly related to the the court even forbade the use of the orig- Huns of late Roman history, and the Jie), inal Tuoba language, dress, customs, and the Mongolians (Xianbei), and the surnames. This policy of conscious accul- Tibetans (Di and Qiang). Most of these turation was further symbolized by the nomadic peoples, relatively few in num- transfer of the Bei Wei capital from the ber, had to some extent been Sinicized northern frontier region to the ancient long before their ascent to power. Some imperial residence of Luoyang. of them—notably the Qiang and the Thus, toward the end of the period of Xiongnu—actually had been allowed to division, the north had become more live in the frontier regions within the homogeneous as the result of a long pro- Great Wall since late Han times. cess of adaptation. The most important The barbarian rulers thus set up factor in this process may have been the semi-Sinicized states, in which the for- rehabilitation of the Chinese agrarian eign element constituted a military economy under the Bei Wei, stimulated aristocracy and the nucleus of the armed by fiscal reform and redistribution of land forces. Since they lacked experience in (c. AD 500). The landed gentry again administrative matters and since their became the backbone of society, and the own tribal institutions were not adapted rulers of nomadic origin simply had to to the complicated task of ruling a large conform to their way of life. Another fac- agrarian society, they had to make use of tor was the perceived intrinsic superiority traditional Chinese ways of government. of Chinese upper-class culture: in order In doing so, they faced the dilemma that to play the role of the “son of heaven,” the has ever since confronted foreign rulers leaders of the barbarian court had to on Chinese soil: the tension that existed adopt the complicated rules of Chinese between the need to preserve their own ritual and etiquette. Likewise, in order to ethnic identity (and their position as her- surround themselves with an aura of renvolk) on the one hand and on the other legitimacy, the foreign conquerors had to the practical necessity of using Chinese express themselves in terms of Chinese literati and members of prominent culture. In doing so, they invariably lost Chinese families in order to rule at all. In their own identity. History has constantly The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 87 repeated itself: in this respect the 4th- accompanied by intense intellectual and 5th-century Jie and Tuoba were but activity. During the Han period, the forerunners of the Qing, or Manchu, Confucianism had been slowly adopted rulers in the 19th century. as an ideology and had gradually come to In the early 6th century the Wei was provide the officially accepted norms, divided between the Sinicized court and morals, and ritual and social behaviour a faction of the nobility desperate to pre- regulating the relations between ruler serve its Tuoba identity. Soon after 520 and subject. the Wei empire disintegrated into rival By the beginning of the 3rd century, northeastern and northwestern successor however, Confucianism had lost its pres- states. Northern China again became a tige: it had obviously failed to save the battlefield for several decades. The Bei empire from disintegration or to safe- (Northern) Zhou (557–581), strategically guard the privileges of the ruling elite. based in the rich basin of the Wei River, Disappointed members of the scholar- reunified the north (577). Four years later official class started to look elsewhere. Yang Jian (better known by his posthu- Thus, various all-but-forgotten schools of mous name, Wendi), a general of mixed thought were revived in the 3rd century: Chinese and barbarian descent (but Legalism, with its insistence on harsh claiming to be a pure-blooded Chinese), measures, intended to reestablish law usurped the throne and founded the Sui and order; Mohism and the ancient dynasty. In 589, having consolidated his school of Logicians (Dialecticians); and, regime, he crossed the Yangtze River and above all, a renewed interest in Daoism overthrew the last of the Chinese dynas- and its earliest philosophers, Laozi and ties at Jiankang. After almost four Zhuangzi. In general, this movement did centuries of division and political decay, not mean a return to ancient Daoist qui- China was again united under one cen- etism and consequently a rejection of tral government, which, in spite of its Confucianism. With the breakdown of short duration, would lay the foundation the elaborate scholastic doctrine that had of the great Tang empire. formed the official Han ideology, Confucianism had been deprived of its Intellectual and metaphysical superstructure, and this Religious Trends During vacuum was now filled by a whole set of the Six Dynasties philosophical ideas and speculations, largely of Daoist provenance. Confucianism and Within this movement, two trends Philosophical Daoism came to dominate the intellectual life of the cultured minority. One of these was The social and political upheaval of the closely related to the practical affairs of late 2nd and the 3rd century AD was government and stressed the importance 88 | The History of China

Confucius

Confucius (Chinese: Kongfuzi; b. 551 BC—d. 479 BC) was the renowned teacher, philosopher, and political theorist of ancient China. Born into a poor family, he managed stables and worked as a bookkeeper while educating himself. Mastery of the six arts—ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic—and familiarity with history and poetry enabled him to begin a brilliant teaching career in his thirties. Confucius saw education as a process of constant self-improvement and held that its primary function was the training of noblemen (junzi). He saw public service as the natural consequence of education and sought to revitalize Chinese social institutions, including the family, school, community, state, and kingdom. He served in government posts, eventually becoming minister of justice in Lu, but his policies attracted little interest. After a 12-year self- imposed exile during which his circle of students expanded, he returned to Lu at age 67 to teach and write. His life and thoughts are recorded in the Lunyu (Analects).

Drawing depicting the Chinese ethicist and philosopher Confucius. Hulton Archive/ Getty Images The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 89 of social duties, ritual, law, and the in his worldly teachings, knowing that study of human characteristics. This mix- these mysteries could not be expressed ture of Confucian and Legalist notions in words. Hence, his doctrine was sup- was called mingjiao, “the doctrine of posed to be an expedient, a mere set of names” (“names” in ancient Confucian ad hoc rules intended to answer the parlance designating the various social practical needs of the times. This con- functions—father, ruler, subject, etc.—that cept of “hidden saintliness” and the an individual could have in society). The “expedient” character of the canonical other trend was marked by a profound teachings came to play a very important interest in ontological and metaphysical role in upper-class Buddhism. problems: the quest for a permanent sub- Xuanxue is sometimes referred to by stratum (called ti, “substance”) behind the the term Neo-Daoism, but this confuses world of change (called yong, “function”). the issue. It was both created by and It started from the assumption that all intended for literati and scholar-offi- temporally and spatially limited phenom- cials—not Daoist masters and hermits. ena—anything “nameable”; all movement, The theories of such thinkers as Ji Kang change, and diversity; in short, all (224–262)—who, with their quest for “being”—is produced and sustained by immortality and their extreme antiritu- one impersonal principle, which is unlim- alism, were much nearer to the spirit of ited, unnameable, unmoving, unchanging, Daoism—hardly belong to the sphere and undiversified. This important move- of Xuanxue, and the greatest Daoist ment, which found its scriptural support author of this period, Ge Hong (c. 283– both in Daoist and in drastically reinter- 343), was clearly opposed to these preted Confucian sources, was known as mystic speculations. Xuanxue (“Dark Learning”); it came to The popularity of Xuanxue was reign supreme in cultural circles, espe- closely related to the practice of “pure cially at Jiankang during the period of conversation” (qingtan), a special type of division, and represented the more philosophical discourse much in vogue abstract, unworldly, and idealistic ten- among the cultured upper class from the dency in early medieval Chinese thought. 3rd century onward. In the earliest phase, The proponents of Xuanxue the main theme of such discussion—a undoubtedly still regarded themselves highly formalized critique of the personal as true Confucians. To them, Confucius qualities of well-known contemporaries— was not simply the great teacher who still had a concrete function in political had fixed the rules of social behaviour life (“characterization” of persons was the for all time but was the enlightened sage basis of recommendation of clients for who had inwardly recognized the ulti- official posts and had largely taken the mate reality but had kept silent about it place of the earlier methods of selection 90 | The History of China of officials by court examinations). By the assisted by a council of wealthy Daoist 4th century, however, qingtan meetings laity. Under such circumstances, local had evaporated into a refined and highly Daoist masters could easily become lead- exclusive pastime of the aristocratic elite, ers of independent sectarian movements. a kind of salon in which “eloquent gentle- They could also, in times of unrest, use men” expressed some philosophical or their charismatic power to play a leading artistic theme in elegant and abstruse part in local rebellions. In the early medi- words. It is obvious that much of Xuanxue eval period, Daoism at the grassroots had become divorced from the realities of level continued to play this double role: it life and afforded an escape from it. had an integrating function by providing True Confucianism had thus lost spiritual consolation and ritualized forms much of its influence. In the north the not- of communal activity, but it could also be yet-Sinicized barbarian rulers were a disintegrating factor as a potential interested in Confucianism mainly as a source of subversive movements. The system of court ritual; ideologically, they authorities naturally were well aware of were more attracted by the magical pow- this. Daoist rebellions periodically broke ers of Buddhist and Daoist masters. In the out during this time, and, although some south the disillusioned aristocratic exiles, masters occasionally became influential doomed by circumstances to lead a life at court, the governments, both northern of elegant inactivity, had little use for a and southern, maintained a cautious doctrine that preached the duties of gov- reserve toward the Daoist religion. It was ernment and the regulation of human never stimulated and patronized to an society as its highest goals, although many extent comparable to Buddhism. families preserved Confucian learning It would be wrong to speak of Daoism and clung to Confucian mores. In this as a popular religion. Daoism counted its period of internal division and political devotees even among the highest nobil- weakness, Confucianism had to hibernate; ity. In view of the expensive ceremonies, soon after the Sui had reunited the empire, the costly ingredients used in Daoist it would wake up again. alchemy (notably cinnabar), and the almost unlimited amount of spare time Daoism required from the serious practitioner, one may assume that only the well-to-do The suppression of the Yellow Turbans were able to follow the road toward salva- and other Daoist religious movements in tion. But they were mostly individual AD 184 had left Daoism decapitated. seekers; in the 3rd and 4th centuries a With the elimination of its highest lead- distinction gradually grew between indi- ership, the movement had fallen apart vidual (and mainly upper-class) Daoism into many small religious communities, and the popular, collective creed of the each led by a local Daoist master (daoshi), simple devotees. In fact, Daoism has The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 91 always been a huge complex of many dif- period of division, Daoism had its own ferent beliefs, cults, and practices. Most canons of scriptural writings, much influ- of these can be traced to Dong Han times, enced by Buddhist models but forming a and after the 3rd century they were influ- quite independent religious tradition. enced increasingly by Buddhism. The other, collective, and more popu- The basic ideal of Daoist religion— lar form of Daoism, practiced in the the attainment of bodily immortality in a communities throughout the country, kind of indestructible “astral body” and was characterized by communal ceremo- the realization of the state of xian, or nies (zhai, “fasting sessions,” and chu, Daoist “immortal”—remained alive. It was “banquets”) held by groups of Daoist to be pursued by a series of individual families under the guidance of the local practices: dietary control, gymnastics, master, both on fixed dates and on spe- good deeds, and meditation and visual- cial occasions. The purpose of such ization of the innumerable gods and meetings was to collectively eliminate spirits that were supposed to dwell inside sins (evil deeds being considered as the the microcosmos of the body. Renowned main cause of sickness and premature literati, such as the poet Ji Kang and the death) through incantations, deafening calligrapher Wang Xizhi (c. 303–c. 361), music, fasting, and by displaying pen- devoted much of their lives to such prac- ance and remorse. The gatherings tices. They combined various methods, sometimes lasted several days and nights, ranging from mystic self-identification and, according to the indignant reports of with the all-embracing Dao to the use of their Buddhist adversaries, they were charms and experiments in alchemy. ecstatic and sometimes even orgiastic. The development of Daoism seems The allegation of sexual excesses and to have reached a new stage during the promiscuity may have been stimulated 4th century. An ancient school of esoteric by the fact that both men and women learning already existed at that time in took part in Daoist meetings, a practice southern China, exemplified by Ge Hong. unknown in Confucian and Buddhist The retreat of the Jin to southern China ritual. in the early 4th century brought to that The Daoist community as an organi- region the organized religion and priest- zation and the daoshi who led it relied on hood that had arisen in the north and two sources of income: the gifts made by west during the Dong Han. In that con- devotee families at ceremonial gather- text, new priestly cults arose in the south. ings and the regular “heavenly tax,” or Their teachings were connected with a yearly contribution of five bushels of rice, series of revelations, the first through which every family was expected to pay Yang Xi, which led to the formation first on the seventh day of the seventh month. of the Shangqing sect and later to the The office of daoshi was hereditary, rival Lingbao sect. By the end of the within one family; in the early centuries 92 | The History of China

Daoist priests usually married. Because absorption of the foreign religion after Buddhist influence also increased at this about 300, both in the Chinese south and humble level, however, the daoshi increas- in the occupied north. A negative factor ingly came to resemble the Buddhist was the absence of a unified Confucian clergy, especially since most Daoist state, which naturally would have been priests, at least from the 5th century inclined to suppress a creed whose basic onward, went to live in Daoist monaster- tenets (notably, the monastic life and the ies with their wives and children. In the pursuit of individual salvation outside 6th century, when Buddhism became par- family and society) were clearly opposed amount, some Daoist leaders introduced to the ideals of Confucianism. The popu- celibacy; in Sui times the unmarried state larity of Xuanxue was a positive and had become general, and the Daoist powerful factor. Especially in the south, clergy with its monks and nuns had Mahayana Buddhism, thoroughly amal- evolved into a counterpart of the Buddhist gamated with Xuanxue, was preached by sangha. Unlike Buddhist monasteries, cultured monks in the circles of the the Daoist monasteries and clergy never Jiankang aristocracy, where it became developed great economic power. extremely popular. In spite of their resemblance to each Another stimulus for the growth of other—or perhaps because of it—the two Buddhism was the relative security and creeds were bitterly opposed throughout prosperity of monastic life. In a country- the period. Daoist masters were often side devastated by war and rebellion, involved in anti-Buddhist propaganda innumerable small peasants preferred to and persecution. As an answer to give up their independence and to avoid Buddhist claims of superiority, Daoist the scourges of heavy taxation, forced masters even developed the curious the- labour, and deportation by joining the ory that the Buddha had been only a large estates of the nobility as serfs, manifestation of Laozi, who had preached where they would get at least a minimum to the Indians a debased form of Daoism, of protection. This process of tax eva- which naturally should not be reintro- sion that consequently extended the duced into China; this theme can be manorial system also stimulated the traced in Buddhist and Daoist polemic growth of Buddhist monasteries as land- literature from the 4th to the 13th owning institutions, peopled with both century. monks and families of hereditary temple serfs. By the beginning of the 6th cen- Buddhism tury, the monasteries had become an economic power of the first order, which, The Buddhist age of China began in the moreover, enjoyed special privileges 4th century. Several factors contributed (e.g., exemption from taxes). This, to the extraordinary expansion and indeed, became a main source of tension The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 93

These giant Buddhist sculptures are located at Longmen Grottoes in the outskirts of Luoyang, Henan province. The site features more than 110,000 Buddhist images and 2,800 inscribed tablets. China Photos/Getty Images between clergy and government and merged with the new Buddhist ideal of occasionally led to anti-Buddhist move- the monastic life. Many large monaster- ments and harsh restrictive measures ies thereby became centres of learning imposed on Buddhism (446–452 and and culture and so became even more again in 574–578). attractive to members of minor gentry The monastic life attracted many families, for whom the higher posts in members of the gentry as well. In these government in any event would be unat- times of turmoil, the offi cial career was tainable. Buddhist institutions off ered a beset with dangers, and the monastery kind of “internal democracy”—a fact of off ered a hiding place to literati who tried great social importance in the history of to keep clear of the intrigues and feuds of class-ridden medieval China. higher offi cial circles; thus, the ancient Finally, Buddhism was patronized by Chinese ideal of the retired scholar most of the barbarian rulers in the north. 94 | The History of China

At first they were attracted mainly by the Jiankang and in northern Zhejiang (the pomp and magical power of Buddhist rit- Hangzhou region), this trend was further ual. Later other motivations were added developed in the late 4th and the early to this. Unwilling to rely too much on 5th century in other centres throughout Chinese ministers, with their following of the middle and lower Yangtze basin. The clan members and clients, they preferred highest flowering of this uniquely to make use of Buddhist masters, who as “Chinese” type of Buddhism took place unmarried individuals totally depended in the early 5th century. on the ruler’s favour. Ideologically, In the north the climax of Buddhist Buddhism was less “Chinese” than activity and imperial patronage occurred Confucianism, especially in the north, under the Wei, especially after the where the connections with Central Asia beginning of their policy of conscious constantly reinforced its international Sinicization. The Tuoba court and the and universalistic character. This pecu- great families vied with each other in liar “Sino-barbarian” nature of northern building temples and granting land and Buddhism, with its foreign preachers and money to the monasteries; the monu- its huge translation projects, strongly mental cave temples at Yungang and contrasts with the south, where Buddhism Longmen are lasting proof of this large- in the 4th century was already fully scale imperial protection. There was domesticated. also a dark side: in the north the Buddhist Because of all these circumstances, clergy became closely tied with secular the large-scale development of Chinese government, and the government’s lavish Buddhism started only after the barbar- treatment of the temples was counter- ian invasions of the early 4th century. In balanced by repeated attempts at the 3rd century the picture basically was government control. It may also be noted not any different from Han times—there that the north remained open to influ- are indications that Buddhism was still ences brought by traveling monks from largely a religion of foreigners on Chinese Central Asia, and an enormous body of soil (apart from some activity involving Indian Buddhist texts of all schools and the translation of Buddhist scriptures)— eras was translated. but by the 4th century the situation was Little is known of the beginnings of changing. At the southern Chinese court popular Buddhism. Among the masses in Jiankang a clerical elite was forming of there was, to judge from Daoist materi- Chinese monks and propagators of a als, an intense mingling of Buddhist and completely Sinicized Buddhism, strongly popular Daoist notions and practices, amalgamated with Xuanxue, and their such as communal festivals and the wor- sophisticated creed was being spread ship of local Daoist and Buddhist saints. among the southern gentry. Starting at At that level, simple devotionalism was The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 95 no doubt far more influential than the official at the Bei (Northern) Zhou court, scriptural teachings. It is also possible a member of one of the powerful north- that the oral recital of Buddhist scrip- western aristocratic families that had tures (mainly edifying tales) had already taken service under the successive non- inspired the development of vernacular Chinese royal houses in northern China literature. In any event, the constant and had intermarried with the families of amalgamation of Buddhism, Daoism, their foreign masters. In 577 the Bei Zhou and the innumerable local cults whose had reunified northern China by con- history dated to high antiquity contin- quering the rival northeastern dynasty of ued for centuries, eventually producing Bei Qi. However, political life in the an amorphous mass of creeds and prac- northern courts was extremely unstable, tices collectively known as Chinese and the succession of an apparently popular religion. deranged and irresponsible young emperor to the Zhou throne in 578/579 The Sui dynasty set off a train of court intrigues, plots, and murders. Wendi was able to install a child The Sui dynasty (581–618), which reuni- as puppet emperor in 579 and seize the fied China after nearly four centuries of throne for himself two years later. political fragmentation during which the In control of all of northern China north and south had developed in differ- and in command of formidable armies, ent ways, played a part far more important he immediately set about establishing than its short span would suggest. In the order within his frontiers. He built him- same way that the Qin rulers of the 3rd self a grand new capital, Daxing, close to century BC had unified China after the the site of the old Qin and Han capitals, a Zhanguo (Warring States) period, so city erected quickly with a prodigal use of the Sui brought China together again compulsory labour. This great city and set up many institutions that were remained (later under the name to be adopted by their successors, the Chang’an) the capital of the Sui and Tang Tang. Like the Qin, however, the Sui over- dynasties and the principal seat of gov- strained their resources and fell. And also ernment until the beginning of the 10th as in the case of the Qin, traditional his- century. tory has judged the Sui somewhat unfairly, Wendi also took quick action to pro- stressing the harshness of the Sui regime tect the frontiers of his new state. China and the megalomania of its second during the 6th century had a formidable emperor and giving too little credit for its northern neighbour in the Turks (Tujue), many positive achievements. who controlled the steppe from the bor- Wendi (reigned 581–604), the founder ders of Manchuria to the frontiers of the of the Sui dynasty, was a high-ranking Byzantine and Sāsānian empires. At the 96 | The History of China time of Wendi’s seizure of power, the and established a pattern of government Turks were splitting into two great that survived into the Tang dynasty and empires, an eastern one dominating the beyond. A hardworking administrator, he Chinese northern frontier from Manchuria employed a number of extremely able to Gansu and a western one stretching in ministers who combined skill in practical a vast arc north of the Tarim Basin into statecraft with a flexible approach to ide- Central Asia. Wendi encouraged this split ological problems. They revived the by supporting the khan (ruler) of the Confucian state rituals to win favour with western Turks, Tardu. Throughout his the literati and to establish a link with the reign Wendi also pursued a policy of empire of the Han, and, at the same time, encouraging factional strife among the they fostered Buddhism, the dominant eastern Turks. At the same time, he religion of the south, attempting to estab- strengthened his defenses in the north by lish the emperor’s image as an ideal repairing the Great Wall. In the northwest Buddhist saint-king. in the area around the Koko Nor (Qinghai Wendi’s lasting success, however, Hu; “Blue Lake”), he defeated the Tuyuhun was in practical politics and institutional people, who from time to time raided the reforms. In the last days of the Bei Zhou, border territories. he had been responsible for a revision of By the late 580s Wendi’s state was the laws, and one of his first acts on stable and secure enough for him to take becoming emperor was to promulgate a the final step toward reunifying the whole penal code, the New Code of 581. In 583 country. In 587 he dethroned the emperor his ministers compiled a revised code, of the Hou (Later) Liang, the state that the Kaihuang code, and administrative had ruled the middle Yangtze valley as a statutes. These were far simpler than the puppet of the Bei Zhou since 555. In 589 laws of the Bei Zhou and were more he overwhelmed the last southern lenient. Considerable pains were taken to dynasty, the Chen, which had put up only ensure that local officials studied and token resistance. Several rebellions enforced the new laws. Toward the end of against the Sui regime subsequently Wendi’s reign, when neo-Legalist politi- broke out in the south, but these were cal advisers gained ascendancy at court, easily quelled. Wendi now ruled over a the application of the laws became firmly reunited empire. increasingly strict. The Kaihuang code and statutes have not survived, but they Wendi’s provided the pattern for the Tang code, Institutional Reforms the most influential body of law in the history of East Asia. Wendi achieved much more than The central government under Wendi strengthening and reunifying the empire. developed into a complex apparatus of He provided it with uniform institutions ministries, boards, courts, and directorates. The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 97

The conduct of its personnel was super- during the 580s. It recorded the age, sta- vised by another organ, the censorate. tus, and landed possessions of all the The emperor presided over this appara- members of each household in the tus, and all orders and legislation were empire, and, based on it, the land alloca- issued in his name. He was assisted by tion system employed under the the heads of the three central ministries successive northern dynasties since the who acted as counselors on state affairs end of the 5th century was reimposed. (yiguozheng). That system later provided The tax system also followed the old the basic framework for the central gov- model of head taxes levied in grain and ernment of the early Tang. silk at a uniform rate. The taxable age Even more important, he carried out was raised, and the annual period of a sweeping reform and rationalization of labour service to which all taxpayers local government. The three-level system were liable was reduced. of local administration inherited from Wendi’s government, in spite of his Han times had been reduced to chaos frontier campaigns and vast construc- during the 5th and 6th centuries by tion works, was economical and frugal. excessive subdivision; there were innu- By the 590s he had accumulated great merable local districts, some of them reserves, and, when the Chen territories extremely small and dominated by single were incorporated into his empire, he families. Wendi created a simplified was in a position to exempt the new pop- structure in which a much reduced num- ulation from 10 years of taxes to help ber of counties was directly subordinated ensure their loyalty. to prefectures. He also rationalized the The military system likewise was chaotic rural administrative units into a founded on that of the northern dynas- uniform system of townships (xiang). ties, in which the imperial forces were Appointments to the chief offices in pre- organized into militias. The soldiers fectures and counties were now made by served regular annual turns of duty but the central government rather than filled lived at home during the rest of the year by members of local influential families, and were largely self-supporting. Many as had been the practice. This reform troops were settled in military colonies ensured that local officials would be on the frontiers to make the garrisons agents of the central government. It also self-sufficient. Only when there was a integrated local officials into the normal campaign did the costs of the military pattern of bureaucratic promotion and in establishment soar. time produced a more homogeneous civil service. Integration of the South Since the registration of population had fallen into chaos under the Bei Zhou, The second Sui emperor, Yangdi (reigned a careful new census was carried out 604–617/618), has been depicted as a 98 | The History of China supreme example of arrogance, extrava- curriculum, as a means of drawing into gance, and personal depravity who the bureaucracy scholars from the south- squandered his patrimony in megaloma- ern and northeastern elites who had niac construction projects and unwise preserved traditions of Confucian learn- military adventures. This mythical ing. Hitherto, the court had been Yangdi was to a large extent the product dominated by the generally less culti- of the hostile record written of his reign vated aristocratic families of mixed shortly after his death. His reign began ancestry from northwestern China. well enough, continuing the trends begun Yangdi also attempted to weaken the under Wendi; a further revision of the law predominance of the northwest by build- code that generally reduced penalties ing a second great capital city at Luoyang, was carried out in 607. on the border of the eastern plains. This Yangdi’s principal achievement was capital was not only distant from the the integration of the south more firmly home territories of the northwestern aris- into a unified China. There is little evi- tocrats but also easily provisioned from dence that the south was ever completely the rich farmlands of Hebei and Henan. brought into line with all the administra- The new city was constructed in a great tive practices of the north; the land hurry, employing vast numbers of labour- allocation system seems unlikely to have ers both in building and in transporting been enforced there, and it is probable the timber and other materials required. that the registration of the population, Yangdi also built new palaces and an the essential foundation for the whole fis- immense imperial park, again with a cal and military system, was only prodigal use of labour. incompletely carried out in the old Chen Another grandiose plan aimed at uni- territories. However, Yangdi himself was fying the empire was to develop still personally heavily involved with the further the canal system his father had south. Married to a princess from the begun in the metropolitan region and to southern state of Liang, he had spent 591– construct a great waterway, the Bian 600 as viceroy for the southern territories; Canal, linking Luoyang with the Huai their successful integration into the Sui River and with the southern capital, empire after the initial wave of risings Jiangdu (present-day Yangzhou), on the was largely because of his administration Yangtze. Much of this route followed and the generally clement policies existing rivers and ancient canals, but it employed in the former Chen territories. was still an immense undertaking that His identification with the southern employed masses of forced labourers interest was one of the reasons he began working under appalling conditions. establishing an examination system, In 605 the canal system was opened based upon the Confucian Classical between the capital at Luoyang and the The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 99

Traditional housing in Wuzhen township, Tongxiang city, Zhejiang province. Wuzhen is a picturesque town on the Grand Canal with a history dating back more than 1,300 years. China Photos/Getty Images

Yangtze, and in 610 it was extended south northern frontier. The construction of of the Yangtze to Hangzhou as part of a these waterways was inordinately expen- general eff ort to rehabilitate and lengthen sive, caused terrible suff ering, and left a the Grand Canal. At the same time, in legacy of widespread social unrest, but in preparation for campaigns in Manchuria the long term the transportation system and on the Korean frontier, another great was to be a most important factor for canal was built northward from Luoyang maintaining a unifi ed empire. Further to the vicinity of modern Beijing. By 611 hardship was caused by the mass levies the entire eastern plain had a canal sys- of labour required to rebuild and tem linking the major river systems of strengthen the Great Wall in Shanxi in northern China and providing a trunk 607 and 608 as a precaution against the route from the Yangtze delta to the resurgent eastern Turks. 100 | The History of China

Foreign Affairs garrisons in Central Asia and established under Yangdi control over the states of the Tarim Basin. The eastern Turks had remained on good In addition to these farsighted construc- terms with the Sui, their khans being tion works, Yangdi also pursued an active married to Chinese princesses. In 613 Pei foreign policy. An expedition to the south Ju, Yangdi’s principal agent in dealing established sovereignty over the old with the foreign states of the north, Chinese settlement in Tongking and over attempted unsuccessfully to dethrone the Champa state of Lin-yi in central the eastern Turkish khan and split up his Nam Viet (present-day Vietnam). Several khanate. Relations with the Turks rapidly expeditions were sent to Taiwan, and deteriorated, and in the last years of his relations with Japan were opened. reign Yangdi had to contend with a hos- Tuyuhun people were driven out of tile and extremely powerful neighbour. Gansu and Qinghai, and Sui colonies His most costly venture was a series were established along the great western of campaigns in Korea. At that time Korea trade routes. The rulers of the various was divided into three kingdoms, of petty local states of Central Asia and the which the northern one, Koguryŏ, was the king of Gaochang (Turfan) became tribu- most important and powerful. It was hos- taries. A prosperous trade with Central tile to the Chinese and refused to pay Asia and the West emerged. homage to Yangdi. Yangdi made careful The principal foreign threat was still preparations for a punitive campaign on posed by the Turks. By the early 7th cen- a grand scale, including construction of tury, these peoples had been completely the Yongjiqu Canal from Luoyang to split into the eastern Turks, who occu- Beijing. In 611 the canal was completed; a pied most of the Chinese northern great army and masses of supplies were frontier, and the immensely powerful collected, but terrible floods in Hebei western Turks, whose dominions delayed the campaign. stretched westward to the north of the During 612, 613, and 614 Yangdi Tarim Basin as far as Sāsānian Persia and campaigned against the Koreans. The Afghanistan. During the early part of first two campaigns were unsuccessful Yangdi’s reign, the western Turks, whose and were accompanied by the outbreak ruler, Chuluo, was half-Chinese, were on of many minor rebellions in Shandong good terms with the Sui. In 610, however, and southern Hebei. The severe repres- Yangdi supported a rival, Shegui, who sion that followed led to outbreaks of drove out Chuluo. The latter took service, disorder throughout the empire. In 614 with an army of 10,000 followers, at yet another army was sent into Korea Yangdi’s court. When Sui power began and threatened the capital at P’yŏngyang, to wane after 612, the western Turks but it had to withdraw without a deci- under Shegui gradually replaced the Sui sive victory. These futile campaigns The Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty | 101 distracted Yangdi’s attention from the members of his entourage at Jiangdu. increasingly vital internal problems of However, by 617 the real powers in China his empire, involved an immense loss had become the various local rebels: Li Mi of life and matériel, and caused terrible in the area around Luoyang, Dou Jiande hardships among the civilian population. in the northeast, Xue Ju in the far north- They left the Sui demoralized, militarily west, and Li Yuan (who remained crippled, and financially ruined. nominally loyal but had established a At that point, Yangdi decided to local position of great power) in Shanxi. secure his relations with his northern At the beginning of 617, Li Yuan inflicted neighbours. His envoy, Pei Ju, had con- a great defeat on the eastern Turks and tinued to intrigue against the eastern thus consolidated his local power in the Turkish khan, in spite of the fact that the impregnable mountainous area around Sui were no longer in a position of Taiyuan. In the summer of 617 he raised strength. When in the summer of 615 an army and marched on the capital with Yangdi went to inspect the defenses of the aid of the Turks and other local forces; the Great Wall, he was surrounded and Chang’an fell at year’s end. Xue Ju’s north- besieged by the Turks at Yanmen; he was western rebels were crushed, and the rescued only after a month of peril. armies of Li Yuan occupied Sichuan and Rebellions and uprisings soon broke the Han River valley. A Sui prince, Gongdi, out in every region of the empire. Late in was enthroned as “emperor” in 617, while 616 Yangdi decided to withdraw to his Yangdi was designated “retired emperor.” southern capital of Jiangdu, and much of In the summer of 618, after Yangdi’s death, northern China was divided among rebel Li Yuan (known by his temple name, regimes contending with one another for Gaozu) deposed his puppet prince and the succession to the empire. Yangdi proclaimed himself emperor of a new remained nominally emperor until the dynasty, the Tang, which was to remain in spring of 618, when he was murdered by power for nearly three centuries. ChaPTER 5

The Tang Dynasty

EaRLy TaNg (618–626)

When Gaozu became emperor (reigned 618–626), he was still only one among the contenders for control of the empire of the Sui. It was several years before the empire was entirely pacifi ed. After the suppression of Xue Ju and the pacifi cation of the northwest, the Tang had to contend with four principal rival forces: the Sui remnants commanded by Wang Shichong at Luoyang, the rebel Li Mi in Henan, the rebel Dou Jiande in Hebei, and Yuwen Huaji, who had assassinated the previous Sui emperor Yangdi and now led the remnants of the Sui’s southern armies. Wang Shichong set up a grandson of Yangdi at Luoyang as the new Sui emperor. Yuwen Huaji led his armies to attack Luoyang, and Wang Shichong persuaded Li Mi to return to his allegiance with the Sui and help him fi ght Yuwen Huaji. Li Mi defeated Yuwen Huaji’s armies but seriously depleted his own forces. Wang Shichong, seeing the chance to dispose of his most immediate rival, took over Luoyang and routed Li Mi’s forces. Li Mi fl ed to Chang’an and submitted to the Tang. In the spring of 619 Wang Shichong deposed the puppet Sui prince at Luoyang and proclaimed himself emperor. The Tang armies gradually forced him to give ground in Henan, and by 621 Gaozu’s son Li Shimin was besieging him in Luoyang. At that time Wang Shichong attempted to form an alliance with Dou Jiande, the most powerful of all The Tang Dynasty | 103

Ceramic tomb ﬁ gure decorated in characteristic coloured glazes, Tang dynasty (618–907); in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Height 71 cm. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London the Sui rebels, who controlled much of spring of 621 Li Shimin attacked his Hebei and who had completed the defeat army before it could lift the siege, routed of Yuwen Huaji’s forces in 619. He held it, and captured Dou. Wang then capitu- the key area of southern Hebei, where he lated. The Tang had thus disposed of its had successfully resisted both the Tang two most powerful rivals and extended armies and the forces of Wang and Li its control over most of the eastern plain, Shimin. Dou now agreed to come to the the most populous and prosperous aid of the beleaguered Wang, but in the region of China. 104 | The History of China

This was not the end of resistance to defeated near present-day Nanjing at the the Tang conquest. Most of the surren- end of 621. As had been the case with dered rebel forces had been treated Xiao Xian’s dominions, the southeast was leniently, and their leaders were often incorporated into the Tang empire with a confirmed in office or given posts in the minimum of fighting and resistance. A Tang administration. Dou and Wang, last southern rebellion by Fu Gongtuo, a however, were dealt with severely, Dou general who set up an independent being executed and Wang murdered on regime at Danyang (Nanjing) in 624, was his way into exile. At the end of 621 Dou’s speedily suppressed. After a decade of partisans in the northeast again rebelled war and disorder, the empire was com- under Liu Heita and recaptured most of pletely pacified and unified under the the northeast. He was finally defeated by Tang house. a Tang army under the crown prince Jiancheng at the beginning of 623. The Administration of the State prolonged resistance in Hebei and the comparatively harsh Tang conquest of The Tang unification had been far more the region were the beginning of resis- prolonged and bloody than the Sui con- tance and hostility in the northeast that quest. That the Tang regime lasted for continued to some degree throughout nearly three centuries rather than three the Tang dynasty. decades, as with the Sui, was largely the Resistance was not confined to the result of the system of government northeast. Liu Wuzhou in far northern imposed on the conquered territories. Shanxi, who had been a constant threat The emperor Gaozu’s role in the Tang since 619, was finally defeated and killed conquest was understated in the tradi- by his former Turkish allies in 622. In the tional histories compiled under his south during the confusion at the end of successor Taizong (Li Shimin; reigned the Sui, Xiao Xian had set himself up as 626–649), which portrayed Taizong as emperor of Liang, controlling the central the prime mover in the establishment of Yangtze region, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and the dynasty. Taizong certainly played a Annam (Vietnam). The Tang army major role in the campaigns, but Gaozu descended the Yangtze from Sichuan was no figurehead. Not only did he with a great fleet and defeated Xiao direct the many complex military opera- Xian’s forces in two crucial naval battles. tions, but he also established the basic In 621 Xiao Xian surrendered to the Tang, institutions of the Tang state, which who thus gained control of the central proved practicable not only for a rapidly Yangtze and the far south. The southeast developing Chinese society but also for was occupied by another rebel, Li Zitong, the first centralized states in societies based in Zhejiang. He too was decisively as diverse as those of Japan, Korea, The Tang Dynasty | 105

Vietnam, and the southwestern kingdom closely resembled that under the Sui. The of Nanzhao. merging of the local officials into the The structure of the new central main bureaucracy, however, took time; administration resembled that of Wendi’s ambitious men still looked upon local time, with its ministries, boards, courts, posts as “exile” from the main current of and directorates. There was no radical official promotion at the capital. Until change in the dominant group at court. well into the 8th century many local offi- Most of the highest ranks in the bureau- cials continued to serve for long terms, cracy were filled by former Sui officials, and the ideal of a regular circulation of many of whom had been the new emper- officials prevailed only gradually. or’s colleagues when he was governor in Local government in early Tang Taiyuan, or by descendants of officials of times had a considerable degree of inde- the Bei Zhou, Bei Qi, or Sui or of the royal pendence, but each prefecture was in houses of the northern and southern direct contact with the central ministries. dynasties. The Tang were related by mar- In the spheres of activity that the admin- riage to the Sui royal house, and a majority istration regarded as crucial—registration, of the chief ministers were related by land allocation, tax collection, conscrip- marriage to either the Tang or Sui impe- tion of men for the army and for corvée rial family. The emperor’s court was duty, and maintenance of law and order— composed primarily of men of similar prefects and county magistrates were social origins. At that level the Tang in its expected to follow centrally codified law early years, like the Sui before it, contin- and procedure. They were, however, per- ued the pattern of predominantly mitted to interpret the law to suit local aristocratic rule that had dominated the conditions. Local influences remained history of the northern courts. strong in the prefectures and counties. Gaozu also continued the pattern of Most of the personnel in these divisions local administration established under were local men, many of them members the Sui and maintained the strict control of families of petty functionaries. exercised by the central government over provincial appointments. In the first Fiscal and Legal System years after the Tang conquest, many prefectures and counties were fragmented to Gaozu had inherited a bankrupt state, provide offices for surrendered rebel and most of his measures were aimed at leaders, surrendered Sui officials, and fol- simple and cheap administration. His lowers of the emperor. But these new bureaucracy was small, at both the cen- local districts were gradually amalgam- tral and local levels. The expenses of ated and reduced in number, and by the government were largely met by land 630s the pattern of local administration endowments attached to each office, the 106 | The History of China rents from which paid office expenses paid a head tax in grain and cloth and and salaries, by interest on funds of was liable to 20 days of work for the cen- money allocated for similar purposes, tral government (normally commuted and by services of taxpayers who per- into a payment in cloth) and to a further formed many of the routine tasks of period of work for the local authorities. government as special duties, being Revenues were collected exclusively from exempted from tax in return. the rural population—the trade sector Land distribution followed the equal- and the urban communities being allocation system used under the exempt—and the system bore more heav- northern dynasties and the Sui. Every ily on the poor, since it ignored the taxable male was entitled to a grant of taxpayer’s economic status. land—part of which was to be returned The Sui had made a somewhat desul- when he ceased to be a taxpayer at age 60 tory attempt to provide China with a and part of which was hereditary. The dis- unified coinage. Gaozu set up mints and posal of landed property was hedged began the production of a good copper around with restrictive conditions. Great currency that remained standard landed estates were limited to members throughout the Tang era. But cash was in of the imperial clan and powerful offi- short supply during most of the 7th cen- cials, various state institutions, and the tury and had to be supplemented by Buddhist foundations. Although some standard-sized lengths of silk. land was hereditary, and more and more Counterfeiting was rife, particularly in passed into the hereditary category with the Yangtze valley, where the southern the passage of time, the lack of primogen- dynasties had supported a more highly iture meant that landholdings were monetized economy and where the gov- fragmented among all the sons in each ernments had exploited commerce as a generation and thus tended to be small. It source of revenue. is unlikely that the system was ever Gaozu also undertook a new codifi- enforced to the letter in any region, and it cation of all centralized law, completed was probably never enforced at all in the in 624. It comprised a code that embod- south. But as a legal system governing ied what were considered basic, registration of landed property and unchanging normative rules, prescrib- restricting its disposal, it remained in ing fixed penalties for defined offenses; force until An Lushan’s rebellion in the statutes, comprising the general body of 8th century. universally applicable administrative The tax system based on this land law; regulations, or codified legislation allocation system was also much the supplementary to the code and statutes; same as that under the Sui and preceding and ordinances, detailed procedural laws dynasties. Every adult male annually supplementing the statutes and issued The Tang Dynasty | 107 by the departments of the central minis- the throne in 626 and is known by his tries. Under the early Tang this body of temple name, Taizong. codified law was revised every 20 years or so. The systematic effort to maintain The “Era of Good a universally applicable codification of Government” law and administrative practice was essential to the uniform system of The reign of Taizong (626–649), known administration that the Tang succeeded traditionally as the “era of good govern- in imposing throughout its diverse ment of Zhenguan,” was not notable for empire. The Tang code proved remark- innovations in administration. Generally, ably durable: it was still considered his policies developed and refined authoritative as late as the 14th century those of his father’s reign. The distinc- and was used as a model by the Ming. It tive element was the atmosphere of his was also adopted, with appropriate mod- administration and the close personal ifications, in Japan in the early 8th interplay between the sovereign and his century and by the Koreans and the unusually able team of Confucian advis- Vietnamese at a much later date. ers. It approached the Confucian ideal of Gaozu thus laid down, at the outset a strong, able, energetic, yet fundamen- of the 7th century, institutions that sur- tally moral king seeking and accepting vived until the mid-8th century. These the advice of wise and capable ministers, provided strong central control, a high advice that was basically ethical rather level of administrative standardization, than technical. Some important changes and highly economical administration. in political organization were begun during his reign and were continued The period of throughout the 7th century. The court Tang power (626–755) remained almost exclusively the domain of men of aristocratic birth. But Taizong Two of Gaozu’s sons were rivals for the attempted to balance the regional groups succession: the crown prince Jiancheng among the aristocracy so as to prevent and Li Shimin, the general who had any single region from becoming domi- played a large part in the wars of unifica- nant. They comprised the Guanlong tion. Their rivalry, and the factional strife group from the northwest, the Daibei it generated, reached a peak in 625–626, group from Shanxi, the Shandong group when it appeared that Jiancheng was from Hebei, and the southern group from likely to succeed. In a military coup, Li the Yangtze valley. The most powerful Shimin murdered Jiancheng and another Hebei clans were excluded from high of his brothers and forced his father to office, but Taizong employed members of abdicate in his favour. He succeeded to each of the other groups and of the lesser 108 | The History of China

the Classics with a standard commentary in 638. The schools at the capital were mostly restricted to the sons of the nobility and of high-ranking offi cials. Other examination candidates, however, came from the local schools. The examinations were in principle open to all, but they provided relatively few new entrants to the bureaucracy. Most offi cials still entered service by other means—hereditary privilege as sons of offi cials of the upper ranks or promotion from the clerical service or the guards. The examinations demanded a high level of education in the traditional curriculum and were largely used as an alternative method of entry by younger sons of the aristocracy and by members of lesser families with a scholar- offi cial background. Moreover, personal Taizong, detail of a portrait; in the recommendation, lobbying examiners, National Palace Museum, Taipei. and often a personal interview by the Courtesy of the National Palace emperor played a large part. Even in late Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic Tang times, not more than 10 percent of of China offi cials were recruited by the examinations. The main eff ect of the examination northeastern aristocracy in high adminis- system in Tang times was to bring into trative offi ces as well as in his consultative being a highly educated court elite within group of scholars. the bureaucracy, to give members of A second change was the use of the locally prominent clans access to the examination system on a large scale. The upper levels of the bureaucracy, and in Sui examinations had already been rees- the long term to break the monopoly of tablished under Gaozu, who had also political power held by the upper aristoc- revived the Sui system of high-level racy. Employing persons dependent for schools at the capital. Under Taizong the their position on the emperor and the schools were further expanded and new dynasty, rather than on birth and social ones established. Measures were taken to standing, made it possible for the Tang standardize their curriculum, notably emperors to establish their own power completing an offi cial orthodox edition of and independence. The Tang Dynasty | 109

In the early years there was a great reign was a period of low prices and gen- debate as to whether the Tang ought to eral prosperity. reintroduce the feudal system used under Taizong was also successful in his the Zhou and the Han, by which authority foreign policy. In 630 the eastern Turks was delegated to members of the impe- were split by dissension among their rial clan and powerful officials and leadership and by the rebellion of their generals who were enfeoffed with heredi- subject peoples. Chinese forces invaded tary territorial jurisdictions. Taizong their territories, totally defeated them, eventually settled on a centralized form and captured their khan, and Taizong of government through prefectures and was recognized as their supreme sover- counties staffed by members of a unified eign, the “heavenly khan.” A large number bureaucracy. The Tang retained a nobil- of the surrendered Turks were settled on ity, but its “fiefs of maintenance” were the Chinese frontier, and many served in merely lands whose revenues were ear- the Tang armies. A similar policy of marked for its use and gave it no territorial encouraging internal dissension was authority. later practiced against the western Turks, Taizong continued his father’s eco- who split into two separate khanates for a nomic policies, and government remained while. In 642–643 a new khan reestab- comparatively simple and cheap. He lished a degree of unified control with attempted to cut down the bureaucratic Chinese support and agreed to become a establishment at the capital and drasti- tributary of the Chinese. To seal the alli- cally reduced the number of local ance, Taizong married him to a Chinese government divisions. The country was princess. divided into 10 provinces, which were not The eclipse of Turkish power enabled permanent administrative units but “cir- Taizong to extend his power over the var- cuits” for occasional regional inspections ious small states of the Tarim Basin. By of the local administrations; these tours the late 640s a Chinese military adminis- were carried out by special commission- tration had extended westward even ers, often members of the censorate, sent beyond the limits of present-day Xinjiang. out from the capital. This gave the central To the north, in the region of the Orhon government an additional means of River and to the north of the Ordos (Mu maintaining standardized and efficient Us) Desert, the Tang armies defeated the local administration. Measures to ensure Xueyantou (Syr Tardush), former vassals tax relief for areas stricken by natural of the eastern Turks, who became Tang disasters, and the establishment of relief vassals in 646. The Tuyuhun in the region granaries to provide adequate reserves around Koko Nor caused considerable against famine, helped to ensure the trouble in the early 630s. Taizong invaded prosperity of the countryside. Taizong’s their territory in 634 and defeated them, 110 | The History of China but they remained unsubdued and The court split into factions supporting invaded Chinese territory several times. various candidates. The final choice, Li The Chinese western dominions now Zhi, prince of Jin (reigned 649–683; tem- extended farther than in the great days of ple name Gaozong) was a weak character, the Han. Trade developed with the West, but he had the support of the most power- with Central Asia, and with India. The ful figures at court. Chinese court received embassies from Sāsānian Persia and from the Byzantine Rise of the Empress Wuhou Empire. The capital was thronged with foreign merchants and foreign monks Gaozong was 21 years old when he and contained a variety of non-Chinese ascended the throne. In his first years communities. The great cities had he was dominated by the remaining great Zoroastrian, Manichaean, and Nestorian statesmen of Taizong’s court, above all by temples, along with the Buddhist monas- the emperor’s uncle Zhangsun Wuji. teries that had been a part of the Chinese However, real power soon passed from scene for centuries. Gaozong into the hands of the empress Taizong’s only failure in foreign pol- Wuhou, one of the most remarkable icy was in Korea. The northern state of women in Chinese history. Wuhou had Koguryŏ had sent tribute regularly, but in been a low-ranking concubine of Taizong. 642 there was an internal coup; the new She was taken into Gaozong’s palace and, ruler attacked Silla, another Tang vassal after a series of complex intrigues, man- state in southern Korea. Taizong decided aged in 655 to have the legitimate to invade Koguryŏ, against the advice of empress, Wang, deposed and herself most of his ministers. The Tang armies, appointed in her place. The struggle in alliance with the Khitan in Manchuria between the two was not simply a palace and the two southern Korean states intrigue. Empress Wang, who was of Paekche and Silla, invaded Koguryŏ in noble descent, had the backing of the old 645 but were forced to withdraw with northwestern aristocratic faction and of heavy losses. Another inconclusive cam- the great ministers surviving from paign was waged in 647, and the end of Taizong’s court. Wuhou came from a fam- Taizong’s reign was spent in building a ily of lower standing from Taiyuan. Her vast fleet and making costly preparations father had been one of Gaozu’s original for a final expedition. supporters, her mother a member of the Taizong’s last years were also marked Sui royal family. She seems to have been by a decline in the firm grasp of the supported by the eastern aristocracy, by emperor over politics at his court. In the the lesser gentry, and by the lower-rank- 640s a bitter struggle for the succession ing echelons of the bureaucracy. developed when it became clear that the But her success was largely the result designated heir was mentally unstable. of her skill in intrigue, her dominant The Tang Dynasty | 111 personality, and her utter ruthlessness. the emperor took the new title of “heav- The deposed empress and another impe- enly emperor.” rial favourite were savagely murdered, The bureaucracy was rapidly inflated and the next half century was marked by to a far-greater size than in Taizong’s recurrent purges in which she hounded time, many of the new posts being filled to death one group after another of real by candidates from the examination sys- or imagined rivals. The good relationship tem who now began to attain the highest between the emperor and his court, which offices and thus to encroach on what had had made Taizong’s reign so successful, been the preserves of the aristocracy. was speedily destroyed. Political life Another blow at the aristocracy was became precarious and insecure, at the struck by the compilation in 659 of a new mercy of the empress’s unpredictable genealogy of all the empire’s eminent whims. The first victims were the elder clans, which ranked families according to statesmen of Taizong’s reign, who were the official positions achieved by their exiled, murdered, or driven to suicide in members rather than by their traditional 657–659. In 660 Gaozong suffered a social standing. Needless to say, the first stroke. He remained in precarious health family of all was that of Wuhou. The lower for the rest of his reign, and Wuhou took ranks of the bureaucracy, among whom charge of the administration. the empress found her most-solid sup- Although utterly unscrupulous in port, were encouraged by the creation of politics, she backed up her intrigues with new posts, greater opportunities for policies designed to consolidate her posi- advancement, and salary increases. tion. In 657 Luoyang was made the second The Chinese were engaged in foreign capital. The entire court and administra- wars throughout Gaozong’s reign. Until tion were frequently transferred to 657 they waged continual war against the Luoyang, thus removing the centre of western Turks, finally defeating them and political power from the home region of placing their territories as far as the val- the northwestern aristocracy. Ministries ley of the Amu Darya under a nominal and court offices were duplicated, and Chinese protectorate in 659–661. The Luoyang had to be equipped with all the Tang also waged repeated campaigns costly public buildings needed for a capi- against Koguryŏ in the late 650s and the tal. After Gaozong’s death, Wuhou took 660s. In 668 the Tang forces took up permanent residence there. P’yŏngyang (the capital), and Koguryŏ Gaozong and Wuhou were obsessed was also placed under a protectorate. by symbolism and religion, with one However, by 676 rebellions had forced favourite magician, holy man, or monk the Chinese to withdraw to southern following another. State rituals were radi- Manchuria, and all of Korea became cally changed. For symbolic reasons the increasingly dominated by the rapidly names of all offices were altered, and expanding power of the southern Korean 112 | The History of China state of Silla. The eastern Turks, who had agents and informers. Fear overshadowed been settled along the northern border, the life of the court. The empress herself rebelled in 679–681 and were quelled only became more and more obsessed with after they had caused widespread destruc- religious symbolism. She manipulated tion and had inflicted heavy losses on the Buddhist scripture to justify her becom- Chinese forces. ing sovereign and in 688 erected a Ming The most serious foreign threat in Tang (“Hall of Light”)—the symbolic Gaozong’s reign was the emergence of a supreme shrine to heaven described in new and powerful force to the west, the the Classics—a vast building put up with Tibetans (Tubo), a people who had limitless extravagance. In 690 the exerted constant pressure on the north- empress proclaimed that the dynasty had ern border of Sichuan since the 630s. By been changed from Tang to Zhou. She 670 the Tibetans had driven the Tuyuhun became formally the empress in her own from their homeland in the Koko Nor right, the only woman sovereign in basin. The northwest had to be increas- China’s history. Ruizong, the imperial ingly heavily fortified and garrisoned to heir, was given her surname, Wu; every- guard against their repeated raids and body with the surname Wu in the empire incursions. After a series of difficult cam- was exempted from taxation. Every pre- paigns, they were finally checked in 679. fecture was ordered to set up a temple in When Gaozong died in 683, he was which the monks were to expound the succeeded by the young Zhongzong, but notion that the empress was an incarna- Wuhou was made empress dowager and tion of Buddha. Luoyang became the immediately took control over the central “holy capital,” and the state cult was cer- administration. Within less than a year emoniously transferred there from she had deposed Zhongzong, who had Chang’an. The remnants of the Tang shown unexpected signs of indepen- royal family who had not been murdered dence, and replaced him with another or banished were immured in the depths son and puppet emperor, Ruizong, who of the palace. was kept secluded in the Inner Palace Destructive and demoralizing as the while Wuhou held court and exercised effects of her policies must have been at the duties of sovereign. the capital and at court, there is little evi- In 684 disaffected members of the dence of any general deterioration of ruling class under Xu Jingye raised a administration in the empire. By 690 the serious rebellion at Yangzhou in the worst excesses of her regime were past. south, but this was speedily put down. In the years after she had proclaimed her- The empress instituted a reign of terror self empress, she retained the services among the members of the Tang royal and loyalty of a number of distinguished family and officials, employing armies of officials. The court was still unstable, The Tang Dynasty | 113 however, with unending changes of min- oppression and heavy taxation in the isters, and the empress remained Hebei and Shandong area. This migra- susceptible to the influence of a series of tion of peasants, who settled as worthless favourites. After 700 she gradu- unregistered squatters on vacant land in ally began to lose her grip on affairs. central and southern China and no lon- The external affairs of the empire had ger paid taxes, was accelerated by the meanwhile taken a turn for the worse. Khitan invasion in the late 690s. Attempts The Tibetans renewed their warfare on to stop it were ineffectual. the frontier. In 696 the Khitan in By 705 the empress, who was now 80 Manchuria rebelled against their Chinese years old, had allowed control of events governor and overran part of Hebei. The to slip from her fingers. The bureaucratic Chinese drove them out, with Turkish faction at court, tired of the excesses of aid, in 697. The Chinese reoccupied her latest favourites, forced her to abdi- Hebei under a member of the empress’s cate in favour of Zhongzong. The Tang family and carried out brutal reprisals was restored. against the population. In 698 the Turks Zhongzong, however, also had a domin their turn invaded Hebei and were ineering wife, the empress Wei, who driven off only by an army under the initiated a regime of utter corruption at nominal command of the deposed court, openly selling offices. When the emperor Zhongzong, who had been emperor died in 710, probably poisoned renamed heir apparent in place of by her, she tried to establish herself as Ruizong. The military crisis had forced ruler as Wuhou had done before her. But the empress to abandon any plan to keep Li Longji, the future Xuanzong, with the the succession within her own family. aid of Wuhou’s formidable daughter, The expenses of the empire made it Taiping, and of the palace army, suc- necessary to impose new taxes. These ceeded in restoring his father, Ruizong took the form of a household levy—a (the brother of Zhongzong), to the throne. graduated tax based on a property assess- The princess now attempted to dominate ment on everyone from the nobility down, her brother, the emperor, and there fol- including the urban population—and a lowed a struggle for power between her land levy collected on an acreage basis. and the heir apparent. In 712 Ruizong These new taxes were to be assessed ceded the throne to Xuanzong but based on productivity or wealth, rather retained in his own hands control over than a uniform per capita levy. Some the most crucial areas of government. A tried to evade taxes by illegally subdivid- second coup, in 713, placed Xuanzong ing their households to reduce their completely in charge and resulted in liabilities. There was a large-scale migra- Ruizong’s retirement and the princess tion of peasant families fleeing from Taiping’s suicide. 114 | The History of China

Prosperity and Progress tended to polarize politics, a polarization that was sharpened by the emperor’s Xuanzong’s reign (712–756) was the high employment of a series of aristocratic point of the Tang dynasty. It was an era specialists who reformed the empire’s of wealth and prosperity that was accom- fi nances from 720 onward, often in the panied by institutional progress and a teeth of bureaucratic opposition. fl owering of the arts. Political life was After 720 a large-scale re-registration at fi rst dominated by the bureaucrats of the population greatly increased the recruited through the examination system number of taxpayers and restored state who had staff ed the central government control over vast numbers of unregis- under Wuhou. But a gradual revival of tered families. The new household and the power of the great aristocratic clans land taxes were expanded. In the 730s

Minghuang’s Journey to Shu, ink and colour on silk hanging scroll, attributed to Li Zhaodao, Tang-dynasty style, possibly a 10th– or 11th-century copy of an 8th-century original; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan The Tang Dynasty | 115 the canal system, which had been disasters of Wuhou’s time and who had allowed to fall into neglect under Wuhou also excluded members of the royal family and her successors, was repaired and from politics, faced a series of succession reorganized so that the administration plots. In 745 he fell deeply under the influ- could transport large stocks of grain ence of a new favourite, the imperial from the Yangtze region to the capital concubine Yang Guifei. In 751–752 one of and to the armies on the northern fron- her relatives, Yang Guozhong, thanks to tiers. The south was at last financially her influence with the emperor, rapidly integrated with the north. By the 740s the rose to rival Li Linfu for supreme power. government had accumulated enormous After Li’s death in 752 Yang Guozhong reserves of grain and wealth. The tax and dominated the court. However, he had accounting systems were simplified, and neither Li’s great political ability nor his taxes and labour services were reduced. experience and skill in handling people. Some important institutional changes accompanied these reforms. The land reg- Military Reorganization istration, reorganization of transport, and coinage reform were administered by spe- The most important new development in cially appointed commissions holding Xuanzong’s reign was the growth in the extraordinary powers, including the power of the military commanders. authority to recruit their own staff. These During Gaozong’s reign the old militia commissions were mostly headed by cen- system had proved inadequate for fron- sors, and they and the censorate became tier defense and had been supplemented centres of aristocratic power. The exis- by the institution of permanent armies tence of these new offices reduced the and garrison forces quartered in strategic influence of the regular ministries, areas on the frontiers. These armies were enabling the emperor and his aristocratic made up of long-service veterans, many advisers to circumvent the normal chan- of them non-Chinese cavalry troops, set- nels and procedures of administration. tled permanently in military colonies. After 736 the political dominance of Although these armies were adequate for the aristocracy was firmly reestablished. small-scale operations, for a major cam- An aristocratic chief minister, Li Linfu, paign an expeditionary army and a became a virtual dictator, his powers headquarters staff had to be specially increasing as Xuanzong in his later years organized and reinforcements sent in by withdrew from active affairs into the plea- the central government. This cumber- sures of palace life and the study of some system was totally unsuitable for Daoism. In the latter part of his reign, dealing with the highly mobile nomadic Xuanzong, who had previously strictly horsemen on the northern frontiers. circumscribed the power of the palace At the beginning of Xuanzong’s reign, women to avoid a recurrence of the the Turks again threatened to become a 116 | The History of China major power, rivaling China in Central fighting broke out again, and the Tibetans Asia and along the borders. Kapghan began to turn their attention to the Tang (Mochuo), the Turkish khan who had territories in the Tarim Basin. Desultory invaded Hebei in the aftermath of the fighting continued on the border of Khitan invasion in the time of Wuhou and Gansu until the end of Xuanzong’s reign. had attacked the Chinese northwest at the From 752 onward the Tibetans acquired a end of her reign, turned his attention new ally in the Nanzhao state in Yunnan, northward. By 711 he controlled the steppe which enabled them to exert a continuous from the Chinese frontier to Transoxiana threat along the entire western frontier. and appeared likely to develop a new uni- In the face of these threats, Xuanzong fied Turkish empire. When he was organized the northern and northwestern murdered in 716, his flimsy empire col- frontiers from Manchuria to Sichuan into lapsed. His successor, Bilge (Pijia), tried to a series of strategic commands or mili- make peace with the Chinese in 718, but tary provinces under military governors Xuanzong preferred to try to destroy his who were given command over all the power by an alliance with the southwest- forces in a large region. This system ern Basmil Turks and with the Khitan in developed gradually and was formalized Manchuria. Bilge, however, crushed the in 737 under Li Linfu. The frontier com- Basmil and attacked Gansu in 720. manders controlled enormous numbers Peaceful relations were established in 721– of troops: nearly 200,000 were stationed 722. Bilge’s death in 734 precipitated the in the northwest and Central Asia and end of Turkish power. A struggle among more than 100,000 in the northeast; there the various Turkish subject tribes followed, were well in excess of 500,000 in all. The from which the Uighurs emerged as vic- military governors soon began to exer- tors. In 744 they established a powerful cise some functions of civil government. empire that was to remain the dominant In the 740s a non-Chinese general of force on China’s northern border until 840. Sogdian and Turkish origin, An Lushan, Unlike the Turks, however, the Uighurs became military governor first of one and pursued a consistent policy of alliance finally of all three of the northeastern with the Tang. On several occasions commands, with 160,000 troops under Uighur aid, even though offered on harsh his orders. An Lushan had risen to power terms, saved the dynasty from disaster. largely through the patronage of Li Linfu. The Tibetans were the most danger- When Li died, An became a rival of Yang ous foe during Xuanzong’s reign, invading Guozhong. As Yang Guozhong devel- the northwest annually from 714 on. In oped more and more of a personal 727–729 the Chinese undertook large- stranglehold over the administration at scale warfare against them, and in 730 a the capital, An Lushan steadily built up settlement was concluded. But in the 730s his military forces in the northeast. The The Tang Dynasty | 117 armed confrontation that followed nearly rebellion had spectacular success. It destroyed the dynasty. swept through the northeastern province During the 750s there was a steady of Hebei, captured the eastern capital, reversal of Tang military fortunes. In the Luoyang, early in 756, and took the main far west the overextended imperial Tang capital, Chang’an, in July of the armies had been defeated by the Arabs in same year. The emperor fled to Sichuan, 751 on the Talas River. In the southwest a and on the road his consort Yang Guifei campaign against the new state of and other members of the Yang faction Nanzhao had led to the almost total who had dominated his court were killed. destruction of an army of 50,000 men. In Shortly afterward the heir apparent, who the northeast the Chinese had lost their had retreated to Lingwu in the northwest, grip on the Manchuria-Korea border with himself usurped the throne. The new the emergence of the new state of Parhae emperor, Suzong (reigned 756–762), was in place of Koguryŏ, and the Khitan and faced with a desperately difficult military Xi peoples in Manchuria constantly situation. The rebel armies controlled the caused border problems. The Tibetans in capital and most of Hebei and Henan. In the northwest were kept in check only by the last days of his reign, Xuanzong had an enormously expensive military pres- divided the empire into five areas, each of ence. The principal military forces were which was to be the fief of one of the designed essentially for frontier defense. imperial princes. Prince Yong, who was Thus, the end of Xuanzong’s reign given control of the southeast, was the was a time when the state was in a highly only one to take up his command; during unstable condition. The central govern- 757 he attempted to set himself up as the ment was dangerously dependent on a independent ruler of the crucially impor- small group of men operating outside the tant economic heart of the empire in the regular institutional framework, and an Huai and Yangtze valleys but was mur- overwhelming preponderance of military dered by one of his generals. power was in the hands of potentially An Lushan himself was murdered by rebellious commanders on the frontiers, a subordinate early in 757, but the rebel- against whom the emperor could put into lion was continued, first by his son and the field only a token force of his own and then by one of his generals, Shi Siming, the troops of those commanders who and his son Shi Chaoyi; it was not finally remained loyal. suppressed until 763. The rebellion had caused great destruction and hardship, Laa te T ng (755–907) particularly in Henan. The final victory was made possible partly by the employ- The rebellion of An Lushan in 755 marked ment of Uighur mercenaries, whose the beginning of a new period. At first the insatiable demands remained a drain on 118 | The History of China the treasury well into the 770s, partly by purposes, the northeastern provinces the failure of the rebel leadership after remained semi-independent throughout the death of the able Shi Siming, and the later part of the Tang era. They had partly by the policy of clemency adopted been among the most populous and pro- toward the rebels after the decisive cam- ductive parts of the empire, and their paign in Henan in 762. The need for a semi-independence was not only a threat speedy settlement was made more urgent to the stability of the central government by the growing threat of the Tibetans in but also represented a huge loss of reve- the northwest. The latter, allied with the nue and potential manpower. Nanzhao kingdom in Yunnan, had Provincial separatism also became a exerted continual pressure on the west- problem elsewhere. With the general ern frontier and in 763 occupied the breakdown of the machinery of central whole of present-day Gansu. Late in 763 administration after 756, many of the they actually took and looted the capital. functions of government were delegated They continued to occupy the Chinese to local administrations. The whole northwest until well into the 9th century. empire was now divided into provinces Their occupation of Gansu signaled the (dao), which formed an upper tier of rou- end of Chinese control of the region. tine administration. Their governors had wide powers over subordinate prefec- Provincial Separatism tures and counties. The new provincial governments were of two main types. The post-rebellion settlement not only In northern China (apart from the pardoned several of the most powerful semiautonomous provinces of the north- rebel generals but also appointed them east, which were a special category) most as imperial governors in command of the provincial governments were military, areas they had surrendered. Hebei was their institutions closely modeled on divided into four new provinces, each those set up on the northern frontier under surrendered rebels, while under Xuanzong. The military presence Shandong became the province of An was strongest in the small frontier-garri- Lushan’s former garrison army from son provinces that protected the capital, Pinglu in Manchuria, which had held an Chang’an, from the Tibetans in Gansu ambivalent position during the fighting. and in the belt of small, heavily garri- The central government held little power soned provinces in Henan that protected within these provinces. The leadership China—and the canal from the Huai and was decided within each province, and Yangtze valleys, on which the central the central government in its appoint- government depended for its supplies— ments merely approved faits accomplis. from the semiautonomous provinces. Succession to the leadership was fre- Military governments were also the rule quently hereditary. For all practical in Sichuan, which continued to be The Tang Dynasty | 119 menaced by the Tibetans and Nanzhao, system with its taxes and labour services and in the far south in Lingnan. had been completely disrupted by the In central and southern China, how- breakdown of authority and by the vast ever, the provincial government movements of population. The revenues developed into a new organ of the civil increasingly came to depend on addi- bureaucracy. The civil governors of the tional taxes levied on cultivated land or southern provinces were regularly on property, and the government appointed from the bureaucracy, and it attempted to raise more revenue from the became customary to appoint to these urban population. But its survival posts high-ranking court officials who depended on the revenues it drew from were temporarily out of favour. central China, the Huai valley, and the All the new provinces had consider- lower Yangtze. Those revenues were sent able latitude of action, particularly during to the capital by means of a reconstructed the reigns of Suzong and Daizong, when and improved canal system maintained central power was at a low ebb. There was out of the new government monopoly on a general decentralization of authority. salt. By 780 the salt monopoly was pro- The new provinces had considerable ducing a major part of the state’s central independence in the fields of finance, revenues, in addition to maintaining the local government, law and order, and mil- transportation system. The salt and trans- itary matters. portation administration was controlled Under Daizong (reigned 762–779) the by an independent commission centred court was dominated by the emperor’s in Yangzhou, near the mouth of the favourite, Yuan Zai, and by the eunuchs Yangtze, and this commission gradually who now began to play an increasing role took over the entire financial administra- in Tang politics. A succession of eunuch tion of southern and central China. advisers not only rivaled in influence the The weak Daizong was succeeded by chief ministers but even exerted influ- a tough, intelligent activist emperor, ence over the military in the campaigns Dezong (reigned 779–805), who was deter- of the late 750s and early 760s. Under mined to restore the fortunes of the Daizong many of the regular offices of dynasty. He reconstituted much of the old the administration remained unfilled, central administration and decided on a while the irregularities encouraged by showdown with the forces of local auton- Yuan Zai and his clique in the appoint- omy. As a first step, in 780 he promulgated ment of officials led to an increasing use a new system of taxation, under which of eunuchs in secretarial posts and to each province was assessed a quota of their increasing dominance over the taxes, the collection of which was to be emperor’s private treasury. left to the provincial government. This The central government did achieve was a radical measure, for it abandoned some success in finance. The old fiscal the traditional concept of head taxes 120 | The History of China levied at a uniform rate throughout the Tibetan threat was contained, Nanzhao empire and also began the assessment of was won from its alliance with the taxes in terms of money. Tibetans, and the garrisons of the north- Those in the semi-independent prov- west were strengthened. At the same time, inces of the northeast saw this as a threat Dezong built up large new palace armies, to their independence, and, when it giving the central government a powerful became apparent that Dezong was deter- striking force—numbering some 100,000 mined to carry out consistently tough men by the end of his reign. Command policies toward the northeast—reducing was given to eunuchs considered loyal to their armies and even denying them the the throne. The death of Dezong in 805 right to appoint their own governors—the was followed by the brief reign of Hebei provinces rebelled. From 781 to 786 Shunzong, an invalid monarch whose there was a wave of rebellions not only in court was dominated by the clique of the northeastern provinces but also in the Wang Shuwen and Wang Pei. They Huai valley and in the area of the capital planned to take control of the palace itself. These events brought the Tang armies from the eunuchs but failed. even closer to disaster than had the An Lushan rising. The situation was saved The Struggle because at a crucial moment the rebels for Central Authority fell out among themselves and because the south remained loyal. In the end, the Under Xianzong (reigned 805–820) the settlement negotiated with the governors Tang regained a great deal of its power. of Hebei virtually endorsed the preced- Xianzong, a tough and ruthless ruler who ing status quo, although the court made kept a firm hand on affairs, is notable some marginal inroads by establishing chiefly for his successful policies toward two small new provinces in Hebei. the provinces. Rebellions in Sichuan After that disaster, Dezong pursued a (806) and the Yangtze delta (807) were much more careful and passive policy quickly put down. After an abortive cam- toward the provinces. Governors were left paign (809–810) that was badly bungled in office for long periods, and hereditary by a favourite eunuch commander, the succession continued. Nonetheless, the court was again forced to compromise latter part of Dezong’s reign was a period with the governors of Hebei. A fresh wave of steady achievement. The new tax sys- of trouble came in 814–817 with a rebel- tem was gradually enforced and proved lion in Huaixi, in the upper Huai valley, remarkably successful; it remained the that threatened the canal route. That basis of the tax structure until Ming times. uprising was crushed and the province Revenues increased steadily, and Dezong divided up among its neighbours. The left behind him a wealthy state. Militarily, Pinglu army in Shandong rebelled in 818 he was also generally successful: the and suffered the same fate. Xianzong The Tang Dynasty | 121 thus restored the authority of the central considerably changed. The emperor government throughout most of the Dezong had begun to delegate a great empire. His success was based largely deal of business, in particular the draft- upon the palace armies. The fact that ing of edicts and legislation, to his these were controlled by eunuchs placed personal secretariat, the Hanlin Academy. a great measure of power in the emper- Although the members of the Hanlin or’s hands. Under his weak successors, Academy were handpicked members of however, the eunuchs’ influence in poli- the bureaucracy, their positions as acade- tics proved a disaster. micians were outside the regular official Xianzong’s restoration of central establishment. This eventually placed authority involved more than military the power of decision and the detailed dominance. It was backed by a series of formulation of policy in the hands of a institutional measures designed to group that depended entirely on the strengthen the power of the prefects and emperor, thus threatening the authority county magistrates, as against their proof the regularly constituted ministers of vincial governors, by restoring to them the court. the right of direct access to central gov- The influence of the eunuchs had ernment and giving them some measure also begun to be formalized and institu- of control over the military forces quar- tionalized in the palace council; this tered within their jurisdiction. In an provided the emperor with another per- important financial reform, the provincial sonal secretariat, which controlled the government no longer had first call on all conduct of official business and had close the revenue of the province, as some rev- links with the eunuchs’ command of the enue went directly to the capital. The powerful palace armies. The eunuchs’ government also began the policy, con- influence in politics steadily increased. tinued throughout the 9th and 10th Xianzong was murdered by some of his centuries, of cutting down and fragment- eunuch attendants, and henceforth the ing the provinces. It strengthened its chief eunuchs of the palace council and control over the provincial administra- the palace armies were a factor in nearly tions through a system of eunuch army every succession to the Tang throne; in supervisors, who were attached to the some cases they had their own candi- staff of each provincial governor. These dates enthroned in defiance of the eunuchs played an increasingly impor- previous emperor’s will. The emperor tant role, not merely as sources of Wenzong (reigned 827–840) sought to information and intelligence but as active destroy the dominance of the eunuchs; agents of the emperor, able to intervene his abortive schemes only demoralized directly in local affairs. the bureaucracy, particularly after the The balance of power within the Sweet Dew (Ganlu) coup of 835, which central government had also been misfired and led to the deaths of several 122 | The History of China ministers and a number of other officials. of peasant risings began in 874, following But the apogee of the eunuchs’ power a terrible drought. The most formidable was brief, ending with the accession of of them was led by Huang Chao, who in Wuzong in 840. Wuzong and his minister, 878 marched south and sacked Li Deyu, managed to impose some Guangzhou (Canton) and then marched restrictions on the eunuchs’ power, espe- to the north, where he took Luoyang in cially in the military. late 880 and Chang’an in 881. Although In the second half of the 9th century Huang Chao attempted to set up a regime the central government became progres- in the capital, he proved cruel and inept. sively weaker. During Yizong’s reign Hemmed in by loyal armies and provin- (859–873) there was a resurgence of the cial generals, in 883 he was forced to eunuchs’ power and a constant fratricidal abandon Chang’an and withdraw to strife between eunuchs and officials at Henan and then to Shandong, where he court. From the 830s onward the first died in 884. His forces were eventually signs of unrest and banditry had appeared defeated with the aid of Shatuo Turks, in the Huai valley and Henan, and trou- and the Tang court was left virtually pow- ble spread to the Yangtze valley and the erless, its emperor a puppet manipulated south beginning in 856. Major uprisings by rival military leaders. The dynasty lin- were led by Kang Quantai in southern gered on until 907, but the last quarter Anhui in 858 and Qiu Fu in Zhejiang in century was dominated by the generals 859. The situation was complicated by a and provincial warlords. With the pro- costly war against the Nanzhao kingdom gressive decline of the central on the borders of the Chinese protector- government in the 880s and 890s, China ate in Annam, which later spread to fell apart into a number of virtually inde- Sichuan and dragged on from 858 until pendent kingdoms. Unity was not 866. After the invaders had been sup- restored until long after the Song dynasty pressed, part of the garrison force that was established. had been sent to Lingnan mutinied and, under its leader, Pang Xun, fought and Cultural developments plundered its way back to Henan, where it caused widespread havoc in 868 and The Influence of Buddhism 869, cutting the canal linking the capital to the loyal Yangtze and Huai provinces. The Tang emperors officially supported In 870 war broke out again with Nanzhao. Daoism because of their claim to be Yizong was succeeded by Xizong descended from Laozi, but Buddhism (reigned 873–888), a boy of 11 who was the continued to enjoy great favour and lav- choice of the palace eunuchs. Prior to his ish imperial patronage through most of ascension, Henan had repeatedly suf- the period. The famous pilgrim Xuanzang, fered serious floods. In addition, a wave who went to India in 629 and returned in The Tang Dynasty | 123

645, was the most learned of Chinese (Zen) school, which had strong roots in monks and introduced new standards of Daoism. The popular preaching of the exactness in his many translations from salvationist Pure Land sect was also Sanskrit. The most signifi cant develop- important. After the rebellion of An ment in this time was the growth of new Lushan, a nationalistic movement favour- indigenous schools that adapted ing Confucianism appeared, merging Buddhism to Chinese ways of thinking. with the eff orts of Tiantai Buddhism to Most prominent were the syncretistic graft Buddhist metaphysics onto Tiantai school, which sought to embrace Classical doctrine and lay the ground- all other schools in a single hierarchical work for the Neo-Confucianism of the system (even reaching out to include Song era. Confucianism), and the radically anti- In 843–845 the emperor Wuzong, a textual, antimetaphysical southern Chan fanatical Daoist, proceeded to suppress Buddhism. One of his motives was economic. China was in a serious fi nancial crisis, which Wuzong and his advisers hoped to solve by seizing the lands and wealth of the monasteries. The suppression was far-reaching: 40,000 shrines and temples—all but a select few—were closed, 260,000 monks and nuns were returned to lay life, and vast acreages of monastic lands were confi scated and sold and their slaves manumitted. The suppression was short-lived, but irreparable damage was done to Buddhist institutions. Buddhism had already begun to lose intellectual momentum, and this attack on it as a social institution marked the beginning of its decline in China. Several types of monastic communities existed at the time. Offi cial temples set up by the state had large endowments of land and property and large communi- Guanyin and attendant bodhisattvas, ties of monks who chose their own abbot detail of a painted mural, early 8th cen- and other offi cers. There were vast num- tury, Tang dynasty, from Cave 57, bers of small village temples, shrines, Dunhuang, Gansu province, China. Chen Zhi’an/ChinaStock Photo Library and hermitages; these were often pri- vately established, had little property, 124 | The History of China and were quite vulnerable to state poli- pious laypersons, and from grants of cies. In addition, private temples or lands by the state. The lands were worked “merit cloisters” were established by by monastic slaves, dependent families, great families, often to allow the family to lay clerics who had taken partial vows but donate its property and have it declared lived with their families, and tenants. tax-exempt. Monasteries also operated oil presses A monastic community was free of all and mills, and they were important credit obligations to the state. It was able to institutions, supplying loans at interest hold property without the process of divi- and acting as pawnshops. They provided sion by inheritance that made the lodgings for travelers, operated hospitals long-term preservation of individual and and infi rmaries, and maintained the aged. family fortunes almost impossible in One of their most important social func- Tang times. It acquired its wealth from tions was off ering primary education. those taking monastic vows, from gifts of The temples maintained their own

Main hall of Nanchan Temple, Mount Wutai, Shanxi province, China, AD 782 or earlier, Tang dynasty; reconstructed 1974–75. Christopher Liu/ChinaStock Photo Library The Tang Dynasty | 125 schools, training the comparatively large metre than the fi ve-word and seven-word proportion of the male population, which, lushi and meant to be sung, made its although not educated to the standards appearance. The guwen, or “ancient of the Confucian elite or the clergy, was style,” movement grew up after the rebel- nevertheless literate. lion of An Lushan, seeking to replace the euphuistic pianwen (“parallel prose”) Trends in the Arts then dominant. It was closely associated with the movement for a Confucian In literature the greatest glory of the Tang revival. The most prominent fi gures in it period was its poetry. By the 8th century, were Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan. At the poets had broken away from the artifi cial same time came the fi rst serious attempts diction and matter of the court poetry to write fi ction, the so-called chuanqi, or of the southern dynasties and achieved “tales of marvels.” Many of these Tang a new directness and naturalism. The stories later provided themes for the reign of Xuanzong (712–756)—known as Chinese drama. Minghuang, the Brilliant Emperor—was The patronage of the Tang emperors the time of such great fi gures as Li Bai, and the general wealth and prosperity of Wang Wei, and Du Fu. The rebellion of An the period encouraged the development Lushan and Du Fu’s bitter experiences of the visual arts. Though few Tang build- during it brought a new note of social ings remain standing, contemporary awareness to his later poetry. This appears descriptions give some idea of the mag- again in the work of Bai Juyi (772–846), nifi cence of Tang palaces and religious who wrote verse in clear and simple lan- edifi ces and the houses of the wealthy. guage. Toward the end of the dynasty a Buddhist sculpture shows a greater natu- new poetic form, the ci, in a less regular ralism than in the previous period, but

Du fu

Du Fu (b. 712—d. 770) is often considered the greatest Chinese poet of all time. After a traditional Confucian education, he failed the important civil service examinations and consequently spent much of his life wandering, repeatedly attempting to gain court positions, with mixed success. His early poetry, which celebrates the natural world and bemoans the passage of time, garnered him renown. He su« ered periods of extreme personal hardship, and as he matured his verse began to express profound compassion for humanity. An expert in all the poetic genres of his day, he is renowned for his superb classicism and skill in prosody, though many of the subtleties of his art do not survive translation. 126 | The History of China there is some loss of spirituality. Few were established, a large part of their genuine originals survive to show the personnel often recruited from the com- work of Tang master painters such as mercial community. The contending Wu Daoxuan, who worked at Xuanzong’s factions of the 9th-century court also court. As a landscape painter, the poet employed irregular appointments to Wang Wei was a forerunner of the wen- secure posts for their clients and support- ren, or “literary man’s,” school of mystical ers, many of whom also came from nature painting of later times. The minor comparatively lowly backgrounds. arts of Tang, including ceramics, metal- Although the old aristocracy retained work, and textiles, give expression to the a grip on political power until very late in colour and vitality of the life of the period. the dynasty, its exclusiveness and hierar- Printing appeared for the first time dur- chical pretensions were rapidly breaking ing Tang. Apparently invented to help down. It was finally extinguished as a disseminate Buddhist scriptures, it was separate group in the Wudai (Five used by the end of the dynasty for such Dynasties) period (907–960), when the things as calendars, almanacs, and old strongholds of aristocracy in the dictionaries. northeast and northwest became centres of bitter military and political struggles. Social change The aristocratic clans that survived did so by merging into the new official-literati Decline of the Aristocracy class; this class was based not on birth alone but on education, office holding, By the late Tang period a series of social and the possession of landed property. changes had begun that did not reach At the same time, there was a return their culmination until the 11th century. to semiservile relationships at the base of The most important of these was the the social pyramid. Sheer economic change in the nature of the ruling class. necessity led many peasants either to dis- Although from early Tang times the pose of their lands and become tenants examination system had facilitated or hired labourers of rich neighbours or recruiting into the higher ranks of the to become dependents of a powerful bureaucracy of persons from lesser aris- patron. Tenancy, which in early Tang tocratic families, most officials continued times had most often been a temporary to come from the established elite. Social and purely economic agreement, now mobility increased after the An Lushan developed into a semipermanent con- rebellion: provincial governments tract requiring some degree of personal emerged, their staffs in many cases subordination from the tenant. recruited from soldiers of lowly social ori- The new provincial officials and local gins, and specialized finance commissions elites were able to establish their fortunes The Tang Dynasty | 127 as local landowning gentry largely disasters. The population of Hedong because after 763 the government ceased (present-day Shanxi) and of Guanzhong to enforce the system of state-supervised and Longyou (present-day Shaanxi and land allocation. In the aftermath of the Gansu, respectively) also fell, though not An Lushan and later rebellions, large so dramatically. The population of the areas of land were abandoned by their south, particularly the southeastern cultivators; other areas of farmland were region around the lower Yangtze, took a sold off on the dissolution of the monas- leap upward, as did that of Sichuan. tic foundations in 843–845. The landed Whereas under the Sui the popula- estate managed by a bailiff and cultivated tion of the Great Plain (Hebei and Henan) by tenants, hired hands, or slaves became had accounted for more than half of the a widespread feature of rural life. empire’s total, by 742 this had dropped to Possession of such estates, previously about one-third. The Huai-Yangtze area, limited to the established families of the which had contained only about 8 per- aristocracy and the serving officials, now cent of the total in 609, now contained became common at less-exalted levels. one-fourth of the entire population, and Sichuan’s share jumped from 4 percent to Population Movements 10 percent of the total, exceeding the population of the metropolitan province of Censuses taken during the Sui and Tang Guanzhong. The increase in the south dynasties provide some evidence as to was almost entirely concentrated in the population changes. Surviving figures for lower Yangtze valley and delta and in 609 and 742, representing two of the most Zhejiang. complete of the earlier Chinese popula- The revolt of An Lushan and Shi tion registrations, give totals of some 9 Siming and his son Shi Chaoyi (755–763) million households, or slightly more than precipitated more population move- 50 million persons. Contemporary officials ments from north to south, with some considered that only about 70 percent of of these migrants penetrating into what the population was actually registered, is now southern Hunan and beyond. so the total population may have been These shifts then and later in the Tang as much as 70 million. considerably redistributed China’s popu- Between 609 and 742 a considerable lation: the south became more populous redistribution of population took place. than the north, and the populations The population of Hebei and Henan fell among regions in the south became more by almost one-third because of the balanced. destruction suffered at the end of the Sui There are no reliable population fig- era and in the invasions of the 690s ures from the late Tang era, but the and because of epidemics and natural general movement of population toward 128 | The History of China the south certainly continued, notably in A boom in trade soon followed. The the area south of the Yangtze, in present- merchant class threw off its traditional day Jiangxi and Hunan, and in Hubei. legal restraints. In early Tang times there The chaos of the last decades of the Tang had been only two great metropolitan dynasty completed the ruin of the north- markets, in Chang’an and Luoyang. Now west. After the destruction of the city of every provincial capital became the cen- Chang’an in the Huang Chao rebellion, tre of a large consumer population of no regime ever again established its capi- officials and military, and the provincial tal in that region. courts provided a market for both staple foodstuffs and luxury manufactures. The Growth of the Economy diversification of markets was still more striking in the countryside. A network of The 8th and 9th centuries were a period small rural market towns, purely eco- of growth and prosperity. The gradual nomic in function and acting as feeders movement of the population away from to the county markets, grew up. At these the north, with its harsh climate and dry periodic markets, held at regular inter- farming, into the more fertile and pro- vals every few days, traveling merchants ductive south meant a great proportional and peddlers dealt in the everyday needs increase in productivity. The south still of the rural population. By the end of the had large areas of virgin land. Fujian, for Tang period these rural market centres example, was still only marginally set- had begun to form a new sort of urban tled along the coastline at the end of centre, intermediate between the county Tang times. During the latter half of the town, with its administrative presence Tang, the Huai and lower Yangtze and its central market, and the villages. became a grain-surplus area, replacing The growth of trade brought an Hebei and Henan. From 763 to the mid- increasing use of money. In early Tang 9th century, great quantities of grain times silk cloth had been commonly were shipped from the south annually as employed as currency in large transac- tax revenue. New crops, such as sugar tions. When the central government lost and tea, were grown widely. The produc- control of the major silk-producing tivity of the Yangtze valley was increased region in Hebei and Henan, silk was by double-cropping land with rice and replaced in this use by silver. The gov- winter wheat and by developing new ernment neither controlled silver varieties of grain. After the An Lushan production nor minted a silver coinage. rebellion, silk production began to Silver circulation and assay were in the increase rapidly in Sichuan and the hands of private individuals. Various Yangtze delta region, whereas in early credit and banking institutions began to Tang times the chief silk-producing emerge: silversmiths took money on areas had been in the northeast. deposit and arranged for transfers of The Tang Dynasty | 129 funds; a complex system of credit trans- Guangzhou had large Arab trading com- fers arose by which tea merchants would munities. The northern coastal traffic was pay the tax quota for a district, some- dominated by the Koreans. Overland times even for a whole province, out of trade to Central Asia was mostly in the their profits from the sale of the crop at hands of Sogdian and, later, Uighur mer- Chang’an and receive reimbursement in chants. Central Asian, Sogdian, and their home province. Persian merchants and peddlers carried The increasing use of money and sil- on much local retail trade and provided ver also affected official finance and restaurants, wine shops, and brothels in accounting. Taxes began to be assessed in the great cities. Only in the 9th century money. The salt monopoly was collected did the foreign influence in trade begin and accounted for entirely in money. The to recede. government also began to look to trade In the late Tang many officials began as a source of revenue—to depend to invest their money (and official funds increasingly on taxes from commercial entrusted to them) in commercial activi- transactions, levies on merchants, transit ties. High officials took to running oil taxes on merchandise, and sales taxes. presses and flour mills, dealing in real The most prosperous of the mer- estate, and providing capital for merchants were the great dealers in salt, the chants. The wall between the ruling class tea merchants from Jiangxi, the bankers and the merchants that had existed since of the great cities and particularly of the Han period was rapidly breaking Chang’an, and the merchants engaged in down in the 9th century, and the growth overseas trade in the coastal ports. of urbanization, which characterized the Foreign trade was still dominated by Song period (960–1279), had already non-Chinese merchants. Yangzhou and begun on a wide scale. ChaPTER 6

Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties

ThE fIvE DyNaSTIES aND ThE TEN KINgDOMS

he period of political disunity between the Tang and the TSong lasted little more than half a century, from 907 to 960. During that brief era, when China was truly a multistate system, fi ve short-lived regimes succeeded one another in control of the old imperial heartland in northern China, hence the name Wudai (Five Dynasties). During those same years, 10 relatively stable regimes occupied sections of southern and western China, so the period is also referred to as that of the Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms). Most of the major developments of that period were exten- sions of changes already under way during the late Tang, and many were not completed until after the founding of the Song dynasty. For example, the process of political disintegration had begun long before Zhu Wen brought the Tang dynasty to a formal end in 907. The developments that eventually led to reunifi cation, the rapid economic and commercial growth of the period, and the decline of the aristocratic clans had also begun long before the fi rst Song ruler, Taizu, reconquered most of the empire, and they continued during the reigns of his successors on the Song throne. Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties | 131

The Wudai (Five Dynasties) successive rulers moved like a relay team along the tortuous road back to unifi ca- None of the Wudai regimes that domi- tion. These militarists expanded their nated northern China ever forgot the personal power by recruiting peoples of ideal of the unifi ed empire. Each sought, relatively humble social origins to replace with gradually increasing success, to the aristocrats. Such recruits owed per- strengthen the power of the central sonal allegiance to their masters, on authorities. Even Zhu Wen, who began whose favours their political positions the Wudai by deposing the last Tang depended, thus presaging the rise of emperor in 907, sought to extend his con- absolutism. trol in the north. While consolidating his Rather than being discarded, the strength on the strategic plains along the Tang administrative form underwent Huang He (Yellow River) and connect- expedient alterations so that the new ing them with the vital transportation types of offi cials, promoted because of system of the Grand Canal, he made the merit from regional posts to palace signifi cant choice of locating his base at positions, could use the military adminis- Bian (present-day Kaifeng, in Henan); it tration to supervise the nearby provinces later became the Bei (Northern) Song and gradually bring them under direct capital. Bian’s lack of historical prestige control. Top priority went to securing fi s- was balanced by its proximity to the cal resources from the salt monopoly, ancient capital, Luoyang, a short distance tribute transport, and in particular new to the west, which was still China’s cul- tax revenues, without which military tural centre. domination would have been hard to sus- Zhu Wen’s short-lived Hou (Later) tain and political expansion impossible. Liang dynasty, founded in 907, was Eventually, a pattern of centralizing superseded by the Hou Tang in 923, by authority emerged. Fiscal and supply offi - the Hou Jin in 936, by the Hou Han in cials of the successive regimes went out 947, and by the Hou Zhou in 951. These to supervise provincial fi nances and the rapid successions of dynasties came to local administration. The minor milita- an end only with the rise in 960 of the rists, heretofore the local governors in Song dynasty, which fi nally succeeded in control of their own areas, were under establishing another lasting empire and double pressure to submit to reintegrat- in taking over much, though not all, of ing measures. They faced the inducement the former Tang empire. of political accommodation, which Beneath the surface, however, were allowed them to keep their residual the continuous eff orts to reintegrate the power, and the military threat of palace political process that heralded the com- army units commanded by special coming of a new empire and helped to shape missioners, which were sent on patrol its political system. In this respect the duty into their areas. The way was thus 132 | The History of China

huang he

The Huang He (or Huang Ho; English: Yellow River) fl ows through northern, central, and eastern China. The second longest river in China and one of the world’s longest, it fl ows 3,395 miles (5,464 km) from the Plateau of Tibet generally east to the Yellow Sea (Huang Hai). It is sometimes called “The Great Sorrow” for its tendency to overfl ow its banks in its lower reaches, fl ooding vast areas of rich farmland. Its outlet has shifted over the years to enter the Yellow Sea at points as far apart as 500 miles (800 km). Irrigation and fl ood-control works have been maintained for centuries, and dams, begun in the mid-1950s, exploit the river’s hydroelectric potential. A stronghold for the Wudai regimes, it has long played a major role in Chinese history.

The icy Huang He (Yellow River) in winter, near Hukou Waterfall, northern China. China Photos/Getty Images Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties | 133 paved, in spite of occasional detours and southwestern China, and in the lower temporary setbacks, for the ultimate Yangtze region in southeastern China unification. were of great interest. In southern China The seemingly chaotic period was in the Min kingdom in modern Fujian and fact less chaotic than other rebellious the Nan Han in present-day Guangdong times—except from the standpoint of the and Guangxi reflected sharp cultural dif- aristocrats, who lost their preeminent sta- ferences. Along the coast, sea trade tus along with their large estates, which expanded, promoting both urban pros- were usually taken over piecemeal by perity and cultural diversity. On land, their former managers. The aristocratic wave after wave of refugees moved south- era in Chinese history was gone forever; a ward, settling along rivers and streams new bureaucratic era was about to begin. and in confining plains and mountain valleys and using a frontier agriculture The Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms) but with highly developed irrigation and land reclamation. Usually they pushed From the time of the Tang dynasty until aside the aboriginal minorities, earlier the Qing dynasty, which arose in the 17th settlers, and previous immigrant groups. century, China consisted of two parts: the This process turned southern China into militarily strong north and the economi- a cultural chessboard of great complex- cally and culturally wealthy south. ity, with various subcultural pieces Between 907 and 960, 10 independent sandwiched between one another. Many kingdoms emerged in China, mainly in eventually evolved along different lines. the south: the Wu (902–937), the Nan In southwestern China the valley of (Southern) Tang (937–975/976), the Nan what is now Sichuan presented a notably Ping (924–963), the Chu (927–951), the different picture of continuous growth. Qian (Former) Shu (907–925), the Hou Usually protected from outside distur- (Later) Shu (934–965), the Min (909–945), bances and invasions by the surrounding the Bei (Northern) Han (951–979), the mountains, it enjoyed peace and prosper- Nan Han (917–971), and the Wu-Yue (907– ity except for one decade of instability 978), the last located in China’s most between the Qian Shu and Hou Shu. The rapidly advancing area—in and near the beautiful landscape inspired poets, who lower Yangtze delta. infused a refreshing vitality into old-style Some of these separate regimes poetry and essays. In this region, a achieved relative internal stability, stronghold of Daoist religion, the people although none attained enough strength inserted into Confucian scholarship an to strive to unify China. Nonetheless, the admixture of Daoist philosophy. regional developments in southern Buddhism also flourished. These intellec- China, in the upper Yangtze region in tual trends in Sichuan foreshadowed an 134 | The History of China eclectic synthesis of the three major From the Wudai onward, southeast- teachings—Confucianism, Daoism, and ern China, especially its core region of Buddhism. the Yangtze delta, began to lead the The Buddhist monasteries owned country in both economic prosperity large estates and were usually among and cultural refinement. In this region, the first to introduce new and better fertile soil, irrigation networks, and technology. Growing commerce created highly selected crops combined to cre- a demand for money. The ensuing short- ate the best model of intensive farming. age of copper for coinage was met by an Interlocking streams, rivers, and lakes fed increasing output of iron through more- an ever-increasing number of markets, efficient methods and an elementary market towns, cities, and metropolitan division of labour in production. When areas, where many farm products were the limited number of copper coins could processed into an ever-expanding variety no longer meet the growing volume of of consumer goods. Such development trade, iron currency briefly went into cir- enhanced regional trade, stimulated culation. With increasing commerce, other regions to adopt specialization, and various paper credit instruments were promoted overseas commerce. also developed, the best-known being The Song conquerors from the north drafts for transmitting funds called feiq- recognized the high level of cultural ian (“flying money”). Somewhat later the development in this region. After the sur- private assay shops in Sichuan began to render of the last Nan Tang ruler, himself issue certificates of deposit to merchants a renowned poet, the unexcelled royal who had left valuables at the shops for library was moved to the north; along safekeeping. These instruments, which with it went many officials who were began to circulate, were the direct ances- skilled in art, literature, and bibliography. tors of the paper money that emerged in The surrender of the Wu-Yue kingdom, the early 11th century. slightly farther south, followed the same During the Wudai, printing became pattern. Moreover, refined culture devel- common. The most famous and monu- oped away from the coast in such inland mental cultural production of the period mountainous areas as present-day was the editing and printing of the Jiangxi, which shortly thereafter pro- Confucian Classics and the Buddhist duced internationally coveted porcelain Tipitaka, but a printing industry also and where many great artists and scholar- emerged during the Wudai that produced officials attained positions of cultural works for private buyers. The best print- leadership. Thereafter, southeastern ing in the country during the Wudai and China retained its cultural excellence. At the Song dynasty came from the regions the end of the Bei Song period, the Nan of Sichuan and Fujian. Song based itself in the lower Yangtze Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties | 135 delta and located its capital at Lin-an religion, in government and education (present-day Hangzhou), the former capi- followed the Tang model, and devised a tal of the Wu-Yue. written script for their own language. As traditional histories stress, this This richly mixed culture blossomed, as period of disunity definitely had its dark evidenced by the storing at the side: militarism, wars, disintegration of Dunhuang caves of an unparalleled col- the old order, and an inevitable lowering lection of more than 30,000 religious of moral standards. The dark side, how- paintings, manuscripts, and books in ever, stemmed largely from underlying Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, and other lan- changes that were transforming China guages. In 1038 the Tangut proclaimed into a new pattern that would last for their own kingdom of Xi Xia, which sur- nearly a millennium. vived for nearly two centuries with remarkable stability despite a series of Barbarian dynasties on-and-off border clashes with the neighbouring states in northern China. On the frontier, the far-reaching influ- The kingdom’s end came at the hands of ence of Tang culture affected various the Mongols, the first nomads to con- nomadic, seminomadic, and pastoral quer all of China. peoples. Three groups in the northern areas—the Tangut, Khitan, and Juchen— The Khitan established their own regimes in the region. Respectively, these were the Xi To the north at the time of the Wudai rose (Western) Xia, Liao, and Jin dynasties. the seminomadic but largely pastoral Khitan, who were related to the eastern The Tangut Mongols. The word Khitan (or Khitai) is the source of Cathay, the name for north- In the northwest the Tangut (Pinyin: ern China in medieval Europe (as Dangxiang), a Tibetan-speaking branch reported by Marco Polo), and of Kitai, the of the Qiang, inhabited the region Russian name for China. The Khitan between the far end of the Great Wall in founded the Liao dynasty (907–1125) by present-day Gansu and the Huang He expanding from the border of Mongolia bend in Inner Mongolia. Their semi- into both southern Manchuria and the 16 oasis economy combined irrigated prefectures south of the Great Wall. This agriculture with pastoralism, and, by area below the line of the Great Wall was controlling the terminus of the famous to remain out of Chinese political control Silk Road, they became middlemen in for more than 400 years. Its control by a trade between Central Asia and China. non-Chinese state posed a dangerous They adopted Buddhism as a state security problem for the Bei (Northern) 136 | The History of China

Song. More importantly in the long run, Tang official titles, an examination sys- this region acted for centuries as a centre tem, Chinese-style tax regulations, and for the mutual exchange of culture the Chinese language. The laws of the between the Chinese and the northern second administration enforced the peoples. established way of life, including such The Liao made Yanjing (present-day practices as ancestral worship among the Beijing) their southern capital, thus start- Chinese subjects. The status of Chinese ing that city’s history as a capital, and subjects varied: some were free subjects claimed to be the legitimate successors who might move upward into the civil to the Tang. They incorporated their own service, while others might be held in tribes under respective chieftains and, bondage and slavery. with other subdued tribes in the area, Though honouring the Confucian formed a confederation, which they then philosophy, the Liao rulers patronized transformed into a hereditary monarchy. Chinese Buddhism. Their achievements Leadership always remained in the hands were generally military and administra- of the ruling tribe, the Yelü, who for the tive rather than cultural, but they did sake of stability shifted to the Chinese provide a model for their successors, the clan system of orderly succession. Jin, who in turn influenced the Mongols The Liao economy was based on and, through them, succeeding Chinese horse and sheep raising and on agricul- dynasties. ture. Millet was the main crop, and salt, controlled by government monopoly, was The Juchen an important source of revenue. Other commodities included iron produced by The Liao were eventually overthrown by smelters. The Liao employed an effective the Juchen (Pinyin: Nüchen), another dual system of administration to guard seminomadic and semipastoral people against the danger of being absorbed by who originated in Manchuria, swept Sinicization. They had one administra- across northern China, ended the Bei tion for their own people that enforced Song, and established the Jin dynasty tribal laws, maintained traditional rites, (1115–1234). This new and much larger and largely retained the steppe style of empire in northern China followed the food and clothing. The Liao deliberately Liao pattern of dual government and of avoided the use of Chinese and added to some acculturation but at a much higher their particular branch of the Mongolian cultural level. language two types of writing—a smaller The Juchen, in establishing their one that was alphabetical and a larger Chinese-style Jin empire, occupied a one related to Chinese characters. A sec- broader geographic region in the farming ond administration governed the farming country than had any previous nomadic region using the old Tang system, with or pastoral conquerors. The migration of Political Disunity Between the Tang and Song Dynasties | 137 their own people in large numbers not- was on the side of the majority culture, withstanding, they were proportionally a which gradually absorbed the minority. smaller minority than were the Khitan, The transplanted tribesmen, after settling for the Jin ruled a much larger Chinese on farmland, could not avoid being population. Because they formed a small affected by the Chinese way of life, particu- minority in their own empire, their tribes- larly during long periods of peace. men were kept in a standing army that Economically, the Juchen were no was always prepared for warfare. They match for the Chinese. In time a number were quartered among their farming of Juchen became tenants on Chinese- subjects but were expected to respond to owned land; some were reduced to the command of their captains at short paupers. Their economic decline altered notice. In the military service the Juchen social relations. Eventually they were language was kept alive, and no Chinese- permitted to intermarry, usually with style names, clothing, or customs were parties wealthier than themselves. Their permitted. They realized that protecting military strength also declined. It their separate ethnic and cultural iden- became normal for military units to be tity was indispensable to maintaining undermanned. Captains of “hundreds” military superiority. often could put no more than two dozen Politically, however, it was necessary men into the field, and captains of “thou- for the Juchen rulers to familiarize them- sands” had no more than four or five selves with the sophisticated culture of such nominal “hundreds” under them. their Chinese subjects in order to man- Their ruling class followed a parallel age state affairs. While limiting Chinese decline. The interests of the ruling participation in the government, they group shifted from government affairs shrewdly deflected the interests of their to Confucian studies, Chinese Classics, subjects toward the pursuit of such and Tang- and Song-style poetry. The peaceful arts as printing, scholarship, rulers found little use for the two styles painting, literature, and, significantly, the of Juchen script that their ancestors had development of drama for widespread devised. Eventually the Juchen, much entertainment. (These trends continued weakened, were brought down by the under the Mongols and enriched Chinese Mongols, led by Genghis Khan and his culture.) In spite of the Juchen efforts, time successors. ChaPTER 7

The Song Dynasty

BEI (NORThERN) SONg (960–1127)

The Bei Song (also known simply as the Song) was the last major Chinese dynasty to be founded by a coup d’état. Its founder, Zhao Kuangyin (known by his temple name, Taizu), the commander of the capital area of Kaifeng and inspector general of the imperial forces, usurped the throne from the Hou (Later) Zhou, the last of the Wudai.

Unification

Though a militarist himself, Taizu ended militarism as well as usurpation. Even his own coup was skillfully disguised to make it appear that the popular acclaim of the rank and fi le left him with no choice. Taizu was masterful in political maneuvering, and as emperor (reigned 960–976) he did not destroy other powerful generals as had many previous founding rulers. Instead, he persuaded them to give up their commands in exchange for honorary titles, sinecure offi ces, and generous pensions—an unheard-of arrangement in Chinese history. The Song founder and his successors reduced the military power of the generals and used a variety of techniques to keep them weak, but Song rulers continued to support their social importance by frequently marrying members of the imperial clan to members of leading military families. The Song Dynasty | 139

assignments or honours. This seemingly confusing formula enabled the ruler to remove an offi cial to a lower position without demotion of rank, to give an offi - cial a promotion in rank but an insignifi cant assignment, and to pick up a low-ranking talent and test him on a crucial commission. Councillors controlled only the civil administration because the division of authority made the military commissioner and the fi nance commissioner separate entities, reporting directly to the ruler, who coor- dinated all important decisions. In decision making, the emperor received additional advice from academicians and Taizu, founder of the Song dynasty, other advisers—collectively known as detail of a portrait; in the National opinion offi cials—whose function was to Palace Museum, Taipei. Courtesy of provide separate channels of information the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and to check up on the administrative Taiwan, Republic of China branches. Similar checks and balances existed in the diff used network of regional offi - With a shrewd appreciation of the cials. The empire was divided into war-weariness among the population, circuits, which were units of supervision Taizu stressed the Confucian spirit of rather than administration. Within these humane administration and the reunifi - circuits, intendants were charged with cation of the whole country. To implement overseeing the civil administration. this policy, he took power from the mili- Below these intendants were the actual tary governors, consolidated it at court, administrators. These included prefects, and delegated the supervision of military whose positions were divided into sev- aff airs to able civilians; no offi cial was eral grades according to an area’s size regarded as above suspicion. A prag- and importance. Below the prefects there matic civil service system evolved, with a were district magistrates (subprefects) in fl exible distribution of power and elabo- charge of areas corresponding roughly in rate checks and balances. Each offi cial size to counties. The duties of these sub- had a titular offi ce, indicating his rank prefects were catholic, for they were but not his actual function, a commission supposed to see to all aspects of the wel- for his normal duties, and additional fare of the people in their area. This was 140 | The History of China the lowest level of major direct imperial succession. Instead, the emperor’s rule (though there were some petty offi- younger brother, who had acquired much cials on levels below the district). Because experience at his side, seized the throne. the members of the formal civil service With reunification accomplished in the level of the government were so few, south, the new emperor, Taizong (reigned actual administration in the yamen, or 976–997), turned northward to attack and administrative headquarters, depended conquer Bei Han (979), the last remaining heavily on the clerical staff. Beyond the Shiguo. He continued to fight the Khitan yamen walls, control was in the hands of empire in the north, only to suffer a disas- an officially sanctioned but locally staffed trous defeat in 986. Taizong’s relative sub-bureaucracy. shortage of horses and grazing grounds Following Confucian ideals, the to breed them, in contrast to the strong founder of the Song dynasty lived mod- Khitan cavalries, was not the only reason estly, listened to his ministers, and curbed for the defeat. It also resulted from a excessive taxation. The rising prestige of deliberate policy of removing generals his regime preceded his conquests. He from their armies, subordinating officers also absorbed the best military units to civilians, concentrating strength in under his own command and disciplined imperial units, and converting most pro- them in the same Confucian style. His vincial armies into labour battalions. superior force notwithstanding, he The Song never achieved a military embarked on a reunification program by prowess comparable to that of the Han or mixing war with lenient diplomatic or the Tang. Despite the occasional bellicos- accommodative terms that assured ity of its officials, the Song government defeated rivals of generous treatment. A failed to penetrate Indochina or to break well-planned strategy first took Sichuan the power of the Xi Xia of Gansu and in the southwest in 965, the extreme Shaanxi. As a result, Song China became south in 971, and the most prosperous increasingly isolated, especially from lower Yangtze area in the southeast one Central Asia, whence much cultural stim- year before his death, making the reunifi- ulus had come under preceding dynasties. cation nearly complete. The Wu-Yue, the Combined with a natural pride in internal sole survivor among the Shiguo (Ten advancements, China’s cultural ethno- Kingdoms) in the south, chose to surren- centrism deepened. der without a war in 978. The sudden death of the founder of Consolidation the Song dynasty left a speculative legend of assassination, though it was The Song achieved consolidation under probably caused by his heavy drinking. the third emperor, Zhenzong (reigned The legend stemmed from the fact that 997–1022). A threatening Khitan offen- his young son was denied the orderly sive was directly met by the emperor The Song Dynasty | 141 himself, but a few battles assured neither than it had been in the early Song. Well- side of victory. The two empires pledged regulated civil service examinations peaceful coexistence in 1004 through an brought new groups of excellent scholar- exchange of sworn documents that fore- officials who, though a numerical shadowed modern international treaties. minority, dominated the higher policy- The Khitan gave up its claim to a dis- making levels of government. The puted area it had once occupied south of sponsorship system, which discouraged the Great Wall, and the Song agreed to a favouritism by putting responsibility on yearly tribute: 100,000 units (a rough the sponsors for the official conduct of equivalent of troy ounces) of silver and their appointees, also ensured deserving 200,000 rolls of silk. It was a modest promotions and carefully chosen appoint- price for the Song to pay for securing ments. Many first-rate officials—especially the frontier. those from the south whose families had The emperor thereafter sought to no previous bureaucratic background— strengthen his absolutist image by claim- upheld Confucian ideals. These new ing a Daoist charisma. Prompted by officials were critical not only of palace magicians and ingratiating high officials, impropriety but also of bureaucratic mal- he proclaimed that he had received a practices, administrative sluggishness, sacred document directly from heaven. fiscal abuses, and socioeconomic inequi- He ordered a grand celebration with ties. Respecting absolutism, they focused elaborate rites, accompanied by recon- their attacks on a veteran chief council- structed music of ancient times, and he lor, whom the emperor had trusted for made a tour to offer sacrifices at Mount years. Factionalism developed because Tai, following precedents of the Qin, Han, many established scholar-officials, mostly and Tang dynasties. from the north, with long bureaucratic After the emperor’s death, friction family backgrounds, stood by their leader, arose between his widow—the empress the same chief councillor. dowager, who was acting as regent—and A series of crises seems to prove that Renzong (reigned 1022–63), Zhenzong’s the complaints of the idealists were justi- teenage son by a palace lady of humble fied. After half a century of complacency, rank. Following the death of the empress peace and prosperity began to erode. dowager, Renzong divorced his empress, This became apparent in the occurrence who had been chosen for him by and had of small-scale rebellions near the capital remained in sympathy with the empress itself, in the disturbing inability of local dowager. However, the divorce was unjus- governors to restore order themselves, tifiable in Confucian morality and and in a dangerous penetration of the damaged the imperial image. northwestern border by Xi Xia, which By that time the bureaucracy was rejected its vassal status and declared more highly developed and sophisticated itself an independent kingdom. The 142 | The History of China

Khitan took advantage of the changing their idealism was modified by the polit- military balance by threatening another ical lesson they had learned. Eschewing invasion. The idealistic faction, put into policy changes and tolerating col- power under these critical circumstances leagues of varying opinions, they made in 1043–44, effectively stopped the Xi Xia appreciable progress by concentrating on the frontier by reinforcing a chain of on the choice of better personnel, proper defense posts and made it pay due respect direction, and careful implementation to the Song as the superior empire within the conventional system, but (though the Song no longer claimed many fundamental problems remained suzerainty). Meanwhile, peace with the unsolved. Mounting military expendi- Khitan was again ensured when the Song tures did not bring greater effectiveness, increased its yearly tribute to them. and an expanding and more costly The court also instituted administra- bureaucracy could not reverse the trend tive reforms, stressing the need for of declining tax yields. Income no lon- emphasizing statecraft problems in civil ger covered expenditures. During the service examinations, eliminating brief reign of Yingzong (1063–67), rela- patronage appointments for family mem- tively minor disputes and symbolically bers and relatives of high officials, and important issues concerning ceremonial enforcing strict evaluation of administra- matters embroiled the bureaucracy in tive performance. It also advocated mutual and bitter criticism. reducing compulsory labour, land reclamation and irrigation construction, Reforms organizing local militias, and thoroughly revising codes and regulations. Though Shenzong (reigned 1067–85) was a reform mild in nature, the reforms hurt vested emperor. Originally a prince reared out- interests. Shrewd opponents undermined side the palace, familiar with social the reformers by misleading the emperor conditions and devoted to serious stud- into suspecting that they had received ies, he did not come into the line of too much power and were disrespectful imperial succession until adoption had of him personally. With the crises eased, put his father on the throne before him. the emperor found one excuse after Shenzong responded vigorously (and another to send most reformers away rather unexpectedly, from the standpoint from court. The more conventionally of many bureaucrats) to the problems minded officials were returned to power. troubling the established order, some of Despite a surface of seeming stabil- which were approaching crisis propor- ity, the administrative machinery once tions. Keeping above partisan politics, he again fell victim to creeping deteriora- made the scholar-poet Wang Anshi his tion. Some reformers eventually returned chief councillor and gave him full back- to court, beginning in the 1050s, but ing to make sweeping reforms. Known as The Song Dynasty | 143 the New Laws, or New Policies, these season, thus assuring their farming pro- reform measures attempted drastic insti- ductivity and undercutting their tutional changes. In sum, they sought dependency upon usurious loans from administrative effectiveness, fiscal sur- the well-to-do. The government also plus, and military strength. Wang’s maintained granaries in various cities to famous “Ten Thousand Word Memorial” ensure adequate supplies on hand in case outlined the philosophy of the reforms. of emergency need. The burden on Contrary to conventional Confucian wealthy and poor alike was made more views, it upheld assertive governmental equitable by a graduated tax scale based roles, but its ideal remained basically on a reassessment of the size and the pro- Confucian: economic prosperity would ductivity of the landholdings. Similarly, provide the social environment essential compulsory labour was converted to a to moral well-being. system of graduated tax payments, which Never before had the government were used to finance a hired-labour ser- undertaken so many economic activities. vice program that at least theoretically The emperor empowered Wang to insti- controlled underemployment in farming tute a top-level office for fiscal planning, areas. Requisition of various supplies which supervised the Finance from guilds was also replaced by cash Commission, previously beyond the assessments, with which the government jurisdiction of the chief councillor. The was to buy what it needed at a fair price. government squarely faced the reality of Wang’s reforms achieved increased a rapidly spreading money economy by military power as well. To remedy the increasing the supply of currency. The Song’s military weakness and to reduce state became involved in trading, buying the immense cost of a standing profes- specific products of one area for resale sional army, the villages were given the elsewhere (thereby facilitating the duty of organizing militias, under the old exchange of goods), stabilizing prices name of baojia, to maintain local order in whenever and wherever necessary, and peacetime and to serve as army reserves making a profit itself. This did not dis- in wartime. To reinforce the cavalry, the place private trading activities. On the government procured horses and contrary, the government extended loans assigned them to peasant households in to small urban and regional traders northern and northwestern areas. Various through state pawnshops—a practice weapons were also developed. As a result somewhat like modern government of these efforts, the empire eventually banking but unheard-of at the time. Far scored some minor victories along the more important, if not controversial, the northwestern border. government made loans at the interest The gigantic reform program rate, low for the period, of 20 percent to required an energetic bureaucracy, which the whole peasantry during the sowing Wang attempted to create—with mixed 144 | The History of China results—by means of a variety of policies: become accustomed. It also reacted promoting a nationwide state school against the over concentration of power system; establishing or expanding spe- at the top, which neglected the art of dis- cialized training in such utilitarian tributing and balancing power among professions as the military, law, and medi- government offices, the overexpansion of cine, which were neglected by Confucian governmental power in society, and the education; placing a strong emphasis on tendency to apply policies relatively uni- supportive interpretations of Classics, formly in a locally diverse empire. some of which Wang himself supplied Without directly attacking the rather dogmatically; demoting and dis- emperor, the critics attacked the reform- missing dissenting officials (thus creating ers for deviating from orthodox conflicts in the bureaucracy); and provid- Confucianism. It was wrong, the oppo- ing strong incentives for better nents argued, for the state to pursue performances by clerical staffs, including profits, to assume inordinate power, and merit promotion into bureaucratic ranks. to interfere in the normal life of the com- The magnitude of the reform pro- mon people. It was often true as charged gram was matched only by the bitter that the reforms—and the resulting opposition to it. Determined criticism changes in government—brought about came from the groups hurt by the the rise of unscrupulous officials, an reform measures: large landowners, increase in high-handed abuses in the big merchants, and moneylenders. name of strict law enforcement, unjusti- Noncooperation and sabotage arose fied discrimination against many among the bulk of the bureaucrats, scholar-officials of long experience, drawn as they were from the landown- intense factionalism, and resulting wide- ing and otherwise wealthy classes. spread miseries among the population—all Geographically, the strongest opposition of which were in contradiction to the came from the traditionally more conser- claims of the reform objectives. vative northern areas. Ideologically, Particularly open to criticism was the however, the criticisms did not necessar- rigidity of the reform system, which ily coincide with either class background allowed little regional discretion or desir- or geographic factors. They were best able adjustment for differing conditions expressed by many leading scholar-offi- in various parts of the empire. cials, some of whom were northern In essence the reforms augmented conservatives while others were brilliant growing trends toward both absolutism talents from Sichuan. Both the emperor and bureaucracy. Even in the short run, and Wang failed to reckon with the fact the cost of the divisive factionalism that that, by its very nature, the entrenched the reforms generated had disastrous bureaucracy could tolerate no sudden effects. To be fair, Wang was to blame change in the system to which it had for his overzealous if not doctrinaire The Song Dynasty | 145 beliefs, his low tolerance for criticism, conservatives to power. An antireform and his persistent support of his follow- period lasted until 1093, during which ers even when their errors were hardly in time most of the reforms were rescinded doubt. Nonetheless, it was Shenzong or drastically revised. Though men of himself who was ultimately responsible. integrity, the conservatives offered few Determined to have the reform measures constructive alternatives. They managed implemented, he ignored loud remon- to relax tension and achieve a seeming strances, disregarded friendly appeals to stability, but this did not prevent old have certain measures modified, and problems from recurring. Some conserva- continued the reforms after Wang’s tives objected to turning back the clock, retirement. especially by swinging to the opposite The traditional historians, by study- extreme, but they were silenced. Once the ing documentary evidence alone, young emperor took control, he undid overlooked the fact that scholar-officials what the empress dowager had put in rarely openly criticized an absolutist place; the pendulum swung once again to emperor, and they generally echoed the a restoration of the reforms, a period that critical views of the conservatives in lasted to the end of the Bei Song. In such assigning the blame to Wang—a revision- repeated convulsions, the government ist Confucian in public, a profound could not escape dislocation, and the Buddhist practitioner in his old age, and society became demoralized. Moreover, a great poet and essayist. the restored reform movement was a mere ghost without its original idealism. Decline and Fall Enough grounds were found by conservatives out of power to blame the reforms Careful balancing of powers in the for the fall of the dynasty. bureaucracy, through which the rulers Zhezong’s successor, Huizong acted and from which they received (reigned 1100–1125/26), was a great advice and information, was essential to patron of the arts and an excellent good government in China. The demon- artist himself, but such qualities did not strated success of this principle in early make him a good ruler. Indulgent in Bei Song so impressed later scholars that pleasures and irresponsible in state they described it as the art of govern- affairs, he misplaced his trust in ment. It became a lost art under Shenzong, favourites. Those in power knew how to however, in the reform zeal and more so manipulate the regulatory system to in the subsequent eagerness to do away obtain excessive tax revenues. At first, with the reforms. the complacent emperor granted more The reign of Zhezong (1085–1100) support to government schools every- began with a regency under another where; the objection that this move empress dowager, who recalled the might flood the already crowded 146 | The History of China

Zhenshu (“regular style”) calligraphy, written by the emperor Huizong (reigned 1100– 1125/26), Bei (Northern) Song dynasty, China; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei bureaucracy was dismissed, seeing the When his extravagant expenditures put signifi cant gains it would bring in popu- the treasury in defi cit, he rescinded lar support among scholar-offi cials. The scholarships in government schools. emperor then commissioned the con- Support for him among scholar-offi cials struction of a costly new imperial garden. soon vanished. The Song Dynasty | 147

More serious was carelessness in war agents as intermediaries between candi- and diplomacy. The Song disregarded dates and themselves. the treaty and coexistence with the Liao The Juchen swept across the Huang empire, allied itself with the expanding He plain and found the internally decayed Juchen from Manchuria, and made a con- Song an easy prey. During their long certed attack on the Liao. The Song siege of Kaifeng (1126), they repeatedly commander, contrary to long-held prohi- demanded ransoms in gold, silver, jewels, bition, was a favoured eunuch; under him other valuables, and general supplies. and other unworthy generals, military The court, whose emergency call for help expenditures ran high, but army morale brought only undermanned reinforce- was low. The fall of Liao was cause for ments and untrained volunteers, met the court celebration, but because the Juchen invaders’ demands and ordered the capi- had done most of the fighting, they tal residents to follow suit. Finally, an accused the Song of not doing its share impoverished mob plundered the infa- and denied it certain spoils of the con- mous imperial garden for firewood. The quest. The Juchen soon turned on the court remained convinced that financial Song. Huizong chose to abdicate at that power could buy peace, and the Juchen point, giving himself the title of Daoist lifted the siege briefly. But once aware “emperor emeritus” and leaving affairs that local resources were exhausted and largely in the unprepared hands of his that the regime, even with the return of son, Qinzong (reigned 1125/26–1127), the emperor emeritus, no longer had the while seeking safety and pleasure him- capability of delivering additional wealth self by touring the Yangtze region. from other parts of the country, the invad- During that period the government ers changed their tactics. They captured became increasingly ineffective. The the two emperors and the entire imperial reform movement had enlarged both the house, exiled them to Manchuria, and put size and duties of the clerical staff. The a tragic end to the Bei Song. antireform period brought a cutback but also a confusion that presented manipu- Nan (Southern) lative opportunities to some clerks. Song (1127–1279) Supervision was difficult because officials stayed only a few years, whereas The Juchen could not extend their con- clerks remained in office for long periods. quest south of the Yangtze River. In Bureaucratic laxity spread quickly to the addition, the Huai River valley, with its clerical level. Bribes for appointments winding streams and crisscrossed marsh- went either to them or through their lands, made cavalry operations difficult. hands. It was they who made cheating Though the invaders penetrated this possible at examinations, using literary region and raided several areas below the 148 | The History of China

Spring Fragrance, Clearing After Rain, ink and slight colour on silk album leaf by Ma Lin, Nan (Southern) Song dynasty; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Yangtze, they found the weather there too own administration, following the Liao warm and humid for them. Moreover, the model of dual government. farther they went, the stronger the resistance they met, as they penetrated into Survival and Consolidation areas that had been leading the country in productivity and population and there- Despite the fall of the Bei Song, the major- fore in defense capability. Besides, the ity of scholar-offi cials refused to identify Juchen felt concerned about the areas in themselves with the alien conquerors. the rear that they had already occupied: The same was generally true at the grass- one after another of their puppet rulers roots level, among numerous roving there had failed to secure popular sup- bands of former volunteer militias, army port, and the Juchen had been forced to units that had disintegrated, and bandits consolidate control by setting up their who had arisen during the disorder. As The Song Dynasty | 149 time went on, both civilians and military rural revenues, and prosperous cities did men turned toward the pretender to the not suffer much from the imposition. The throne, Gaozong. He was the only son of high priority placed on fiscal matters, the former emperor Huizong who had though not publicized as in the previous been absent from Kaifeng and thus reform period in order to avoid a bad spared captivity. image, persisted throughout the Nan As the founder of the Nan Song, Song, which was a long era of heavy Gaozong devoted his long reign (1127– taxation. 62) to the arduous task of putting the Some officials, anxious to recover pieces together. He rediscovered the lost the central plains, wished to have the arts of his ancestors: recruiting bureau- capital located in Nanjing, or farther up crats, securing fiscal resources, and the Yangtze in central China. Gaozong extending centralized control. Because discreetly declined such advice because he started with no more than a few thou- these locations were militarily exposed. sand troops, he had to place a much Instead, he chose Hang (present-day greater reliance on sophisticated politics, Hangzhou), renaming it Lin’an which he often artfully disguised. By (“Temporary Safety”), as it occupied a praising the old, established ways of his more defensible location. It was popu- predecessors, he pleased the conserva- larly referred to as the place of imperial tives who remained opposed to the headquarters (Xingzai), later known to reform system. In reality, he modified the Marco Polo as Quinsai. Economically, it system he had inherited where it had had the advantage of being at the corner obviously failed and pragmatically of the lower Yangtze delta, the wealthy retained the parts that were working. He core of the new empire. honoured the scholar-officials who had The Nan Song, through continuous refused to serve under the puppet rulers, development, eventually became wealth- but he was also glad to have those who ier than the Bei Song had been. Though had compromised their integrity in so its capital was near the sea—the only such serving. While he denounced the notori- instance among the Chinese empires— ous favourites who had misled his father, and international trade increased, the he used the excuse of being broad- country was not sea-oriented. Gaozong minded in picking many of their former maintained a defensive posture against subordinates for key positions, especially periodic Juchen incursions from the those experienced in raising tax reve- north and meanwhile proceeded to restore nues. A new network of officials called imperial authority in the hinterland as far the fiscal superintendent generals was west as the strategic Sichuan and in parts set up in each region, but they reported of Shaanxi to its immediate north. directly to court. Urban taxes were No less important was the need increased; they were easier to collect than for adequate military forces. Neither 150 | The History of China conscription nor recruitment would suf- called into question the legitimacy of his fice. Because his position was militarily succession. weak but financially strong, Gaozong A dramatic crisis occurred in 1141. adopted the zhao’an policy, which offered On the eve of concluding peace negotia- peace to the various roving bands. The tions, Gaozong decided to strip the three government granted them legitimate sta- leading generals of their commands. tus as regular troops, and it overlooked The generals, summoned to the capital their minor abuses in local matters. Thus, on the pretext of rewarding their merits, the size of imperial forces swelled, and were promoted to military commission- the problem of internal security was ers, while their units were reorganized largely settled. The court then turned its into separate entities directly under attention to the control of these armies, imperial control. Two of the generals which was inseparable from the issue of reconciled themselves to the nominal war or peace with the Juchen. honours and sizable pensions, but the Gaozong did not want to prolong the third, Yue Fei, openly criticized the peace war; he valued most the security of his negotiations. He was put to death on a realm. A few minor victories did not con- trumped-up charge of high treason. He vince him that he could hope to recover later became the subject of a great leg- northern China. Rather, he saw war as a end, in which he was seen as a symbol of heavy drain on available resources, with patriotism. At the time, however, his the risk of eventual defeat. Nor did he feel elimination signified full internal and comfortable with the leading generals, on external security for the court. whom he would have to rely in case the war went on. He had to get around the Relations critics at court, however, who found the with the Juchen Juchen peace terms humiliating and unacceptable: in addition to an enormous In spite of Gaozong’s personal inclina- yearly tribute, the Juchen demanded that tion, his artful guiding hand, and the the Nan Song formally admit, with due success of his efforts to consolidate the ceremonials, its inferior status as a vassal empire, the impulse remained strong state. The shrewd emperor found an among many idealistic Confucians to impeccable excuse for accepting the attempt to recover the central plains. terms by claiming filial piety: he sought Even when silenced, they were poten- the return of his mother from captivity. tially critical of court policies. Gaozong To this no Confucian could openly object. eventually decided to abdicate, leaving Significantly, Gaozong refrained from the matter to his adopted heir, but he asking the release of former emperor retained control from behind the throne. Qinzong, as such a move would have The new emperor, Xiaozong (reigned The Song Dynasty | 151

1163–89), sympathetic to the idealists, southern empire alone. It was also obvi- appointed several of them to court posi- ous that the Chinese population in tions and command posts. Information northern China consisted of new genera- about a Juchen palace coup and alleged tions brought up under alien domination unrest in the Juchen empire, particularly and accustomed to it. in the parts recently occupied, led to a The Juchen not only retained their decision to resume the war. An initial military edge over the Nan Song but Song attack was repulsed with such also revived their ambition of southward heavy losses that even regrouping took expansion. An offer was made to the some time to accomplish. Sporadic fight- governor of Sichuan, who decided to ing went on for nearly two years in the turn against the Song court in faraway Huai valley, reflecting a military stale- Lin’an and to become king of a vassal mate. The outcome, in 1165, was a state allied with the Juchen. The civilian significant change in the new peace for- officials around him, however, took quick mula: the vassal state designation was action and ended his separatist rebel- dropped, and the Nan Song attained a lion. Though a passing danger, it nearly equal footing with the Juchen, highlighted the fact that the Nan Song although it had to defer to the latter consolidation was not entirely secure; empire as the senior one. peace was preferred. After the death of Gaozong in 1187, Xiaozong followed the precedent of abdi- The Court’s Relations cating. The international peace was kept with the Bureaucracy during the brief reign of his son, Guangzong (reigned 1190–94), but it was Gaozong set the style for all subsequent broken again in 1205, during the reign Nan Song emperors. The first two emper- of his grandson, Ningzong (reigned 1195– ors in the Bei Song, both strong militarists, 1224). The 40-year span of continuous had towered above the relatively modest peace dimmed the memory of difficul- bureaucracy they had created; most of ties in waging war. A new generation, their successors had found little difficulty nurtured by a flourishing Confucian edu- in maintaining a balance in the bureau- cation, tended to underestimate enemy cracy. The circumstances under which strength and to think once more about the Nan Song came into being, however, recovering the central plains. The Nan were quite different. Gaozong faced Song again initiated a northward cam- tough competition in building up a loyal paign, and again it met with defeat. The bureaucracy, first with the two puppet rul- event left no doubt that the Juchen ers in the north and then from the dual empire’s hold over northern China was administration the Juchen empire had far beyond the military capability of the set up. He became keenly aware that a 152 | The History of China cautious handling of bureaucrats was and made it known that they had done essential. Later, the attempted rebellion so, but they did not take concrete action. in Sichuan taught his successors the Sometimes an emperor would either same lesson. order an investigation or express a gen- Gaozong was an attentive student eral agreement with the criticism, of history who consciously emulated thereby preventing the critics from the restoration by the Dong (Eastern) making an issue of it by repeated Han (AD 25–220) and defined his style remonstrances. On other occasions the as the “gentle approach.” This meant emperors would listen to the critics and using bureaucratic tactics to deal with commend them for their courage, but, to the bureaucrats themselves. The gentle avoid stirring up a storm, the court would approach proved helpful in maintaining explicitly forbid the circulating of private a balance at court and thus in protect- copies of the criticisms among other ing councillors and imperial favourites scholar-officials. More subtly, the court from the criticism of “opinion-officials.” would sometimes announce an official Absolutism had grown since the middle version of such criticism, leaving out the of the Bei Song; the emperors had dele- most damaging part. Likewise, rectifying gated much more power than before to edicts that followed the acceptance of a few ranking councillors. Similarly, criticism often had little substance. imperial favourites—e.g., eunuchs, other Reconciliation at court was another tech- personal attendants of the emperor, nique: an emperor would deliberately, if and relatives of the consorts—gained not evasively, attribute criticism to prob- influence. able misunderstanding, assemble the The opinion-officials by virtue of parties in dispute, ask them to compose their rank or conviction wished to speak their differences, caution those under against those who abused power and attack to mend their ways, and suggest to influence; as a result of the factionalism the critics that their opinions, though that had plagued the late Bei Song, their valid, should be modified. The handling effectiveness had declined and never of severe critics who refused to change recovered. But as long as absolutism was their stand required different tactics. qualified by Confucian values and the Seemingly accepting their adverse opin- monarch cherished a Confucian image, ion, the court might reward them by he had to learn to deal with some adverse promotion to a higher position, whose opinions, and he often resorted to sophis- functions did not include the rendering ticated delaying tactics. Skilled at of further advice. Rarely did the court bureaucratic manipulation, the Nan Song demote or punish opinion-officials, espe- emperors listened to criticism with osten- cially those with prestige; sometimes it sible grace, responded appreciatively, would not even permit them to resign or The Song Dynasty | 153 to ask for a transfer. Any such move geographic area. In addition, the size of tended to damage the court’s valuable the bureaucracy and fluidity of its com- Confucian image. On sensitive issues position precluded anyone from the emperors were likely to invoke their controlling it. The tenure of chief council- absolutist power, but this was usually lor essentially depended on the sanction handled gently, by quietly advising the of the emperor. At times even the chief opinion-officials to refrain from com- councillor had to reaffirm his loyalty menting on the issues again. along with other bureaucrats. Loyalty in Under this bureaucratized manipula- absolutist terms being another name for tion by the court, the institution of submission, the court, bureaucratized as opinion-officials degenerated. Often the it was, retained its supreme position emperors appointed their own friends beyond challenge. to such posts, but just as often, when Nevertheless, the history of Nan the emperors hinted that they were Song politics had much to do with pow- displeased with certain ministers, the erful chief councillors, increasingly so as opinion-officials dutifully responded time went on. Gaozong at first had a with unfavourable evidence, thus furnish- rapid succession of ranking ministers, ing the court with grounds for dismissals. but none of them measured up to the dif- Such imperial manipulations served ficult task at hand: seeking external manifold purposes: safeguarding abso- security by maintaining peace with the lutist power and its delegation to various northern empire and maintaining inter- individuals, disguising absolutism, and nal security by undermining the power keeping the bureaucracy in balance. of leading generals. Only the chief councillor Qin Kui did both; moreover, he The Chief Councillors increased tax revenues, strengthening the fiscal base of the court and enriching The later Nan Song emperors preferred the private imperial treasury. For these not to take on the awesome burden of merits, he was given full support to managing the huge and complex bureau- impose tight control over the bureaucracy. Most of them were concerned cracy as long as he lived. Powerful as he chiefly with security and the status quo. was, he avoided doing anything that The Nan Song court delegated a tremen- might arouse imperial suspicion. He had dous amount of power and thus had a many dissident scholar-officials ban- series of dominant chief councillors; ished from court, but only with imperial none of them, however, ever was a poten- sanction. He accommodated many tial usurper. No bureaucrat during the bureaucrats, even those who neither Song era had a political base, a hereditary opposed nor followed him, but he made hold, or a personal following in any many of them jealous of his great power 154 | The History of China and of the rapid promotions he gave to qualifications, questioned his political his son and grandson. Qin Kui failed, ability, and criticized his nepotistic however, to properly assess the wiles of appointments. Reacting to the hostility, his bureaucratized master, who turned he made first a crucial mistake and then out to be the more skillful politician. a fatal one. First, he banned a particular Upon Qin Kui’s death, the emperor school of Confucian idealists, led by Zhu shifted all blame to him and recalled Xi. This proved unpopular, even among from banishment some of his opponents, neutral scholar-officials. After he thus restoring in time a balance in the rescinded the ban, he attempted to bureaucracy. recruit support and to reunite the After his voluntary abdication, bureaucracy by initiating the war against Gaozong retained his power by using the Juchen. After its defeat in the war, Xiaozong more or less as a chief council- the Song executed him as a sacrifice in lor. Xiaozong subsequently failed to find its search for peace. a firm hand among his successive minis- Shi Miyuan emerged as the domi- ters, and the great burden on himself nant chief councillor. He came from a was probably one reason that he chose bureaucratic family background and to abdicate. His son, Guangzong, was understood the gentle approach and the mentally disturbed, unresponsive to importance of accommodating various bureaucratic consensus, and pathetically kinds of bureaucrats in order to achieve a dominated by his consort. He turned political balance. Promoting on merit and against Xiaozong and even refused to refraining from nepotism, he restored perform state funeral rites when the stability. He also recognized that the ide- retired emperor died—an unprecedented ological prestige the followers of Zhu Xi default that shocked the court. The solu- had won had become a political factor, tion was equally unprecedented: the and he appointed some of their promi- empress dowager, the palace personnel, nent leaders to highly respectable posts and the ranking ministers agreed to but without giving them real power. Like force his abdication and oversee the the emperors he served, Shi wanted to accession of Ningzong. Through the cri- have both authority and a good political sis, Han Tuozhou, who renewed the war image. Ningzong had no son, and the against the Juchen, moved rapidly into chief councillor helped him adopt two power. Related originally to the empress heirs. When the emperor died without dowager and again to a new consort, he designating an heir apparent, Shi Miyuan received deferential treatment from arbitrarily decided in favour of the Ningzong. He was made chief councillor younger one, which was contrary to the but found it hard to control many bureau- normal order of succession but had the crats who objected to his lack of scholarly backing of palace-connected personnel. The Song Dynasty | 155

Both Lizong (reigned 1224/25–1264) treasury—from which the government in and his successor Duzong (reigned deficit had to borrow funds—and their pri- 1264/65–1274) indulged excessively in vate intelligence systems to check on the pleasure, though much of it was carefully chief councillors. Moreover, potential concealed from the public. Shortly after competitors always existed in the bureau- the death of Shi Miyuan, the role of chief cracy, ready to criticize the chief councillor went to Jia Sidao, who, though councillors whenever state affairs went he was denounced in history, actually badly enough to displease or disturb the deserves much credit. He dismissed emperors. The chief councillors had enor- many incompetents from the palace, mous power only by virtue of the imperial court, bureaucracy, and army and curbed trust, and that lasted only as long as excessive corruption by instituting minor things went tolerably well. administrative reforms. His strict accounting made the generals personally The bureaucratic style liable for misappropriation of funds. A system of public fields was introduced, Regular posts in the Nan Song civil ser- which cut into the concentration of land- vice numbered about 20,000, without ownership by requisitioning at a low counting numerous sinecures, tempo- price one-third of large estates beyond rary commissions, and a slightly larger certain sizes and using the income for number of military officers. Besides elim- army expenditures when the government inating most patronage privileges—by faced external danger and fiscal deficit. which high officials were entitled to These measures, however, hurt the influ- obtain an official title for a son or other ential elements of the ruling class, family member—the court occasionally making Jia unpopular. He too had failed considered a general reduction in the to practice the gentle approach. He was size of the bureaucracy, although vested denounced by those who had defected to interests always opposed it. Those who the enemy and later reconciled their guilt entered government service seldom by placing the blame on him. dropped out or were thrown out. Except in name, the several dominant Meanwhile, new candidates waiting for chief councillors were nearly actual offices came in waves from state exami- rulers by proxy. They ran the civil admin- nations, extra examinations on special istration, supervised both state finance occasions, graduation from the National and military affairs, and controlled most Academy, and special recommendations scholar-officials by some varying combi- and unusual sponsorship; others gained nation of gentle accommodation and official titles because their families con- high-handed pressure. The emperors, tributed to famine relief or military however, kept their separate imperial expenditures. Thus, the ever-increasing 156 | The History of China supply of candidates far exceeded the there was a huge output of legislation in vacancies. the form of imperial edicts and approved According to Confucian theory, any memorials that took precedence over the prosperity that made possible more newly adopted code and soon largely dis- books in print, more schools, and a placed it in many areas of law. Song legal better-educated elite was all for the bureaucrats periodically compiled and good. But the original Confucian ideal edited the results of this outpouring of intended to have the elite serve the soci- new laws. The new rules not only altered ety in general and the community in the content of the (largely criminal) particular rather than flood the bureau- sphere covered by the code but also legis- cracy. Rising educational standards lated in the areas of administrative, made the competition at examinations commercial, property, sumptuary, and harder and perhaps raised the average ritual law. There were literally hundreds quality of degree holders. of compilations of various sorts of laws. Families with members in the Perhaps as a result of the growth of bureaucracy responded in part by suc- this legal tangle from the late Bei Song cessfully increasing the importance of onward, magistrates made increasing use other avenues of entrance into govern- of precedents, decisions by the central ment service, especially the “protection” legal authorities on individual cases, in privilege that allowed high officials to reaching legal decisions. The govern- secure official rank for their protégés ment sought to help its officials by (usually junior family members). People instituting a variety of devices to encour- outside the civil service responded by age officials and prospective officials to altering their goals and values and by learn the law and to certify that those in reducing the stress on the importance of office did have some familiarity with entering the bureaucracy. It was not acci- things legal. There was an increase in the dental that Neo-Confucian academies writing and publication of other sorts of spread during the era, emphasizing works concerned with the law, including moral self-development—not success in casebooks and the world’s oldest extant examinations—as the proper goal of book on forensic medicine. Despite the education. appearance of such works, which were During the Song period, increased intended to help them, officials were emphasis was placed on morals and eth- under strong pressure to rule in a conser- ics and a continuous development of the vative way and to avoid rocking the boat. law. The early Song had adopted a legal Many scholar-officials sought sim- code almost wholly traceable to an earlier ply to keep things quiet and maintain Tang code, but Song circumstances dif- the appearance that there was no serious fered from those of the Tang. As a result, trouble. The bureaucratic style was to The Song Dynasty | 157 follow the accustomed ways in accor- the prevalent mode of operation—namely, dance with proper procedure, fi nd mutual accommodation. Even the emperor expedient solutions based upon certain adopted the bureaucratic style. principles in spirit, make reasonable The picture was not entirely bleak. compromises after due consideration of Evasions and deviations notwithstand- all sides, and achieve smooth reconcilia- ing, the letter of the laws and the tions of divergent views. To protect one’s formalities of procedures had to be own career record it was essential to fulfi lled. Defi nite limits were set on offi - engage in time-consuming consultations cial negligence and misconduct. For with all appropriate offi ces and to report example, suppressing evidence or dis- to all concerned authorities so that torting information were punishable everyone else would have a share of off enses. Minor juggling of accounts responsibility. Anyone who criticized the went on, but outright embezzlement was bureaucratic style would be going against never permissible. Expensive gifts were

Chinese Civil Service

The Chinese civil service constituted the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government, the members of which were selected by a competitive examination. The system gave the Chinese empire stability for more than 2,000 years and provided one of the major outlets for social mobility in Chinese society. It later served as a model for the civil-service systems that developed in other Asian and Western countries. The Qin dynasty established the fi rst centralized Chinese bureaucratic empire in the 3rd century BC and thus created the need for an administrative system to sta« it. Succeeding dynasties further refi ned and expanded the system to what many consider its highest point during the Song dynasty—although the bureaucratic style of mutual favouritism sometimes led to corruption. Public schools were established throughout the country to help the talented but indigent, business contact was barred among o¯ cials related by blood or marriage, relatives of the imperial family were not permitted to hold high positions, and promotions were based on a merit system in which a person who nominated another for advancement was deemed totally responsible for that person’s conduct. Almost all Song o¯ cials in the higher levels of the bureaucracy were recruited by passing the jinshi examinations (which tested a candidate’s knowledge of the Confucian Classics), and the jinshi became regularly established a« airs. After 1065 they were held every three years, but only for those who fi rst passed qualifying tests on the local level. The examination system was fi nally abolished in 1905 by the Qing dynasty in the midst of modernization attempts. The whole civil-service system as it had previously existed was overthrown along with the dynasty in 1911/12. 158 | The History of China customary and even expected, but an influential elements in the community undisguised bribe was unacceptable. who had connections with high circles. The refined art of the bureaucratic style Though all bureaucrats complained of was not sophistry and hypocrisy alone; it clerical abuses, many connived with the required a circumspect adherence to the clerks, and none had a viable alternative commonly accepted substandard norms, to the existing situation. One significant without which the maintenance of gov- suggestion was to replace the clerks ernment would have been impossible. with the oversupply of examination candidates and degree holders, who pre- The Clerical Staff sumably had more moral scruples. But that solution had no chance of being The norms for the clerks were even lower, considered, because it implied a down- especially in local government. Some 300 grading of the status of those who clerks in a large prefecture or nearly 100 considered themselves to be either poten- in a small one were placed under the tial or actual members of the ruling class. supervision of a few officials. The clerks The law did place definite limits on had numerous dealings with various clerical misbehaviour. But when a clerk other elements in the community, was caught in his wrongdoing, he knew whereas the officials, being outsiders, enough to save himself—taking flight rarely had direct contacts. Holding prac- before arrest, getting a similar job else- tically lifelong tenure after benefiting where under a different name, defending from the cumulative experience of their himself through time-consuming proce- fathers and uncles before them, the clerks dures, appealing for leniency in knew how to operate the local adminis- sentencing, requesting a review, or apply- trative machinery far better than did the ing for clemency on the occasion of officials, who served only brief terms imperial celebrations. What prevented before moving elsewhere. Clerks often clerical abuses from getting worse was received inadequate salaries and were not so much official enforcement of legal expected to support themselves with limits as it was the social convention in “gifts” from those needing their services. the community. For themselves as well The clerks under honest, strict, and hard- as for their descendants, the clerks could working magistrates would recoil, but ill afford to overstep the socially accept- only briefly, because such magistrates able limits. would soon either gain promotion for The net result of a large bureaucracy their remarkable reputations, or their and its supporting clerical staff, accom- strict insistence on clean government modating one another in various defaults, would become intolerable to their malfunctions, and misconduct within superiors, colleagues, subordinates, and loose limits, was a declining tax yield, tax The Song Dynasty | 159 evasion by those who befriended collud- his followers, a state permeated by true ing officials and clerks, and an undue Confucian practices would be so inter- shift of the tax burden onto those least nally strong and would have such an able to pay. attraction for outsiders that retaking the north would require only a minimal effort; The rise of a state lacking true Confucian practices Neo-Confucianism would be so internally weak and unat- tractive that retaking the lost territories The rise of the particular school of Neo- would be quite impossible. Confucianism led by Zhu Xi takes on Moreover, threatened by the Juchen special meaning in this context. The Neo- adoption of the same heritage, the Song Confucian upsurge beginning in the late felt driven to make an exclusive claim to Tang embraced many exciting exten- both legitimacy and orthodoxy. Such a sions of the Classical vision. Noteworthy claim required that the new departures during the Bei Song was the emergence be interpreted as reaffirmation of ancient of a new Confucian metaphysics that was ideals. Thus, the intellectual trend that influenced by Buddhism and that bor- developed under Zhu Xi’s leadership was rowed freely from Daoist terminology referred to first as Daoxue (“School of while rejecting both religions. Of rele- True Way”) and later as Lixue (“School vance to Nan Song political and social of Universal Principles”). Education, to conditions was its continuous growth the thinkers of this school, meant a far- into a well-integrated philosophical sys- deeper self-cultivation of moral tem that synthesized metaphysics, ethics, consciousness, the ultimate extent of social ideals, political aspirations, indi- which was the inner experience of feeling vidual discipline, and self-cultivation. at one with universal principles. These The best thinkers of the early Nan men, who might be described as tran- Song were disillusioned by the realiza- scendental moralists in Confucianism, tion that previous Neo-Confucian also made a commitment to reconstruct a attempts had failed. Reforms that had moral society—to them the only conceiv- sought to apply statecraft had ended in able foundation for good government. abuses and controversies. The spread of With missionary-like zeal, they engaged education had not coincided with an in propagation of this true way and uplifting of moral standards. The loss of formed moral-intellectual fellowships. the central plains was a great cultural Zhu Xi, the great synthesizer, ranked the shock, but to talk of recovering the lost Classics in a step-by-step curriculum, territory was useless unless it was pre- interpreted his foremost choices, collec- ceded by a rediscovery of the true tively known as the Sishu (“Four Books”), meaning of Confucianism. To Zhu Xi and summed up a monumental history in a 160 | The History of China The Song Dynasty | 161 short version full of moralistic judgments, the court. The school was proscribed as prepared other extensive writings and false learning and un-Confucian. Several sayings of his own, and opened the way dozen of its leaders, including Zhu Xi, for an elementary catechism, titled the were banished, some to distant places. Sanzijing (“Three Character Classics”), Thenceforth, all state examination candi- that conveyed the entire value system dates had to declare that they had no of this school in simple language for connection with the school. what approximated mass education. Most historical accounts follow the Many idealistic scholars fl ocked to view that the controversy was another Zhu Xi, his associates, and his disciples. example of factional strife, but that was Frustrated and alienated by the prevalent not the case. The attackers were not a conditions and demoralizing low stan- cohesive group, except for their common dards, these intellectuals assumed a resentment toward the school, nor was peculiar archaic and semireligious life- the school itself an active group in poli- style. Prominent in scholarship, tics. The confl ict was in fact one between educational activities, and social leader- two polarized levels—political power and ship and fi lling some relatively minor ideological authority. The nature of the government posts, they asserted their Confucian state required that the two exclusive ideological authority with an should converge if not coincide. air of superiority, much to the displeasure The persecution boomeranged by of many conventional Confucians. making heroes out of its victims and Though they were not keen about poli- arousing sympathy among neutral tics, the prestige they acquired was an scholar-offi cials. Realizing his mistake a implicit threat to those in power. The few years later, Han lifted the ban. Most chief councillor Han Tuozhou was par- historical accounts leave an erroneous ticularly alarmed when he found some of impression that, once the ban was his political adversaries sympathetic to removed, the Zhu Xi school of Neo- and even supporting this particular Confucianism by its preeminence soon school. A number of other bureaucrats at gained wide acceptance, which almost various ranks shared Han’s alarm; one automatically raised it to the coveted sta- after another, they accused the school of tus of offi cial orthodoxy. But in reality the being similar to a subversive religious rise to orthodoxy was slow and achieved sect, calling it a threat to state security by political manipulation, occasioned by and attacking its alleged disrespect for an internal crisis of imperial succession

Neo-Confucian leader Zhu Xi, ink on paper, by an unknown artist; in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China 162 | The History of China and then by the external threat of the weaknesses, maintained an effective Mongols. Shi Miyuan, the chief council- defense against the Mongols for four lor who made Lizong emperor, created decades—the longest stand against circumstances that forced the elder heir Mongol invasions anywhere. The final of Ningzong to commit suicide. This was Song defeat came in part because the damaging to the image of the court and Mongol forces, frustrated for many years to that of Shi himself. Mending political in their attempts to break the main Song fences, he placed a few of the school’s vet- line of resistance, drove through territo- eran leaders in prestigious positions in ries to the west and outflanked the Song order to redress the balance of the defenders. The Song capital, Lin’an, bureaucracy. finally fell in 1276 without much fighting, In 1233, the year before the Mongol all the high-ranking officials and officers conquest of Juchen, the Mongols hon- having already fled. The empire itself oured Confucius and rebuilt his temple came to an end in 1279, after its last fleet in Beijing. In 1237 their emerging nomadic had been destroyed near Guangzhou, empire, already occupying a large por- when a loyal minister with the boy pre- tion of northern China, reinstituted a tender to the throne committed suicide civil service examination, thus claiming by jumping into the sea. that it too was a Confucian state. Later Chinese historians attempted Threatened both militarily and culturally, to explain the fall of the Nan Song as the the Nan Song made Zhu Xi’s commentar- result of internal decay and abuses, and ies official, his school the state orthodoxy, so they stressed the problems of heavy and its claim the accepted version—that taxation, inflated paper currency, bureau- the true way of Confucius had been lost cratic laxity, and clerical abuses. The for more than a millennium and that the absence of any large-scale uprisings line of transmission was not resumed among the peasantry, however, suggests until, inspired by the early Bei Song mas- that they overstated the seriousness of ters, Zhu Xi reestablished it. This implied such problems. To explain this lack of that whatever Confucianism the Mongols popular discord, most historical accounts took over was but a pale imitation and cite Chinese patriotism, the point being without legitimacy. that the war against the Mongols was for cultural rather than merely dynastic sur- Internal Solidarity During vival. Though partly true, this was not the Decline of the Nan Song the only reason. Other significant factors contributed to this high degree of Honouring the Zhu Xi school did not internal solidarity: (1) the government reinvigorate the Nan Song administra- mobilized the resources of the wealthiest tion, but the military, despite some region, that of the lower Yangtze, The Song Dynasty | 163 without overburdening other regions; (2) stressed loyalty, and that in turn probably the tax burden and the emergency requi- helped bolster the strength of the dynasty sitions fell mostly on the prosperous in the face of foreign invasion and helped urban sectors rather than on rural areas, limit internal disloyalty. the backbone of the empire; and (3) scholar-officials in many areas, in spite Stong cul ure of their shortcomings, were sophisticated in the art of administration, The Song was an era of great change in moving quickly to put down small upris- most facets of Chinese life. Some of these ings before they got larger or offering developments were the outgrowths of accommodative terms to induce some earlier patterns, while others were largely rebel leaders to come over while divid- born under that dynasty. These developing the rest. Finally, the Neo-Confucian ments often related to or were made values had pervaded the country through possible by major changes in Chinese more books, more schooling, and greater economic life. efforts by Neo-Confucians to promote An agricultural revolution produced moral standards, community solidarity, plentiful supplies for a population of and welfare activities and through wide- more than 100 million—by far the largest spread Neo-Confucian roots planted at in the world at the time. Acreages under the local levels by half-literate storytell- cultivation multiplied in all directions, ers, makeshift theatres, and traveling stretching across sandy lands, climbing companies in various performing arts. uphill, and pushing back water edges. A The examination system itself played variety of early ripening rice, imported a major role in the Confucianization of during the 11th century from Champa (in Chinese society. Only a small percentage present-day Cambodia), shortened the of the candidates actually passed the growing season to fewer than 100 days, degree examinations and entered the making two crops per year the norm and civil service. The vast majority, thor- three crops possible in the warm south. oughly imbued with Confucian studies, Among other new crops the most impor- returned to the larger society, often to tant was cotton, which was made into serve as teachers to the next generation. clothing for rich and poor alike; silk and Furthermore, the examination system hemp were also important. Improved reinforced the deeply Confucian charac- tools, new implements, and mechanical ter of the curriculum, from the lowest devices that raised manpower efficiency level of primary education to the highest were widely used and found their way level in the academies. Children began into guidebooks used by the literate com- imbibing Confucian moral precepts munity leaders. The production of such when they began to read. These precepts minerals as gold, silver, lead, and tin also 164 | The History of China

increased. Consumption of iron and coal grew at a faster rate from 850 to 1050 than it later did in England during the fi rst two centuries of the Industrial Revolution. The Chinese, however, never developed technology that used these two resources to generate power mechanically. Manufacturing made tremen- dous headway within the skill-intensive pattern but with the aid of new devices, better process- ing, a beginning of division of labour, and expertise. Chinese porcelain attained international fame. Though information on ordinary handicrafts was available in handbooks and encyclopaedias, advanced skills were guarded as trade secrets. As production and regional trade became specialized, this stimulated mutual growth. Transportation facilities improved, allowing production away from the sources of supplies and making products available to distant regions. The state maintained highways, with staff ed stations, for offi cial travel and a cou- rier service network, the latter being an index of centralized government control. Along the highways and Longquan celadon wine jar and cover with light bluish green glaze, Song dynasty, 12th century, branching byways stood private Longquan, Zhejiang province, China; in the hostels and inns frequented by pri- Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Height vate traders. Rivers carried tribute 25.4 cm. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert vessels and barges, private ship- Museum, London ping, transfer crafts, fi shing boats, and pleasure yachts. Large ships The Song Dynasty | 165 with multiple decks were propelled by service skill that remained unmatched fast-moving wheels paddled by man- until the appearance of adding machines power; many sailed on the high seas, and computers. Cities changed: the Tang aided by accurate compasses, charts, and pattern of walled-in blocks, each for a par- instruments as well as by experience in ticular trade, broke down; stores appeared distant navigation. The expanding sea in various parts of cities; and trade guilds trade, apart from that with Japan and proliferated. Though official documents Korea, moved southward and linked up and scholarly essays adopted a down- with merchants from Persia and Arabia. grading tone toward commercial Some Chinese merchants began to settle activities, Song China became a society in Southeast Asia. For the first time in of wholesalers, shippers, storage keepers, history, Chinese naval forces assumed a brokers, traveling salesmen, retail shop- vital military role, though China had not keepers, and peddlers. Urban life reached become a sea power. a new intensity. The populations of sev- An advanced money economy was eral metropolitan areas approached one everywhere in evidence. Many cultivated million. lands produced cash crops. By 1065 the Crowding was serious in the cities, Bei Song government was taking in and houses usually had narrow front- annual cash tax payments that were 20 ages. Fires were frequent and disastrous. times what the Tang had received in 749. Neighbourhood fire squads, with water The income of the Nan Song consisted of containers at hand, could not prevent more cash revenues than grain and tex- destruction, and some fires lasted sev- tile receipts. The economy had progressed eral days. Nonetheless, prosperity was to such a state that it needed more means the keynote of urban life. Teahouses, of exchange. Merchants used drafts wine shops, exquisite cuisines, and called feiqian (“flying money”) and cer- catering services for private parties tificates of deposits made elsewhere. existed in multitude and variety. State monopoly agencies in salt and tea Pleasure grounds provided daily amuse- followed with their respective certificates, ment and festival merriment with which were as good as money. The gov- acrobats, jugglers, wrestlers, sword swal- ernment first permitted printed paper lowers, snake charmers, fireworks, money for limited regional circulation gambling, performing arts of all sorts, and then authorized it as nationwide puppet shows, storytellers, singing girls, legal tender. (China was the first country and professionally trained courtesans. to do so.) Upper-class families enjoyed higher Busy transactions approached a com- culture, with diversions such as music, mercial revolution, carried on by rapid pets, intricate games, hobbies, calligra- calculations on the abacus, a specialized phy, painting, and poetry. Noticeably 166 | The History of China declining were hunting, horseback riding, knowledge so much that scholars com- and polo. Gentility displaced sportsman- piled voluminous histories, collected ship. The prosperous cities also provided works, comprehensive handbooks, com- easy prey for pickpockets and profes- pendiums, and encyclopaedias. Fine arts sional thieves. Inasmuch as pauperism also reached new heights. appeared in cities, parallel to rural under- The term early modern has often employment and unemployment, the been applied in describing Song culture, government undertook relief and welfare because it not only advanced beyond measures such as orphanages, nursing the earlier pattern in China and far homes for the aged poor, charitable grave- ahead of the rest of the world at the yards, and state pharmacies. time but also had many startlingly Knowledge expanded because of new features that approximated later specialization. Medicine embraced skills developments in western Europe. This such as acupuncture, obstetrics, den- characterization, though helpful to high- tistry, laryngology, ophthalmology, and light and appreciate the progress during treatment of rheumatism and paralysis. Song times, is somewhat misleading, The demand for improved technology, since this stage of development did not aided by certain concerns of the Neo- pave the way for more modernity later. Confucian philosophy, helped to On the contrary, the Song pattern promote numerous investigations that attained cultural stability, giving rise to approached the use of scientific meth- the myth of an unchanging China. ods. Literacy spread with printing, which These conflicting images stemmed evolved from rubbing through block from the cultural and regional diversity printing to the use of movable type that of the Song, in which modern-style facilitated much larger-scale production advances existed alongside continuing at reduced cost. A great many scholars older practices. In some areas, such as achieved high standing through the delta lands immediately south of the Classical studies, newly developed Yangtze River, sizable estates grew up archaeology, philosophical interpreta- with a complicated social pattern char- tions, statecraft ideas, Classical forms of acterized by tenant farming. Elsewhere, poetry, an evolving lyric poetry called ci, in areas less well-developed, owner- which had its origin in singing, and writ- farmers constituted a greater proportion ten versions of popular songs, called of the population, while in other regions sanqu. Of greatest influence on scholar- the landlords tried to bind the tillers to officials in succeeding generations was a the soil. The same confusion was masterly prose style that was original and reflected in the status of women. During creative but was always used in the name the Song the notorious practice of foot of reviving ancient models. Diversified binding first became common, clearly and specialized developments widened marking a fall in the status of women, The Song Dynasty | 167 but there is evidence that during the capital investment. This disincentive to Nan Song (unlike any other Chinese investment helped create a relatively sta- dynasty) daughters as well as sons could ble economic and technological pattern inherit property in their own names. that remained with little change for cen- Furthermore, Song families tried in vari- turies thereafter. Despite this slowing of ous ways to strengthen the ties created economic and technological develop- by the marriages of their daughters to ment, however, the Song did give birth to other families. changes. Not only did a new Confucian The extraordinarily rapid pace of eco- synthesis emerge but also the devices nomic and technological change that that spread the new ideas among the peo- marked the Bei Song seems to have ple at large. The urban and urbanized slowed during the Nan Song. For reasons culture that arose in the Song was that are not wholly clear, Chinese society retained and developed in succeeding did not break through its inherited pat- dynasties, when the early modern (or terns in any radically new ways. It may be neo-traditional) pattern created in the that, with an abundance of inexpensive Song provided both the model for and labour, economic rationality moved men the basis of the gradual transformation of to produce through increased amounts of some aspects of Chinese life that belied labour rather than through innovation or the image of China as unchanging. ChaPTER 8

The yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty

ThE MONgOL CONQuEST Of ChINa

Genghis Khan rose to supremacy over the Mongol tribes in the steppe in 1206, and within a few years he attempted to conquer northern China. By securing in 1209 the allegiance of the Tangut state of Xi (Western) Xia in what are now Gansu, Ningxia, and parts of Shaanxi and Qinghai, he disposed of a potential enemy and prepared the ground for an attack against the Jin state of the Juchen in northern China. At that time the situation of Jin was precarious. The Juchen were exhausted by a costly war (1206–08) against their hereditary enemies, the Nan (Southern) Song. Discontent among the non-Juchen elements of the Jin population (Chinese and Khitan) had increased, and not a few Chinese and Khitan nobles defected to the Mongol side. Genghis Khan, in his preparation for the campaign against Jin, could therefore rely on foreign advisers who were familiar with the territory and the conditions of the Jin state.

Invasion of the Jin State

The Mongol armies started their attack in 1211, invading from the north in three groups; Genghis Khan led the centre group himself. For several years they pillaged the country; The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 169

genghis Khan

Genghis, or Chinggis, Khan (original name Temüjin; b. 1162—d. 1227) was the great Mongolian warrior-ruler of the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Under his leadership, the Mongols consolidated nomadic tribes into a unifi ed Mongolia and fought from China’s Pacifi c coast to Europe’s Adriatic Sea, creating the basis for one of the greatest continental empires of all time. The leader of a destitute clan, Temüjin fought various rival clans and formed a Mongol confederacy, which in 1206 acknowledged him as Genghis Khan (“Universal Ruler”). By that year the united Mongols were ready to move out beyond the steppe. He adapted his method of warfare, moving from depending solely on cavalry to using sieges, catapults, ladders, and other equipment and techniques suitable for the capture and destruction of cities. In less than 10 years he took over most of Juchen- controlled China; he then destroyed the Muslim Khwārezm-Shah dynasty while his generals raided Iran and Russia. He is infamous for slaughtering the entire populations of cities and destroying fi elds and irrigation systems but admired for his military brilliance and ability to learn. He died on a military campaign, and the empire was divided among his sons and grandsons.

The Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan on his deathbed, surrounded by his four sons. Hulton Archive/Getty Images 170 | The History of China finally, in 1214 they concentrated on the Jin, left Bianjing in 1233, just before the central capital of the Jin, Zhongdu (pres- city fell, and took up his last residence in ent-day Beijing). Its fortifications proved Cai prefecture (Henan), but that refuge difficult to overcome, so the Mongols was also doomed. In 1234 the emperor concluded a peace and withdrew. Shortly committed suicide, and organized resis- afterward the Jin emperor moved to the tance ceased. The southern border of the southern capital at Bianjing (present- former Jin state—the Huai River—now day Kaifeng). Genghis Khan considered became the border of the Mongol domin- this a breach of the armistice, and his ions in northern China. renewed attack brought large parts of northern China under Mongol control Invasion of the Song State and finally resulted in 1215 in the capture of Zhongdu (renamed Dadu in 1272). During the next decades an uneasy coex- The Mongols had had little or no experi- istence prevailed between the Mongols ence in siege craft and warfare in densely in northern China and the Song state in populated areas; their strength had been the south. The Mongols resumed their chiefly in cavalry attacks. The assistance advance in 1250 under the grand khan of defectors from the Jin state probably Möngke and his brother Kublai Khan— contributed to this early Mongol suc- grandsons of Genghis Khan. Their armies cess. In subsequent campaigns the outflanked the main Song defenses on Mongols relied even more on the sophis- the Yangtze River and penetrated deeply ticated skills and strategies of the into southwestern China, conquered the increased number of Chinese under independent Dai (Tai) state of Nanzhao their control. (in what is now Yunnan), and even After 1215 the Jin were reduced to a reached present-day northern Vietnam. small buffer state between the Mongols Möngke died in 1259 while leading an in the north and Song China in the south, army to capture a Song fortress in and their extinction was but a matter of Sichuan, and Kublai succeeded him. time. The Mongol campaigns against Xi Kublai sent an ambassador, Hao Jing, to Xia in 1226–27 and the death of Genghis the Song court with an offer to establish Khan in 1227 brought a brief respite for peaceful coexistence. Hao did not reach Jin, but the Mongols resumed their the Song capital of Lin’an (now attacks in 1230. Hangzhou), however, but was interned at The Song Chinese, seeing a chance to the border and regarded as a simple spy. regain some of the territories they had lost The Song chancellor, Jia Sidao, consid- to the Juchen in the 12th century, formed ered the Song position strong enough to an alliance with the Mongols and besieged risk this affront against Kublai; he thus Bianjing in 1232. Aizong, the emperor of ignored the chance for peace offered by The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 171

A Mongol encampment, detail from the Cai Wenji scroll, a Chinese hand scroll of the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty. Courtesy of Asia House Gallery, New York

Kublai and instead tried to strengthen town of Xiangyang (present-day Xianfan) the military preparations against a pos- on the Han River was a key fortress, block- sible Mongol attack. Jia secured military ing the access to the Yangtze River, and provisions by a land reform that included the Mongols besieged it for fi ve years confi scating land from large owners, but (1268–73). The Chinese commander this alienated the greater part of the land- fi nally surrendered in 1273, after he had lord and offi cial class. The Song generals, obtained a solemn promise from the whom Jia distrusted, also had grievances, Mongols to spare the population, and he which may explain why a number of them took offi ce with his former enemies. later surrendered to the Mongols without Kublai Khan’s warning to his forces fi ghting. not to engage in indiscriminate slaughter From 1267 onward the Mongols, this seems to have been heeded to a certain time assisted by numerous Chinese auxil- extent. Several prefectures on the Yangtze iary troops and technical specialists, River surrendered; others were taken attacked on several fronts. The prefectural after brief fi ghting. In January 1276, 172 | The History of China

Mongol troops reached Lin’an. Last- and exploitation of fiefs considered as minute attempts by the Song court to their private domain. conclude a peace failed, and the Mongol armies took Lin’an in February. The Early Mongol Rule reigning Song empress dowager and the nominal emperor—a boy—were taken The government system during the to Dadu and granted an audience by early years of the Mongol conquest was Kublai Khan. a synthesis of Mongol military adminis- National resistance in the Song state tration and a gradual return to Chinese continued, however, and loyalists traditions in those domains ruled by retreated with two imperial princes into former subjects of the Jin state. The the southern province of Fujian and from most important office or function in there to the region of Guangzhou Mongol administration was that of the (Canton). In 1277 the last remnants of the darughatchi (seal bearer), whose pow- court left Guangzhou and eventually fled ers were at first all-inclusive; only the mainland by boat. A faithful minister gradually were subfunctions entrusted drowned himself and the last surviving to specialized officials in accordance imperial prince in the ocean in March with Chinese bureaucratic tradition. 1279. When organized resistance ceased This re-feudalization of northern China, soon afterward, foreign invaders con- along Mongol lines with a slight under- trolled the whole Chinese empire for the structure of Chinese-type bureaucrats, first time in history. lasted for many years. The central administration of Mongol China under the Mongols China was largely the creation of Yelü Chucai, originally a Jin state official of Mongol Government and Khitan extraction who had acquired a Administration profound Chinese scholarship and who had become one of Genghis Khan’s After their initial successes in northern trusted advisers. Yelü continued to serve China in 1211–15, the Mongols faced the under Ögödei, who became grand khan problem of how to rule and extract mate- in 1229, and persuaded him to establish a rial benefits from a largely sedentary formal bureaucracy and to replace indis- population. They were assisted by Khitan criminate levies with a rationalized and Chinese and even Juchen renegades; taxation system along Chinese lines. An these defectors were treated as “compan- important part of Yelü’s reforms was the ions” (nökör) of the Mongols and were creation of the Central Secretariat given positions similar to the higher (Zhongshu Sheng), which centralized the ranks of the steppe aristocracy. Their civilian administration and achieved privileges included the administration some continuity. The territory was The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 173 divided into provinces, and the provin- in Mongolia to Shangdu (“Upper cial administrations were responsible for Capital”), near present-day Dolun in regularized taxation. The people had to Inner Mongolia. In 1267 the official capi- pay a land tax and a poll tax, either in tal was transferred to Zhongdu, where kind (textiles and grain) or in silver. Kublai ordered the construction of a new Merchants had to pay a sales tax. walled city, replete with grand palaces Monopolies on wine, vinegar, salt, and and official quarters, that was renamed mining products were also introduced. Dadu (“Great Capital”) before its comple- All this enabled the treasuries of the tion. Under its Turkicized name, Mongol court to accumulate consider- Cambaluc (Khan-baliq, “The Khan’s able wealth. Town”), the capital became known In spite of the success of his eco- throughout Asia and even Europe. But, nomic policy, Yelü’s influence decreased true to nomad traditions, the Mongol during his later years. One reason was court continued to move between these bitter opposition from the Mongol feuda- two residences—Shangdu in summer and tories and from those Chinese, Juchen, Dadu in winter. With the establishment and Khitan nobles who were used to rul- of Dadu as the seat of the central bureau- ing independently in their appanages, cracy, Mongolia and Karakorum no which they exploited at will. Also, Ögödei longer remained the centre of the Mongol himself apparently lost interest in the empire. Mongolia began to fall back to internal conditions of the Mongol domin- the status of a northern borderland, where ion in China. During the 1230s Muslims a nomadic way of life continued and from the Middle East had already begun where Mongol grandees, dissatisfied with to fill the higher positions at the Mongol the growing Sinicization of the court, court, and their ruthless exploitation of repeatedly engaged in rebellions. the Chinese created widespread resent- Kublai, who even prior to 1260 had ment of Mongol rule. A relapse into surrounded himself with Chinese advis- feudal anarchism seemed inevitable, and ers such as the eminent Buddho-Daoist Yelü’s reforms fell into temporary abey- Liu Bingzhong and several former Jin ance. China was ruled more or less like a scholar-officials, was still the nominal colony by the foreigners and their allies. overlord of the other Mongol dominions (ulus) in Asia. By then, however, his Changes under Kublai Khan Chinese entourage had persuaded him to and his Successors accept the role of a traditional Chinese emperor. A decisive step was taken in Kublai Khan’s ascendancy in 1260 1271 when the Chinese dominion was marked a definite change in Mongol gov- given a Chinese dynastic name—Da ernment practice. Kublai moved the seat Yuan, the “Great Origin.” Before this the of Mongol government from Karakorum Chinese name for the Mongol state was 174 | The History of China

Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan founded the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty in China. Hulton Archive/Getty Images The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 175

Da Chao (“Great Dynasty”), introduced administrations were actually branches about 1217. It was a translation of the of the Central Secretariat. The structures Mongol name Yeke Mongghol Ulus of the various provincial administrations (“Great Mongol Nation”) adopted by throughout China were smaller replicas Genghis Khan about 1206. The new of the Central Secretariat. According to name, however, was a departure from Chinese sources, in 1260–61 the lower Chinese traditions. All earlier Chinese echelons in the Central Secretariat were dynasties were named for ancient feudal mostly Chinese; the high offices, how- states or geographic terms; even the ever, even if they had traditional Chinese Khitan and the Juchen had followed this names, were reserved for non-Chinese. tradition by naming their states Liao (for Surprisingly, Kublai Khan had few the Liao River in Manchuria) and Jin Mongols in high administrative posi- (“Gold,” for a river in Manchuria that had tions; apparently suspicious of some of a Juchen name with that meaning). Yuan his tribal leaders, he preferred absolute was the first nongeographic name of a foreigners. The military sphere was Chinese dynasty since Wang Mang affected least by the attempts to achieve established the Xin dynasty (AD 9–25). a synthesis between Chinese and native During the 1260s the central bureau- ways of life; there the Mongol aristocracy cracy and the local administration of the remained supreme. Chinese empire were remodeled on Too many antagonistic social and Chinese lines, with certain alterations ethnic groups existed within the Yuan introduced by the Jin state. The Central government to secure a stable rule. The Secretariat remained the most important traditional Chinese value system had civilian authority, with specialized agen- largely disappeared, and no political eth- cies such as the traditional six ministries ics had replaced it. While personalized of finance, war, officials, rites, punish- loyalty focused on the ruler, the compan- ments, and public works. The Shumiyuan ionship of nökör relations was not enough (Military Council) was another institu- to amalgamate the heterogeneous ruling tion inherited from previous dynasties. A group into a stable body. This unbal- Yushitai (Censorate) was originally cre- anced system of government could ated for remonstrations against the function only under a strong ruler; under emperor and criticism of policies, but a weak or incompetent emperor, disinte- increasingly it became an instrument of gration was certain, and a decline in the court itself and a tool to eliminate efficiency resulted. other members of the bureaucracy. In the The former scholar-officials of China main the territorial divisions followed remained to a great extent outside the Chinese models, but the degree of local governmental and administrative struc- independence was much smaller than it ture; only minor positions were open to had been under the Song; the provincial them. The Mongols never made full use 176 | The History of China of the administrative potential of the generally barred from holding higher scholar-officials, fearing their compe- office (only rarely would one of them rise tence and abilities. The ruling foreign to some prominence). The Mongols and minority in China was more an elite of the semuren were tax-exempt and enjoyed the colonialist type than a part of the the protection of the law to a higher Chinese social system. degree than did the hanren and nanren. The unwillingness of the Mongols to The formal distinction between vari- assimilate with the Chinese is shown by ous ethnic groups and the corresponding their attempts to cement the inequalities graded status was not a Mongol inven- of their rule. After the Song empire had tion but a social differentiation inherited been conquered, the population of China from the Jin state. In the same way, many was divided into four classes. The first institutions were taken over from the Jin. class was the Mongols themselves, a tiny Law in Yuan China was based partly on but privileged minority. Next came the the legislation of the Jin and partly on semuren (“persons with special status”), traditional Chinese law; Mongol legal confederates of the Mongols such as practices and institutions also played a Turks or Middle Eastern Muslims. The great role, particularly in penal law. The third group was called the hanren (a term Yuan legal code has been preserved in that generally means Chinese but that the dynastic history, Yuanshi, as well as was used to designate the inhabitants of other sources. In addition, many rules, only northern China); this class included ordinances, and decisions of individual the Chinese and other ethnic groups liv- cases are collected in compilations such ing in the former Jin state, as well as Xi as Yuandianzhang, which throw much Xia, Juchen, Khitan, Koreans, Bohai, and light not only on the legal system but Tangut, who could be employed in some also on social conditions in general. functions and who also formed military Mongol and Chinese dualism is also units under Mongol leadership. The last reflected in the problem of administra- group was the nanren, or manzi, pejora- tive documents and languages. Few of tive terms in Chinese, meaning “southern the ruling Mongols, even in the later barbarian,” which designated the former years of the Yuan, knew Chinese, and the subjects of Song China (about three- number who mastered the Chinese fourths of the Chinese empire). The script was still smaller. On the other lowest stratum in Yuan China was occu- hand, only a few Chinese bothered to pied by the slaves, whose numbers were learn the language of their conquerors. quite considerable. Slave status was Administration and jurisdiction there- hereditary, and only under certain condi- fore had to rely largely on interpreters tions could a slave be freed. and translators. Mongol was the primary More than four-fifths of the taxpayers language; most decisions, ordinances, came from the nanren group, which was and decrees were originally drafted in The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 177

Mongol, and a Chinese interlinear ver- measure in the field of economic commu- sion was added. This Chinese version nications that was unorthodox in Chinese was in the colloquial language instead of eyes: about 1280, concessions for grain the formal documentary style, and it fol- transport overseas were granted to lowed the Mongol word order so that it some private Chinese entrepreneurs must have seemed barbaric to the native from the southeastern coastal region literati. Many of these Chinese versions (some Chinese government officials were have survived in collections such as traditionally antagonistic toward private Yuandianzhang. trade and enterprise, an attitude that the ruling Mongols did not share). These pri- Economy vate shipowners transported in their fleets grain from the lower Yangtze region to The Mongol conquest of the Song empire northern Chinese harbours and from had, for the first time since the end of the there to the capital. Early in the 14th cen- Tang, reunified all of China. Song China tury, however, these private fleet owners, had traded with its neighbours, the Liao who had made huge fortunes, were and the Jin, but trade had been strictly accused of treason and piracy, and the controlled and limited to authorized bor- whole action was abolished. The Mongol der markets. The Mongol conquest government never replaced them with therefore reintegrated China’s economy. government fleets. The Mongol administration, in its desire Another factor that contributed to to utilize the resources of the former Song the flourishing internal trade in China territory, the most prosperous part of was standardized currency. The Song and China, tried to promote internal trade and Jin had issued paper money but only in aimed at a fuller integration of north addition to bronze coins, which had and south. The region around the capital remained the basic legal tender. The was dependent on grain transports from Yuan government was the first to make the south, and large quantities of food and paper money the only legal currency textiles were needed to keep the Mongol throughout the empire (1260). This facili- garrisons. The Grand Canal, which had tated financial transactions in the private linked the river systems of the Yangtze, sector as well as in the state treasuries. As the Huai, and the Huang since the early long as the economy as such remained 7th century, was repaired and extended to productive, the reliance on paper money Dadu in 1292–93 with the use of corvée as the basic currency had no detrimental (unpaid labour) under the supervision of effects. Only when the economy began to a distinguished Chinese astronomer and disintegrate under the last Mongol ruler hydraulic engineer, Guo Shoujing—an did the paper money become gradually action entirely within Chinese tradition. valueless and inflation set in. One reason This was preceded, however, by another for the paper currency might have been 178 | The History of China that much bronze and copper was used China, and Genghis Khan had apparently for the Buddhist cult and its statues, been impressed by the Daoist patriarch another that metal ores in China proper Changchun. In 1223 Genghis Khan were insuffi cient to supply enough coins granted to Changchun and his followers for some 80 million people. full exemption from taxes and other duties demanded by the government; Religious and this was the fi rst of a series of edicts Intellectual Life granting special privileges to the clergy of the various religions in China. The Mongols did not try to impose their For some time it seemed as if Chinese own religion (a cult of heaven, the forces Daoism would win favour with the of nature, and shamanistic practices) on Mongol rulers at the expense of Chinese their subjects. This gave comparative Buddhism. The Buddhists, however, also freedom to the existing religions in China, profi ted from the open-minded attitude including what the Mongol rulers consid- at the court; they tried to win infl uence ered to be the sanjiao (“three teachings”): within the imperial family, prompted by Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. the fact that many Buddhist institutions Both Daoism and Buddhism retained had been occupied by the Daoists, who their distinctive identities and organiza- relied on Mongol favour. Under the grand tions; although they often rivaled each khan Möngke, several discussions were other, they were not mutually exclusive. held between the Daoist and Buddhist The Neo-Confucianism of the Zhu Xi clergy (1255–58), ending in a ruling that school enjoyed orthodox status after the the former Buddhist temples should be 1310s, but adherents of the three teach- returned to their original purpose. ings interacted philosophically and Imperial orders also outlawed some apoc- intellectually in a way that popularized ryphal Daoist texts, in which Buddhism the “amalgamation” of the three schools was presented as a branch of Daoism and among the common people and the lite- the Buddha as a reincarnation of Laozi, rati, if not the foreign residents, of China. the founder of Daoism. But Daoism as such continued to exist under the Yuan, Daoism and the fi scal privileges originally granted to the Daoist followers of Under the Jin dynasty several popular Changchun were extended on principle Daoist sects had fl ourished in northern to all clergies.

Timber pagoda of the Fogong Temple, 1056, Song dynasty; at Yingxian, Shanxi province, China. Christopher Liu/ChinaStock Photo Library The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 179 180 | The History of China

Buddhism resentment among Chinese Buddhists and the population at large by its brutal The spokesmen of Chinese Buddhism and avaricious procedures, property sei- under the early Mongol rulers came zures, and extortions from the population. from the Chan (Zen) sect (a discipline Throughout the Yuan dynasty, com- focused on meditation). Their high intel- plaints continued against the arrogant lectuality and refined aestheticism, behaviour of Tibetan lamas. (Under the however, did not appeal to the Mongols, last emperor, Togon-temür, Tibetan cler- who felt more attracted by the mixture of ics introduced the court to sexual rites magic practices, rather nebulous meta- calling for intercourse with consecrated physics, and impressive symbolism in females—practices not unfamiliar in the visual arts of Tibetan Buddhism. Indian and Tibetan cultures but shock- Kublai Khan appointed a young Tibetan ing to the Chinese elite.) lama known by the honorific name of Although Buddhism had won a vic- ’Phags-pa as imperial preceptor (dishi); tory among the ruling minority of China, ’Phags-pa became the head of the it was a foreign rather than a Chinese Buddhist faith in all Mongol dominions, Buddhism. The national varieties of including China. A special government Buddhism, especially Chan Buddhism, agency was established in 1264 to deal continued to exist, and monasteries in with Buddhism and served as a sort of southern China sometimes became bureau for the imperial preceptor; it was islands of traditional civilization where in charge not only of Buddhist affairs in monks and lay Buddhists alike cultivated general but also of Tibetan affairs, poetry, painting, and all the intellectual although Tibet remained outside the pastimes of the Chinese literati class, but, administration of China proper, and no on the whole, Chinese Buddhism suffered Mongol garrisons were ever established from the general conditions in the Yuan in Tibet. Tibetan politicians had thus empire. The exemption from taxes and succeeded in winning over the Mongol corvée attracted many persons to monas- court and in retaining a more-than-nom- tic life for purely utilitarian reasons; the inal independence. more society disintegrated, the more After the conquest of Song China, a people sought refuge behind the monas- special agency for the supervision of tery walls. About 1300 the number of Buddhism in southern China was estab- monks throughout China was estimated lished and placed under the control of at 500,000, and it must have grown dur- another Tibetan lama. There thus existed ing the last decades of Mongol rule. two supervisory offices for Buddhism— Monks played a great role in the rebel- one in Dadu for northern China and lions to which the Yuan empire eventually Tibet and one in Lin’an for southern succumbed; also, the first Ming emperor China. The southern office caused great had been a monk for some time. The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 181

Foreign Religions extended to the clergy of all religions, but they were dealt a strong blow when Tibetan Buddhism always remained out- the literary examinations were discon- side Chinese civilization, as did other tinued following the Mongol conquest. imported religions. A certain number of For many centuries the examinations, Muslims came to China, all from the based on Confucian texts, had been the Middle East or from Central Asia. The basis for the selection of officials and for Turkic Öngüt tribe was largely Nestorian their privileged position within the state Christian. Many tombstones with a bilin- and society. After Kublai’s accession, gual Turkic and Chinese inscription Confucianism had a more cordial recep- have been preserved, but none of these tion at the Mongol court through the believers seems to have been Chinese efforts of Chinese advisers such as Liu by origin; a census taken about 1300 in Bingzhong and the great Confucian mas- Zhenjiang (in the present-day province ter Xu Heng. Under their stewardship a of Jiangsu) lists the Nestorians together certain Confucianization took place in with foreign nationalities. The number government and education. Chinese rit- of Nestorian Christians in China was so uals were performed for a while in the great that in 1289 a special agency for dynastic temple (taimiao), erected in their supervision was established in Zhongdu in 1263. State sacrifices were Dadu. Manichaeism, which had spread offered to Confucius, and the study of to China under the Tang, became extinct the Classics was encouraged. However, as an organized religion under the Yuan, many of the rites observed at the court but some Manichaean communities that were either Tibetan Buddhist or were probably absorbed by messianic inherited from the Mongol nomadic past Buddhist sects, such as the White Lotus were continued. The emperor Buyantu sect, a group that attracted many follow- (reigned 1311–20), one of the most ers among the Chinese lower classes. Sinicized Mongol rulers, reintroduced the examination system in 1313, but it Confucianism remains doubtful how well the examinations functioned. They certainly did not Confucianism was perceived by the guarantee an official career, as those Mongols as a Chinese religion, and it had under the Song and, to a certain extent, mixed fortunes under their rule. The under the Jin had done. teachings of the Neo-Confucian school of The system of the Yuan, as introduced Zhu Xi from the Song period were intro- in 1313, provided different types of curri- duced to the Mongol court at Zhongdu in cula for Mongols, other foreigners the late 1230s but were confined to lim- (semuren), and Chinese; also, the require- ited circles there and in northern China. ments were different: Chinese had to Confucian scholars enjoyed the benefits show their complete mastery of the 182 | The History of China curriculum, whereas Mongols and other Literature foreigners had to give only a mediocre performance. This inequality was even Chinese literature of the period also formalized for the candidates who were to showed conservative tendencies. Poetry be admitted to the state academy (guozi- composition remained a favourite pas- jian). The first examinations were held in time of the educated class, including the the presence of the emperor in 1315, and, Sinicized scholars of Mongol, Central of the 300 persons granted the title of Asian, and western Asian origins, but no doctor (jinshi), 75 were Mongols, 75 were great works or stylistic innovations were other foreigners, 75 were northern created. During the last chaotic decades Chinese (hanren), and 75 came from of the Yuan, some notable poets emerged, southern China; they all received official such as the versatile Yang Weizhen and positions within the bureaucracy, the bold and unconventional Gao Qi. Mongols the higher and Chinese the Many prose works dealing with contem- lower posts. The positions of power within porary events and persons were written the hierarchy remained in the hands of under the Yuan, but these are notable for the Mongols and other foreigners. their content, not their literary merit. Under Buyantu, for the first time the Surprisingly harsh criticism and satire interpretation and commentaries of the against the Mongols and also undis- Neo-Confucian school were made oblig- guised Song loyalism found open atory. This cemented Neo-Confucian expression, presumably because the ideology not only among the Chinese Mongols were uninterested in what the literati who wished to pass an examina- Chinese wrote in Chinese and, moreover, tion but also for future generations. were mostly unable to read it. Some writ- Chinese Confucian orthodoxy from the ers collected rare or interesting and 14th to the 19th century therefore rested piquant items and transmitted many largely on the foundations it had aspects of Song culture to future genera- received under the Yuan. In spite of all tions. The lament for the refinement and this, Classical scholarship under the grandeur of the Song is a constant theme Yuan did not produce a single remark- in Yuan writings. able work but struggled under an During the early Yuan period, the adverse political and intellectual climate. traditional Chinese official historiogra- Striving to preserve their sacred tradi- phy was restored under the charge of tion, the Confucian scholars were content the Hanlin Academy, which sponsored with expounding the doctrines laid down the compilation of the official dynastic by the Song philosophers, seeking to har- histories of the Song, Liao, and Jin states monize the different philosophical issues conquered by the Mongols and undertook and points of view rather than exploring the compilation of the reign chronicles new horizons. (shilu) and other governmental The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 183 compendiums. The major achievement of literature and colloquial novels found official historiography was the compila- their clientele chiefly among the mer- tion (1329–33) of the Jingshi dadian, a chant and artisan classes. repository of 800 juan (chapters) of official Foreigners, chiefly of Turkic or documents and laws; the text is now lost. Persian origin, also contributed to Private historiography, especially works Chinese literature under the Yuan. They on the events of the Song, fared rather wrote poetry and painted in the Chinese poorly under the Yuan because of the way in order to distinguish themselves in adverse political and intellectual climate. fields where they could gain prestige The most-distinguished contribution was among the educated Chinese. All the for- written by Ma Duanlin and titled Wenxian eigners who wrote in Chinese seem to tongkao (“General Study of the Literary have avoided any reference to their for- Remains”): an encyclopaedic documen- eign origin or creed. Nothing, in fact, tary history of Chinese institutions from could be more Chinese than their produc- the earliest times to the middle reign of tions. Even foreigners who, like the the Nan Song dynasty. Persians, came from a country with a con- In urban society a literature in the siderable literary tradition of its own vernacular language began to flourish, never attempted to introduce their native untrammeled by rigid norms of formalis- forms, subject matter, or religions. No lit- tic or ideological orthodoxy. Novels and erary symbiosis seemed possible, and, stories were written for the amusement of although China was exposed to more a wide-reading public, and dramatic lit- external influences under the Yuan than erature reached such a peak in Yuan ever before, Chinese literature shows lit- China that later literary criticism tle effect from such contacts with the regarded the Yuan as the classical age for outside world. It is perhaps symptomatic operatic arias, or qu (a word that is also that under the Yuan no literary works used for a full opera, with arias and from other civilizations were translated chanted recitatives). The collection into Chinese and that practically no Yuanquxuan (“Selection from Yuan translations of Chinese Classical and his- Operas”), with 100 opera librettos, and torical works into Mongol have survived. the storyteller “prompt books” for drama- There seemed to be only the alternatives tized historical romances such as Sanguo of complete rejection of Chinese civiliza- (“Three Kingdoms”) give ample evidence tion, as practiced by most Mongols, or for the creativity and vitality of Chinese wholesale absorption by Chinese culture. dramatic literature. This phenomenon may perhaps be considered as evidence The Arts that under the Yuan a certain urbanization took place and something like a Conservatism played a dominant role in bourgeoisie emerged, because dramatic the arts during the Mongol period. In 184 | The History of China sponsored arts such as sculpture and artistic vision of their own, and conserva- ceramics, the Mongols’ desire to lay tism meant mere perpetuation. Song, claim to the Chinese imperial heritage Liao, and Jin ceramic types were contin- was not complemented by any strong ued, often altered only by increased bulk, while the great artistic achievement of the era, blue-and-white ware, probably derived from non-imperial sources. Government-sponsored Buddhist sculpture often attained high artistic standards, preserving the realism and powerful expression of Tang and Song traditions, while in the fi nest sculpture of the time, such as the reliefs at Juyong Pass north of Dadu (1342–45), this was combined with a fl amboyant surface decor and a striking dramatization better suited to foreign taste than to the increasingly restrained Chinese aesthetic. Conservatism also tempered the private arts of calligraphy and painting: the scholar-amateurs who produced them felt impelled to preserve their heritage against a perceived barbarian threat. Conservatism, however, often took the form of a creative revival that combed the past for sources of inspiration and then artistically transformed them into a new idiom. In calligraphy, Zhao Mengfu gave new impetus to the 4th-century style of Wang Xizhi, which then became a standard for Chinese writing and book printing for centuries. In paint- Example of xingshu by Zhao Mengfu, Yuan ing, Zhao and his contemporary Qian dynasty; in the National Palace Museum, Xuan helped to complete the devel- Taipei. Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China opment of a distinctively amateur style that ushered in a new phase in The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 185 the history of Chinese painting. Their their subject matter, stylistic references, work did not continue that of the previ- or inscriptions. ous generation but ranged widely over Naturalistic painting styles also the available past tradition, and past contnued in popularity throughout the styles rather than observed objects fi rst two-thirds of the period, painted by became the subject of artistic interpreta- such important artists as Li Kan and tion. The naturalism of Song painting Ren Renfa. Perpetuating northern tradi- gave way to calligraphically inspired tions of the Tang and Song periods, abstractions. Paintings became closely these styles were practiced chiefl y by linked in style to the written inscriptions scholar-offi cials associated with the that appeared upon them with increas- court at the capital. Several members of ing frequency and prominence. Skillful the Mongol royal family became major professional techniques and overt visual patrons or collectors of such conserva- attractiveness were avoided, replaced by tive styles, although imperial patronage deliberate awkwardness and an intellec- remained slight in comparison with ear- tualized fl avour. Their works were done lier periods. for private purposes, often displaying or In the latter third of the dynasty, with concealing personal and political a sharp decline in the practice of painting motives, to be understood only by fellow by scholar-offi cials and northerners, Yuan literati through the subtle allusions of painting was increasingly represented by

Nine Horses, detail of a hand scroll by Ren Renfa, ink and colours on silk, 1324, Yuan dynasty; in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo., U.S. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; purchase Nelson Trust (72-8) 186 | The History of China the innovative approach of Zhao Mengfu largely with the Italian republics (e.g., as practiced by reclusive scholars from Genoa, Venice). To the Italians, trade the Suzhou-Wuxing area. Four of these— with the East was so important that the the landscape painters Huang Gongwang, Practica della mercatura, a handbook on Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng— foreign trade, included the description of transformed and blended certain trade routes to China. elements from the past into highly per- Direct contacts between China and sonal, easily recognizable styles and later Europe were insignificant, however, even came to be known as the Four Masters of though China was part of an empire the Yuan dynasty. In the early Ming stretching from Dadu to southern Russia. period the Hongwu emperor decimated Chinese historical and geographic liter- the Suzhou literati and with it Suzhou ature had little to say about the European painting; by the end of the 15th century, parts of the Mongol empire; in the official however, Suzhou artists once again domi- dynastic history of the Yuan, references nated Chinese painting, and the styles of to foreign countries are limited to coun- the Four Masters became the most influ- tries such as Korea, Japan, Nam Viet, ential of all painting models in later Myanmar (Burma), and Champa, with Chinese history. which China had carried on trade or tributary relations for centuries, and there Yuan China and the West are some scattered data on Russia. For some time a Russian guards regiment As has been mentioned, Mongol rulers existed in Dadu, and some Russian sol- favoured trade in all their dominions. In diers were settled in military colonies in China too they eliminated state trade eastern Manchuria. As a whole, however, controls that had existed under the Song the civilizations of Europe and China and Jin, so that internal and external did not meet, although contacts were trade reached unprecedented propor- made easy; Europe remained for the tions. It seems, however, that China’s Chinese a vague region somewhere transcontinental trade with the Middle “beyond the Uighur.” East and Europe was in the hands of non- More important were the contribu- Chinese (mainly Persians, Arabs, and tions from the Islamic countries of the Syrians). Silk, the Chinese export com- Middle East, chiefly in the fields of sci- modity par excellence, reached the ence and technology. During the reign of Middle East and even Europe via the car- Kublai Khan, Arab-Persian astronomy avan routes across Asia; Chinese and astronomical instruments were intro- ceramics were also exported, chiefly into duced into China, and the Chinese the Islamic countries. The Asian coun- astronomer Guo Shoujing operated an tries concentrated their European trade observatory. Nevertheless, the basic The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 187 conceptions of astronomy remained looked for potential converts among non- Chinese, and no attempt was made to Muslim people of Asia. After Franciscan adopt the Middle Eastern mathematical envoys brought back information on and theoretical framework. Similarly, what was known as Cathay (northern Middle Eastern physicians and surgeons China) in the mid-13th century, Pope practiced successfully in China, but Nicholas IV, a former Franciscan, dis- Chinese medical theory remained unin- patched a Franciscan mission to the court fluenced by Western practices. In of the grand khan in Dadu (known in geography a Chinese world map of the Europe as Cambaluc). The missionaries 14th century incorporates Arabic geo- formed the nucleus of a Catholic hierar- graphical knowledge into the Chinese chy on Chinese soil: Cambaluc became worldview. It shows not only China and the seat of an archbishopric, and in 1323 a the adjacent countries but also the Middle bishopric was established in Quanzhou. East, Europe, and Africa; the African con- A renowned Franciscan missionary was tinent is already given in its actual Odoric of Pordenone, who traveled in triangular shape. But this knowledge China in the 1320s; his reports, together probably never spread beyond a limited with letters written by other Catholic mis- circle of professional geographers, and it sionaries, brought firsthand information is certain that the Sino-centric world con- on China to medieval Europe and today ception continued unchallenged under throw some light on the earliest mission- the Yuan dynasty; no curiosity of what lay ary work in China. The Franciscan beyond the Chinese borders was aroused. mission, which had to compete with the For the countries to be reached by sea Nestorian clergy, was carried on more by (such as Southeast Asian countries and the foreigners in China than by the India), Chinese works of the Yuan offer Chinese themselves. The friars preached only a poor extract from the Song work in Tatar (i.e., either Mongol or Turkic) Zhufanzhi (c. 1225; “Description of the and apparently won no Chinese converts. Barbarians”). Significantly, no Chinese source men- The situation was different regarding tions the activities of these missionaries; European knowledge of China. The the Chinese probably regarded the Mongol advance into eastern Europe had Franciscans as one of the many strange, given Europeans an acute awareness that foreign sects, perhaps an outlandish vari- actual people lived in regions hitherto ety of Buddhism. Archaeological shrouded in vague folkloric legends and evidence of the presence of Europeans myths. The Islamic world had similarly and of Roman Catholicism has been dis- become a reality to Europeans with the covered only in modern times; one first Crusades. It was, therefore, only nat- example is from Yangzhou (in present- ural that the Roman Catholic Church day Jiangsu), where the Latin inscription 188 | The History of China on a tombstone dated 1342 is a record of the Venetian adventurer Marco Polo, on the death of an Italian lady whose name the other hand, inaugurated for Europe suggests some relation to a Venetian the era of discoveries and created a new family engaged in trade with Asia. vision of the world, with China as a part. Only the last direct contact between Although China as a separate cul- the papal see and Yuan China can be cor- tural entity was realized only dimly and roborated by both Western and Chinese gradually in the European West, Chinese sources. In 1336 a group of Alani influences spread under the Yuan Christians in Dadu sent a letter to Pope dynasty to other parts of Asia. Chinese Benedict XII, who sent John of Marignola medical treatises were translated into with a mission to the Mongol court. The Persian, and Persian miniature painting mission reached the summer capital, in the 13th and 14th centuries shows Shangdu, in 1342. Chinese sources many influences of Chinese art. Chinese- recorded the date of its audience as Aug. type administration and chancellery 19, 1342. The country the envoys came practices were adopted by various from is given by the Chinese source as Mongol dominions in Central Asia and Fulang, a Chinese version of the name the Middle East. It has even been sug- Farang (Franks), which was used in the gested that the invention of gunpowder Middle East as a general term for and of printing in Europe was because of Europeans. The arrival of envoys from a sort of stimulus diffusion from China, what must have seemed the end of the although a direct influence from China world so impressed the court that an art- cannot be proved. ist was commissioned to paint a portrait Chinese civilization itself remained of the battle horse that Marignola had very much what it had been before the brought as a present; this portrait was Yuan dynasty, with a certain cultural iso- still extant in the 18th century but is now lationism a distinctive element. Neither lost. Chinese literati wrote many eulogies the self-image of the Chinese nor China’s on the portrait of the horse; the country of position in the world changed very dras- Fulang, however, did not interest the tically. The change and challenges to Chinese poets, and the whole embassy of which China was exposed under the Marignola is invariably described in Yuan, however, can explain many of the terms that point to an unbroken Sino- characteristic traits of Ming history. centric attitude. Thus, the contact between the pontiff and the Mongol court The End of Mongol Rule remained without further consequence. The end of Mongol rule over China The basic dilemma of Mongol rule in and the strong nationalism of the Ming China—the Mongols’ inability to achieve dynasty also doomed the Catholic mis- a durable identification with Chinese sions of the 14th century. The reports of civilian institutions and to modify the The Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty | 189 military and colonialist character of their soldiers, and so the progress of the rebel rule—became more apparent under movement in the 1350s and 1360s Kublai’s successors and reached a maxi- remained slow. But the rebel armies who mum under Togon-temür, the last Yuan had chosen what is now Nanjing as their ruler. Togon-temür was not unfriendly base took Dadu in 1368; the Mongol toward Chinese civilization, but this emperor fled, followed by the remnants could not alter the contempt of many of his overthrown government. leading Mongols for Chinese civilian The Mongols remained a strong institutions. For centuries China had potential enemy of China for the next known clique factionalism at court, but century, and the Genghis Khan clan in this was mostly fought with political Mongolia continued to regard itself as means; Mongol factionalism usually the legitimate ruler of China. The cen- resorted to military power. Militarization tury of Mongol rule had some undesirable gradually spread from the Mongol ruling effects on the government of China: class into Chinese society, and not a few imperial absolutism and a certain brutal- dissatisfied Chinese leaders established ization of authoritarian rule, inherited regional power based on local soldiery. from the Yuan, were features of the suc- The central administration headed by a ceeding Ming government. Yet, Mongol weak emperor proved incapable of pre- rule lifted some of the traditional ideo- serving its supremacy. logical and political constraints on Thus, the military character of Chinese society. The Confucian hierar- Mongol rule paved the way for the suc- chical order was not rigidly enforced as it cess of Chinese rebels, some of whom had been under the Tang and Song, and came from the upper class, while others the Mongols thereby facilitated the were messianic sectarians who found upward mobility of some social classes, followers among the exploited peas- such as the merchants, and encouraged antry. The Mongol court and the extensive growth of popular culture, provincial administrations could still which had been traditionally downgraded rely on a number of faithful officials and by the literati. ChaPTER 9

The Ming Dynasty

POLITICaL hISTORy

neptitude on the throne, bureaucratic factionalism at I court, rivalries among Mongol generals, and ineff ective supervision and coordination of provincial and local administration had gravely weakened the Yuan government by the 1340s. And in 1351 disastrous fl ooding of the Huang and Huai river basins aroused hundreds of thousands of long- oppressed Chinese peasants into open rebellion in northern Anhui, southern Henan, and northern Hubei provinces. Rebel movements, capitalizing on the breakdown of Yuan control, spread rapidly and widely, especially throughout central China. By the mid-1360s, large regional states had been created that openly fl outed Yuan authority: Song in the Huai basin, under the nominal leadership of a mixed Manichaean-Buddhist secret-society leader named Han Lin’er; Han in the central Yangtze valley, under a onetime fi sherman named Chen Youliang; Xia in Sichuan, under an erstwhile general of the rebel Han regime named Ming Yuzhen; and Wu in the rich Yangtze delta area, under a former Grand Canal boatman named Zhang Shicheng. A onetime salt trader and smuggler named Fang Guozhen had simultaneously established an autonomous coastal satrapy in Zhejiang. While Yuan chieftains contended with one another for dominance at the capital, Dadu (present- day Beijing), and in the North China Plain, these rebel The Ming Dynasty | 191 states to the south wrangled for survival then the Wu domain to the east. He also and supremacy. Out of this turmoil captured the Zhejiang coastal satrap, emerged a new native dynasty called Fang Guozhen. Zhu then announced his Ming (1368–1644). intention of liberating all of China from Mongol rule and proclaimed a new The Dynasty’s Founder dynasty eff ective with the beginning of 1368. The dynastic name Ming, meaning Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the new “Brightness,” refl ects the Manichaean dynasty, came from a family originally infl uence in the Song-revivalist Han from northwestern Jiangsu province Lin’er regime under which Zhu had who by Yuan times had deteriorated into achieved prominence. Zhu came to be itinerant tenant farmers in northern known by his reign name, the Hongwu Anhui province. Orphaned by famine (“Vastly Martial”) emperor. and plague in 1344, young Zhu was taken into a small Buddhist monastery near Fengyang city as a lay novice. For more than three years he wandered as a men- dicant through the Huai basin before beginning studies for the Buddhist priesthood in his monastery. In 1352, after fl oods, rebellions, and Yuan campaigns against bandits had devastated and intimidated the whole region, Zhu was persuaded to join a Fengyang branch of Han Lin’er’s uprising. He quickly made himself the most successful general on the southern front of the rebel Song regime, and in 1356 he captured and set up his headquarters in Nanjing, a populous and strategically located city on the Yangtze River. There he began assembling a rudimentary government and greatly strengthened his military power. Between 1360 and 1367, still nominally championing the cause of the The Hongwu emperor, hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk, 14th century; in Song regime, his armies gained control the National Palace Museum, Taipei. of the vast central and eastern stretches Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, of the Yangtze valley, absorbing fi rst the Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Han domain to the west of Nanjing and 192 | The History of China

hongwu

Hongwu is the reign name of Zhu Yuanzhang (b. Oct. 21, 1328—d. June 24, 1398), founder of China’s Ming dynasty. A poor peasant orphaned at 16, Zhu entered a monastery to avoid starvation. Later, as a rebel leader, he came in contact with educated gentry from whom he received an education and political guidance. He was advised to present himself not as a popular rebel but as a national leader against the foreign Mongols whose Yuan dynasty was on the point of collapse. Defeating rival national leaders, Zhu proclaimed himself emperor in 1368, establishing his capital at Nanjing and adopting Hongwu as his reign title. He drove the last Yuan emperor from China that year and reuniﬁ ed the country by 1382. His rule was despotic: he eliminated the posts of prime minister and central chancellor and had the next level of administration report directly to him. He prohibited eunuchs from participating in government and appointed civilian o¯ cials to control military a« airs.

Vigorous campaigning in 1368 drove pacifi ed aboriginal peoples on the border the Mongols out of Shandong, Henan, between China and Myanmar in 1398. and Shanxi provinces and from Dadu Thus, by the end of the Hongwu emper- itself, which was occupied by Ming or’s 30-year reign in 1398, his new dynasty forces on September 14, and simultane- controlled the whole of modern China ously extended Ming authority through proper and dominated the northern fron- Fujian and Hunan into Guangdong and tier regions, from Hami through Inner Guangxi provinces on the south coast. In Mongolia and into northern Manchuria. 1369–70 Ming control was established in Shaanxi, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia, and The Dynastic Succession continued campaigning against the Mongols thereafter extended northwest- The Ming dynasty, which encompassed ward to Hami (1388), northeastward to the reigns of 16 emperors, proved to be the Sungari (Songhua) River in one of the stablest and longest ruling Manchuria (1387), and northward into periods of Chinese history. Rulers of Outer Mongolia beyond Karakorum, Korea, Mongolia, East Turkistan, almost to Lake Baikal (1387–88). In opera- Myanmar, Siam, and Nam Viet regularly tions to the west and southwest, Ming acknowledged Ming overlordship, and at forces destroyed the rebel Xia regime times tribute was received from as far in Sichuan in 1371, wiped out major away as Japan, Java and Sumatra, Sri Mongol and aboriginal resistance in Lanka and South India, the East African Guizhou and Yunnan in 1381–82, and coast, the Persian Gulf region, and The Ming Dynasty | 193

Samarkand. Modern Chinese honour the (reigned 1402–24) and proved to be vigor- Ming emperors especially for having ous and aggressive. He subjugated Nam restored China’s international power and Viet, personally campaigned against the prestige, which had been in decline since reorganizing Mongols in the north, and the 8th century. The Ming emperors sent large naval expeditions overseas, probably exercised more far-reaching chiefly under the eunuch admiral Zheng influence in East Asia than any other He, to demand tribute from rulers as far native rulers of China, and their attitude away as Africa. He also returned the toward the representatives of Portugal, empire’s capital to Beijing, giving that Spain, Russia, Britain, and Holland who city its present-day name. appeared in China before the end of their For a century after the Yongle emperor, dynasty was a condescending one. the empire enjoyed stability, tranquillity, For the first time in Chinese history, and prosperity. But state administration the Ming rulers regularly adopted only began to suffer when weak emperors were one reign name (nianhao) each; the sole exploitatively dominated by favoured exception was the sixth emperor, who had eunuchs: Wang Zhen in the 1440s, Wang two reigns separated by an interval of Zhi in the 1470s and 1480s, and Liu Jin eight years. Because of this reign-name from 1505 to 1510. The Hongxi (reigned practice (which was perpetuated under 1424–25), Xuande (1425–35), and Hongzhi the succeeding Qing dynasty), modern (1487–1505) emperors were nevertheless writers, confusingly but correctly, refer to able and conscientious rulers in the the Wanli emperor, for example, by his Confucian mode. The only serious disrup- personal name, Zhu Yijun; by his temple tion of the peace occurred in 1449 when name, Shenzong; or sometimes, incor- the eunuch Wang Zhen led the Zhengtong rectly but conveniently, simply as Wanli, emperor (first reign 1435–49) into a disas- as if the reign name were a personal name. trous military campaign against the The Ming dynasty’s founder, the Oyrat (western Mongols). The Oyrat Hongwu emperor, is one of the strongest leader Esen Taiji ambushed the imperial and most colourful personalities of army, captured the emperor, and besieged Chinese history. His long reign estab- Beijing. The Ming defense minister, Yu lished the governmental structure, Qian, forced Esen to withdraw unsatisfied policies, and tone that characterized the and for eight years dominated the gov- whole dynasty. After his death in 1398 his ernment with emergency powers. When grandson and successor, the Jianwen the interim Jingtai emperor (reigned emperor, trying to assert control over his 1449–57) fell ill in 1457, the Zhengtong powerful uncles, provoked a rebellion on emperor, having been released by the the part of the prince of Yan and was Mongols in 1450, resumed the throne as overwhelmed in 1402. The prince of Yan the Tianshun emperor (1457–64). Yu Qian took the throne as the Yongle emperor was then executed as a traitor. 194 | The History of China

The Zhengde (reigned 1505–21) and far inland to terrorize cities and villages Jiajing (1521–1566/67) emperors were throughout the whole Yangtze delta. among the less-esteemed Ming rulers. Although coastal raiding was not totally The former was an adventure-loving suppressed, it was brought under control carouser, the latter a lavish patron of in the 1560s. Also in the 1560s Altan Khan Daoist alchemists. For one period of 20 was repeatedly defeated, so that he made years, during the regime of an unpopular peace in 1571. For the next decade, during grand secretary named Yan Song, the the last years of the Longqing emperor Jiajing emperor withdrew almost entirely (reigned 1566/67–1572) and the early from governmental cares. Both emperors years of the Wanli emperor (1572–1620), cruelly humiliated and punished hun- the government was highly stable. The dreds of offi cials for their temerity in court was dominated by the outstanding remonstrating. grand secretary of Ming history, Zhang China’s long peace ended during the Juzheng, and capable generals such as Qi Jiajiang emperor’s reign. The Oyrat, Jiguang restored and maintained eff ec- under the vigorous new leadership of tive military defenses. Altan Khan, were a constant nuisance on In 1592, when Japanese forces under the northern frontier from 1542 on; in Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, Ming 1550 Altan Khan raided the suburbs of China was still strong and responsive Beijing itself. During the same era, Japan- enough to campaign eff ectively in support based sea raiders repeatedly plundered of its tributary neighbour. But the Korean China’s southeastern coast. Such sea war dragged on indecisively until 1598, raiders, a problem in Yuan times and when Hideyoshi died and the Japanese from the earliest Ming years, had been withdrew. It made heavy demands on suppressed during the reign of the Ming resources and apparently precipi- Yongle emperor, when Japan’s Ashikaga tated a military decline in China. shogunate off ered nominal submission The reign of the Wanli emperor was to China in exchange for generous trad- a turning point of Ming history in other ing privileges. However, changes in the regards as well. Partisan wrangling offi cial trade system eventually provoked among civil offi cials had fl ared up in the new discontent along the coast, and dur- 1450s in reaction to Yu Qian’s domi- ing the 1550s corsair fl eets looted the nance and again in the 1520s during a Shanghai-Ningbo region almost annu- prolonged “rites controversy” provoked ally, sometimes sending raiding parties by the Jiajing emperor on his accession;

One of 36 stone statues (18 pairs) of o¯ cials and creatures that guard the route to the tombs of 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty north of Beijing. Richard Nowitz/National Geographic/ Getty Images The Ming Dynasty | 195 196 | The History of China after Zhang Juzheng’s death in 1582, it Ming government. He banished Wei became the normal condition of court Zhongxian but could not quell the parti- life. Through the remainder of the Wanli san strife that was paralyzing the emperor’s long reign, a series of increas- bureaucracy. The Manchu repeatedly ingly vicious partisan controversies raided within the Great Wall, even threat- absorbed the energies of officialdom, ening Beijing in 1629 and 1638. Taxes and while the harassed emperor abandoned conscriptions became increasingly more and more of his responsibilities to oppressive to the Chinese population, eunuchs. The decline of bureaucratic and banditry and rebellions spread in the discipline and morale continued under interior. The Ming government became the Taichang emperor, whose sudden completely demoralized. Finally, a death after a reign of only one month in domestic rebel named Li Zicheng cap- 1620 fueled new conflicts. The Tianqi tured the capital in April 1644, and the emperor (reigned 1620–27) was too Chongzhen emperor committed suicide. young and indecisive to provide needed The Ming commander at Shanhaiguan leadership. In 1624 he finally gave almost accepted Manchu help in an effort to totalitarian powers to his favourite, Wei punish Li Zicheng and restore the Zhongxian, the most notorious eunuch dynasty, only to have the Manchu seize of Chinese history. Wei brutally purged the throne for themselves. hundreds of officials, chiefly those asso- Ming loyalists ineffectively resisted ciated with a reformist clique called the the Qing (Manchu) dynasty from various Donglin party, and staffed the govern- refuges in the south for a generation. ment with sycophants. Their so-called Nan (Southern) Ming A new threat had in the meantime dynasty principally included the prince appeared on the northern frontier. The of Fu (Zhu Yousong, reign name Manchu, quiet occupants of far eastern Hongguang), the prince of Tang (Zhu Manchuria from the beginning of the Yujian, reign name Longwu), the prince dynasty, were aroused in 1583 by an ambi- of Lu (Zhu Yihai, no reign name), and the tious young leader named Nurhachi. prince of Gui (Zhu Youlang, reign name During the Wanli emperor’s latter years, Yongli). The loyalist coastal raider Zheng they steadily encroached on central Chenggong (Koxinga) and his heirs held Manchuria. In 1616 Nurhachi proclaimed out on Taiwan until 1683. a new dynasty, and overwhelming victories over Ming forces in 1619 and 1621 Government and gave him control of the whole northeast- administration ern segment of the Ming empire, south to the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan. The Ming state system was built on a The Chongzhen emperor (reigned foundation of institutions inherited from 1627–44) tried to revitalize the deteriorating the Tang and Song dynasties and The Ming Dynasty | 197 modified by the intervening dynasties of of government. This system of social conquest from the north, especially the organization, called lijia (later replaced Yuan. The distinctive new patterns of by or coexistent with a local defense social and administrative organization system called baojia), served to stabi- that emerged in Ming times persisted, in lize, regulate, and indoctrinate the their essential features, through the Qing populace under relatively loose formal dynasty into the 20th century. state supervision. Ming provincial governments con- Local Government sisted of three coordinate agencies with specialized responsibilities for general At local and regional levels, the tradi- administration, surveillance and judicial tional modes and personnel of affairs, and military affairs. These were government were perpetuated in ad hoc the channels for routine administrative fashion in the earliest Ming years, but, as contacts between local officials and the the new empire became consolidated and central government. stabilized, highly refined control structures were imposed that—in theory and Central Government probably also in reality—eventually subjugated all Chinese to the throne to an In its early form the Ming central gov- unprecedented and totalitarian degree. ernment was dominated by a unitary The Ming law code, promulgated in final Secretariat. The senior executive official form in 1397, reinforced the traditional of the Secretariat served the emperor as authority and responsibility of the pater- a chief counselor, or prime minister. familias, considered the basis of all social Suspected treason on the part of the order. Each family was classified accord- chief counselor Hu Weiyong in 1380 ing to hereditary status—the chief caused the Hongwu emperor to abolish categories being civilian, military, and all executive posts in the Secretariat, artisan—and neighbouring families of thus fragmenting general administra- the same category were organized into tion authority among the six functionally groups for purposes of self-government differentiated, formerly subordinate and mutual help and surveillance. Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Civilians were grouped into “tithings” of War, Justice, and Works. This effective 10 families, and these in turn were abolition of the Secretariat left the grouped into “communities” totaling emperor as the central government’s 100 families, plus 10 additional prosper- sole coordinator of any significance, ous households, which in annual rotation strengthened his control over the offi- provided community chiefs, who were cialdom, and, in the view of many later intermediaries between the citizenry scholars, gravely weakened the Ming at large and the formal agencies state system. 198 | The History of China

Especially prominent among other Regional Military Commission. Soldiers agencies of the central government was a from local guards were sent in rotation to Censorate, which was charged with the the capital for special training or to the dual functions of maintaining disciplin- Great Wall or another area of comparable ary surveillance over the whole of military importance for active patrol and officialdom and remonstrating against guard duty. At such times, as on large- unwise state policies and improprieties scale campaigns, soldiers served under in the conduct of the emperor. Equally tactical commanders who were on ad hoc prominent were five chief military com- duty assignments, detached from their missions, each assigned responsibility, hereditary posts in guard garrisons or jointly with the Ministry of War, for a geo- higher echelons of the military service. graphically defined segment of the empire’s military establishment. There Later Innovations was originally a unitary Chief Military Commission paralleling the Secretariat, In the 15th century, new institutions were but in the 1380s its authority was simi- gradually devised to provide needed larly fragmented. The hereditary soldiers, coordination both in the central govern- who were under the administrative juris- ment and in regional administration. diction of the chief military commissions, Later emperors found the Hongwu originated as members of the rebel emperor’s system of highly centralized armies that established the dynasty, as power and fragmented government surrendering enemy soldiers, in some structure inefficient and inconvenient. instances as conscripts, and as convicted Litterateurs of the traditional and presti- criminals. They were organized and gar- gious Hanlin Academy came to be risoned principally along the frontiers, assigned to the palace as secretarial near the capital, and in other strategic assistants, and they quickly evolved into places but also throughout the interior, in a stable Grand Secretariat (Neige) units called guards and battalions. through which emperors guided and Whenever possible, such units were responded to the ministries and other assigned state-owned agricultural lands central government agencies. Similarly, so that, by alternating military duties the need for coordinating provincial-level with farm labour, the soldiers could be affairs led to delegating high-ranking self-supporting. The military families, in central government dignitaries to serve compensation for providing soldiers in as regional commanders (zongbing guan) perpetuity, enjoyed exemptions from and governor-like grand coordinators labour services levied by the state on (xunfu) in the provinces. Finally, clusters civilian families. Each guard unit of neighbouring provinces came under reported to its Chief Military Commission the supervisory control of still-more- at the capital through a provincial-level prestigious central government officials, The Ming Dynasty | 199 known as supreme commanders (zongdu), irregular ways rarely had notable, or even whose principal function was to coordi- active, careers in government. In the nate military affairs in extended, early decades of the dynasty, before com- multi-province areas. As the dynasty petitive examinations could provide grew older, as the population expanded, sufficient numbers of trustworthy men and as administration became increas- for service, large numbers of officials ingly complex, coordinators proliferated were recruited directly from government even at sub-provincial levels in the form schools or through recommendations by of circuit intendants (daotai), who were existing officials, and such recruits often delegated from provincial agencies as rose to eminence. But after about 1400, functionally specialized intermediaries persons entering the civil service by ave- with prefectural administrations. nues other than examinations had little To an extent unprecedented except hope for successful careers. possibly in Song times, Ming govern- In a departure from traditional prac- ment was dominated by nonhereditary tices but in accordance with the Yuan civil service officials recruited on the precedent, there was only one type of basis of competitive written examina- examination given in Ming times. It tions. Hereditary military officers, required a general knowledge of the although granted ranks and stipends Classics and history and the ability to higher than their civil service counter- relate Classical precepts and historical parts and eligible for noble titles rarely precedents to general philosophical or granted to civil officials, always found specific political issues. As in Yuan times, themselves subordinate to policy-making interpretations of the Classics by the Zhu civil servants, except in the first years of Xi school of Neo-Confucianism were pre- the dynasty. Members of the imperial scribed. By the end of the Ming dynasty, clan, except in the earliest and latest the writing of examination responses had years of the dynasty, were forbidden to become highly stylized and formalized in take active part in administration, and a pattern called “the eight-legged essay” the Ming practice of finding imperial (baguwen), which in subsequent centu- consorts in military families effectively ries became notoriously repressive of denied imperial in-laws access to posi- creative thought and writing. tions of significant authority. Beginning in the Hongwu emperor’s High-ranking civil officials usually could reign, the government sponsored district- place one son each in the civil service by level schools, in which state-subsidized hereditary right, and, beginning in 1450, students prepared for the civil service wealthy civilians often were able to pur- examinations. Especially talented stu- chase nominal civil service status in dents could be promoted from such local government fund-raising drives. But schools into programs of advanced learn- those entering the service in such ing and probationary service at a national 200 | The History of China university in the capital. Especially after Although acceptance into, and suc- 1500, there was a proliferation of private cess in, the civil service were the most academies in which scholars gathered to highly esteemed goals for all and were discuss philosophy and students were nominally determined solely by demon- also prepared for the examinations. strated scholastic and administrative Education intendants from provincial abilities, other factors inevitably intruded headquarters annually toured all locali- to prevent the civil service system from ties, examining candidates who presented being wholly “open.” Differences in the themselves and certifying those of “prom- economic status of families made for ising talent” (xiucai) as being qualified to inequalities of educational opportunity undertake weeklong examination ordeals and, consequently, inequalities of access that were conducted every third year at to civil service careers. The sons of well- the provincial capitals. Those who passed to-do families clearly had advantages, the provincial examinations (juren) could and men of the affluent and cultured be appointed directly to posts in the southeastern region so threatened to lower echelons of the civil service. They monopolize scholastic competitions that were also eligible to compete in triennial regional quotas for those passing the metropolitan examinations conducted at metropolitan examinations were imposed the national capital. Those who passed by the government, beginning in 1397. were given degrees often called doctor- Once in the service, one’s advancement ates (jinshi) and promptly took an or even survival often depended on additional palace examination, nominally shifting patterns of favouritism and presided over by the emperor, on the factionalism. Present-day scholarship basis of which they were ranked in order strongly suggests nevertheless that “new of excellence. They were registered as blood” was constantly entering the Ming qualified officials by the Ministry of civil service, that influential families did Personnel, which assigned them to not monopolize or dominate the service, active-duty posts as vacancies occurred. and that men regularly rose from obscu- While on duty they were evaluated regu- rity to posts of great esteem and power larly by their administrative superiors on the basis of merit. Social mobility, as and irregularly by touring inspectors reflected in the Ming civil service, was from the Censorate. It was normally only very possibly greater than in Song times after long experience and excellent and was clearly greater than in the suc- records in low- and middle-grade posts, ceeding Qing era. both in the provinces and in the capital, The Ming pattern of government has that an official might be nominated for generally been esteemed for its stability high office and appointed by personal under civil service dominance, its cre- choice of the emperor. ativity in devising new institutions to The Ming Dynasty | 201 serve changing needs, and its suppres- aboriginal tribes of south and southwest sion of separatist warlords on one hand China, who often rose in isolated rebel- and disruptive interference by imperial lions but were gradually being clansmen and palace women on the other. assimilated. The Chinese took for granted It suffered, however, from sometimes that their emperor was everyone’s over- vicious factionalism among officials, lord and that de facto (mostly hereditary) recurrences of abusive influence on the rulers of non-Chinese tribes, regions, and part of palace eunuchs, and defects in its states were properly his feudatories. establishment of hereditary soldiers. The Foreign rulers were thus expected to hon- military system not only failed to achieve our and observe the Ming ritual calendar, self-support but stagnated steadily, so to accept nominal appointments as mem- that from the mid-15th century onward it bers of the Ming nobility or military had to be supplemented by conscripts establishment, and, especially, to send and, finally, all but replaced by mercenary periodic missions to the Ming capital to recruits. Most notoriously, the Ming state demonstrate fealty and present tribute of system allowed emperors to behave local commodities. Tributary envoys from capriciously and abusively toward their continental neighbours were received officials. Despite their high prestige, offi- and entertained by local and provincial cials had to accept being ignored, governments in the frontier zones. Those humiliated, dismissed, and subjected to from overseas were welcomed by special bodily punishment and to risk being cru- maritime trade supervisorates (shibosi, elly executed (sometimes in large often called trading-ship offices) at three numbers), as suited the imperial fancy. key ports on the southeast and south Power was concentrated in the hands of coasts: Ningbo in Zhejiang for Japanese the Ming emperors to a degree that was contacts, Quanzhou in Fujian for contacts probably unparalleled in any other long- with Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, and lived dynasty of Chinese history, and the Guangzhou (Canton) in Guangdong for Ming emperors often exercised their vast contacts with Southeast Asia. The fron- powers in abusive fashion. tier and coastal authorities forwarded foreign missions to the national capital, Foreign relations where the Ministry of Rites offered them hospitality and arranged for their audi- Whereas in Ming times the Chinese ences with the emperor. All envoys organized themselves along wholly received valuable gifts in acknowledge- bureaucratic and tightly centralized lines, ment of the tribute they presented. They the Ming emperors maintained China’s also were permitted to buy and sell pri- traditional feudal-seeming relationships vate trade goods at specified, officially with foreign peoples. These included the supervised markets, both in the capital 202 | The History of China and on the coasts and frontiers. Thus, occasional raiding forays such as those copper coins and luxury goods (notably by Esen Taiji and Altan Khan. silks and porcelains) flowed out of China, The fact that the Mongols could not and pepper, other spices, and similar rari- reunite themselves was a fortunate cir- ties flowed in. On the western and cumstance for Ming China. As early as northern frontiers the principal exchange the Yongle emperor’s time, the Mongols was in Chinese tea and steppe horses. On were divided into three groups that were balance, the combined tribute and trade often antagonistic to one another: the so- activities were highly advantageous to called western Mongols or Oyrat foreigners—so much so that the Chinese (including the Kalmyk), the eastern early established limits for the size and Mongols or Tatars, and a group in the cargoes of foreign missions and pre- Chengde area known as the Urianghad scribed long intervals that must elapse tribes. The Urianghad tribes surrendered between missions. to the Hongwu emperor and were incor- The principal aim of Ming foreign porated into China’s frontier defense policy was political: to maintain China’s system under a Chinese military head- security and, especially, to make certain quarters. Because they served the Yongle the Mongols could not threaten China emperor as a loyal rear guard during his again. To this end the Hongwu emperor seizure of the throne, he rewarded them repeatedly sent armies northward and with virtual autonomy, withdrawing the northwestward to punish resurgent Chinese command post from their home- Mongol groups and prevent any recon- land beyond the Great Wall. Subsequently, solidation of Mongol power. The Yongle the Xuande emperor similarly withdrew emperor was even more zealous: he per- the command post that the Hongwu sonally campaigned into the Gobi emperor had established at the Mongols’ (desert) five times, and his decision to old extramural capital, Shangdu. These transfer the national capital from Nanjing withdrawals isolated Manchuria from to Beijing, completed in 1421 after long China proper, terminated active Chinese preparations, was largely a reflection of military control in Inner Mongolia, and his concern about the frontier. His suc- exposed the Beijing area in particular to cessors, though less zealous than he in the possibility of probing raids from the this regard, were vigilant enough so that nearby steppes. They reflected an essen- the Great Wall was restored and expanded tially defensive Chinese posture in the to its present-day extent and dimensions. north, which by late Ming times allowed Frontier defense forces, aligned in nine the Oyrat to infiltrate and dominate defense commands stretching from Hami and other parts of the northwestern Manchuria to Gansu, kept China free frontier and the Manchu to rise to power from Mongol incursions, except for in the northeast. The Ming Dynasty | 203

The Ming attitude toward foreign area into the Ming domain as a province peoples other than the Mongols was gen- in 1407. erally unaggressive: so long as they were After the Yongle era the Ming gov- not disruptive, the Ming emperors left ernment reverted to the founding them to themselves. The Hongwu emperor’s unaggressive policy toward emperor made this his explicit policy. foreign states. Nam Viet was abandoned Even though he threatened the Japanese in 1428 after protracted guerrilla-style with punitive expeditions if they per- resistance had thoroughly undermined sisted in marauding along China’s coasts, Chinese control there. A new civil war in he dealt with the problem by building Nam Viet provoked the Chinese, after strong fortresses and coastal defense long and agonized discussion, to prepare fleets that successfully repulsed the to intervene there again in 1540, but the marauders. He did send an army to sub- offer of ritual submission by a usurper due Turfan (Turpan) in 1377, when the gave the Chinese an opportunity to avoid Turko-Mongol rulers of that oasis region war, and they welcomed it. On only two rebelled and broke China’s traditional other occasions were Ming military forces transport routes to the west. But he active outside China’s borders: in 1445–46, refused to intervene in dynastic upheav- when Chinese troops pursued a rebellious als in Nam Viet and Korea (when Koryŏ border chief into Myanmar despite resis- was replaced by Chosŏn), and he was tance there, and in 1592–98, when the unmoved by the rise of the Turko-Mongol Ming court undertook to help the Chosŏn empire of Timur (Tamerlane) in the far (Yi) dynasty in Korea repulse Japanese west at Samarkand, even though Timur invaders, a long and costly effort. murdered Chinese envoys and was plan- In order to preserve the government’s ning to campaign against China. monopolistic control of foreign contacts The Yongle emperor was much more and trade and, at least in part, to keep the aggressive. He sent the eunuch admiral Chinese people from being contami- Zheng He on tribute-collecting voyages nated by barbarian customs, the Ming to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, and rulers prohibited private dealings the Persian Gulf and as far as East Africa. between Chinese and foreigners and for- On one early voyage, Zheng He inter- bade any private voyaging abroad. The vened in a civil war in Java and rules were so strict as to disrupt even established a new king there; on another, coastal fishing and trading, on which he captured the hostile king of Sri Lanka large populations in the south and south- and took him prisoner to China. The east had traditionally based their Yongle emperor also reacted to turbu- livelihood. Such unrealistic prohibitions lence in Nam Viet by sending an were unpopular and unenforceable, and, expeditionary force that incorporated the from about the mid-15th century, Chinese 204 | The History of China readily collaborated with foreign traders 1622, took control of coastal Taiwan in in widespread smuggling, for the most 1624 and began developing trade con- part officially condoned. In addition, by tacts in nearby Fujian and Zhejiang late Ming times, thousands of venture- provinces. In 1637 a squadron of five some Chinese had migrated to become English ships shot its way into mercantile entrepreneurs in the various Guangzhou and disposed of its cargoes regions of Southeast Asia and even in there. Russia, meanwhile, had sent peace- Japan. In efforts to enforce its laws, the ful missions overland to Beijing, and by Ming court closed all maritime trade the end of the Ming dynasty the Russians’ supervisorates except the one at eastward expansion across Siberia had Guangzhou early in the 16th century, and carried them finally to the shores of the by the 1540s it had begun to reinvigorate Pacific north of the Amur River. coastal defenses against marauders Christian missionaries from Europe throughout the southeast and the south. were handicapped by the bad reputation These circumstances shaped the early their trader countrymen had acquired in China coast experiences of the Europeans, China, but the Jesuit tactic of accommo- who first appeared in Ming China in 1514. dating to local customs eventually got The Portuguese had already established the Jesuits admitted to the mainland. themselves in southern India and at Matteo Ricci was the successful pioneer, Malacca, where they learned of the huge beginning his work in 1583 well-trained profits that could be made in the regional in the Chinese language and acquainted trade between the China coast and with Confucian learning. By the time of Southeast Asia. Becoming involved in his death in 1610, despite hostility in what the Ming court considered smug- some quarters, Jesuit communities were gling and piracy, the Portuguese were established in many cities of south and not welcomed to China, but they would central China, a church had been built in not be rebuffed, and by 1557 they had Beijing under imperial patronage, and taken control of a settlement at the Christianity was known and respected by walled-off end of a coastal peninsula many Chinese scholar-officials. Before (present-day Macau) and were trading the end of the dynasty, Jesuits had won periodically at nearby Guangzhou. In influential converts at court (notably the 1575 Spaniards from Manila visited grand secretary Xu Guangqi, or Paul Xu), Guangzhou in a vain effort to get official had produced Chinese books on trading privileges, and soon they were European science as well as theology, developing active though illegal trade on and were manufacturing Portuguese- the Guangdong and Fujian coasts. type cannon for Ming use against the Representatives of the Dutch East India Manchu. They also held official appoint- Company, after unsuccessfully trying to ments in China’s Directorate of capture Macau from the Portuguese in Astronomy, which had the important The Ming Dynasty | 205 responsibility of determining the official Yangtze delta region to northern towns calendar. Both European technology and for their cultural adornment, resettled European ideas were beginning to have peasants from the overpopulated south- some effect on China, albeit still very east into the vacant lands of the north for limited. their agrarian redevelopment, and instituted water-control projects to restore Economic policy the productivity of the Huang and Huai and developments river basins. (Notable among these is the rehabilitation and extension of the Population Grand Canal, which reopened in 1415.) Colonists were normally provided with Ming China’s northward orientation in seeds, tools, and animals and were foreign relations was accompanied by a exempted from taxes for three years. The flow of Chinese migrants from the numerous army garrisons that were sta- crowded south back into the vast North tioned in the north for defense of the China Plain and by a concomitant shift frontier and of the post-1420 capital at in emphasis from an urban and commer- Beijing were also given vacant lands to cial way of life back to a rural and develop and were encouraged to become agrarian pattern. Thus, demographic self-supporting. Such government mea- and economic trends that had character- sures were supplemented, following ized China for centuries—the southward political reunification, by popular migra- movement of population and the tion into the relatively frontierlike and urbanization and commercialization of open north. Rehabilitation of northern life—were arrested or even reversed. China was no doubt also facilitated by The North China Plain had been the new availability of sorghum for dry neglected since early Song times, and its farming. All these elements produced a rehabilitation became a high-priority substantial revival of the north. In Yuan project of the early Ming emperors. The times, censuses credited the northern Ming founder’s ancestral home was in provinces with only one-tenth of the northern China, and his son, the Yongle total Chinese population, but by the late emperor, won the throne from a personal 16th century they claimed some two- power base in the newly recovered north fifths of the registered total. Suspension at Beijing. Securing the northern frontier of government incentives late in the 15th was the major political goal of both these century caused the northwest to enter emperors, and both had reasons for into agrarian decline, and Shaanxi even- being somewhat suspicious of southern- tually became impoverished and ers and hostile toward them. In bandit-infested. Support of the frontier consequence, both emperors regularly defenses became an increasing burden moved well-to-do city dwellers of the on the central government. 206 | The History of China

During the migrations back to north- been introduced into the Chinese econ- ern China, the registered populations of omy in Song and Yuan times. The the largest urban centres of the south- introduction in the 16th century of food east declined. For example, between 1393 crops originating in America—peanuts and 1578, Nanjing declined from 1,193,000 (groundnuts), corn (maize), and sweet to 790,000, Zhejiang province from potatoes—created an even stronger 10,487,000 to 5,153,000, and Jiangxi prov- agrarian basis for rapidly escalating ince from 8,982,000 to 5,859,000. (It should population growth in the Qing period. be mentioned, however, that the actual population in cities typically was greater Agriculture than what was registered.) Despite this leveling trend in the regional distribution Neo-feudal land-tenure developments of of population, southern China—especially late Song and Yuan times were arrested the southeast—remained the most popu- with the establishment of the Ming lous, the wealthiest, and the most cultured dynasty. Great landed estates were area of China in Ming times. Great confiscated by the government, frag- southeastern cities such as Nanjing, mented, and rented out, and private Suzhou, and Hangzhou remained the slavery was forbidden. In the 15th cen- major centres of trade and manufactur- tury, consequently, independent peasant ing, entertainment, and scholarship and landholders dominated Chinese agricul- the arts. Beijing was their only rival in the ture. But the Ming rulers were not able north—solely because of its being the cen- to provide permanent solutions for tre of political power. China’s perennial land-tenure problems. Although official census figures sug- As early as the 1420s, the farming popu- gest that China’s overall population lation was in new difficulties despite remained remarkably stable in Ming repeated tax remissions and other efforts times at a total of about 60 million, mod- to ameliorate its condition. Large-scale ern scholars have estimated that there landlordism gradually reappeared, as was in fact substantial growth, probably powerful families encroached upon the to a total well in excess of 100 million lands of poor neighbours. Song-style and perhaps almost as high as 150 mil- latifundia do not seem to have reemerged, lion in the early 17th century. Domestic but, by the late years of the dynasty, peace and political stability in the 15th sharecropping tenancy was the common century clearly set the stage for great condition of millions of peasants, espe- general prosperity in the 16th century. cially in central and southeastern China, This can be accounted for in part as and a new gulf had opened between the cumulative result of the continuing the depressed poor and the exploitative spread of early ripening rice and of cot- rich. The later Ming government issued ton production—new elements that had countless pronouncements lamenting The Ming Dynasty | 207 the plight of the common man but never The land-tax rate was highly variable, undertook any significant reform of depending not on the productivity of any land-tenure conditions. plot but on the condition of its tenure, which might be as freehold or as one of Taxation several categories of land rented from the government. The land tax was calculated The Ming laissez-faire policy in agrarian together with labour levies, or corvée, matters had its counterpart in fiscal which, though nominally assessed administration. The Ming state took the against persons, were assessed against collection of land taxes—its main reve- land in normal practice. Corvée obliga- nues by far—out of the hands of civil tions also varied widely and were usually service officials and entrusted that payable in paper money or in silver rather responsibility directly to well-to-do fam- than in actual service. Assessments ily heads in the countryside. Each against a plot of land might include sev- designated tax captain was, on the aver- eral other considerations as well, so that a age, responsible for tax collections in an farmer’s tax bill was a complicated reck- area for which the land-tax quota was oning of many different tax items. Efforts 10,000 piculs of grain (one picul is the to simplify land-tax procedures in the equivalent of 3.1 bushels or 109 litres). In 16th century, principally initiated by con- collaboration with the lijia community scientious local officials, culminated in chiefs of his fiscal jurisdiction, he saw to the universal promulgation of a consoli- it that tax grains were collected and then dated-assessment scheme called “a delivered, in accordance with compli- single whip” (yitiaobian) in 1581. Its main cated instructions; some went to local feature was reducing land tax and corvée storage vaults under control of the dis- obligations to a single category of pay- trict magistrate and some to military ment in bulk silver or its grain equivalent. units, which, by means of the Grand This reform was little more than a book- Canal, annually transported more than keeping change at best, and it was not three million piculs northward to Beijing. universally applied. Land-tax inequities In the early Ming years, venal tax cap- were unaffected, and assessments rose tains seem to have been able to amass sharply and repeatedly from 1618 to meet fortunes by exploiting the peasantry. spiraling costs of defense. Later, however, tax captains normally Many revenues other than land taxes faced certain ruin because tax-evading contributed to support of the govern- manipulations by large landlords thrust ment. Some, such as mine taxes and tax burdens increasingly on those least levies on marketplace shops and vending able to pay and forced tax captains to stalls, were based on proprietorship; oth- make up deficiencies in their quotas out ers, such as salt taxes, wine taxes, and of their personal reserves. taxes on mercantile goods in transit, were 208 | The History of China based on consumption. Of all state reve- Because during the last century of nues, more than half seem to have the Ming dynasty a genuine money econ- remained in local and provincial grana- omy emerged and because concurrently ries and treasuries; of those forwarded to some relatively large-scale mercantile the capital, about half seem normally to and industrial enterprises developed have disappeared into the emperor’s per- under private as well as state ownership sonal vaults. Revenues at the disposal of (most notably in the great textile centres the central government were always rela- of the southeast), some modern-day tively small. Prosperity and fiscal caution scholars have considered the Ming age had resulted in the accumulation of huge one of “incipient capitalism”; according surpluses by the 1580s, both in the capital to this reasoning, European-style mercan- and in many provinces, but thereafter the tilism and industrialization might have Sino-Japanese war in Chosŏn, unprece- evolved had it not been for the Manchu dented extravagances on the part of the conquest and expanding European impe- long-lived Wanli emperor, and defense rialism. It would seem clear, however, that against domestic rebels and the Manchu private capitalism in Ming times flour- bankrupted both the central government ished only insofar as it was condoned and the imperial household. by the state, and it was never free from the threat of state suppression Coinage and confiscation. State control of the economy—and of society in all its Copper coins were used throughout the aspects, for that matter—remained the Ming dynasty. Paper money was used for dominant characteristic of Chinese life various kinds of payments and grants by in Ming times, as it had earlier. the government, but it was always non- convertible and, consequently, lost value Culture disastrously. It would in fact have been utterly valueless, except that it was pre- The predominance of state power also scribed for the payment of certain types marked the intellectual and aesthetic life of taxes. The exchange of precious metals of Ming China. By requiring use of their was forbidden in early Ming times, but interpretations of the Classics in educa- gradually bulk silver became common tion and in the civil service examinations, currency, and, after the mid-16th century, the state prescribed the Neo- government accounts were reckoned pri- Confucianism of the great Song thinkers marily in taels (ounces) of silver. By the Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi as the orthodoxy of end of the dynasty, silver coins produced Ming times; by patronizing or comman- in Mexico, introduced by Spanish sailors deering craftsmen and artists on a vast based in the Philippines, were becoming scale, it set aesthetic standards for all the common on the south coast. minor arts, for architecture, and even for The Ming Dynasty | 209

Poet on a Mountain Top, ink on paper or ink and light colour on paper, album leaf mounted as a hand scroll, by Shen Zhou, Ming dynasty; in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo., U.S. 38.7 × 60.2 cm. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; purchase Nelson Trust (46–51/2) painting, and, by sponsoring great schol- of Tang and Song masterpieces in all arly undertakings and honouring genres, but independent thinkers, artists, practitioners of traditional literary forms, and writers were striking out in many the state established norms in those new directions. The fi nal Ming century realms as well. Thus, it has been easy for especially was a time of intellectual and historians of Chinese culture to catego- artistic ferment akin to the most seminal rize the Ming era as an age of bureaucratic ages of the past. monotony and mediocrity, but the stable, affl uent Ming society actually proved to Philosophy and Religion be irrepressibly creative and iconoclastic. Drudges by the hundreds and thousands Daoism and Buddhism by Ming times had may have been content with producing declined into ill-organized popular reli- second-rate imitations or interpretations gions, and what organization they had 210 | The History of China was regulated by the state. State espousal of Zhu Xi thought and state repression of noted early Ming litterateurs, such as the poet Gao Qi and the thinker Fang Xiaoru, made for widespread philosophical con- formity during the 15th century. This was perhaps best characterized by the scholar Xue Xuan’s insistence that the Daoist Way had been made so clear by Zhu Xi that nothing remained but to put it into practice. Philosophical problems about human identity and destiny, however, especially in an increasingly autocratic system, ran- kled in many minds, and new blends of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist elements appeared in a sequence of eff orts to fi nd ways of personal self-realization in contemplative, quietistic, and even mystical veins. These culminated in the antirationalist individualism of the famed scholar-statesman Wang Yangming, who denied the external “principles” of Zhu Xi and advocated striving for wisdom through cultivation of the innate knowledge of one’s own mind and attainment of “the unity of knowledge and action.” Wang’s followers carried his doctrines to extremes of self-indulgence, preached to the masses in gatherings resembling religious revivals, and collaborated with so-called “mad” Chan (Zen) Buddhists to spread the notion that Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism are equally valid paths to the supreme goal of individualis- Vase, cloisonné enamel, Ming dynasty, c. tic self-fulfi llment. Through the 16th 1500; in the British Museum, London. century, intense philosophical discus- Height 41.5 cm. Courtesy of the trustees sions were fostered, especially in rapidly of the British Museum multiplying private academies (shuyuan). The Ming Dynasty | 211

Rampant iconoclasm climaxed with Li blue-on-white products, more-flamboyant Zhi, a zealous debunker of traditional polychrome wares of three and even five Confucian morality, who abandoned a colours predominated. Painting—chiefly bureaucratic career for Buddhist monk- portraiture—followed traditional patterns hood of a highly unorthodox type. under imperial patronage, but indepen- Excesses of this sort provoked occa- dent gentlemen painters became the sional suppressions of private academies, most esteemed artists of the age, espe- periodic persecutions of heretics, and cially four masters of the Wu school (in sophisticated counterarguments from the Suzhou area): Shen Zhou, Qiu Ying, traditionalistic, moralistic groups of Tang Yin, and Wen Zhengming. Their scholars, such as those associated with work, always of great technical excel- the Donglin Academy near Suzhou, who lence, became less and less academic in blamed the late Ming decline of political style, and out of this tradition, by the late efficiency and morality on widespread years of the dynasty, emerged a concep- subversion of Zhu Xi orthodoxy. The tion of the true painter as a professionally zealous searching for personal identity competent but deliberately amateurish was only intensified, however, when the artist bent on individualistic self-expres- dynasty finally collapsed. sion. Notably in landscapes, a highly cultivated and somewhat romantic or Fine Arts mystical simplicity became the approved style, perhaps best exemplified in the In the realm of the arts, the Ming period work of Dong Qichang. has long been esteemed for the variety and high quality of its state-sponsored Literature and Scholarship craft goods—cloisonné and, particularly, porcelain wares. The sober, delicate As was the case with much of the paint- monochrome porcelains of the Song ing, Ming poetry and belles lettres were dynasty were now superseded by rich, deliberately composed “after the fashion decorative polychrome wares. The best of” earlier masters, and groups of writers known of these are of blue-on-white and critics earnestly argued about the decor, which gradually changed from flo- merits of different Tang and Song exem- ral and abstract designs to a pictorial plars. No Ming practitioner of traditional emphasis. From that eventually emerged poetry has won special esteem, though the “willow-pattern” wares that became Ming literati churned out poetry in prodi- export goods in great demand in Europe. gious quantities. The historians Song By late Ming times, perhaps because of Lian and Wang Shizhen and the philoso- the unavailability of the imported Iranian pher-statesman Wang Yangming were cobalt that was used for the finest among the dynasty’s most noted prose 212 | The History of China stylists, producing expository writings of Lotus), a realistically Rabelaisian exemplary lucidity and straightforward- account of life and love among the bour- ness. Perhaps the most admired master geoisie, which established yet another was Gui Youguang, whose most famous genre for the novel. By the end of the writings are simple essays and anecdotes Ming period, iconoclasts such as Li about everyday life—often rather loose Zhi and Jin Shengtan, both of whom and formless but with a quietly pleasing published editions of Shuihuzhuan, charm, evoking character and mood with made the then-astonishing assertion artless-seeming delicacy. The iconoclasm that this and other works of popular lit- of the final Ming decades was mirrored in erature should rank alongside the a literary movement of total individual greatest poetry and literary prose as freedom, championed notably by Yuan treasures of China’s cultural heritage. Zhongdao, but writings produced during Colloquial short stories also proliferated this period were later denigrated as insin- in Ming times, and collecting antholo- cere, coarse, frivolous, and so strange and gies of them became a fad of the last eccentric as to make impossible demands Ming century. The master writer and on the readers. editor in this realm was Feng Menglong, The late Ming iconoclasm did suc- whose creations and influence dominate cessfully call attention to popular fiction the best-known anthology, Jingu qiguan in colloquial style. In retrospect, this (“Wonders Old and New”), published in must be reckoned the most significant Suzhou in 1624. literary work of the late Yuan and Ming Operatic drama, which had emerged periods, even though it was disdained by as a major new art form in Yuan times, the educated elite of the time. The late was popular throughout the Ming Yuan–early Ming novels Sanguozhi dynasty, and Yuan masterpieces in the yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) tightly disciplined four-act zaju style and Shuihuzhuan (The Water Margin, were regularly performed. Ming con- also published as All Men Are Brothers) tributors to the dramatic literature were became the universally acclaimed mas- most creative in a more-rambling, mul- terpieces of the historical and picaresque tiple-act form known as “southern genres, respectively. Sequels to each drama” or chuanqi. Members of the were produced throughout the Ming imperial clan and respected scholars period. Wu Cheng’en, a 16th-century and officials such as Wang Shizhen and local official, produced Xiyouji (Journey particularly Tang Xianzu wrote for the to the West, also partially translated as stage. A new southern opera aria form Monkey), which became China’s most- called kunqu, originating in Suzhou, treasured novel of the supernatural. Late became particularly popular and pro- in the 16th century an unidentifiable vided the repertoire of women singers writer produced Jinpingmei (Golden throughout the country. Sentimental The Ming Dynasty | 213 romanticism was a notable characteris- Labour”), on industrial technology. tic of Ming dramas. Ming scholars also produced numerous Perhaps the most representative of valuable geographical treatises and his- all Ming literary activities, however, are torical studies. Among the creative voluminous works of sober scholarship milestones of Ming scholarship, which in many realms. Ming literati were avid pointed the way for the development of bibliophiles, both collectors and publish- modern critical scholarship in early ers. They founded many great private Qing times, were the following: a work libraries, such as the famed Tianyige col- by Mei Zu questioning the authenticity lection of the Fan family at Ningbo. They of sections of the ancient Shujing also began producing huge anthologies (“Classic of History”); a phonological (congshu) of rare or otherwise interesting analysis by Chen Di of the ancient books and thus preserved many works Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”); and a dic- from extinction. The example was set in tionary by Mei Yingzuo that for the this regard by an imperially sponsored first time classified Chinese ideograms classified anthology of all the esteemed (characters) under 214 components (radi- writings of the whole Chinese heritage cals) and subclassified them by number completed in 1407 under the title Yongle of brushstrokes—an arrangement still dadian (“Great Canon of the Yongle used by most standard dictionaries. Era”). Its more than 11,000 volumes being One of the great all-around literati too numerous for even the imperial gov- of Ming times, representative in many ernment to consider printing, it was ways of the dynamic and wide-ranging preserved only in manuscript copies; activities of the Ming scholar-official at only a fraction of the volumes have sur- his best, was Yang Shen. Yang won first vived. Private scholars also produced place in the metropolitan examination of great illustrated encyclopaedias, includ- 1511, remonstrated vigorously against ing Bencao gangmu (late 16th century; the caprices of the Zhengde and Jiajing “Index of Native Herbs”), a monumental emperors, and was finally beaten, impris- materia medica listing 1,892 herbal con- oned, removed from his post in the coctions and their applications; Sancai Hanlin Academy, and sent into exile as a tuhui (1607–09; “Assembled Pictures of common soldier in Yunnan. However, the Three Realms”), a work on subjects throughout his life he produced poetry such as architecture, tools, costumes, and belles lettres in huge quantities, as ceremonies, animals, and amusements; well as a study of bronze and stone Wubeizhi (1621; “Treatise on Military inscriptions across history, a dictionary Preparedness”), on weapons, fortifica- of obsolete characters, suggestions tions, defense organization, and war about the phonology of ancient Chinese, tactics; and Tiangong kaiwu (1637; and a classification of fishes found in “Creations of Heaven and Human Chinese waters. ChaPTER 10

The Early Qing Dynasty

ThE RISE Of ThE MaNChu

he Manchu, who ruled China from 1644 to 1911/12, were Tdescendants of the Juchen (Nüzhen) tribes who had ruled northern China as the Jin dynasty in the 12th century. From the 15th century they had paid tribute to the Ming and were organized under the commandery system, so they had long had extensive and regular contact with the Chinese state and, more importantly, with the Chinese military offi - cers stationed in the Ming frontier garrisons. By the 16th century these offi cers had become a hereditary regional military group in southern Manchuria, the Manchu homeland. Transformed by their long residence on the frontier, the Chinese soldiers mingled with the barbarians, adopting Manchu names and tribal customs. Still other Chinese were in the area as enslaved “bond servants” who worked the land or helped manage the trade in ginseng root, precious stones, and furs with China and Korea. Later, after the conquest of China, many of these bond servants became powerful offi - cials who were sent on confi dential missions by the emperor and who staff ed the powerful Imperial Household Department. Under Nurhachi and his son Abahai, the Aisin Gioro clan of the Jianzhou tribe won hegemony among the rival Juchen tribes of the northeast, then through warfare and alliances extended its control into Inner Mongolia and Korea. Nurhachi The Early Qing Dynasty | 215

Panel from an imperial Chinese silk dragon robe embroidered in silk and gold thread, 17th century, early Qing dynasty; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Lee Boltin 216 | The History of China created large, permanent civil-military government apparatus in their new units called “banners” to replace the capital, Mukden (present-day Shenyang), small hunting groups used in his early established in 1625. Whereas Nurhachi campaigns. A banner was composed of had initially based his claim to legitimacy smaller companies; it included some on the tribal model, proclaiming himself 7,500 warriors and their households, khan in 1607, he later adopted the Chinese including slaves, under the command of a political language of the Tianming chieftain. Each banner was identified by a (“Mandate of Heaven”) as his reign title coloured flag that was yellow, white, blue, and in 1616 proclaimed the Hou (Later) or red, either plain or with a border Jin dynasty. Abahai continued to manip- design. Originally there were four, then ulate the political symbols of both worlds eight, Manchu banners; new banners by acquiring the great seal of the Mongol were created as the Manchu conquered khan in 1635, and thus the succession to new regions, and eventually there were the Yuan dynasty, and by taking on a Manchu, Mongol, and Chinese banners, Chinese dynastic name, Qing, for his own eight for each ethnic group. By 1648 less dynasty the following year. than one-sixth of the bannermen were The downfall of the Ming house was actually of Manchu ancestry. The Manchu the product of factors that extended far conquest was thus achieved with a multi- beyond China’s borders. In the 1630s ethnic army led by Manchu nobles and and 1640s China’s most-commercialized Han Chinese generals. Han Chinese sol- regions, the Yangtze River delta and the diers were organized into the Army of the southeast coast, suffered an acute eco- Green Standard, which became a sort of nomic depression brought on by a sharp imperial constabulary force posted break in the flow of silver entering ports throughout China and on the frontiers. through foreign trade from Acapulco Modern scholarship on the rise of the (Mexico), Malacca, and Japan. The Manchu emphasizes the contributions of depression was exacerbated by harvest Chinese collaborators to the Manchu shortfalls resulting from unusually bad cause. The Manchu offered rewards and weather during 1626–40. The enervated high positions to these Chinese, who not government administration failed to only brought military skills and technical respond adequately to the crisis, and ban- knowledge with them but also encour- dits in the northwest expanded their aged the adoption of Chinese institutional forces and began invading north and models. From Chinese and Korean arti- southwest China. One of these bandit sans the Manchu learned iron-smelting leaders, Li Zicheng, marched into Beijing technology and acquired the advanced in 1644 unopposed, and the emperor, for- European artillery of the Ming. They saken by his officials and generals, created a replica of the Ming central committed suicide. A Ming general, Wu The Early Qing Dynasty | 217

Dorgon

Dorgon (Chinese temple name: Chengzong; b. Nov. 7, 1612—d. Dec. 31, 1650), prince of the Manchu people, was instrumental in founding the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in China. He joined his former enemy Wu Sangui in driving the Chinese rebel Li Zicheng from Beijing, where Li had already unseated the last Ming-dynasty emperor. Though some wanted to put Dorgon on the throne, he saw to it that his nephew Fulin was proclaimed emperor (Dorgon acted as regent); this loyalty and selﬂ essness won him the high regard of future historians.

Sangui, sought Manchu assistance against perceived threats in north and against Li Zicheng. Dorgon, the regent west Asia created the largest empire and uncle of Abahai’s infant son (who China has ever known. From the late became the fi rst Qing emperor), defeated 17th to the early 18th century, Qing Li and took Beijing, where he declared the armies destroyed the Oyrat empire Manchu dynasty. based in Dzungaria and incorporated It took the Manchu several decades into the empire the region around the to complete their military conquest of Koko Nor (Qinghai Hu, “Blue Lake”) in China. In 1673 the conquerors confronted Central Asia. In order to check Mongol a major rebellion led by three generals power, a Chinese garrison and a resident (among them Wu Sangui), former Ming offi cial were posted in Lhasa, the centre adherents who had been given control of the Dge-lugs-pa (Yellow Hat) sect of over large parts of southern and south- Buddhism that was infl uential among western China. That revolt, stimulated by Mongols as well as Tibetans. By the mid- Manchu attempts to cut back on the 18th century the land on both sides of autonomous power of these generals, was the Tien Shan range as far west as Lake fi nally suppressed in 1681. In 1683 the Balkhash had been annexed and Qing fi nally eliminated the last strong- renamed Xinjiang (“New Dominion”). hold of Ming loyalism on Taiwan. Military expansion was matched by the internal migration of Chinese ThE QINg EMPIRE settlers into parts of China that were dominated by aboriginal or non-Han After 1683 the Qing rulers turned their ethnic groups. The evacuation of the attention to consolidating control over south and southeast coast during the their frontiers. Taiwan became part of 1660s spurred a westward migration the empire, and military expeditions of an ethnic minority, the Hakka, who 218 | The History of China moved from the hills of southwest the provincial and central governments Fujian, northern Guangdong, and south- (half of the powerful governors-general ern Jiangxi. Although the Qing dynasty throughout the dynasty were Manchu), tried to forbid migration into its home- but Chinese were able to enter govern- land, Manchuria, in the 18th and 19th ment in greater numbers in the 18th centuries Chinese settlers flowed into century, and a Manchu-Han dyarchy was the fertile Liao River basin. Government in place for the rest of the dynasty. policies encouraged Han movement The early Qing emperors were vigor- into the southwest during the early 18th ous and forceful rulers. The first emperor, century, while Chinese traders and Fulin (reign name, Shunzhi), was put on assimilated Chinese Muslims moved the throne when he was a child of six sui into Xinjiang and the other newly (about five years in Western calculations). acquired territories. This period was His reign (1644–61) was dominated by his punctuated by ethnic conflict stimu- uncle and regent, Dorgon, until Dorgon lated by the Han Chinese takeover of died in 1650. Because the Shunzhi former aboriginal territories and by emperor had died of smallpox, his suc- fighting between different groups of cessor, the Kangxi emperor, was chosen Han Chinese. in part because he had already survived a smallpox attack. The Kangxi emperor Political Institutions (reigned 1661–1722) was one of the most dynamic rulers China has known. During The Qing had come to power because of his reign the last phase of the military their success at winning Chinese over to conquest was completed, and campaigns their side; in the late 17th century they were pressed against the Mongols to adroitly pursued similar policies to win strengthen Qing security on its Central the adherence of the Chinese literati. Asian borders. China’s literati were Qing emperors learned Chinese, brought into scholarly projects, notably addressed their subjects using Confucian the compilation of the Ming history, rhetoric, reinstated the civil service under imperial patronage. examination system and the Confucian The Kangxi emperor’s designated curriculum, and patronized scholarly heir, his son Yinreng, was a bitter disap- projects, as had their predecessors. They pointment, and the succession struggle also continued the Ming custom of that followed the latter’s demotion was adopting reign names, so that Xuanye, perhaps the bloodiest in Qing history. for example, is known to history as the Many Chinese historians still question Kangxi emperor. The Qing rulers ini- whether the Kangxi emperor’s eventual tially used only Manchu and bannermen successor, his son Yinzhen (reign title to fill the most-important positions in Yongzheng), was truly the emperor’s The Early Qing Dynasty | 219

Imperial Chinese throne of the Qianlong emperor (reigned 1735–96), red lacquer carved in dragons and ﬂ oral scrolls, Qing dynasty; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; photograph, A.C. Cooper Ltd. deathbed choice. During the Yongzheng the fi scal administration and rectifi ed reign (1722–35) the government promoted bureaucratic corruption. Chinese settlement of the southwest and The Qianlong reign (1735–96) marked tried to integrate non-Han aboriginal the culmination of the early Qing. The groups into Chinese culture; it reformed emperor had inherited an improved 220 | The History of China bureaucracy and a full treasury from his practice of father-son succession but father and expended enormous sums without the custom of favouring the on the military expeditions known as eldest son. Because the identity of the Ten Great Victories. He was both the imperial heir was kept secret until the noted for his patronage of the arts and emperor was on his deathbed, Qing notorious for the censorship of anti- succession struggles were particularly Manchu literary works that was linked bitter and sometimes bloody. with the compilation of the Siku The Manchu also altered political quanshu (“Complete Library of the Four institutions in the central government. Treasuries”; Eng. trans. under various They created an Imperial Household titles). The closing years of his reign Department to forestall eunuchs from were marred by intensifi ed court faction- usurping power—a situation that had alism centred on the meteoric rise to plagued the Ming ruling house—and political power of an imperial favourite, they staff ed this agency with bond a young offi cer named Heshen. Yongyan, servants. The Imperial Household who reigned as the Jiaqing emperor Department became a power outside the (1796–1820), lived most of his life in his control of the regular bureaucracy. It father’s shadow. He was plagued by trea- managed the large estates that had been sury defi cits, piracy off the southeast allocated to bannermen and supervised coast, and uprisings among aboriginal various government monopolies, the groups in the southwest and elsewhere. imperial textile and porcelain factories These problems, together with new pres- in central China, and the customs sures resulting from an expansion in bureaus scattered throughout the opium imports, were passed on to his empire. The size and strength of the successor, the Daoguang emperor Imperial Household Department (reigned 1820–50). refl ected the accretion of power to the The early Qing emperors succeeded throne that was part of the Qing political in breaking from the Manchu tradition process. Similarly, revisions of the sys- of collegial rule. The consolidation of tem of bureaucratic communication and imperial power was fi nally completed the creation in 1729 of a new top deci- in the 1730s, when the Yongzheng sion-making body, the Grand Council, emperor destroyed the power base of permitted the emperor to control more rival princes. By the early 18th century effi ciently the ocean of government the Manchu had adopted the Chinese memorandums and requests.

This 18th-century drawing depicts Qianlong, the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty. De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images The Early Qing Dynasty | 221 222 | The History of China

Foreign Relations Central Asian affairs were handled by a new agency, the Court of Colonial The Manchu inherited the tributary sys- Affairs, that was created before 1644. tem of foreign relations from previous Qing policies toward Central Asia fre- dynasties. This system assumed that quently deviated from the tributary China was culturally and materially supe- ideal, Chinese relations with Russia rior to all other nations, and it required being a case in point. The early Qing those who wished to trade and deal with rulers attempted to check the Russian China to come as vassals to the emperor, advance in northern Asia and used the who was the ruler of “all under heaven.” Russians as a buffer against the Mongols. The tributary system was used by the The Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk Qing Board of Rites to deal with the coun- (1689), which tried to fix a common bor- tries along China’s eastern and southern der, was an agreement between equals. borders and with the European nations The Treaty of Kyakhta (1727) extended that sought trade at the ports of south agreement on the borders to the west and southeast China. and opened markets for trade. When The tributary system operated in its Chinese ambassadors went to Moscow fullest form in the Qing treatment of (1731) and St. Petersburg (1732) to request Korea. The Korean court used the Chinese that Russia remain neutral during the calendar, sent regular embassies to Chinese campaigns against the Oyrat in Beijing to present tribute, and consulted Central Asia, they performed the kow- the Chinese on the conduct of foreign tow before the empress. relations. The Qing emperor confirmed Foreign trade was not always the authority of the Korean rulers, restricted to the formal exchanges pre- approved the Korean choice of consorts scribed by the tributary system. Extensive and heirs, and bestowed noble ranks on trading was carried out in markets along Korean kings. The Korean envoy per- China’s borders with Korea, at the Russo- formed the kowtow (complete prostration Mongolian border town of Kyakhta, and and knocking of the head on the ground) at selected ports along the coast, whence before the Qing emperor and addressed ships traded with Southeast Asia. Perhaps him using the terms appropriate to some- the most striking example of trade taking one of inferior status. precedence over tribute was the Qing Central Asia was another matter. trade with Japan. The Tokugawa shogu- Tribes on the northwestern and western nate viewed the Manchu as barbarians frontiers had repeatedly invaded China, whose conquest sullied China’s claim to and the Manchu, who had been part of moral superiority in the world order. They the world of the steppe, were keenly refused to take part in the tributary sys- aware of the need to maintain military tem and themselves issued trade permits supremacy on China’s northern borders. (counterparts of the Chinese tributary The Early Qing Dynasty | 223 tallies) to Chinese merchants coming to China and of Hunan, Hubei, and the far Nagasaki after 1715. The Qing need for southwest proceeded on this basis. Japanese copper, a money metal in Land reclamation went hand in hand China, required that trade with Japan be with the construction and reconstruction continued, and it was. of water-control projects. This was an activity so characteristic of a new dynasty Economic Development that one can speak of “hydraulic cycles” moving in tandem with political consoli- In the 1640s and 1650s the Manchu abol- dations in China. These water-control ished all late Ming surtaxes and granted projects varied in scale with terrain and tax exemptions to areas ravaged by war. ecology. In central and southern China, Tax remissions were limited, however, by irrigation systems were the foundation the urgent need for revenues to carry on for rice cultivation and were largely the the conquest of China. It was not until the product of private investment and man- 1680s, after the consolidation of military agement. In northern China, control of victory, that the Qing began to permit tax the heavily silted Huang He (Yellow remissions on a large scale. The perma- River), which frequently inundated the nent freezing of the ding (corvée quotas) eastern portion of the North China Plain, in 1712 and the subsequent merger of the required large-scale state management ding and land tax into a single tax that and coordination with the related water was collected in silver were part of a long- level of the Grand Canal, the major north- term simplification of the tax system. The south waterway supplying Beijing. commutation of levies from payment in The preferred crops—rice in central kind to payment in money and the shift and southern China, wheat in northern from registering males to registering China—retained their primacy in Qing land paralleled the increasing commer- agriculture. In the course of the dynasty, cialization of the economy. the cultivation of wheat and other north- A healthy tax base required that land ern staple grains continued to creep be brought under cultivation. Because southward; rice was transplanted to the more than one-fourth of the total culti- best lands on the frontiers, and the vated land had slipped off the tax rolls in cropping cycle gradually intensified. the early 17th century, the restoration of Both on the frontiers and within China agriculture was an important goal. The proper, new lands were opened for settle- new dynasty began to resettle refugees ment using the New World crops that on abandoned land with offers of tax had been introduced into China in the exemptions for several years and grants late 16th century. Corn (maize) and of oxen, tools, seeds, or even cash in some the Irish potato permitted Chinese to areas. In the late 17th century the resettle- cultivate the marginal hilly lands. The ment of the Chengdu Basin in western sweet potato provided insurance against 224 | The History of China famine, while peanuts (groundnuts) were economic fluctuations in employment. a new source of oil in the peasant diet. Its major goal was stability, not growth. Tobacco, another 16th-century import, And yet the early Qing was a period competed with rice and sugarcane for of economic growth and development. the best lands in southern China and With the imposition of the Qing peace, became an important cash crop. the economy resumed a commercial Once the economy had been restored, expansion that had begun in the 16th the Qing state attempted to keep it run- century. This expansion in turn stimu- ning smoothly. For the most part, the lated specialization in crops sent to state did not actively intervene in what market, which included raw materials to was becoming an extremely complex be used in the textile industry as well as market economy. The major exception consumption goods such as tea, sugar, was its successful effort to offset regional and tobacco. Profit enticed merchants, food shortages in years of crop failure. landlords, and peasants to buy or rent Every province was supposed to pur- land to produce cash crops. A new kind of chase or retain reserves in the managerial landlord, who used hired “ever-normal” granaries located in each labour to grow market crops, emerged in county, so named because they were the 18th century. intended to stabilize the supply, and The tenant’s position improved vis-à- hence the price, of grain. Even relatively vis the landlord’s, a wage-labour force uncommercialized hinterlands were thus arose in agriculture, and land was increas- armoured against famine. The ability of ingly used as a marketable commodity. the government to respond effectively to Systems that guaranteed tenants perma- food scarcity depended on its informa- nent cultivation rights spread in the 18th tion gathering. During the 18th century, century through the wet-rice cultivation data on local grain prices became a regu- zone and in some dryland cultivation sys- lar feature of county, prefectural, and tems. Multiple layers of rights to the land provincial reports. generally benefited the tenant and The Qing government played a rela- improved incentives to maintain the fer- tively minor role in the commercial tility of the soil and to raise output. There economy. There were state monopolies was a general shift from servile to con- in salt, precious metals, pearls, and gin- tractual labour in agriculture that was seng, but the long-run trend was to part of a long trend toward eliminating reduce the number of monopolies. The fixed status and increasing mobility of state barely began to tap the growing labour and land. revenue potential of trade, just as it Equally important processes of com- failed to tap the expanding agricultural mercialization gained momentum with base. Its rare interventions in trade the recovery of the domestic economy. were motivated by a desire to dampen The 16th-century boom created new layers The Early Qing Dynasty | 225 of rural markets that linked villages more be formalized and protected through firmly to a market network. Although the written contract. Reliance on written con- majority of economic transactions contin- tracts for purchasing and mortgaging ued to take place within local and land, purchasing commodities and peo- intermediate markets, interregional and ple, and hiring wage labourers became national trade in grain, tea, cotton, and silk commonplace. expanded significantly. In the 18th cen- The early Qing economy was inti- tury, Shanghai became a thriving entrepôt mately tied to foreign trade, which for the coastal trade that extended from consisted of junks trading with ports in Manchuria to southern China. Southeast Asia, Japan, and the The most-dramatic economic inno- Philippines and of the expanding trade vations of the 18th century resulted from conducted by Europeans. After 1684, the needs of long-distance traders for when the ban on maritime trade was credit and new mechanisms that would lifted, Western traders flocked to ease the transfer of funds. Native banks, Guangzhou (Canton), and foreign com- as they were called by foreigners in the merce was finally confined to this port in 19th century, accepted deposits, made 1759. The “Canton system” of trade that loans, issued private notes, and trans- prevailed from that year until 1842 speci- ferred funds from one region to another. fied that Europeans had to trade through Promissory notes issued by native banks the cohong (gonghang), a guild of on behalf of merchants facilitated the Chinese firms that had monopoly rights purchase of large quantities of goods, to the trade in tea and silk. and money drafts and transfer accounts From 1719 to 1833 the tonnage of also helped ease the flow of funds. By the foreign ships trading at Guangzhou early 19th century, paper notes may have increased more than 13-fold. The major constituted one-third or more of the total export was tea; by 1833, tea exports volume of money in circulation. The were more than 28 times the export demands of large-scale, long-distance levels of 1719. Silk and porcelain were trade had, without government participa- also exported in increasing quantities tion, inspired merchants to transform a through the early 18th century. Although metallic monetary system into one in only a small fraction of total output which paper notes supplemented copper was exported, the effect of foreign trade coins and silver. on the Chinese economy was direct Customary law evolved outside the and perceptible. Its repercussions were formal legal system to expedite eco- not limited to the merchants and pro- nomic transactions and enable strangers ducers involved in specific export to do business with one another. commodities but also had a general Business partnerships in mining, com- impact on domestic markets through the merce, and commercial agriculture could monetary system. 226 | The History of China

The Chinese economy had long been ratio between silver and copper cash was based on a metallic currency system in responsive to fl uctuations in the supply which copper cash was used for daily pur- of the metals, and changes in the chases and silver for large business exchange ratio aff ected all citizens. The transactions and taxes. The exchange economic expansion of the 18th century brought rising demand for silver and copper. Although domestic production of copper increased, silver was primarily obtained from abroad. After 1684 the net balance of trade was consistently in China’s favour, and silver fl owed into the Chinese economy. Perhaps 10 million Spanish silver dollars per year came into China during the early Qing, and in the 18th century Spanish silver dollars became a common unit of account in the southeast and south.

QINg SOCIETy

Chinese society continued to be highly stratifi ed during the early Qing. Hereditary status groups ranged from the descendants of the imperial line down to the “mean people” at the bottom of the social ladder. Many professions were hereditary: bannermen, brewers, dyers, doctors, navi- gators, and Daoist priests usually passed on their occupations to at least one son in each generation. The mean people included remnants of aboriginal groups who had survived Chinese expansion and Meiping porcelain vase with a celadon settlement and certain occupational glaze, decorated with incised ﬂ oral groups, including prostitutes, musicians, motifs, from the reign of the Yongzhen actors, and local government underlings emperor (1722–35), Qing dynasty; in the (e.g., jailers and gatekeepers). Qing laws Victoria and Albert Museum, London. forbade intermarriage between respect- Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London able commoners (“good people”) and the mean people, who were also barred from The Early Qing Dynasty | 227 sitting for the civil service examinations. eschewed the morally ambiguous role of Despite attempts in the 1720s to return official to devote their energies to scholar- some of these mean people to ordinary ship, painting, poetry, and the other arts. commoner status, the social stigma per- Others turned to managing their locali- sisted throughout the dynasty. ties and assumed leadership in public Servitude was commonplace in Qing welfare, mediation of disputes, and local society. The Manchu had enslaved pris- defense. Families with a long tradition of oners of war, and in China persons could success in examinations and official ser- be sold by their families. Many well-to-do vice were increasingly preoccupied with households owned some domestic ser- strategies for ensuring the perpetuation vants. Servants were grouped with the of their elite status and countering the mean people in Qing law, but some of inexorable division of family estates them nonetheless achieved considerable stemming from the Chinese practice of power and authority. Bond servants of the partible inheritance. Downward mobility imperial house ran the powerful Imperial was a more general phenomenon than Household Department and themselves upward mobility in Qing society; those at owned slaves. Servile tenants of the the bottom of the social scale did not wealthy Huizhou merchants were some- marry and have children, while the times raised as companions to the wealthy practiced polygyny and tended master’s son and trusted to help run the to have large families. long-distance trade on which Huizhou In China’s long-settled and densely fortunes were based. Servitude in some populated regions, degree holders who cases was thus an important avenue for confronted the prospect of downward social advancement. mobility for their sons were profoundly Social mobility increased during the disturbed by the circumstances that per- early Qing, supported by a pervasive mitted wealthy merchants to mimic their belief that it was possible for a peasant way of life. The money economy and its boy to become the first scholar in the land. impersonal values penetrated more An ethic that stressed education and hard deeply into Chinese society than ever work motivated many households to before, challenging former indicators of invest their surplus in the arduous prepa- status for preeminence. Alarmed, the ration of sons for the civil service Chinese elite joined the Qing state in try- examinations. Although the most presti- ing to propagate traditional values and gious career in Qing society remained behaviour. Morality books, published in that of the scholar-official, the sharpened increasing quantities from the late 16th competition for degrees in the prosperous century onward, tied virtuous behaviour 18th century significantly expanded to concrete rewards in the form of educa- socially acceptable forms of achievement. tional success, high office, and sons. The At one pole, alienated literati deliberately Qing bestowed titles, gifts, and imperial 228 | The History of China calligraphy on virtuous widows and These lineages seem to have been com- encouraged the construction of memo- posed of only the most elite lines within a rial arches and shrines in their honour descent group, who focused their efforts to reinforce this female role. Rural lec- on national rather than local prominence tures (xiangyue) were public ceremonies and emphasized their marriage networks staged for citizens that combined reli- rather than ties to poorer kinsmen. gious elements with reciting the sacred Kinship was of limited use to the edict promulgated by the emperor. increasingly numerous sojourners who were working away from home in the Social Organization early Qing. Other kinds of organizations emerged to meet the needs of a more The basic unit of production and con- mobile population. The share partnership sumption in Chinese society remained permitted unrelated persons to pool their the jia (“family”), consisting of kin related resources to start a business, and it was by blood, marriage, or adoption that used to finance a wide variety of enter- shared a common budget and common prises, including mining ventures, coastal property. The Chinese family system was and overseas shipping, commercial agri- patrilineal; daughters married out, while culture, money shops, and theatres. The sons brought in wives and shared the res- trading empires created by the Huizhou idence of their fathers. The head of the and Shanxi merchants were examples of family, the patriarch, had the power to how such partnerships, cemented by kin- direct the activities of each member in an ship and native-place ties, could be used effort to optimize the family’s welfare. for large-scale business operations. The family was a metaphor for the state, “Native place” was the principle used and family relations were the foundation to organize the huiguan (native-place of the hierarchical social roles that were associations) that spread throughout essential in the Confucian vision of a Qing market centres. Some huiguan were morally correct society. primarily intended for officials and exam- In southeastern and southern China ination candidates; these were located in during the early Qing, there was an the capitals of provinces and in Beijing. expansion of extended kinship organiza- Others, located in the southwest, were for tions based on descent from a common immigrants, but the vast majority were ancestor. In those areas, lineages became created and used by merchants. The hui- a powerful tool for collective action and guan provided lodging and a place to local dominance, using revenues from meet fellow natives, receive financial aid, corporate property to support education, and store goods. In the course of the 18th charity, and ancestral rites. Other types of century, another kind of organization lineages, possessing little corporate that encompassed all those engaged in a property, existed in other parts of China. trade, the gongsuo (guild), emerged in The Early Qing Dynasty | 229

China’s cities. Huiguan frequently powerful organization that dominated became subunits of gongsuo, and both the Chinese underworld. groups participated in the informal gov- ernance of cities. State and Society New kinds of social organization also emerged on China’s frontiers. Native- The state barred literati from using the place ties were frequently expressed in academies and literary societies for worship of a deity, so that a temple or ter- explicitly political activities. Scholars in ritorial cult would become a vehicle for Beijing and in the rich cities of the collective action. White Lotus sectarian- Yangtze delta turned from politics to the ism appealed to other Chinese, most study of texts that marked the empirical notably to women and to the poor, who school of scholarship (kaozheng xue). found solace in worship of the Eternal Influenced by their knowledge of Mother, who was to gather all her chil- European mathematics and mathemati- dren at the millennium into one family. cal astronomy, these scholars laid down The Qing state banned the religion, and new rules for verifying the authenticity of it was generally an underground move- the Classical texts and, by revealing flaws ment. Although the White Lotus faith in previously accepted canons, chal- was practiced by boatmen on the Grand lenged the Neo-Confucian orthodoxy. Canal with no attempts to foment upris- Turning away from the Confucian quest ing, its millenarian message spurred for sagehood, the empirical scholars were spectacular rebellions; the most-notable increasingly secular and professional in was the White Lotus Rebellion at the their pursuit of textual studies. Scholarly close of the 18th century. associations, poetry societies, and acade- A new form of social organization, mies were the organizational loci for the based on sworn brotherhood, emerged empirical schools. Great libraries were among male sojourners in southeast created, rare texts were reprinted, and China in the late 18th century. The Triad compilation projects proliferated, culmi- fraternities built on kinship, native- nating in the great government-sponsored place, and contractor-worker ties but Siku quanshu (1772–82), which undertook added special rituals that bound fellow to collect for reprinting the best editions workers together as “brothers” in disci- of the most important books produced in pleship to a monk founder. Secret lore, China, using as selection criteria the initiation rituals, and an elaborate origin methods of the empirical school. myth evolved, but the fraternities tended A hallmark of Qing society was the to be highly decentralized autonomous expansion and extension of a national units. Appearing first on Taiwan, the urban culture into various parts of the Triads expanded with transport workers empire. Urban culture circulated through into southern China and became a the market network into the hinterland, 230 | The History of China as sojourners disseminated culture from who were “raw,” or still possessed of their localities into the cities and back again. own culture, and those who were “cooked,” The spread of this culture was also sup- or assimilated. The ethnic minorities ported by increased functional literacy resisted violently, but they were gradually and the expansion of large-scale printing assimilated or pushed farther south and for commercial and scholarly audiences. west during the early Qing. A wide variety of written materials were available in market towns and cities—col- Trends in the Early Qing lections of winning examination essays, route books for commercial travelers, The tripling of China’s population from religious pamphlets and scriptures, nov- the beginning of the Qing dynasty to the els, short-story collections, jokebooks, mid-19th century rested on the economic and almanacs. Storytelling, puppet plays, expansion that followed the consolida- and regional drama in rural and urban tion of Manchu rule. This population places provided yet another mode of cul- growth has been frequently cited as the tural dissemination. In China’s cities, major cause of the decline of China in the sojourning merchants sponsored visits of 19th century. Certainly, by the year 1800 drama troupes from their own localities, the Qing state’s surpluses—suffi cient which facilitated the spread of regional through the 18th century to pay for drama forms outside their own territo- numerous military expeditions—were ries. Drama was the bridge connecting exhausted in the long campaign to quell the oral and written realms, the “living the White Lotus Rebellion. Whereas fi s- classroom” for peasants who learned cal reforms had strengthened the state in about cultural heroes and history through the 18th century, fi scal weakness plagued watching plays. The expansion of a Qing governments thereafter. The national urban culture supported the vaunted power of the Qing armies also state’s eff orts to systematize and stan- waned after 1800, in part because of new dardize Chinese society. modes of warfare. Increased commercial- China’s non-Han minorities found ization had tied more and more Chinese themselves surrounded by an aggressive, into large market fl uctuations. In the 18th expansionist Han Chinese culture during century the world market economy into the early Qing. Attempts by the emperors which China was increasingly integrated at that time to protect minorities from the worked in its favour and stimulated a Han onslaught were largely unavailing, long period of internal prosperity. But the and some rulers, such as the Yongzheng favourable trend was reversed in the emperor, actually tried to hasten the 1820s and 1830s, when rising opium assimilation of aboriginal groups into the imports altered the net balance of trade Chinese order. The Qing categorized the against China and ushered in a period of ethnic minorities into two groups: those economic depression. ChaPTER 11

Late Qing

WESTERN ChaLLENgE, 1839–60

The opium question, the direct cause of the fi rst Sino-British clash in the 19th century, began in the late 18th century as the British attempted to counterbalance their unfavourable China trade with traffi c in Indian opium. After monopolizing the opium trade in 1779, the East India Company’s government began to sell the drug at auction to private British traders in India, who shipped it to buyers in China. The silver acquired from the sale of opium in China was sold at Guangzhou for the company’s bills of exchange, payable in London, and was used by the company to purchase its large

The clipper ship Le-Rye-Moon, built for the opium trade, 19th- century wood engraving; from the Illustrated London News. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 232 | The History of China annual tea cargo for sale in Europe. This Guangzhou. He tried to negotiate with “triangular trade” became a major vehicle the Guangzhou authorities on equal foot- for realizing the potential gains from the ing, but the latter took his behaviour as British conquest of India, providing a contrary to the established Sino-foreign means to repatriate the company’s Indian intercourse. His mission failed, and he revenue in opium in the form of Chinese was replaced in 1836 by Charles (later Sir teas. In 1819 the company began to han- Charles) Elliot. dle larger amounts of opium. Substantial In Beijing a proposal in 1836 to relax social and economic disruption followed the opium restraint acquired much sup- in China, not only from the effects of the port, but the Daoguang emperor opium habit itself as it spread among the appointed a radical patriot, Lin Zexu, as populace but from the corruption it imperial commissioner for an anti- engendered among petty officials and opium campaign. Chinese anti-opium from a fall in the value of copper in efforts in fact began to make consider- China’s bimetallic monetary system as able headway in controlling the Chinese silver was drained from the economy. side of the smuggling trade in late 1838 The Beijing court repeatedly banned the and early 1839. The critical foreign side opium imports but without success, of the opium trade was, however, beyond because the prohibition itself promoted Commissioner Lin’s direct reach. corruption among the officials and sol- Arriving at Guangzhou in March 1839, diers concerned. There was no possibility Lin confiscated and destroyed more than of the opium question being solved as a 20,000 chests of opium. Skirmishes domestic affair. began after September between the After the turn of the 19th century, the Chinese and the British. main avenue for opium smuggling was through the designated traders who were The First Opium War allowed only to manage the inter-Asian and its Aftermath trade under the company’s license. Without protection from the company, In February 1840 the British government they cultivated the opium market in decided to launch a military expedition, China on their own. They defied the and Elliot and his cousin, George (later opium ban in China and gradually Sir George) Elliot, were appointed joint became defiant toward Chinese law and plenipotentiaries to China (though the order in general, having nothing in mind latter, in poor health, resigned in but making money. After Parliament November). In June, 16 British warships revoked the East India Company’s arrived in Hong Kong and sailed north- monopoly in 1834, William John Napier ward to the mouth of the Bei River to was appointed chief superintendent of press China with their demands. Charles British trade in China and arrived at Elliot entered into negotiations with the Late Qing | 233

Chinese, and, although an agreement 1842 and took Wusong, Shanghai, and was reached in January 1841, it was not Zhenjiang. Nanjing yielded in August, acceptable to either government. In May and peace was restored with the Treaty of 1841 the British attacked the walled city Nanjing. According to the main provi- of Guangzhou (Canton) and received a sions of the treaty, China ceded Hong ransom of $6 million, which provoked a Kong to Britain, opened five ports to counterattack on the part of the British trade, abolished the cohong sys- Cantonese. This was the beginning of a tem of trade, agreed to equal official continuing conflict between the British recognition, and paid an indemnity of $21 and the Cantonese. million. This was the result of the first The Qing had no effective tactics clash between China, which had regarded against the powerful British navy. They foreign trade as a favour given by the retaliated merely by setting burning rafts heavenly empire to the poor barbarians, on the enemy’s fleet and encouraging and the British, to whom trade and com- people to take the heads of the enemies, merce had become “the true herald of for which they offered a prize. The impe- civilization.” rial banner troops, although they The Treaty of Nanjing was followed sometimes fought fiercely, were ill- by two supplementary arrangements equipped and lacked training for warfare with the British in 1843. In addition, in against the more-modern British forces. July 1844 China signed the Treaty of The Green Standard battalions were sim- Wanghia (Wangxia) with the United ilarly in decay and without much States and in October the Treaty of motivation or good leadership. To make Whampoa (Huangpu) with France. up the weakness, local militias were These arrangements made up a complex urgently recruited, but they were useless. of foreign privileges by virtue of the The British proclaimed that their aim was most-favoured-nation clauses (guaran- to fight the government officials and sol- teeing trading equality) conceded to diers who abused the people, not to make every signatory. All in all, they provided war against the Chinese population. And a basis for later inroads such as the loss indeed there was a deep rift between the of tariff autonomy, extraterritoriality government and the people that the (exemption from the application or juris- British could easily exploit, a weakness in diction of local law or tribunals), and the Qing society that became apparent dur- free movement of missionaries. ing the crisis of the war. With the signing of the treaties— Elliot’s successor, Henry Pottinger, which began the so-called treaty-port arrived at Macau in August and cam- system—the imperial commissioner paigned northward, seizing Xiamen Qiying, newly stationed at Guangzhou, (Amoy), Dinghai, and Ningbo. Reinforced was put in charge of foreign affairs. from India, he resumed action in May Following a policy of appeasement, his 234 | The History of China dealings with foreigners started fairly society. The city of Guangzhou was also a smoothly. But, contrary to the British centre of diffusion of xenophobia, because expectation, the amount of trade dropped the scholars at the city’s great academies after 1846, and, to British dissatisfaction, were proclaiming the Confucian theory the question of opium remained unset- that uncultured barbarians should be tled in the postwar arrangements. The excluded. The inspired antiforeign mood core of the Sino-Western tension, how- also contained a strong antigovernment ever, rested in an antiforeign movement sentiment and perhaps a tendency toward in Guangdong. provincialism; the Cantonese rose up against the barbarians to protect their own The Antiforeign homeland, without recourse to the govern- Movement and the Second ment authorities. Opium War (Arrow War) In the strained atmosphere in Guangzhou, where the xenophobic gov- At the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, ernor-general, Ye Mingchen, was inciting China and Britain disagreed as to whether the Cantonese to annihilate the British, foreigners were allowed to enter the the Arrow incident occurred in October walled city of Guangzhou. Though 1856. Guangzhou police seized the Arrow, Guangzhou was declared open in July a Chinese-owned but British-registered 1843, the British faced Cantonese opposi- ship flying a British flag, and charged its tion. After 1847 trouble rapidly grew, and, Chinese crew with piracy and smuggling. as a result of an incident at nearby The British consul Harry Parkes sent a Foshan, a promise was given the British fleet to fight its way up to Guangzhou. that they would be allowed to enter the French forces joined the venture on the city in 1849. Yet troubles continued. As a plea that a French missionary had been result of his inability to control the situa- officially executed in Guangxi. The tion, Qiying was recalled in 1848 and British government sent an expedition replaced with the less-compliant Xu under Lord Elgin as plenipotentiary. The Guangjin. As the promised date neared, Russians and the Americans abstained the Cantonese demonstrated against but sent their representatives for diplo- British entry. Finally, the British yielded, matic maneuvering. At the end of 1857 an and the antiforeigners won a victory Anglo-French force occupied Guangzhou; despite the fact that the Beijing court in March 1858 they took the Dagu fort conceded a “temporary entrance” into and marched to Tianjin. the city. The Qing representatives had no After the Cantonese resistance in 1841, choice but to comply with the demands the gentry in Guangdong began to build a of the British and French; the Russian more-organized antiforeign movement, and U.S. diplomats also gained the privi- promoting the militarization of village leges their militant colleagues secured Late Qing | 235 by force. During June four Tianjin trea- Muravyov had sponsored four expedi- ties were concluded that provided for, tions down the Amur; during the third among other measures, the residence of one, in 1856, the left bank and lower foreign diplomats in Beijing and the free- reaches of the river had actually been dom of Christian missionaries to occupied by the Russians. In May 1858 evangelize their faith. Muravyov pressed the Qing general In 1859, when the signatories arrived Yishan to sign a treaty at Aigun (Aihui), off the Dagu fort on their way to sign the by which the territory on the northern treaties in Beijing, they were repulsed, bank of the Amur was ceded to Russia with heavy damage inflicted by the gun- and the land between the Ussuri River fire from the fort. In 1860 an allied force and the sea was placed in joint posses- invaded Beijing, driving the Xianfeng sion by the two countries, pending further emperor (reigned 1850–61) out of the cap- disposition. But Beijing refused to ratify ital to the summer palace at Chengde. A the treaty. When the Anglo-French allies younger brother of the emperor, Gong attacked northern China in 1860, the Qinwang (Prince Gong), was appointed Russian negotiator Nikolay Ignatyev imperial commissioner in charge of acted as China’s friend and mediator in negotiation. The famous summer palace securing the evacuation of the invaders was destroyed by the British in October. from Beijing. Soon after the allies had left Following the advice of the Russian nego- Beijing, Ignatyev secured, as a reward for tiator, Prince Gong exchanged ratification his mediatory effort, the Sino-Russian of the 1858 treaties; in addition, he signed Treaty of Beijing, which confirmed the new conventions with the British and the Treaty of Aigun and ceded to Russia the French. The U.S. and Russian negotiators territory between the Ussuri and the sea. had already exchanged the ratification in The 1858–60 treaties extended the 1859, but the latter’s diplomatic perfor- foreign privileges granted after the mance in 1860 was remarkable. first Opium War and confirmed or legal- Russian interests in the East had ized the developments in the treaty- been activated in competition with the port system. The worst effects for the British effort to open China. A Russian Qing authorities were not the utilitarian spearhead, directed to Kuldja (Yining) by rights, such as trade, commerce, and way of the Irtysh River, resulted in the tariff, but the privileges that affected Sino-Russian Treaty of Kuldja in 1851, the moral and cultural values of China. which opened Kuldja and Chuguchak The right to propagate Christianity (Tacheng) to Russian trade. Another threatened Confucian values, the back- drive was directed to the Amur watershed bone of the imperial system. The under the initiative of Nikolay Muravyov, permanent residence of foreign represen- who had been appointed governor-gen- tatives in Beijing signified an end to the eral of eastern Siberia in 1847. By 1857 long-established tributary relationship 236 | The History of China between China and other nations. The treaty ports with foreign settlements, partial collapse of the tribute system consular jurisdiction, and employment of meant a loss of the emperor’s virtue, a Westerners as imperial personnel; thus, serious blow to dynastic rule in China. the Chinese regarded the Western impact During the turbulent years 1858–60, as an extension of their tradition rather the Qing bureaucracy was divided than a totally new situation that necessi- between the war and peace parties. It was tated a new adjustment. And at least until the peace party’s leaders—Prince Gong, 1860 the Qing leaders remained with- Gui Liang, and Wen Xiang—who took drawn in the shell of tradition, making no charge of negotiating with the foreigners, effort to cope with the new environment though they did so not as a matter of by breaking the yoke of the past. principle but because the imminent crisis forced them to. Popular uprising In 1861, in response to the settlement of the foreign representatives in the capi- The third quarter of the 19th century was tal, the Zongli Yamen (office for General marked by a series of uprisings, again as Management) was opened to deal with a result of social discontent. The most foreign affairs, its main staff filled by the destructive of these was the Taiping peace party leaders. The Qing officials Rebellion (1850–64) in southern and cen- themselves, however, deemed this as still tral China. The Nian Rebellion (c. keeping a faint silhouette of the tribute 1853–68) was roughly contemporaneous system. with the Taiping in the eastern and cen- The delay and difficulty in the Qing tral provinces. In addition, there were adjustment to the Western presence may several prolonged uprisings between possibly be ascribed to both external and Muslims and Han Chinese in northwest- internal factors. The Chinese must have ern and southwestern China. seen the Westerners who had appeared in China as purveyors of poisonous drugs The Taiping Rebellion and as barbarians in the full sense of the word, from whom they could learn noth- In the first half of the 19th century, the ing. But the Chinese staunchly held to provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, their tradition, which also had two the homeland of the Taiping people, had aspects—ideological and institutional. been beset with accelerating social The core of the ideological aspect was the unrest. After the first Opium War, gov- Confucian distinction between China ernment prestige declined, and officials and foreign nations. The institutional lost their capacity to reconcile communal aspect had recently been much studied, feudings. The greatest among such con- however, and precedents in Chinese his- flicts was that between the native settlers tory had been found, for example, of and the so-called guest settlers, or Hakka, Late Qing | 237 who had migrated to Guangxi and west- While this extreme egalitarianism was ern Guangdong, mainly from eastern rarely implemented outside the original Guangdong. The Baishangdi Hui (“God Hakka core from Guangxi, it probably at Worshippers’ Society”) was founded by times attracted the distressed and lured Hong Xiuquan, a fanatic who believed them to the Taiping cause. The origin of himself a son of God, and his protégé, many Taiping religious ideas, morals, Feng Yunshan, an able organizer. Their and institutions can be traced to China’s followers were collected from among Confucian tradition, but the Taiping’s all- miners, charcoal workers, and poor peas- out anti-regime struggle, motivated by ants in central Guangxi, most of whom strong religious beliefs and a common were Hakka. In January 1851 a new state sharing, also had precedents in earlier named Taiping Tianguo (“Heavenly religious rebellions. Kingdom of Great Peace”) was declared After the Taiping settled in Tianjing in the district of Guiping in Guangxi, (Nanjing), village officials were with Hong Xiuquan assuming the title appointed, and redistribution of farm- tianwang (“heavenly king”). That land was planned in accordance with an September the Taiping shifted their base idea of primitive communism. But in fact to the city of Yong’an (present-day the land reform was impracticable. The Mengshan, Guangxi), where they were village officials’ posts were filled mainly besieged by the imperial army until April by the former landlords or the clerks of 1852. At that point they broke the siege the local governments, and the old order and rushed into Hunan. Absorbing some in the countryside was not replaced by a secret-society members and outlaws, they new one that the oppressed people could dashed to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, dominate. and proceeded along the Yangtze to In May 1853 the Taiping sent an expe- Nanjing, which they captured in March dition to northern China, which reached 1853, renamed Tianjing (“Heavenly the neighbourhood of Tianjin but finally Capital”), and made their capital. collapsed during the spring of 1855. After The core of the Taiping religion was a that the Yangtze valley provinces were monotheism tinged with fundamentalist the main theatre of struggle. Of the gov- Protestant Christianity, but it was mixed ernment armies in those years, the Green with a hatred of the Manchu and an intol- Standards were too ill-disciplined, and erance of the Chinese cultural tradition. not much could be expected of the ban- In the early years of the rebellion, this nermen. The Qing government had no politico-religious faith sustained the choice but to rely on the local militia fighting spirit of the Taiping. In the ideal forces, such as the “Hunan Braves” (later Taiping vision the population was to give called the Hunan Army), organized by all of its belongings to a “general trea- Zeng Guofan in 1852, and the “Huai sury,” which would be shared by all alike. Braves” (later called the Huai Army), 238 | The History of China organized by Li Hongzhang in 1862. The Nian Rebellion These armies were composed of the village farmers, inspired with a strong sense Often in the first half of the 19th century, of mission for protecting the Confucian plundering gangs called nian ravaged orthodoxy, and were used for wider oper- northern Anhui, southern Shandong, and ations than merely protecting their own southern Henan. In mid-century, how- villages. The necessary funds for main- ever, their activities were suddenly taining them were provided initially by intensified, partly by the addition to their local gentry. numbers of a great many starving people The Taiping were gradually beaten who had lost their livelihood from down; with the capture of Anqing, the repeated floods of the Huang He in the capital of Anhui, in October 1861 by the early 1850s and partly because they had Hunan Army, the revolutionary cause become emboldened by the Taiping was doomed. But the fall of Nanjing was advance north of the Yangtze. From 1856 accelerated by the cooperation of to 1859 the Nian leaders consolidated Chinese mercenaries equipped with their bases north of the Huai River by Western arms, commanded by an winning over the masters of the earth- American, Frederick Townsend Ward; a wall communities, consolidated villages Briton, Charles George Gordon; and that had been fortified for self-defense others. Nanjing’s fall in July 1864 against the Taiping. The Nian strategy marked the end of one of the greatest was to use their powerful cavalry to plun- civil wars in world history. The main der the outlying areas and carry the loot cause of the Taiping failure was internal to their home bases. strife among the top leaders in Nanjing. Many influential clans, with all their Not only did they give themselves over members, joined the Nian cause, and the to luxury, but also their energy was clan chiefs played an important role exhausted and their leadership lost by among the Nian leaders. Gentry of lower an internecine conflict that erupted in strata also joined the Nian. The greater 1856. In addition, religious fanaticism, part of the Nian force consisted of poor though it inspired the fighters, became a peasants, although deserters from the stumbling block that interfered with the government-recruited militias and salt rational and elastic attitude necessary smugglers were important as military to handle delicate military and adminis- experts. The real cause of their strength trative affairs. The intolerance toward was supposed to be the people’s support traditional culture alienated the gentry and sympathy for their leaders, but creat- and the people alike. Presumably, the ing a power centre proved to be difficult failure of the land-redistribution policy because the Nian’s basic social unit was also estranged the landless paupers the earth-wall community, where a pow- from the Taiping cause. erful master exercised autonomy. In 1856 Late Qing | 239

Zhang Luoxing received the title “lord of Rivalry between the Chinese and the alliance” of the Nian, but he was far Muslim miners in central Yunnan trig- too weak to form a centre. Imperial pacifi- gered a severe clash in 1855, which cation was launched by General developed into the slaughter of a great Senggelinqin, who led a powerful cavalry many Muslims in and around the provin- into the affected area in 1862, but his pur- cial capital, Kunming, the following April. suit was ineffective, and the general This triggered a general uprising of himself was killed in Shandong in May Yunnan Muslims, which lasted until 1873. 1865. Thus, the last imperial crack unit Lack of a unified policy weakened the disappeared. Zeng Guofan succeeded Muslims, and the rebellion was brought Senggelinqin as general and enforced a to an end partly through the pacifiers’ policy of detaching the earth-wall mas- policy of playing the rebel leaders off ters from their men and of employing the against one another. latter as his troops. Finally, Li Hongzhang Another Muslim uprising, in Shaanxi succeeded Zeng in 1866 and set up encir- in 1862, promptly spread to Gansu and clement lines along the Huang He and Xinjiang and lasted for 15 years. The gen- the Grand Canal, using that strategy to eral cause of the trouble was the same as destroy the revolts in 1868. in Yunnan, but the Taiping advance to Shaanxi encouraged the Muslims to Muslim Rebellions rebel. The first stage of the uprising developed in the Wei River valley in Muslim rebellions in Yunnan and in Shaanxi; in the next stage the rebels, Shaanxi and Gansu originated from defeated by the imperial army, fled to clashes between the Chinese and Gansu, which became the main theatre of Muslims in those provinces. Religious fighting. Encouraged by the Nian invad- antipathy must be taken into account, but ing Shaanxi at the end of 1866, the core of more important were social and political the rebel troops returned to Shaanxi, and factors. In the frontier provinces the late- sporadic clashes continued in the two dynastic confusions were felt as keenly as provinces. In the last phase, Zuo elsewhere, which aggravated the prob- Zongtang, a former protégé of Zeng lems between the Chinese and the Guofan, appeared in Shaanxi with part of Muslims. Yunnan had been haunted by the Huai Army and succeeded in pacify- Muslim-Chinese rivalries since 1821, but ing the area in 1873. in Shaanxi small disturbances had been There were many independent seen as early as the Qianlong reign. Muslim leaders in Shaanxi and Gansu at Government officials supported the that time, but they had neither a common Chinese, and the Muslims were obliged headquarters nor a unified policy, nor to rise up against both the Chinese and were there any all-out revolutionaries. the authorities. Pacification was delayed because the 240 | The History of China imperial camp was preoccupied with the thereafter the region was resettled by Taiping and the Nian and could not afford immigrants from less-damaged areas. Its the expenditure needed for an expedition ruined industry and agriculture had not to the remote border provinces. fully recovered even by the beginning of the 20th century. The area of the Muslim Effects of the Rebellions rebellions too suffered catastrophic devastation and depopulation. The Qing authorities had to rely on local During the first half of the 19th cen- armies, financed by the provincial and tury, a number of natural disasters left local gentry class, to combat the large large hordes of starving victims who had popular uprisings. To meet this need, a no choice but to join the Taiping and special tax on goods in transit—called the other rebel groups. The worst calamity, likin (lijin)—was started in 1853, the pro- however, was a drought that attacked the ceeds of which remained largely outside northern provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, the control of the central government. and Henan in 1877–78 and caused hard- The provincial governors-general and ship for perhaps as many as 13 million governors came to enlarge their military people. These disasters were a serious and financial autonomy, bringing about a setback to China, which had just begun trend of decentralization. Moreover, the to promote industrialization to meet the locus of power shifted from the Manchu Western challenge. to those Chinese who had played the main part in putting down the rebellions. The Self-Strengthening The Hunan Army was gradually dis- Movement banded after Nanjing had been retaken from the Taiping, but the Huai Army, Upon the Xianfeng emperor’s death at after its success against the Muslims, Chengde in 1861, his antiforeign entou- served as a strong basis for the political rage entered Beijing and seized power, maneuvers of its leader, Li Hongzhang, but Cixi, mother of the newly enthroned until its defeat and collapse in the Sino- boy emperor Zaichun (reigned as the Japanese War in 1894–95. Tongzhi emperor, 1861–74/75), and Prince The rebellions brought immeasurable Gong succeeded in crushing their oppo- damage and devastation to China. Both nents by a coup d’état in October. A new the Taiping and the pacifiers were guilty system emerged in which the leadership of brutality and destruction. A contempo- in Beijing was shared by Cixi and another rary estimate of 20 million to 30 million empress dowager, Ci’an, in the palace victims is certainly far less than the real and by Prince Gong and Wen Xiang, with number. In the course of the Taiping the Zongli Yamen as their base of opera- Rebellion, the lower Yangtze provinces tion. The core of their foreign policy was lost much of their surplus population, but expressed by Prince Gong as “overt peace Late Qing | 241

personnel appointed by the Qing. The latter was the language school opened to train the children of bannermen in foreign languages, and later some Western sciences were added to its curriculum; the quality of candidates for the school was not high. Similar schools were opened in Shanghai and Guangzhou. A superintendent of trade for the three northern ports (later known as high commissioner for beiyang, or “northern ocean”) was established in 1861 at Tianjin, parallel to a similar, existing post at Shanghai (later known as high commissioner for nanyang, or “southern ocean”). The creation of the new post was presumably aimed at weakening the foreign representatives in Beijing by concentrating foreign aff airs in the hands of the Tianjin offi cials. In 1865–66 the British strongly urged the Qing authorities to make domestic reforms and to become Westernized. The empress dowager Cixi, c. 1904, late Prince Gong asked the high provincial Qing dynasty, China. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery offi cials to submit their opinions about of Art, Washington, D.C. the proposed reforms. The consensus advocated diplomatic missions abroad and the opening of mines but fi rmly with the Western nations in order to gain argued against telegraph and railway time for recovering the exhausted power construction. Against that background, a of the state.” roving mission was sent to the United States in 1868, which then proceeded to Foreign Relations London and Berlin. This fi rst mission in the 1860s abroad was a success for China, but its very success had an adverse eff ect on The Zongli Yamen had two offi ces China’s modernization by encouraging attached to it: the Inspectorate General of the conservatives, who learned to regard Customs and Tongwen Guan. The former the Westerners as easy to manipulate. was the centre for the Maritime Custom The treaties signed in 1858 at Tianjin Service, administered by Western by the Chinese, British, and French 242 | The History of China included provisions for them to be revised refusing the demanded execution of the in the year 1868, at which time the Qing three (though several others were put to were able to negotiate with due prepara- death). After the incident, however, Zeng tions and in an atmosphere of peace for was denounced for his infirm stand, and the first time since the Opium Wars. The Prince Gong’s political influence began to result was the Alcock Convention of 1869, wane in the growing antiforeign climate. which limited the unilateral most- Various interpretations have been favoured-nation clause of the original given regarding the nature of the anti- treaty, a sign of gradual improvement in Christian movement: some emphasize China’s foreign relations. However, under the antiforeign Confucian orthodoxy, pressure from British merchants in China, while others stress the patriotic and the London government refused to ratify nationalistic reaction against the mis- it. The resentment engendered by the sionaries’ attempt to Westernize the refusal, together with an anti-Christian Chinese. Still others point to the Christian riot at Tianjin in 1870, brought an end to support of the oppressed in their struggle the climate of Sino-foreign cooperation against the official and gentry class. What that had prevailed in the 1860s. is clear, however, is that Christianity The treaty arrangements made just sowed dissension and friction in the after the Opium Wars forced China to already disintegrating late Qing society remove the ban on Christianity, but the and undermined the prestige of the Qing Beijing court tried to keep that fact secret dynasty and the Confucian orthodoxy. and encouraged provincial officials to continue prohibiting the religion. The Industrialization for pseudo-Christian Taiping movement fur- “Self-Strengthening” thered the anti-Christian move on the part of royalists. Under such circum- Stimulated by the military training and stances, anti-Christian riots spread techniques exhibited during the throughout the country, culminating in Westerners’ cooperation against the the Tianjin Massacre in 1870, in which a Taiping and supported by Prince Gong in French consul and 2 officials, 10 nuns, and Beijing, the Self-Strengthening Movement 2 priests died and in which 3 Russian was launched by the anti-Taiping gener- traders were killed by mistake. At the als Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zuo negotiating table, the French sternly Zongtang, who sought to consolidate the demanded the lives of three responsible Qing power by introducing Western Chinese officials as a preventive against technology. The ideological champion further such occurrences, but the Qing of the movement was Feng Guifen, who negotiators, Zeng Guofan and Li urged China to “use the barbarians’ supe- Hongzhang, were successful at least in rior techniques to control the barbarians” Late Qing | 243 and proposed to give the gentry stron- Management, however, was beset ger leadership than before in local with bureaucratic malpractices. The seat administration. of decision making and responsibility In the first period of modern industrial was obscure, business was spoiled by development (1861–72), effort was focused nepotism and corruption, and the spon- on manufacturing firearms and machines, sors tended to use the enterprises as a the most important enterprises being the basis for their regional power. The cen- Kiangnan (Jiangnan) Arsenal in Shanghai, tral government not only was unable to the Tianjin Machine Factory, and the supply capital but also looked for every Fuzhou Navy Yard; there were many other opportunity to exploit these enterprises smaller ones. However, the output was disas it had exploited the monopolistic salt appointing—the shipyard at Fuzhou, for business on which those companies were example, built 15 vessels during the half modeled. Under such circumstances, the decade after 1869 as scheduled, but there- enterprises inevitably slid into depres- after it declined and was destroyed in 1884 sion after some initial years of apparent during the Sino-French War—and the success. weapons industry was significant not so Compounding the problems were much for its direct military purpose as for the compradors (Chinese agents the introduction of Western knowledge employed by foreign firms in China) and techniques through the many educa- who, acting as a link between Chinese tional facilities that were attached to each commerce and the foreign firms in the installation. treaty ports, accumulated vast wealth In the second period (1872–94), from the new enterprises. Though active weight shifted from the weapons industry in supplying capital and managerial per- to a wider field of manufacture, and the sonnel to the enterprises, the compradors operation shifted from direct government themselves lacked technical training management to a government-supervised and knowledge and often indulged in and merchant-managed method. Leading speculation and embezzlement. Each among the several enterprises of the comprador belonged to an exclusive second period were the China Merchants’ community by strong family or regional Steam Navigation Company and the ties that focused his concerns on his com- Kaiping coal mines. These enterprises munity rather than on national interests. were sponsored by high provincial These shortcomings were deeply officials—the central figure was Li rooted in the late Qing social conditions Hongzhang—but their management was and more than offset efforts to construct left to joint operation by shareholders’ and maintain the new enterprises. Thus, representatives and the lower officials Chinese society as a whole did not appointed by the sponsors. change structurally before 1911. 244 | The History of China

Changes in therefore, occupied Kuldja in 1871 and outlying areas remained there for 10 years. Having subdued the Gansu Muslim With the decline of the Qing power and rebellion in 1873, Zuo Zongtang captured prestige, beginning in the early 19th cen- Urumchi (Ürümqi) in August 1876 and tury, China’s peripheral areas began to restored the whole region northward to free themselves from the Qing influence. the Tien Shan range, except for the Kuldja Areas affected included East Turkistan to area, and painstakingly recovered the northwest, Tibet and Nepal to the Kashgaria at the end of 1877. southwest, and Myanmar (Burma) and Li Hongzhang hoped to regain Ili Vietnam to the south. In addition, the through negotiation; however, a treaty for Japanese began asserting greater control the restitution of Ili, signed in October over the islands east of the Chinese main- 1879, was extremely disadvantageous to land, and their increasing interest in the China. Upon returning home amid a Korean peninsula led to the Sino- storm of condemnation, the Chinese Japanese War of 1894–95. negotiator Chonghou was sentenced to death; the Russians considered this to be East Turkistan inhuman, and they stiffened their attitude. But the minister to Britain and France, To the west of Kashgaria in East Zeng Jize, son of Zeng Guofan, succeeded Turkistan (now in western Xinjiang), a in concluding a treaty at St. Petersburg in khanate of Khokand emerged after 1760 February 1881 that was more favourable in the Fergana region and became a yet still conceded the Russians many priv- powerful caravan trade centre. In 1762 ileges in East Turkistan. the Qing government countered this by Though at a cost of nearly 58 million establishing a presence in the Ili (Yili) taels in expedition and indemnity, the River region. When Muslim rebellion northwest was finally restored to China, spread rapidly from Shaanxi and Gansu and in 1884 a new province, Xinjiang, was to East Turkistan, a Tajik adventurer established over the area, which had from Khokand, Yakub Beg, seized the never before been integrated into China. opportunity to invade Kashgaria and established power there in 1865; he soon Tibet and Nepal showed signs of advancing to the Ili region in support of the British in India. Qing control of Tibet reached its height In Ili, rebel Muslims had set up an inde- in 1792, but thereafter China became pendent power at Kuldja (Yining) in unable to protect that region from for- 1864, which terrorized the Russian bor- eign invasion. When an army from ders in defiance of the Sino-Russian northern India invaded western Tibet in Treaty of Kuldja in 1851. The Russians, 1841, China could not afford to reinforce Late Qing | 245 the Tibetans, who expelled the enemy on 1875. The British minister in China, Sir their own. China was a mere bystander Thomas Francis Wade, seized the oppor- during a coup d’état in Lhasa in 1844 and tunity to negotiate the Chefoo Convention could not protect Tibet when it was with China. Negotiated and signed at the invaded by Gurkhas in 1855. Tibet thus northern Shandong city of Yantai tended to free itself from Qing control. (Chefoo) in 1876, the treaty further The border dispute between Nepal extended the British rights by opening and British India, which sharpened after more Chinese ports to foreign trade and 1801, had caused the Anglo-Nepalese agreeing to a mission to delineate the War of 1814–16 and brought the Gurkhas Yunnan-Myanmar border, though the under British influence. During the war London government put off its ratifica- the Gurkhas sent several missions to tion until 1885. Guo Songtao, appointed China in vain expectation of assistance. chief of a mission of apology to Britain, When political unrest flared up in Nepal arrived in London in 1877. He was the first after 1832, an anti-British clique seized Chinese resident minister abroad, and power and sought assistance from China within two years China opened embas- to form an anti-British common front sies in five major foreign capitals. with the Qing, then fighting the first When the last king of Myanmar, Opium War. But this too was rejected. Thibaw, tried to join with France and Italy Jung Bahadur, who had become premier to stave off British pressure, Britain sent of Nepal in 1846, decided on a pro-British an ultimatum in October 1885, seized the policy; his invasion of Tibet in 1855— capital of Mandalay, and annexed the which took advantage of the Taiping country in January 1886 under the name uprising in China—gained Nepal many Burma. During the final bargaining with privileges there. Though Nepal sent the British, Thibaw ignored his tributary quinquennial missions to China until relations with the Qing, yet China pro- 1906, the Gurkhas did not recognize posed that the Myanmar royal court be Chinese suzerainty. preserved even nominally so that it could send a decennial mission to China. Britain Myanmar (Burma) refused, but, in a convention signed in July 1886, it agreed that the new Burmese In 1867 the British gained the right to sta- government should send to China a tion a commercial agent at Bhamo in decennial envoy. This outdated practice, Myanmar, from which they could explore however, was abandoned in 1900. the Irrawaddy River up to the Yunnan border. A British interpreter accompany- Vietnam ing a British exploratory mission to Yunnan was killed by local tribesmen on In 1802 a new dynasty was founded in the Yunnan-Myanmar border in February Vietnam (Dai Viet) by Nguyen Anh, a 246 | The History of China member of the royal family of Nguyen at French occupation of Tongkin in 1882–83 Hue who had expelled the short-lived and France’s proclamation of protectorate Tay Son regime and had unified the status for Vietnam (under the name of country, taking the dynastic name Gia Annam) in the Treaty of Hue of August Long. The Qing, under the Jiaqing 1883, the Qing deployed its army in the emperor, recognized the new dynasty as northern frontier of Tongkin. Efforts for a a fait accompli, but a controversy arose peaceful settlement ended in failure, and as to a name for the new country. Gia both countries prepared for war. Long demanded the name Nam Viet, but In August 1884 French warships the Qing recommended Vietnam, revers- attacked Fuzhou and destroyed the ing the two syllables. Finally an Chinese fleet and dockyard there. agreement was reached, and Gia Long Thereafter, however, the French navy and became ruler of Vietnam. army were stalemated, and an armistice Minh Mang, the second Nguyen was reached in the spring of 1885. By the emperor (reigned 1820–41), vigorously subsequent definitive treaty, the French persecuted Christians in Vietnam. France protectorate of Vietnam was recognized, resorted to arms after 1843 and, by the terminating the historical tributary rela- treaty of 1862 signed at Saigon (present- tionship between China and Vietnam. day Ho Chi Minh City), received three During the crisis the attitude of the eastern provinces of Cochinchina, besides Qing headquarters fluctuated between other privileges concerning trade and advocating militancy and seeking religion. In time, French attentions were appeasement. Meanwhile, Li Hongzhang focused on the Tonkin delta region into and Zeng Guoquan were reluctant to which the Red River flows, providing easy mobilize their respective northern and access to Yunnan. But the region was southern naval fleets in accordance with beset with many disorderly gangs escaped orders from Beijing. from China, including the Black Flags, who were under the command of Liu Japan and the Ryukyu Islands Yung-fu, a confederate of the Taiping. After a small French force had occupied Three years after the Meiji Restoration of some key points in Tongkin in 1873, a 1868—which inaugurated a period of treaty was signed at Saigon in March 1874 modernization and political change in that stipulated the sovereignty and inde- Japan—a commercial treaty was signed pendence of Vietnam. Though this clause between China and Japan, and it was rati- implied that China could not intervene in fied in 1873. Understandably it was Vietnamese affairs, the Zongli Yamen reciprocal, because both signatories had failed to file a strong protest. In 1880, how- a similar unequal status vis-à-vis the ever, the Qing claimed a right to protect Western nations. The establishment of Vietnam as its vassal state. Against the the new Sino-Japanese relations was Late Qing | 247 supported by Li Hongzhang and Zeng managed to rebuff these overtures. The Guofan, who advocated positive diplo- Chosŏn government became more macy toward Japan. approachable after he stepped down in In 1872 the Meiji government con- 1873, and a Japanese envoy began talks at ferred on the last king of the Ryukyu Pusan in 1875. However, the parley was Islands, Shō Tai, the title of vassal king protracted, and Japan impatiently sent and in the following year took over the warships to Korea; these sailed northward island’s foreign affairs. In reprisal for the to Kanghwa Bay, where gunfire was massacre of shipwrecked Ryukyuans by exchanged between the Japanese vessels Taiwanese tribesmen in 1871, the Tokyo and a Korean island fort. The Treaty of government sent a punitive expedition to Kanghwa, signed in 1876, defined Korea Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Japanese sent an as an independent state on an equal foot- envoy to Beijing to discuss the matter, ing with Japan. Japan sent an envoy, and the Qing agreed to indemnify Japan. Mori Arinori, to China to report on recent In 1877, however, the Ryukyu king asked Korean affairs. China insisted that, for Qing intervention to revive his former although Korea was independent, China tributary relations with China; Sino- could come to the support of its vassal Japanese negotiations were opened at state (Korea) in a crisis, an interpretation Tianjin in regard to Ryukyu’s position, that Mori saw as contrary to the idea of and an agreement was reached in 1882. independence in international law. However, the Qing refused to ratify it, From that time on, the Qing strove to and the matter was dropped. increase their influence in Korea; they helped open Korea to the United States Korea and the and supported the efforts of pro-Chinese Sino-Japanese War Koreans for modernization. However, strong feelings of conservatism and xeno- In Korea a boy was enthroned as the phobia provided the basis for the Chosŏn king Kojong in 1864 under the Taewŏn’gun to return to power. In July regency of his father, Yi Ha-ŭng (called 1882 he expelled Kojong’s consort, Queen the Taewŏn’gun [“Prince of the Great Min, and her clique and burned down the Court”]), a vigorous exclusionist. In 1866 Japanese legation. The Qing dispatched the Koreans began a nationwide persecu- an army to Korea, arrested the Taewŏn’gun, tion of Christians and repulsed the and urged the king to sign a treaty with French and Americans there. The Qing, Japan. Thus, the Qing claim for suzerainty although uneasy, did not intervene. was substantiated. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan In December 1884 another coup was made many efforts to open new and attempted by a group of pro-Japanese direct intercourse with Korea, but the reformists, but it failed because of the Taewŏn’gun, citing diplomatic slights, Qing military presence in Korea. From 248 | The History of China these two incidents, Qing political influ- Islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula. Six ence and commercial privileges emerged days later, however, Russia, Germany, and much stronger, though Japan’s trade in France forced Japan to restore the penin- Korea far surpassed that of China in the sula; Japan formally relinquished it on late 1880s. May 5, for which China agreed to pay In 1860 a Korean scholar, Ch’oe Che- 30 million taels. Gaining China’s favour u, had founded a popular religion called by this intervention, the three powers Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”). By 1893 it began to press China with demands, had turned into a political movement that which gave rise to a veritable scramble attracted a vast number of peasants for concessions. under the banner of antiforeignism and anticorruption. They occupied the south- Reform and upheaval western city of Chŏnju in late May 1894. Both China and Japan sent expeditions Immediately after the triple intervention, to Korea, but the two interventionists Russia succeeded in 1896 in signing a arrived to find the rebels at Chŏnju secret treaty of alliance with China already dispersed. To justify its military against Japan, by which Russia gained presence, Japan proposed to China a pol- the right to construct the Chinese Eastern icy of joint support of Korean reform. Railway across northern Manchuria. In When China refused on the ground that November 1897 the Germans seized this was counter to Korean independence, Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong and forced a clash seemed inevitable. On July 25 the China to concede them the right to build Japanese navy defeated a Chinese fleet two railways in the province. In March in Kanghwa Bay, and on August 1 the two 1898 Russia occupied Port Arthur sides declared war on each other. Japan (Lüshun; since 1984 a part of Dalian) and gained victories in every quarter on both a small fishing village that became land and sea. Dairen (Dalian; called Lüda in 1950–81) During the crisis the Qing power cen- on the Liaodong Peninsula and obtained tre was again divided. The northern the lease of the two ports and the right to (beiyang) navy was less powerful than build a railway connecting them to the it appeared, lacking discipline, unified Chinese Eastern Railway. Vying with command, and the necessary equipment Russia and Germany, Britain leased of a modern navy. In February 1895 Li Weihai in Shandong and the New Hongzhang was appointed envoy to Territories opposite Hong Kong and Japan; he signed a peace treaty at forced China to recognize the Yangtze Shimonoseki on April 17, whose main River valley as being under British influ- items were recognition of Korean inde- ence. Following suit, Japan put the pendence, indemnity of 200 million taels, province of Fujian under its influence, and the cession of Taiwan, the Pescadores and France leased Kwangchow Late Qing | 249

Map of Hong Kong c. 1900; from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica.

(Zhanjiang) Bay, southwest of Hong or ideological change as needless. But Kong, and singled out three southwest- after 1885 some lower offi cials and com- ern provinces for its sphere of infl uence. prador intellectuals began to emphasize Thus, China was placed on the brink of institutional reforms and the opening of partition, arousing a keen sense of crisis a parliament and to stress economic in 1898 in which the Hundred Days of rather than military aff airs for self- Reform was staged. strengthening purposes. For the Beijing court and high offi cials in general, the The Hundred Days necessity of reform had to be proved on of Reform of 1898 the basis of the Chinese Classics. Some scholars tried to meet their criteria. The The advocates of the Self-Strengthening outstanding reform leader and ideolo- Movement had regarded any institutional gist Kang Youwei used what he 250 | The History of China considered authentic Confucianism and plot to remove the archconservative Buddhist canons to show that change empress dowager Cixi. On September 21 was inevitable in history and, accord- the emperor was detained and the ingly, that reform was necessary. Another empress dowager took over the adminis- important reformist thinker, Tan Sitong, tration, putting an end to the reform relied more heavily on Buddhism than movement. Kang did and emphasized the people’s The immediate cause of the failure rights and independence. Liang Qichao lay in the power struggle between the was an earnest disciple of Kang but later emperor and Cixi. But from the begin- turned toward people’s rights and ning, prospects for reform were dim nationalism under the influence of because most high officials were cool Western philosophy. toward or opposed to the movement. In In April 1895, when Japanese victory addition, the reformist-conservative appeared inevitable, Kang began to advo- confrontation overlapped with the cate institutional reform. In August Kang, rivalry between the Chinese and the Liang, and other reformists founded a Manchu, who considered the Chinese- political group called the Society for the sponsored reform as disadvantageous to Study of National Strengthening. Though them. As for the reformists themselves, this association was soon closed down, their leaders were few in number and many study societies were created in inexperienced in politics, and their plan Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Sichuan, and was too radical. other provinces. In April 1898 the Among the local movements for National Protection Society was estab- reform, that in Hunan was the most lished in Beijing under the premise of active. After 1896, journals and schools protecting state, nation, and national reli- were begun there for popular enlighten- gion. Against this background, the ment, but Kang’s radical reformism Guangxu emperor (reigned 1874/75– aroused strong opposition, and the 1908) was himself increasingly affected Hunan movement was shattered at the by the ideas of reform that were broadly end of May 1898. in the air and perhaps was also directly Though it failed, the reform move- influenced by Kang Youwei’s proposals. ment had a few important repercussions: On June 11, 1898, the emperor began to it produced some degree of freedom of issue a stream of radical and probably speech and association, furthered the dis- hastily prepared reform decrees that semination of Western thought, and lasted for about 100 days, until September stimulated the growth of private enter- 20. The reform movement produced no prises. It also provided much of the practical results, however. Finally, the substance for the “conservative” imperial conservatives were provoked to a sharp reform efforts that the Manchu court reaction when they learned of a reformist undertook after the Boxer episode. Late Qing | 251

The Boxer Rebellion traditional Chinese customs in favour of an alien religion. Bands of Boxers roamed The crisis of 1896–98 stirred a furious the countryside killing Chinese antiforeign uprising in Shandong, Christians and foreign missionaries. aroused by the German advances and Developing from this anti-Christian hys- encouraged by the provincial governor. It teria, the Boxer Rebellion grew into a was staged by a band of people called the naive but furious attempt to destroy all Yihequan (“Righteous and Harmonious things foreign—including churches, rail- Fists”), who believed that a mysterious ways, and mines—which the people boxing art rendered them invulnerable to blamed for their misery and for the loss of harm. The group’s origin is generally a sacred way of life. supposed to have been in the White Some Boxer recruits were disbanded Lotus sect, though it may have begun as a imperial soldiers and local militiamen; self-defense organization during the others were Grand Canal boatmen Taiping Rebellion. At fi rst the Boxers (as deprived of a livelihood by the Western- they were called in the West) directed built railways. Most recruits, though, came their wrath against Christian converts, from the peasantry, which had suff ered whom they vilifi ed for having abandoned terribly from recent natural calamities in

Drawing of a scene from the Boxer Rebellion uprising in China. Hulton Archive/Getty Images 252 | The History of China northern China. After 1895 the Huang He sent an expedition of some 19,000 troops, flooded almost annually, and in 1899– which marched to Beijing and seized the 1900 a serious drought struck the north. city on August 14. Cixi and the emperor Vast numbers of starving people turned fled to Xi’an. to begging and banditry and were easy The two governors-general in the converts to the Boxers’ cause. southeastern provinces, Liu Kunyi and Many local authorities refused to Zhang Zhidong, who together with Li stop the violence. Some supported the Hongzhang at Guangzhou had already Boxers by incorporating them into local disobeyed Beijing’s antiforeign decrees, militias. The Manchu court, meanwhile, concluded an informal pact with foreign was alarmed by the uncontrollable popu- consuls at Shanghai on June 26, to the lar uprising but took great satisfaction at effect that the governors-general would seeing revenge taken for its humiliation take charge of the safety of the foreigners by the foreign powers. As a result, it under their jurisdiction. At first the pact assumed at first a neutral policy. On the covered the five provinces in the Yangtze part of the Boxers, there emerged some- River region, but later it was extended to time in the autumn of 1899 a move to three coastal provinces. Thus, the foreign gain access to the court under the slogan operations were restricted to Zhili (pres- “Support for the Qing and extermination ent-day Hebei) province, along the of foreigners.” By May 1900 the Qing northern coast. government had changed its policy and The United States, which had was secretly supporting the Boxers. Cixi announced its commercial Open Door inclined toward open war when she policy in 1899, made a second declaration became convinced of the dependability of the policy in July 1900—this time insist- of the Boxers’ art. Finally, incensed over a ing on the preservation of the territorial false report that the foreign powers had and administrative entity of China. With demanded that she return administration its newly acquired territory in the western to the emperor, she called on all Chinese Pacific, the United States was determined to attack foreigners. Within days, on June to preserve its own commercial interests 20, the Boxers’ eight-week siege of the in China by protecting Chinese territo- foreign legations in Beijing began; a day rial integrity from the other major powers. later Cixi declared war by ordering pro- This provided a basis for the Anglo- vincial governors to take part in the German agreement (October 1900) for hostilities. preventing further territorial partition, to An international reinforcement of which Japan and Russia consented. Thus, some 2,000 men had left Tianjin for partition of China was avoided by mutual Beijing before the siege, but on the way it restraint among the powers. was resisted by the Boxers and forced The final settlement of the distur- back to Tianjin. The foreign powers then bance was signed in September 1901. The Late Qing | 253 indemnity amounted to 450 million taels Society (Xingzhonghui). Returning to to be paid over 39 years. Moreover, the Hong Kong, he and some friends set up a settlement demanded the establishment similar society under the leadership of of permanent guards and the disman- his associate Yang Quyun. Sun partici- tling of forts between Beijing and the sea, pated in an abortive attempt to capture a humiliation that made an independent Guangzhou in 1895, after which he sailed China a mere fiction. In addition, the for England and then went to Japan in southern provinces were actually inde- 1897, where he found much support. pendent during the crisis. These Tokyo became the revolutionaries’ prin- occurrences meant the collapse of the cipal base of operation. Qing prestige. After the collapse of the Hundred After the uprising, Cixi had to declare Days of Reform, Kang Youwei and Liang that she had been misled into war by the Qichao had also fled to Japan. An attempt conservatives and that the court, neither to reconcile the reformists and the revo- antiforeign nor antireformist, would pro- lutionaries became hopeless by 1900: mote reforms, a seemingly incredible Sun was slighted as a secret-society ruf- statement in view of the court’s suppres- fian, while the reformists were more sion of the 1898 reform movement. But influential among the Chinese in Japan the Qing court’s antiforeign, conservative and the Japanese. nationalism and the reforms undertaken The two camps competed in collect- after 1901 were in fact among several ing funds from the overseas Chinese, as competing responses to the shared sense well as in attracting secret-society mem- of crisis in early 20th-century China. bers on the mainland. The reformists strove to unite with the powerful, secret Reformist and Society of Brothers and Elders (Gelaohui) revolutionist movements in the Yangtze River region. In 1899 at the end of the dynasty Kang’s followers organized the Independence Army (Zilijun) at Hankou Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan), a com- in order to plan an uprising, but the moner with no background of Confucian scheme ended unsuccessfully. Early in orthodoxy who was educated in Western- 1900 the Revive China Society revolu- style schools in Hawaii and Hong Kong, tionaries also formed a kind of alliance went to Tianjin in 1894 to meet Li with the Brothers and Elders, called the Hongzhang and present a reform pro- Revive Han Association. This new body gram, but he was refused an interview. nominated Sun as its leader, a decision That event supposedly provoked his anti- that also gave him, for the first time, the dynastic attitude. Soon he returned to leadership of the Revive China Society. Hawaii, where he founded an anti-Man- The Revive Han Association started an chu fraternity called the Revive China uprising at Huizhou, in Guangdong, in 254 | The History of China

October 1900, which failed after two was published in 1903, and more than a weeks’ fighting with imperial forces. million copies were issued. After the Boxer disaster, Cixi reluc- Dealing with the young intellectuals tantly issued a series of reforms, which was a new challenge for Sun Yat-sen, who included abolishing the civil service hitherto had concentrated on mobilizing examination, establishing modern the uncultured secret-society members. schools, and sending students abroad. He also had to work out some theoretical But these measures could never repair planks, though he was not a first-class the damaged imperial prestige; rather, political philosopher. The result of his they inspired more anti-Manchu feeling response was the Three Principles of the and raised the revolutionary tide. People (Sanmin Zhuyi)—nationalism, However, other factors also intensified democracy, and socialism—the prototype the revolutionary cause: the introduction of which came to take shape by 1903. He of social Darwinist ideas by Yen Fu after expounded his philosophy in America the Sino-Japanese War countered the and Europe during his travels there in reformists’ theory of change based on the 1903–05, returning to Japan in the sum- Chinese Classics; and Western and revo- mer of 1905. The activists in Tokyo joined lutionary thoughts came to be easily and him to establish a new organization widely diffused through a growing num- called the United League (Tongmenghui); ber of journals and pamphlets published under Sun’s leadership, the intellectuals in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. increased their importance. Nationalists and revolutionists had their most-enthusiastic and most- Sun Yat-sen numerous supporters among the and the United League Chinese students in Japan, whose numbers increased rapidly between 1900 Sun’s leadership in the league was far and 1906. The Zongli Yamen sent 13 stu- from undisputed. His understanding that dents to Japan for the first time in 1896; the support of foreign powers was indis- within a decade the figure had risen to pensable for Chinese revolution militated some 8,000. Many of these students against the anti-imperialist trend of the began to organize themselves for young intellectuals. Only half-heartedly propaganda and immediate action accepted was the principle of people’s for the revolutionary cause. In livelihood, or socialism, one of his Three 1902–04, revolutionary and nationalistic Principles. Though his socialism has organizations—including the Chinese been evaluated in various ways, it seems Educational Association, the Society for certain that it did not reflect the hopes Revival of China, and the Restoration and needs of the commoners. Society—appeared in Shanghai. The Ideologically, the league soon fell anti-Manchu tract “Revolutionary Army” into disharmony: Zhang Binglin (Chang Late Qing | 255

Sun yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen (Pinyin: Sun Yixian; b. Nov. 12, 1866—d. March 12, 1925), leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is known as the father of modern China. Educated in Hawaii and Hong Kong, Sun embarked on a medical career in 1892, but, troubled by the conservative Qing dynasty’s inability to keep China from su« ering repeated humiliations at the hands of more advanced countries, he forsook medicine two years later for politics. A letter to Li Hongzhang in which Sun detailed ways that China could gain strength made no headway, and he went abroad to try organizing expatriate Chinese. He spent time in Hawaii, England, Canada, and Japan and in 1905 became head of a revolutionary coalition, the Tongmenghui (“Alliance Society,” or United League). The revolts he helped plot during this period failed, but in 1911 a rebellion in Wuhan unexpectedly succeeded in overthrowing the provincial government. Other provincial secessions followed, and Sun returned to be elected provisional president of a new government. The emperor abdicated in 1912, and Sun turned over the government to Yuan Shikai. The two men split in 1913, and Sun became head of a separatist regime in the south. In 1924, aided by Soviet advisers, he reorganized his Nationalist Party, admitted three communists to its central executive committee, and approved the establishment of a military academy, to be headed by Chiang Kai-shek. He also delivered lectures on his doctrine, the Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, and people’s livelihood, or socialism), but died the following year without having The Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-Sen. Topical Press had the opportunity to put Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images his doctrine into practice. 256 | The History of China

Ping-lin), an influential theorist in the Zhidong in 1909, almost emptied the Chinese Classics, came to renounce the Qing court of prestigious members. The Three Principles of the People; others consultative provincial assemblies were deserted to anarchism, leaving anti-Man- convened in October 1910 and became chuism as the only common denominator the main base of the furious movement in the league. Organizationally too, the for immediate opening of a consultative league became divided: the Progressive national assembly, with which the court Society (Gongjinhui), a parallel to the could not comply. league, was born in Tokyo in 1907; a The gentry and wealthy merchants branch of this new society was soon were the sponsors of constitutionalism; opened at Wuhan with the ambiguous they had been striving to gain the rights slogan “Equalization of human right.” held by foreigners. Started first in The next year, Zhang Binglin tried to Hunan, the so-called rights recovery revive the Restoration Society. movement spread rapidly and gained noticeable success, reinforced by local Constitutional officials, students returned from Japan, Movements After 1905 and the Beijing government. But finally the recovery of the railroad rights ended Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese in a clash between the court and the pro- War (1904–05) aroused a cry for constitu- vincial interests. tionalism in China. Unable to resist the The retrieval of the Hankou- intensifying demand, the Qing court Guangzhou line from the American decided in September 1906 to adopt a China Development Company in 1905 constitution, and in November it reorga- tapped a nationwide fever for railway nized the traditional six boards into 11 recovery and development. However, dif- ministries in an attempt to modernize the ficulty in raising capital delayed railway central government. It promised to open construction by the Chinese year after consultative provincial assemblies in year. The Beijing court therefore decided October 1907 and proclaimed in August to nationalize some important railways in 1908 the outline of a constitution and a order to accelerate their construction by nine-year period of tutelage before its full means of foreign loans, hoping that the implementation. expected railway profits would somehow Three months later the strangely alleviate the court’s inveterate financial coinciding deaths of Cixi and the emperor plight. In May 1911 the court nationalized were announced, and a boy who ruled as the Hankou-Guangzhou and Sichuan- the Xuantong emperor (1908–1911/12) Hankou lines and signed a loan contract was enthroned under the regency of his with the four-power banking consortium. father, the second Prince Chun. These This incensed the Sichuan gentry, mer- deaths, followed by that of Zhang chants, and landlords who had invested Late Qing | 257 in the latter line, and their anti-Beijing army troops in Hubei who were urged on remonstrance grew into a province-wide by the local revolutionary bodies not uprising. The court moved some troops incorporated in the league. The acciden- into Sichuan from Hubei; some other tal exposure of a mutinous plot forced a troops in Hubei mutinied and suddenly number of junior officers to choose occupied the capital city, Wuchang, on between arrest or revolt in Wuhan. The October 10. That date became the memo- revolt was initially successful because of rial day of the Chinese Revolution. the determination of lower-level officers The commoners’ standard of living, and revolutionary troops and the coward- which had not continued to grow in the ice of the responsible Manchu and 19th century and may have begun to dete- Chinese officials. Within a day the rebels riorate, was further dislocated by the had seized the arsenal and the governor- mid-century civil wars and foreign com- general’s offices and had gained mercial and military penetration. Paying possession of Wuchang. With no nation- for the wars and their indemnities cer- ally known revolutionary leaders on tainly increased the tax burden of the hand, the rebels coerced a colonel, Li peasantry, but how serious a problem this Yuanhong, to assume military command, was has remained an open question although only as a figurehead. They per- among scholars. The Manchu reforms suaded the Hubei provincial assembly to and preparations for constitutionalism proclaim the establishment of the added a further fiscal exaction for the pop- Chinese republic; Tang Hualong, the ulace, which hardly benefited from these assembly’s chairman, was elected head of urban-oriented developments. Rural dis- the civil government. tress, resulting from these policies and After this initial victory, a number of from natural disasters, was among the historical tendencies converged to bring causes of local peasant uprisings in the about the downfall of the Qing dynasty. Yangtze River region in 1910 and 1911 and A decade of revolutionary organization of a major rice riot at Changsha, the capi- and propaganda paid off in a sequence tal of Hunan, in 1910. However, popular of supportive uprisings in important discontent was limited and not a major centres of central and southern China; factor contributing to the revolution that these occurred in recently formed mili- ended the Qing dynasty and inaugurated tary academies and in newly created the republican era in China. divisions and brigades, in which many cadets and junior officers were revolu- The Chinese Revolution tionary sympathizers. Secret-society (1911–12) units also were quickly mobilized for local revolts. The antirevolutionary con- The Chinese Revolution was triggered stitutionalist movement also made an not by the United League itself but by the important contribution: its leaders had 258 | The History of China become disillusioned with the imperial the outbreak of the revolution in 1911, the government’s unwillingness to speed the court had no choice but to recall him from process of constitutional government, retirement to take command of his new and a number of them led their respec- army. Instead of using force, however, he tive provincial assemblies to declare their played a double game: on the one hand, provinces independent of Beijing or to he deprived the floundering court of all actually join the new republic. Tang its power; on the other, he started to nego- Hualong was the first among them. A sig- tiate with the revolutionaries. At the peace nificant product of the newly emerging talks that opened at the end of the year, nationalism was widespread hostility Yuan’s emissaries and the revolutionary among Chinese toward the alien dynasty. representatives agreed that the abdica- Many had absorbed the revolutionary tion of the Qing and the appointment of propaganda that blamed a weak and vac- Yuan to the presidency of the new repub- illating court for the humiliations China lic were to be formally decided by a had suffered from foreign powers since National Assembly that would be formed. 1895. Therefore, broad sentiment However, this was renounced by Yuan, favoured the end of Manchu rule. Also, as probably because he hoped to be an outcome of two decades of journaliz- appointed by the retiring Manchu mon- ing discussion of “people’s rights,” there arch to organize a new government rather was substantial support among the urban than nominated as chief of state by the educated for a republican form of govern- National Assembly. (This is a formula of ment. Probably the most-decisive the Chinese dynastic revolution called development was the recall of Yuan chanrang, which means the peaceful shift Shikai (Yüan Shih-k’ai), the architect of in rule from a decadent dynasty to a more- the elite Beiyang Army, to government virtuous one.) But events turned against service to suppress the rebellion when its him, and the presidency was given to Sun seriousness became apparent. Yat-sen, who had been appointed provi- After the collapse of the Huai Army sional president of the republic by the in the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing gov- National Assembly. In February 1912 ernment had endeavoured to build up a Sun voluntarily resigned his position, new Western-style army, among which and the Qing court proclaimed the the elite corps trained by Yuan Shikai, for- decree of abdication, which included a mer governor-general of Zhili, had passage—fabricated and inserted by survived the Boxer uprising and emerged Yuan into this last imperial document— as the strongest force in China. But it was purporting that Yuan was to organize a in a sense Yuan’s private army and did republican government to negotiate with not easily submit to the Manchu court. the revolutionists on unification of north- Yuan had been retired from officialdom at ern and southern China. Thus ended the odds with the regent Prince Chun, but, on 268-year rule of the Qing dynasty. ChaPTER 12

The Early Republican Period

ThE DEvELOPMENT Of ThE REPuBLIC (1912–20)

During the fi rst half of the 20th century, the old order in China gradually disintegrated, and turbulent preparations were made for a new society. Foreign political philosophies undermined the traditional governmental system, nationalism became the strongest activating force, and civil wars and Japanese invasion tore the vast country and retarded its modernization. Although the revolution ushered in a republic, China had virtually no preparation for democracy. A three-way settlement ended the revolution: the Qing dynasty abdicated; Sun Yat-sen relinquished the provisional presidency in favour of Yuan Shikai (Yüan Shih-k’ai), regarded as the indispensable man to restore unity; and Yuan promised to establish a republican government. This placed at the head of state an autocrat by temperament and training, and the revolutionaries had only a minority position in the new national government.

Early Power Struggles

The fi rst years of the republic were marked by a continuing contest between Yuan and the former revolutionaries over where ultimate power should lie. The contest began with the election of parliament (the National Assembly) in February 260 | The History of China

1913. The Nationalist Party (Kuomintang 10, 1914, and appointed another body to [KMT], or Guomindang), made up largely prepare a constitution according to his of former revolutionaries, won a com- own specifications. The presidency had manding majority of seats. Parliament become a dictatorship. was to produce a permanent constitution. Song Jiaoren (Sung Chiao-jen), the main China in World War I organizer of the KMT’s electoral victory, advocated executive authority in a cabi- Japanese Gains net responsible to parliament rather than to the president. In March 1913, Song was Following the outbreak of World War I in assassinated; the confession of the assas- 1914, Japan joined the side of the Allies sin and later circumstantial evidence and seized the German leasehold around strongly implicated the premier and pos- Jiaozhou Bay together with German- sibly Yuan himself. owned railways in Shandong. China was Parliament tried to block Yuan’s not permitted to interfere. Then, on Jan. effort to get a “reorganization loan” (face 18, 1915, the Japanese government value $125 million) from a consortium of secretly presented to Yuan the Twenty- foreign banks, but in April Yuan con- one Demands, which sought in effect to cluded the negotiations and received the make China a Japanese dependency. loan. He then dismissed three Nationalist Yuan skillfully directed the negotiations military governors. That summer, revolu- by which China tried to limit its conces- tionary leaders organized a revolt against sions, which centred on greater access to Yuan, later known as the Second Chinese ports and railroads and even a Revolution, but his military followers voice in Chinese political and police quickly suppressed it. Sun Yat-sen, one of affairs. At the same time, Yuan searched the principal revolutionaries, fled to for foreign support. The European pow- Japan. Yuan then coerced parliament ers, locked in war, were in no position to into electing him formally to the presi- restrain Japan, and the United States was dency, and he was inaugurated on unwilling to intervene. The Chinese pub- October 10, the second anniversary of lic, however, was aroused. Most of Yuan’s the outbreak of the revolution. By then political opponents supported his resis- his government had been recognized by tance to Japan’s demands. Nevertheless, most foreign powers. When parliament on May 7 Japan gave Yuan a 48-hour ulti- promulgated a constitution placing exec- matum, forcing him to accept the terms utive authority in a cabinet responsible as they stood at that point in the to the legislature, Yuan revoked the cre- negotiations. dentials of the KMT members, charging Japan gained extensive special privi- them with involvement in the recent leges and concessions in Manchuria revolt. He dissolved parliament on Jan. (Northeast China) and confirmed its The Early Republican Period | 261 gains in Shandong from Germany. The When he would not, the Yunnan army in Hanyeping mining and metallurgical early January 1916 invaded Sichuan and enterprise in the middle Yangtze valley subsequently Hunan and Guangdong, was to become a joint Sino-Japanese hoping to bring the southwestern and company. China promised not to alienate southern provinces into rebellion and to to any other power any harbour, bay, or then induce the lower Yangtze provinces island on the coast of China nor to permit to join them. The Japanese government any nation to construct a dockyard, coal- covertly provided funds and munitions to ing station, or naval base on the coast of Sun and the Yunnan leaders. One by one, Fujian, the province nearest to Japan’s military leaders in Guizhou, Guangxi, and colony of Taiwan. parts of Guangdong declared the independence of their provinces or districts. Yuan’s Attempts By March the rebellion had assumed seri- to Become Emperor ous dimensions, and public opinion was running strongly against Yuan. In the wake of the humiliation of these A third source of opposition came forced concessions, Yuan launched a from Yuan’s direct subordinates, Generals movement to revive the monarchy, with Duan Qirui (Tuan Ch’i-jui) and Feng some modernized features, and to place Guozhang (Feng Kuo-chang), whose himself on the throne. The Japanese gov- powers Yuan had attempted to curtail. ernment began to “advise” against this When he called on them for help, they move in October and induced its allies to both withheld support. On March 22— join in opposing Yuan’s plan. Additional with the tide of battle running against his opposition came from the leaders of the forces in the southwest, Japanese hostil- Nationalist and Progressive parties. In ity increasingly open, public opposition December, Chen Qimei (Ch’en Ch’i-mei) in full cry, and his closest subordinates and Hu Hanmin (Hu Han-min), two fol- advising peace—Yuan announced the lowers of Sun Yat-sen (who was actively abolition of the new empire. His oppo- scheming against Yuan from his exile in nents, however, demanded that he give Japan), began a movement against the up the presidency as well. The revolt con- monarchy. More significant was a mili- tinued to spread, with more military tary revolt in Yunnan, led by Gen. Cai E leaders declaring the independence of (Ts’ai O; a disciple of Liang Qichao) and their provinces. The issue became that of by the governor of Yunnan, Tang Jiyao succession should Yuan retire. The presi- (T’ang Chi-yao). Joined by Li Liejun (Li dent, however, became gravely ill and Lieh-chün) and other revolutionary gen- died on June 6. erals, they established the National Yuan’s four years in power had seri- Protection Army (Huguojun) and ous consequences for China. The demanded that Yuan cancel his plan. country’s foreign debt was much 262 | The History of China enlarged, and a precedent had been opposed the step, but Duan favoured established of borrowing for political pur- moving toward entry into the war. poses. Yuan’s defiance of constitutional Parliamentary factions and public opin- procedures and his dissolution of parlia- ion were bitterly divided. Sun Yat-sen, ment also set precedents that were later now in Shanghai, argued that entering repeated. Many were disillusioned with the war could not benefit China and the republican experiment; China was a would create additional perils from republic in name, but arbitrary rule based Japan. Under heavy pressure, parliament on military power was the political real- voted to sever diplomatic relations with ity. The country was becoming fractured Germany, and Li was compelled by his into competing military satrapies—the premier to acquiesce. When the United beginning of warlordism. States entered the war in April, Duan Gen. Li Yuanhong (Li Yüan-hung), wished China to do the same but was the vice president, succeeded to the pres- again opposed by the president. idency, and Duan Qirui continued as Duan and his supporters demanded premier, a position he had accepted in that China enter the war and that Li dis- April. A man of great ability and ambi- solve parliament. On May 23, Li tion, Duan was supported by many dismissed Duan and called on Gen. generals of the former Beiyang Army, a Zhang Xun (Chang Hsün), a power in powerful force based in northern China the Beiyang clique and also a monar- that developed originally under Yuan’s chist, to mediate. As a price for leadership. Duan quickly began to gather mediation, Zhang demanded that Li dis- power into his own hands. Parliament solve parliament, which he did reconvened on August 1; it confirmed reluctantly on June 13. The next day Duan as premier but elected Gen. Feng Zhang entered Beijing with an army and Guozhang, the leader of another emerg- set about to restore the Qing dynasty. ing faction of the Beiyang Army, as vice Telegrams immediately poured in from president. The presidential transition military governors and generals denounc- and restoration of parliament had by no ing Zhang and the coup; Li refused to means answered the underlying question sign the restoration order and called on of where the governing power lay. Duan to bring an army to the capital to restore the republic. Li requested that Conflict Over Entry into the War Vice President Feng assume the duties of president during the crisis and then took In February 1917 the U.S. government sev- refuge in the Japanese legation. Duan ered diplomatic relations with Germany captured Beijing on July 14; Zhang fled to and invited the neutral powers, including asylum in the Legation Quarter, and this China, to do the same. This brought on ended a second attempt to restore the a crisis in the Chinese government. Li imperial system. The Early Republican Period | 263

Duan resumed the premiership, and quell the southern opposition by force, Feng came to Beijing as acting president, while Feng advocated a peaceful solution. bringing a division as his personal guard. Duan resigned and mustered his strength The two powerful rivals, each supported to force Feng to order military action; by an army in the capital, formed two Gen. Cao Kun was put in charge of the powerful factions: the Zhili (Chihli) clique campaign and drove the southerners out under Feng and the Anhui clique under of Hunan by the end of April 1918. In May Duan. Opposed neither by Li nor by the the southern government was reorga- dissolved parliament, Duan pushed nized under a directorate of seven, in through China’s declaration of war on which military men dominated. Sun Germany, announced on Aug. 14, 1917. therefore left Guangzhou and returned to Shanghai. Although his first effort to Formation of a establish a government in the south had Rival Southern Government been unsuccessful, it led to a protracted split between south and north. Meanwhile, in July Sun Yat-sen, supported by part of the Chinese navy and Wartime Changes followed by some 100 members of parliament, attempted to organize a rival Although its wartime participation was government in Guangzhou (Canton). The limited, China made some gains from its initial costs of this undertaking, termed entry into the war, taking over the the Movement to Protect the Constitution, German and Austrian concessions and probably were supplied by the German canceling the unpaid portions of the consulate in Shanghai. On September 1 Boxer indemnities due its enemies. It was the rump parliament in Guangzhou also assured a seat at the peace confer- established a military government and ence. Japan, however, extended its gains elected Sun commander in chief. Real in China. The Beijing government, domi- power, however, lay with military men, nated by Duan after Feng’s retirement, who only nominally supported Sun. The granted concessions to Japan for railway southern government declared war on building in Shandong, Manchuria, and Germany on September 26 and unsuc- Mongolia. These were in exchange for cessfully sought recognition from the the Nishihara loans, amounting to nearly Allies as the legitimate government. The $90 million, which went mainly to Constitution-Protecting Army (Hufajun), strengthen the Anhui clique with arms made up of southern troops, launched a and cash. Japan also made secret agree- punitive campaign against the governments with its allies to support its claims ment in Beijing and succeeded in pushing to the former German rights in Shandong northward through Hunan. Sichuan was and also induced the Beijing government also drawn into the fight. Duan tried to to consent to these. In November 1917 the 264 | The History of China

United States, to adjust difficulties with tenancy and a slow impoverishment that Japan, entered into the Lansing-Ishii sent rural unemployed into cities and Agreement, which recognized that armies or into banditry. because of “territorial propinquity . . . Japan has special interests in China.” An Intellectual Revolution This treaty seemed to underwrite Japan’s wartime gains. An intellectual revolution took place dur- Important economic and social ing the first decade of the republic, changes occurred during the first years sometimes referred to as the New Culture of the republic. With the outbreak of the Movement. It was led by many of the new war, foreign economic competition with intellectuals, who held up for critical native industry abated, and native- scrutiny nearly all aspects of Chinese cul- owned light industries developed ture and traditional ethics. Guided by markedly. By 1918 the industrial labour concepts of individual liberty and equal- force numbered some 1,750,000. Modern- ity, a scientific spirit of inquiry, and a style Chinese banks increased in number pragmatic approach to the nation’s prob- and expanded their capital. lems, they sought a much more profound reform of China’s institutions than had Intellectual Movements resulted from self-strengthening or the republican revolution. They directed A new intelligentsia had also emerged. their efforts particularly to China’s edu- The educational reforms and the ending cated youth. of the governmental examination system In September 1915 Chen Duxiu during the final Qing years enabled thou- (Ch’en Tu-hsiu), who had studied in sands of young people to study sciences, Japan and France, founded Xinqingnian engineering, medicine, law, economics, (“New Youth”) magazine to oppose education, and military skills in Japan. Yuan’s imperial ambitions and to regen- Others went to Europe and the United erate the country’s youth. This quickly States. Upon their return they took impor- became the most popular reform journal, tant positions and were a modernizing and in 1917 it began to express the icono- force in society. Their writing and teach- clasm of new faculty members at Peking ing became a powerful influence on University (Beida), which Chen had upcoming generations of students. In joined as dean of the College of Letters. 1915–16 there were said to be nearly Peking University, China’s most presti- 130,000 new-style schools in China with gious institution of higher education, more than four million students. This was was being transformed by its new chan- mainly an urban phenomenon, however; cellor, Cai Yuanpei (Ts’ai Yüan-p’ei), who rural life was barely affected except for had spent many years in advanced study what may have been gradually increasing in Germany. Cai made the university a The Early Republican Period | 265 centre of scholarly research and inspired China was launched on a new revolution- teaching. The students were quickly ary path. swept into the New Culture Movement. A proposal by Hu Shih (Hu Shi), a former The interwar years student of the American philosopher (1920–37) John Dewey, that literature be written in the vernacular language (baihua) rather Beginnings than the classical style won quick accep- of a National Revolution tance. By 1918 most of the contributors to Xinqingnian were writing in baihua, and This new revolution was led by the other journals and newspapers soon fol- Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese lowed suit. Students at Peking University Communist Party (CCP). began their own reform journal, Xinchao (“New Tide”). A new experimental litera- The Nationalist Party ture inspired by Western forms became highly popular, and scores of new literary The Nationalist Party had its origins in journals were founded. the earlier United League (Tongmenghui) against the Qing dynasty. The name Riots and Protests Nationalist Party was adopted in 1912. After the suppression of this expanded On May 4, 1919, patriotic students in party by Yuan Shikai, elements from it Beijing protested the decision at the Paris were organized by Sun Yat-sen in 1914 Peace Conference that Japan should into the Chinese Revolutionary Party, retain defeated Germany’s rights and which failed to generate widespread sup- possessions in Shandong. Many students port. Sun and a small group of veterans were arrested in the rioting that followed. were stimulated by the patriotic upsurge Waves of protest spread throughout the of 1919 to rejuvenate this political tradi- major cities of China. Merchants closed tion, as well as to revive the Nationalist their shops, banks suspended business, Party name. The party’s publications took and workers went on strike to pressure on new life as the editors entered the cur- the government. Finally, the government rent debates on what was needed to “save was forced to release the arrested stu- China.” Socialism was popular among dents, to dismiss some officials charged Sun’s followers. with being tools of Japan, and to refuse to The formation of an effective party sign the Treaty of Versailles. This out- took several years, however. Sun returned burst helped spread the iconoclastic and to Guangzhou from Shanghai late in reformist ideas of the intellectual move- 1920, when Gen. Chen Jiongming (Ch’en ment, which became known as the May Chiung-ming) drove out the Guangxi Fourth Movement. By the early 1920s, militarists. Another rump parliament 266 | The History of China elected Sun president of a new southern special rights gained by tsarist Russia at regime, which claimed to be the legiti- China’s expense and to return the Russian- mate government of China. In the spring owned Chinese Eastern Railway in of 1922 Sun attempted to launch a north- Manchuria without compensation. The ern campaign as an ally of the Manchurian contrast between this promise and the warlord, Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-lin), Versailles award to Japan that had touched against the Zhili clique, which by now off the 1919 protest demonstrations could controlled Beijing. Chen, however, did hardly have been more striking. Although not want the provincial revenues wasted the Soviet government later denied such in internecine wars. One of Chen’s subor- a promise and attempted to regain con- dinates drove Sun from the presidential trol of the railway, the impression of this residence in Guangzhou on the night of first statement and the generosity still June 15–16, 1922. Sun took refuge with the offered in a more diplomatic second southern navy, and he retired to Shanghai Karakhan Manifesto of September 1920 on August 9. He was able to return to left a favourable image of Soviet foreign Guangzhou in February 1923 and began policy among Chinese patriots. to consolidate a base under his own con- Russia set up an international com- trol and to rebuild his party. munist organization, the Comintern, in 1919 and sent Grigory N. Voytinsky to The Chinese Communist Party China the next year. Voytinsky met Li Dazhao in Beijing and Chen Duxiu in The CCP grew directly from the May Shanghai, and they organized the Fourth Movement. Its leaders and early Socialist Youth League, laid plans for the members were professors and students Communist Party, and started recruiting who came to believe that China needed a young intellectuals. By the spring of 1921 social revolution and who began to see there were about 50 members in various Soviet Russia as a model. Chinese stu- Chinese cities and in Japan, many of dents in Japan and France had earlier them former students who had been studied socialist doctrines and the ideas active in the 1919 demonstrations. Mao of Karl Marx, but the Russian Revolution Zedong, a protégé of Li Dazhao, had of 1917 stimulated a fresh interest in keep- started one such group in Changsha. The ing with the enthusiasm of the period for CCP held its First Congress in Shanghai radical ideologies. Li Dazhao, the librar- in July 1921, with 12 or 13 attendants and ian of Peking University, and Chen Duxiu with a Dutch communist—Hendricus were the CCP’s cofounders. Sneevliet, who used his Comintern name, In March 1920 word reached China of Maring, in China—and a Russian serving Soviet Russia’s revolutionary foreign pol- as advisers. Maring had become head of a icy enunciated in the first Karakhan new bureau of the Comintern in China, Manifesto, which promised to give up all and he had arrived in Shanghai in June The Early Republican Period | 267

Mao Zedong. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 268 | The History of China

1921. At the First Congress, Chen Duxiu they had gained experience in the French was chosen to head the party. labour movement and with the French The CCP spent the next two years Communist Party; Zhou Enlai was one of recruiting, publicizing Marxism and the these. Other recruits were students infl u- need for a national revolution directed enced by the Japanese socialist movement. against foreign imperialism and Chinese By 1923 the party had some 300 members, militarism, and organizing unions among with perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 in the ancil- railway and factory workers. Maring was lary Socialist Youth League. instrumental in bringing the KMT and the CCP together in a national revolutionary Communist-Nationalist movement. A number of young men were Cooperation sent to Russia for training. Among the CCP members were many students who By then, however, the CCP was in serious had worked and studied in France, where diffi culty. The railway unions had been

Mao Zedong

The Chinese Marxist theorist, soldier, and statesman Mao Zedong (b. Dec. 26, 1893—d. Sept. 9, 1976) led China’s communist revolution and served as chairman of the People’s Republic of China (1949–59) and chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP; 1931–76). The son of a peasant, Mao joined the revolutionary army that overthrew the Qing dynasty but, after six months as a soldier, left to acquire more education. At Peking University he met Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, founders of the CCP, and in 1921 he committed himself to Marxism. At that time, Marxist thought held that revolution lay in the hands of urban workers, but in 1925 Mao concluded that in China it was the peasantry, not the urban proletariat, that had to be mobilized. He became chairman of a Chinese Soviet Republic formed in rural Jiangxi province; its Red Army withstood repeated attacks from Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist army but at last undertook the Long March to a more secure position in northwestern China. There Mao became the undisputed head of the CCP. Guerrilla warfare tactics, appeals to the local population’s nationalist sentiments, and Mao’s agrarian policies gained the party military advantages against their Nationalist and Japanese enemies and broad support among the peasantry. Mao’s agrarian Marxism di« ered from the Soviet model, but, when the communists succeeded in taking power in China in 1949, the Soviet Union agreed to provide the new state with technical assistance. However, Mao’s Great Leap Forward and his criticism of “new bourgeois elements” in the Soviet Union and China alienated the Soviet Union irrevocably; Soviet aid was withdrawn in 1960. Mao followed the failed Great Leap Forward with the Cultural Revolution, also considered to have been a disastrous mistake. After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping began introducing social and economic reforms. The Early Republican Period | 269 brutally suppressed, and there were few Guangdong. By June, five young Soviet places in China where it was safe to be a officers were in Beijing for language train- known communist. In June 1923 the ing. More importantly, the Soviet leaders Third Congress of the CCP met in selected an old Bolshevik, Mikhail M. Guangzhou, where Sun Yat-sen provided Borodin, as their principal adviser to Sun a sanctuary. After long debate, this con- Yat-sen. The Soviet leaders also decided to gress accepted the Comintern strategy replace Maring with Voytinsky as princi- pressed by Maring—that communists pal adviser to the CCP, which had its should join the KMT and make it the cen- headquarters in Shanghai. Thereafter tre of the national revolutionary three men—Karakhan in Beijing, Borodin movement. Sun had rejected a multiparty in Guangzhou, and Voytinsky in alliance but had agreed to admit commu- Shanghai—were the field directors of the nists to his party, and several, including Soviet effort to bring China into the anti- Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, had already imperialist camp of “world revolution.” joined the KMT. Even though commu- The offensive was aimed primarily at the nists would enter the other party as positions in China of Great Britain, Japan, individuals, the CCP was determined to and the United States. maintain its separate identity and autonomy and to attempt to control the labour Reactions to Warlords union movement. The Comintern strat- and Foreigners egy called for a period of steering the Nationalist movement and building a These countries too were moving toward base among the Chinese masses, fol- a new, postwar relationship with China. lowed by a second stage—a socialist At the Washington Conference revolution in which the proletariat would (November 1921–February 1922), China seize power from the capitalist class. put forth a 10-point proposal for relations By mid-1923 the Soviets had decided between it and the other powers, which, to renew the effort to establish diplomatic after negotiations, became four points: to relations with the Beijing government. Lev respect the sovereignty, independence, M. Karakhan, the deputy commissar for and territorial and administrative integ- foreign affairs, was chosen as plenipoten- rity of China, to give China opportunity tiary for the negotiations. In addition to to develop a stable government, to main- negotiating a treaty of mutual recognition, tain the principle of equal opportunity in Karakhan was to try to regain for the Soviet China for the commerce and industry of Union control of the Chinese Eastern all countries, and to refrain from taking Railway. On the revolutionary front, the advantage of conditions in China to seek Soviets had decided to financially assist exclusive privileges detrimental to the Sun in Guangzhou and to send a team of rights of friendly countries. The treaty military men to help train an army in was signed as the Nine-Power Pact on 270 | The History of China

February 6. Two other Chinese proposals, controlled provinces in the Yangtze valley tariff autonomy and abolishing extrater- and in the north; these factions competed ritoriality, were not included in the pact for control of Beijing. In Manchuria, but were assigned to a committee for fur- Zhang Zuolin headed a separate Fengtian ther study. In the meantime, separate army. Shanxi was controlled by Yan negotiations between China and Japan Xishan (Yen Hsi-shan). Each separate produced a treaty in which Japan agreed power group had to possess a territorial to return the former German holdings in base from which to tax and recruit. Arms Shandong to China—although under con- were produced in many scattered arse- ditions that left Japan with valuable nals. Possession of an arsenal and control privileges in the province. of ports through which foreign-made For a few years thereafter, Great arms might be shipped were important Britain, Japan, the United States, and elements of power. Most of the foreign France attempted to adjust their conflict- powers had agreed in 1919 not to permit ing interests in China, cooperated in arms to be smuggled into China, but that assisting the Beijing government, and embargo was not entirely effective. generally refrained from aiding particu- The wealthier the territorial base, the lar Chinese factions in the recurrent greater the potential power of the con- power struggles. But China was in tur- trolling faction. Beijing was the great moil, with regional militarism in full tide. prize because of its symbolic importance Furthermore, a movement against the as the capital and because the govern- Unequal Treaties began to take shape. ment there regularly received revenues collected by the Maritime Customs Militarism in China Service, administered by foreigners and protected by the powers. Competition for During the first years of the republic, bases brought on innumerable wars, alli- China had been fractured by rival mili- ances, and betrayals. Conflict was tary regimes to the extent that no one continuous over spoils, even within each authority was able to subordinate all military system. To support their armies rivals and create a unified and centralized and conduct their wars, military com- political structure. Southern China was manders and their subordinates taxed detached from Beijing’s control; even the the people heavily. Money for education southern provinces, and indeed districts and other government services was within them, were run by different mili- drained away; revenues intended for the tary factions (warlords). Sichuan was a central government were retained in world in itself, divided among several the provinces. Regimes printed their military rulers. The powerful Beiyang own currency and forced “loans” from Army had split into two major factions merchants and bankers. This chaotic whose semi-independent commanders situation partly accounts for the The Early Republican Period | 271 unwillingness of the maritime powers to were located in concession areas under give up the protection that the treaties foreign protection. The Chinese had to with China afforded their nationals. compete with foreign ships in Chinese rivers and coastal waters, with foreign The Foreign Presence mining companies in the interior, and with foreign banks that circulated their As a result of several wars and many trea- own notes. Foreign trade also had a great ties with China since 1842, foreign powers advantage because there could be no pro- had acquired a variety of unusual privi- tective tariff to favour Chinese products. leges for their nationals. These became Christian missionaries operated collectively known as the Unequal many schools, hospitals, and other phil- Treaties, and patriotic Chinese bitterly anthropic enterprises in China, all resented them. Hong Kong, Macau, protected by extraterritoriality. The sepa- Taiwan, Tibet, and vast areas in Siberia rate school system, outside of Chinese and Central Asia had been detached from governmental control, was a sore point China. Dependencies such as Korea, for Nationalists, who regarded the educa- Outer Mongolia, and Vietnam had been tion of Chinese youth as a Chinese separated. Leaseholds on Chinese terri- prerogative. There were foreign troops on tory were granted to separate Chinese soil and foreign naval vessels in powers—such as the southern part of the its rivers and ports to enforce treaty Liaodong Peninsula and the territory in rights. The Chinese government, bound Shandong around Jiaozhou Bay, which by a variety of interlocking treaties, was Japan had seized from Germany, to not fully sovereign in China. Past regimes Japan; the New Territories to the adja- had accumulated a vast foreign debt cent British crown colony of Hong Kong; against which central government reve- Macau to Portugal; and the Kwangchow nues were pledged for repayment. All (Zhanjiang) Bay area to France. Most this was the foreign imperialism against major cities had concession areas, not which the KMT launched its attack after governed by China, that were set aside being reorganized along Bolshevist lines. for the residence of foreigners. Nationals and subjects of the “treaty powers” (as Reorganization of the KMT they became known) were protected by extraterritoriality (i.e., they were subject The KMT held its First National Congress only to the civil and criminal laws of their in Guangzhou on Jan. 20–30, 1924. own countries); this status extended to Borodin, who had reached Guangzhou in foreign business enterprises in China, October 1923, began to advise Sun in the which provided a great advantage in reorganization of the party. He prepared competition with Chinese firms and was a constitution and helped draft a party enhanced when foreign factories or banks program as a set of basic national 272 | The History of China policies. Delegates from throughout communists, including Li Dazhao, were China and from overseas branches of the elected to the executive committee. party adopted the program and the new The executive committee set up a constitution. The program announced central headquarters in Guangzhou. It goals of broad social reform and a funda- also decided to strengthen the party mental readjustment of China’s throughout the country by deputizing international status. Its tone was nation- most of its leaders to manage regional alistic, identifying China’s enemies as and provincial headquarters and by imperialism and militarism. It singled recruiting new members. A military acad- out farmers and labourers as classes for emy was planned for training a corps of special encouragement but also appealed young officers, loyal to the party, who to intellectuals, soldiers, youth, and would become lower level commanders women. The program threatened the in a new national revolutionary army that position of landlords in relation to ten- was to be created. Borodin provided ants and of employers in relation to funds for party operations, and the Soviet labour, and Western privileges were Union promised to underwrite most of openly menaced. the expenses of, and to provide training The constitution described a central- officers for, the military academy. Chiang ized organization, modeled on the Soviet Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi), who had become Communist Party, with power concen- a close associate of Sun, was chosen to be trated in a small, elected group and with the first commandant of the academy, a descending hierarchy of geographical and Liao Zhongkai (Liao Chung-k’ai) offices controlled by executive commit- became the party representative, or chief tees directed from above. Members were political officer. pledged to strict discipline and were to From February to November 1924, be organized in tight cells. Where possi- Sun and his colleagues had some suc- ble they were to penetrate and try to gain cess in making the KMT’s influence felt control of such other organizations as nationally; they also consolidated the labour unions, merchant associations, Guangzhou base, although it still schools, and parliamentary bodies at all depended on mercenary armies. The levels. Sun was designated as leader of military academy was set up at Whampoa the party and had veto rights over its (Huangpu), on an island south of decisions. The congress elected a central Guangzhou, and the first group of some executive committee and a central super- 500 cadets was trained. In September visory committee to manage party affairs Sun began another northern campaign and confirmed Sun’s decision to admit in alliance with Zhang Zuolin against communists, though this was opposed by Cao Kun and Wu Peifu (Wu P’ei-fu), who numerous party veterans, who feared the now controlled Beijing. The campaign KMT itself might be taken over. A few was interrupted, however, when Wu’s The Early Republican Period | 273 subordinate, Feng Yuxiang (Feng precipitating what came to be called the Yü-hsiang), betrayed his chief and seized May Thirtieth Incident. This aroused a Beijing on October 23, while Wu was at nationwide protest and set off a pro- the front facing Zhang Zuolin. Feng and tracted general strike in Shanghai. A his fellow plotters invited Sun to Beijing second, more serious incident occurred to participate in the settlement of national on June 23, when French and British affairs, while Feng and Zhang invited marines exchanged fire with Whampoa Duan Qirui to come out of retirement and cadets who were part of an anti-imperial- take charge of the government. Sun ist parade, killing 52 Chinese (many of accepted the invitation and departed for them civilians) and wounding at least the north on November 13. Before he 117; which side had fired first became a arrived in Beijing, however, he fell gravely matter of dispute. This set off a strike and ill with incurable liver cancer. He died in boycott against Britain, France, and Beijing on March 12, 1925. Japan, which was later narrowed to Britain alone. The strike and boycott, led Struggles Within mainly by communists, lasted for 16 the Two-Party Coalition months and seriously affected British trade. These incidents intensified hostil- After Sun’s death the KMT went through ity toward foreigners and their special a period of inner conflict, although it pro- privileges, enhanced the image of the gressed steadily, with Russian help, in Soviet Union, and gained support for the bringing the Guangdong base under its KMT, which promised to end the Unequal control. The conflict was caused primar- Treaties. By January 1926 the KMT could ily by the radicalization of the party under claim some 200,000 members. The the influence of the communists, who CCP’s membership grew from fewer than organized labour unions and peasant 1,000 in May 1925 to about 10,000 by the associations and pushed class struggle end of that year. and the anti-imperialist movement. KMT Opposition to Radicals Clashes with Foreigners The two parties competed for direction On May 30, 1925, patriotic students who of nationalist policy, control of mass were engaged in an anti-imperialist organizations, and recruitment of new demonstration in Shanghai clashed members. Under Comintern coaching, with foreign police. The British captain the CCP strategy was to try to split the in charge ordered the police to fire on a KMT, drive out its conservative mem- crowd that he believed was about to bers, and turn it to an ever-more-radical rush his station. Some dozen Chinese course. In August 1925, KMT conserva- (including some students) were killed, tives in Guangzhou tried to stop the 274 | The History of China leftward trend. One of the strongest 1924 and 1925 in developing the advocates of the Nationalists’ Soviet Whampoa Military Academy and form- orientation, Liao Zhongkai, was assassi- ing the National Revolutionary Army. nated. In retaliation, Borodin, Chiang Blücher returned to Guangzhou in May Kai-shek, and Wang Ching-wei (Wang and helped refine plans for the Northern Jingwei) deported various conservatives. Expedition, which began officially in A group of KMT veterans in the north July, with Chiang as commander in chief. then ordered the expulsion of Borodin and the communists and the suspension The Northern Expedition of Wang Ching-wei; they set up a rival KMT headquarters in Shanghai. The left- During the Northern Expedition the out- wing leaders in Guangzhou then held numbered southern forces were infused the Second National Congress in with revolutionary spirit and fought with January 1926, confirming the radical pol- great élan. They were assisted by propa- icies and the Soviet alliance. But as the ganda corps, which subverted enemy Soviet presence became increasingly troops and agitated among the populace overbearing, as the strike and boycott in in the enemy’s rear. Soviet military advis- Guangzhou and Hong Kong dragged on, ers accompanied most of the divisions, and as class conflict intensified in the and Soviet pilots reconnoitred the enemy south, opposition to the radical trend positions. The army was well-financed at grew stronger, particularly among mili- the initial stages because of fiscal reforms tary commanders. in Guangdong during the previous year, Chiang Kai-shek, now commander of and many enemy divisions and brigades the National Revolutionary Army, took were bought over. Within two months the steps in March to curb the communists National Revolutionary Army gained and to send away several Soviet officers control of Hunan and Hubei, and by the whom he believed were scheming with end of the year it had taken Jiangxi and Wang Ching-wei against him. In a read- Fujian. The Nationalist government justment of party affairs, communists no moved its central headquarters from longer were permitted to hold high Guangzhou to the Wuhan cities of the offices in the central headquarters, and Yangtze. By early spring of 1927, revolu- Wang Ching-wei went into retirement tionary forces were poised to attack in France. Chiang also demanded Nanjing and Shanghai. Comintern support of a northern military The political situation, however, was campaign and the return of Gen. V.K. unstable. Hunan and Hubei were swept Blücher as his chief military adviser. by a peasant revolt marked by violence Blücher, who used the pseudonym Galen against landlords and other rural power in China, was a commander in the Red holders. Business in the industrial and Army who had worked with Chiang in commercial centre of the middle The Early Republican Period | 275

Yangtze—the Wuhan cities—was nearly Expulsion of paralyzed by a wave of strikes. Communists from the KMT Communists and KMT leftists led this social revolution. In January the British The climax of the conflict came after concessions in Hankou and Jiujiang were Nationalist armies had taken Shanghai seized by Chinese crowds. The British and Nanjing in March. Nanjing was cap- government had just adopted a concilia- tured on March 23 as Beiyang troops tory policy toward China, and it evacuated it, and the following morning acquiesced in these seizures, but it was some Nationalist soldiers looted foreign readying an expeditionary force to pro- properties, attacked the British, U.S., and tect its more important position in Japanese consulates, and killed several Shanghai. Foreigners and many upper- foreigners. That afternoon, British and class Chinese fled from the provinces U.S. warships on the Yangtze fired into under Nationalist control. The northern the concession area, allowing some of the armies began to form an alliance against foreign nationals to flee, and others sub- the southerners. sequently were evacuated peacefully. Conservative Nationalist leaders in In Shanghai a general strike led by Shanghai mobilized against the head- communists aroused fears that Chinese quarters in Wuhan. There was a deep rift might seize the International Settlement within the revolutionary camp itself; the and the French concession, now guarded leftists at Wuhan, guided by Borodin, pit- by a large international expeditionary ted themselves against Chiang and his force. Conservative Nationalist leaders, more conservative military supporters, some army commanders, and Chinese who were also laying plans against the business leaders in Shanghai encouraged leftists. Resolutions of the CCP’s Central Chiang to expel the communists and Committee in January 1927 showed that suppress the Shanghai General Labour committee members were apprehensive Union. On April 12–13, gangsters and about a counterrevolutionary tide against troops bloodily suppressed the guards of their party, Soviet Russia, and the revolu- the General Labour Union, arrested many tionary peasant and workers’ movement; communists, and executed large num- they feared a coalition within the KMT bers. Similar suppressions were carried and its possible alliance with the imperi- out in Guangzhou, Nanjing, Nanchang, alist powers. The central leadership Fuzhou, and other cities under military resolved to check revolutionary excesses forces that accepted Chiang’s instruc- and give all support to the KMT leader- tions. The KMT conservatives then ship at Wuhan. Others within the CCP, established a rival Nationalist govern- notably Mao Zedong, disagreed; they ment in Nanjing. believed the mass revolution should be Wang Ching-wei had returned to encouraged to run its course. China via the Soviet Union. Arriving in 276 | The History of China

Shanghai, he refused to participate in People’s Army under Feng Yuxiang, part the expulsions and went secretly to of the Guangxi army, and the Shanxi Wuhan, where he again headed the gov- army of Yan Xishan. In early June they ernment. In July, however, the leftist captured Beijing, from which Zhang Nationalist leaders in Wuhan, having Zuolin and the Fengtian army withdrew learned of a directive by Soviet leader for Manchuria. As his train neared Joseph Stalin to Borodin to arrange for Mukden (present-day Shenyang), Zhang radicals to capture control of the govern- died in an explosion arranged by a few ment, decided to expel the communists Japanese officers without the knowledge and compel the Soviet advisers to leave. of the Japanese government. Japan did The leftist government thereby lost not permit the Nationalist armies to pur- important bases of support; furthermore, sue the Fengtian army into Manchuria, it was ringed by hostile forces and cut hoping to keep that area out of KMT off from access to the sea, and it soon control. By the end of the Northern disintegrated. Expedition, the major warlords had been The CCP went into revolt. Using its defeated by the Nationalists, whose influence in the Cantonese army of armies now possessed the cities and rail- Zhang Fakui (Chang Fa-k’uei), it staged ways of eastern China. On October 10 the an uprising at Nanchang on August 1 and Nationalists formally established a reor- in October attempted the “Autumn ganized National Government of the Harvest” uprising in several central prov- Republic of China, with its capital at inces. Both efforts failed. In December Nanjing; Beijing was renamed Beiping communist leaders in Guangzhou started (Pei-p’ing), “Northern Peace.” a revolt there, capturing the city with much bloodshed, arson, and looting; this The Nationalist Government uprising was quickly suppressed, also from 1928 to 1937 with much slaughter. Between April and December 1927 the CCP lost most of its The most-serious immediate problem fac- membership by death and defection. A ing the new government was the few score leaders and some scattered mil- continuing military separatism. The gov- itary bands then began the process of ernment had no authority over the vast creating military bases in the mountains area of western China, and even regions and plains of central China, remote from in eastern China were under the rule of centres of Nationalist power. independent regimes that had lately been The now-more-conservative KMT part of the Nationalist coalition. After an resumed its Northern Expedition in unsuccessful attempt at negotiations, the spring of 1928 with a reorganized Chiang launched a series of civil wars National Revolutionary Army. In the drive against his former allies. By 1930 one mili- on Beijing it was joined by the National tarist regime after another had been The Early Republican Period | 277 reduced to provincial proportions, and illiteracy, and underemployment in the Nanjing’s influence was spreading. villages, hamlets, and small towns scat- Explained in material terms, Chiang tered over a continental-size territory. owed his success to the great financial With conscription and heavy taxation to resources of his base in Jiangsu and support civil war and a collapsing export Zhejiang and to foreign arms. Quick rec- market for commercial crops, rural eco- ognition by the foreign powers brought nomic conditions may have grown worse the Nationalist government the revenues during the Nationalist decade. collected by the efficient Maritime The Nationalist government during Customs Service; when the powers its first few years in power had some suc- granted China the right to fix its own tar- cess in reasserting China’s sovereignty. iff schedules, that revenue increased. Several concession areas were returned Although the aim of constitutional, to Chinese control, and the foreign pow- representative government was asserted, ers assented to China’s resumption of the Nationalist government at Nanjing tariff autonomy. Yet these were merely was in practice personally dominated by token gains; the Unequal Treaties were Chiang Kai-shek. The army and the civil scarcely breached. The country was in a bureaucracy were marked by factional nationalistic mood, determined to roll divisions, which Chiang carefully bal- back foreign economic and political pen- anced against one another so that etration. Manchuria was a huge and rich ultimate decision making was kept in his area of China in which Japan had exten- own hands. The KMT was supposed to sive economic privileges, possessing infuse all government structures and to part of the Liaodong Peninsula as a lease- provide leadership, but the army came to hold and controlling much of southern be the most powerful component of gov- Manchuria’s economy through the South ernment. Chiang’s regime was marked by Manchurian Railway. The Chinese began a military orientation, which external cir- to develop Huludao, in Liaodong, as a cumstances reinforced. port to rival Dairen (Dalian) and to plan Nevertheless, the Nationalists did railways to compete with Japanese lines. much to create a modern government Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsüeh-liang), and a coherent monetary and banking Zhang Zuolin’s son and successor as system and to improve taxation. They ruler of Manchuria, was drawing closer to expanded the public educational system, Nanjing and sympathized with the developed a network of transportation Nationalists’ desire to rid China of for- and communication facilities, and eign privilege. encouraged industry and commerce. For Japan, Manchuria was regarded Again it was urban China that mainly as vital. Many Japanese had acquired benefited; little was done to modernize a sense of mission that Japan should agriculture or to eradicate disease, lead Asia against the West. The Great 278 | The History of China

Depression had hurt Japanese business, War Between Nationalists and there was deep social unrest. Such and Communists factors influenced many army officers— especially officers of the Kwantung Army, In the meantime, the communists had which protected Japan’s leasehold in created 15 rural bases in central China, the Liaodong Peninsula and the South and they established a soviet govern- Manchurian Railway—to regard Manchuria ment, the Jiangxi Soviet, on Nov. 7, 1931. as the area where Japan’s power must be Within the soviet regions, the communist consolidated. leadership expropriated and redistributed land and in other ways enlisted the Japanese Aggression support of the poorer classes. The Japanese occupation of Manchuria and In September 1931 a group of officers in an ancillary localized war around the Kwantung Army set in motion a plot Shanghai in 1932 distracted the (beginning with the Mukden Incident) Nationalists and gave the communists a to compel the Japanese government to brief opportunity to expand and consoli- extend its power in Manchuria. The date. But the Nationalists in late 1934 Japanese government was drawn step forced the communist armies to abandon by step into the conquest of Manchuria their bases and retreat. Most of the later and the creation of a regime known as communist leaders—including Mao Manchukuo. China was unable to pre- Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, vent Japan from seizing this vital area. and Lin Biao—marched and fought their In 1934, after long negotiations, Japan way across western China in what became acquired the Soviet interest in the known as the Long March. By mid-1936 Chinese Eastern Railway, thus eliminat- the remnants of several Red armies had ing the last legal trace of the Soviet gathered in an impoverished area in sphere of influence there. During 1932– northern Shaanxi, with headquarters 35 Japan seized more territory bordering located in the town of Yan’an, which lent on Manchuria. In 1935 it attempted to its name to the subsequent period (1936– detach Hebei and the Chahar region of 45) of CCP development. Inner Mongolia from Nanjing’s control During the Long March, Mao Zedong and threatened Shanxi, Shandong, and rose to preeminence in the CCP leader- the Suiyuan region of Inner Mongolia. ship. In the early 1930s he had engaged in The National Government’s policy was bitter power struggles with other party to trade space for time in which to build leaders and actually had found himself in military power and unify the country. Its a fairly weak position at the start of the slogan “Unity before resistance” was Long March campaigns, but in January directed principally against the Chinese 1935 a rump session of the CCP Political communists. Bureau (Politburo) confirmed Mao in the The Early Republican Period | 279

Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, two leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, during the Long March. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 280 | The History of China newly created post of chairman. It was The United Front Against Japan also during the Long March that the CCP began to develop a new political strat- Fearing that China would be plunged into egy—a united front against Japan. It was renewed disorder if Chiang were killed, first conceived as an alliance of patriotic the nation clamoured for his release. The forces against Japan and the Nationalist Soviet Union quickly denounced the cap- government, but, as Japan’s pressure on tors and insisted that Chiang be freed China and the pressure of the Nationalist (the Soviet Union needed a united China armies against the weakened Red armies opposing Japan, its potential enemy on increased, the communist leaders began the east). The CCP leaders also decided to call for a united front of all Chinese that Chiang’s release would serve China’s against Japan alone. Virtually all classes interests as well as their own, if he would and various local regimes supported this, accept their policy against Japan. Zhou and the communists moderated their rev- Enlai and several other communist lead- olutionary program and terminated class ers flew to Xi’an to try to effect this. Zhang warfare in their zone of control. Xueliang finally agreed to free his cap- Chiang was determined, however, to tive, with the understanding that Chiang press on with his extermination cam- would call off the civil war and unite the paign. He ordered the Manchurian army country against the invader. On December under Zhang Xueliang, now based in 25 Chiang was freed. Xi’an (Sian), and the Northwestern army The two Chinese parties began pro- under Yang Hucheng (Yang Hu-ch’eng) tracted and secret negotiations for to attack the communist forces in north- cooperation, each making concessions. ern Shaanxi. Many officers in those But it was not until September 1937, armies sympathized with the communist after the Sino-Japanese War had begun, slogan “Chinese don’t fight Chinese”; that the Nationalist government for- they preferred to fight Japan, a sentiment mally agreed to a policy of cooperation particularly strong in the homeless with the CCP. For its part, the CCP pub- Manchurian army. Zhang Xueliang was licly affirmed its adherence to the conducting secret negotiations with the realization of Sun Yat-sen’s Three communists and had suspended the civil Principles of the People, its abandon- war. In December 1936 Chiang Kai-shek ment of armed opposition to the KMT flew to Xi’an to order Zhang and Yang to and of the forcible confiscation of land- renew the anticommunist campaign. lords’ property, the substitution of Under pressure from subordinates, democracy for its soviet government, Zhang detained Chiang on the morning and the reorganization of the Red Army of December 12 (this became known as as a component of the national army the Sian Incident). under the central government. ChaPTER 13

The Late Republican Period and the War against Japan

ThE EaRLy SINO-JaPaNESE WaR

n July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a minor Oclash between Japanese and Chinese troops near Beiping (Beijing’s name under the Nationalist government), fi nally led the two countries into war. The Japanese government tried for several weeks to settle the incident locally, but China’s mood was highly nationalistic, and public opinion clamoured for resistance to further aggression. In late July, new fi ghting broke out. The Japanese quickly took Beiping and captured Tianjin. On August 13 savage fi ghting broke out in Shanghai. By now the prestige of both nations was committed, and they were locked in a war.

Phase One

As never before in modern times, the Chinese united themselves against a foreign enemy. China’s standing armies in 1937 numbered some 1.7 million men, with a half million in reserve. Japan’s naval and air superiority were unquestioned, but Japan could not commit its full strength to campaigns in China; the main concern of the Japanese army was the Soviet 282 | The History of China

Nanjing Massacre

The Nanjing (or Nanking) Massacre (December 1937–January 1938) was one of the most infamous events of the Sino-Japanese War that preceded World War II. Also called the Rape of Nanjing, the incident involved a series of mass killings and the ravaging of Chinese citizens and capitulated soldiers by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army after its seizure of Nanjing, China, on Dec. 13, 1937. The number of Chinese killed in the massacre has been subject to much debate, with most estimates ranging from 100,000 to more than 300,000. The destruction of Nanjing—which had been the capital of the Nationalist Chinese from 1928 to 1937—was ordered by Matsui Iwane, commanding general of the Central China Front Army that captured the city. Over the next several weeks, Japanese soldiers carried out Matsui’s orders, perpetrating numerous mass executions and tens of thousands of rapes. The army looted and burned the surrounding towns and the city, destroying more than a third of the buildings. In 1940 the Japanese made Nanjing the capital of their Chinese puppet government headed by Wang Ching-wei (Wang Jingwei). Shortly after the end of World War II, Matsui and Tani Hisao, a lieu- tenant general who had personally participated in acts of murder and rape, were found guilty of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and were executed.

The bodies of some of the tens of thousands of people killed during the Nanjing Massacre of December 1937–January 1938. © AP Images The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 283

Union, while for the Japanese navy it was and all the ports through which military the United States. equipment and civilian supplies might be During the first year of the unde- imported. However, it still held a vast clared war, Japan won victory after though largely undeveloped territory and victory against sometimes stubborn had unlimited manpower reserves. So Chinese resistance. By late December, long as China continued to resist, Japan’s Shanghai and Nanjing had fallen, the lat- control over the conquered eastern part of ter city being the site of the infamous the country would be difficult. Nanjing Massacre (December 1937– January 1938) perpetrated by Japanese Phase Two: troops. However, China had demon- Stalemate and Stagnation strated to the world its determination to resist the invader; this gave the govern- During the second stage of the war (1939– ment time to search for foreign support. 43), the battle lines changed only slightly, China found its major initial help from although there were many engagements the Soviet Union. On Aug. 21, 1937, the of limited scale. Japan tried to bomb Free Soviet Union and China signed a nonag- China into submission; Chongqing suf- gression pact, and the former quickly fered repeated air raids in which began sending munitions, military advis- thousands of civilians were killed. In 1940 ers, and hundreds of aircraft with Soviet Japan set up a rival government in pilots. Yet Japanese forces continued to Nanjing under Wang Ching-wei. But the win important victories. By mid-1938 Chinese would not submit. Hundreds of Japanese armies controlled the railway thousands migrated to western China to lines and major cities of northern China. continue the struggle. Students and fac- They took Guangzhou on October 12, ulties of most eastern colleges took the stopping the railway supply line to overland trek to makeshift quarters in Wuhan, the temporary Chinese capital, distant inland towns. Factories and and captured Hankou, Hanyang, and skilled workers were reestablished in the Wuchang on October 25–26. The Chinese west. The government rebuilt its shat- government and military command tered armies and tried to purchase moved to Chongqing (Chungking) in supplies from abroad. Sichuan, farther up the Yangtze and In 1938–40 the Soviet Union extended behind a protective mountain screen. credits for military aid of $250 million, At the end of this first phase of the war, while the United States, Great Britain, the Nationalist government had lost the and France granted some $263.5 million best of its modern armies, its air force and for civilian purchases and currency stabi- arsenals, most of China’s modern indus- lization. Free China’s lines of supply were tries and railways, its major tax resources, long and precarious; when war broke out 284 | The History of China in Europe, shipping space became scarce. The war had the opposite effect upon After Germany’s conquest of France in the CCP. The communist leaders had sur- the spring of 1940, Britain bowed to vived 10 years of civil war and had Japanese demands and temporarily developed a unity, camaraderie, and pow- closed Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, erful sense of mission. They had learned Myanmar), to military supplies for China to mobilize the rural population and to (July–September). In September 1940 wage guerrilla warfare. In 1937 the CCP Japan seized control of northern had about 40,000 members and the Indochina and closed the supply line to poorly equipped Red Army numbered Kunming. The Soviet Union had pro- perhaps 100,000. By agreement with the vided China its most substantial military Nationalist government, the Red Army aid, but, when Germany attacked the was renamed the Eighth Route Army Soviet Union in June 1941, this aid virtu- (later the Eighteenth Army Group); Zhu ally ceased. By then, however, the United De and Peng Dehuai served as com- States had sold China 100 fighter planes— mander and vice commander, and Lin the beginning of a U.S. effort to provide Biao, Ho Lung, and Liu Bocheng were in air protection. charge of its three divisions. The commu- In addition to bombing, the civilian nist base in the northwest covered parts population in Free China endured other of three provinces with an undeveloped hardships. Manufactured goods were economy and a population of about 1.5 scarce, and hoarding drove up prices. million. Operating within the general The government did not have the framework of the United Front against means to carry out rationing and price Japan, the leaders of the Eighth Route control, though it did supply government Army adopted a strategy that used their employees with rice. The government’s experience in guerrilla warfare. They sources of revenue were limited, yet it sent small columns into areas of north- supported a large bureaucracy and an ern China that the Japanese army had army of more than three million con- overrun but lacked the manpower to scripts. The government resorted to control; there they incorporated remnant printing currency inadequately backed troops and organized the population to by reserves. Inflation grew until it was supply food, recruits, and sanctuaries for nearly uncontrollable. Between 1939 and guerrilla units attacking small Japanese 1943 the morale of the bureaucracy garrisons. and military officers declined. Old Early in the period of united resis- abuses of the Chinese political system tance, the government permitted the reasserted themselves—factional poli- New Fourth Army to be created from tics and corruption, in particular. The remnants of communist troops left in protracted war progressively weakened Jiangxi and Fujian at the time of the the Nationalist regime. Long March. Commanded by Gen. Ye The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 285

Ting—with Xiang Ying, a communist, as strengthened its ranks by continuous chief of staff —this force of 12,000 offi cers indoctrination and by expelling dissident and soldiers operated behind Japanese and ineff ective party members. lines near Shanghai with great success. Its strategy included guerrilla tactics, Renewed Communist- organizing resistance bases, and recruit- Nationalist Conflict ment. This army grew to more than 100,000 in 1940; by then it operated in There were numerous clashes between a wide area on both sides of the lower communists and Nationalists as their Yangtze. military forces competed for control of Thus the CCP revitalized itself. It enemy territory and as the communists recruited rural activists and patriotic tried to expand their political infl uence in youths from the cities and systematically Nationalist territory through propaganda

Chiang Kai-shek meeting with his sta« during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 286 | The History of China and secret organizing. Though both sides CCP was willing to push the conflict to continued the war against Japan, each open civil war in 1941. The government was fighting for its own ultimate advan- deployed many of its best divisions in tage. Bitter anticommunist sentiment in positions to prevent the communist forces government circles found its most vio- from further penetration of Nationalist- lent expression in the New Fourth Army held territories and to weaken the CCP Incident of January 1941. through a strict economic blockade. The government had ordered the New Fourth Army to move north of the The International Huang He (Yellow River) and understood Alliance Against Japan that its commanders had agreed to do so as part of a demarcation of operational The United States had broken the areas. However, most of the army had Japanese diplomatic code. By July 1941 it moved into northern Jiangsu (south of knew that Japan hoped to end the unde- the Huang) and, together with units of clared war in China and that Japan was the Eighteenth Army Group, was compet- preparing for a southward advance ing with government troops for control of toward British Malaya and the Dutch East bases there and in southern Shandong. Indies, planning to first occupy southern Ye Ting and Xiang Ying stayed at the Indochina and Thailand, even at the risk army’s base south of the Yangtze. of war with Britain and the United States. Apparently believing that Ye did not intend to move northward, government U.S. Aid to China forces attacked the base on Jan. 6, 1941. The outnumbered communists were One U.S. response was the decision to defeated, Ye Ting and some 2,000 others send large amounts of arms and equip- were captured, Xiang Ying was killed, ment to China, along with a military and both sides suffered heavy casualties. mission to advise on their use. The under- Ignoring Chiang Kai-shek’s order to dis- lying strategy was to revitalize China’s solve the New Fourth Army, the war effort as a deterrent to Japanese land communist high command named Chen and naval operations southward. The Yi as its new commander and Liu Shaoqi Nationalist army was ill-equipped to fight as political commissar. the Japanese in 1941. Its arsenals were so The danger of renewed civil war lacking in nonferrous metals and explo- caused widespread protest from China’s sives that they could not produce civilian leaders. The People’s Political effectively. The maintenance of millions Council, a multiparty advisory body of ill-trained and under-equipped troops formed in 1938 as an expression of united was a heavy drain on the economy. There resistance, debated the issue and later was no possibility that the United States tried to mediate. Neither the KMT nor the could arm such numbers from its limited The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 287 stocks while building up its own forces the United States began a transport pro- and assisting many other countries. In gram the next month. But shortages and addition, there was a formidable logistics other difficulties had to be overcome, and problem in shipping supplies along the not until December 1943 were cargo 715-mile (1,150-km) Burma Road, which planes able to carry as much tonnage as extended from Kunming to Lashio, the was carried along the Burma Road by terminus in Burma of the railway and trucks two years earlier. This was much highway leading to Rangoon. less than China’s needs for gasoline and By December 1941 the United States military equipment and supplies. had sent a military mission to China and had implicitly agreed to create a modern Conflicts Within Chinese air force, maintain an efficient the International Alliance line of communications into China, and arm 30 divisions. Japan’s bombing of China’s alliance with the United States Pearl Harbor in Hawaii brought the and Great Britain was marked by deep United States into alliance with China, conflict. Great Britain gave highest prior- and Great Britain joined the Pacific war ity to the defeat of its main enemy, as its colonial possessions were attacked. Germany. The U.S. Navy in the Pacific This widening of the Sino-Japanese con- had been seriously weakened by the flict lifted Chinese morale, but its other Japanese air attack at Pearl Harbor and early effects were harmful. With the required many months to rebuild. During Japanese conquest of Hong Kong on the winter of 1941–42, the grand strategy December 25, China lost its air link to the of the United States and Great Britain outside world and one of its principal called for the defeat of Germany first and routes for smuggling supplies. By the then an assault across the Pacific against end of May 1942, the Japanese held most Japan’s island empire. China was rele- of Burma, having defeated the British, gated to a low position in U.S. strategic Indian, Burmese, and Chinese defenders. planning. The United States aimed to China was almost completely blockaded. keep China in the war and enable it to For the moment, there was little China’s play a positive role in the final defeat of allies could do other than state a willing- Japan on the continent. Chiang Kai-shek, ness to offer China loans. on the other hand, envisaged a joint strat- The solution was found in an air route egy by the United States, the British from Assam, India, to Kunming, in south- Commonwealth, and China over the west China—the dangerous “Hump” whole Pacific area, with China playing a route along the southern edge of the major role. He demanded an equal voice Himalayas. In March 1942 the China in Allied war planning, which he never National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) received, though U.S. President Franklin began freight service over the Hump, and D. Roosevelt was generally solicitous. 288 | The History of China

From the fundamentally different out- By the end of 1943 the China-based looks of Chiang, British Prime Minister U.S. Fourteenth Air Force had achieved Winston Churchill, and Roosevelt and tactical parity with the Japanese over because of the divergent national inter- central China, was beginning to bomb ests of China, the British Commonwealth, Yangtze shipping, and had conducted a and the United States, there followed successful raid on Japanese airfields on many controversies that had powerful Taiwan. A second training centre had repercussions in China and led to frustra- been started at Guilin to improve 30 more tions and suspicions among the partners. Chinese divisions (Z-Force). The cam- After Burma fell to the Japanese, a paign to open a land route across controversy developed over whether the northern Burma had run into serious dif- principal Chinese and U.S. effort against ficulty. At the first Cairo Conference in Japan should be devoted to building up November, Chiang met Churchill and U.S. air power based in China or to reform Roosevelt for the first time. The Cairo of the Chinese army and its training and Declaration issued there promised that, equipment for a combat role. Chiang following the war, Manchuria, Taiwan, advocated primary reliance on U.S. air and the Pescadores Islands would be power to defeat Japan. Several high-rank- returned to China and that Korea would ing U.S. generals, on the other hand, gain independence. The three allies emphasized creation of a compact and pledged themselves to “persevere in modernized Chinese ground force able to the . . . . prolonged operations necessary protect the airfields in China and to assist to procure the unconditional surrender of in opening an overland supply route Japan.” These words, however, concealed across northern Burma. Already in India, deep differences over global strategy. the United States was training two U.S. planners realized that Japan might Chinese divisions from remnants of the be approached successfully through the Burma campaign, plus artillery and engi- south and central Pacific and that the neering regiments (this became known Soviet Union would enter the war against as X-Force). Also in training were Chinese Japan after Germany’s defeat; hence, the instructors to help retrain other divisions importance of China to U.S. grand strat- in China. Both air development and army egy declined. Churchill was unwilling to modernizing were being pushed in early use naval resources, needed for the forth- 1943, with a training centre created near coming European invasion, in a seaborne Kunming to reenergize and reequip invasion of Burma to help reopen China’s select Chinese divisions (called Y-Force), supply line. Yet Chiang had demanded a and a network of airfields was being built naval invasion of Burma as a condition to in southern China. This dual approach committing the Y-Force to assist in open- caused repeated conflict over the alloca- ing his supply line. Shortly after Cairo, tion of scarce airlift space. Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to set The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 289 aside the seaborne invasion of Burma; collapsing Chinese armies—only recently when Chiang learned of this, he requested their oppressors. enormous amounts of money, supplies, The second phase of the Ichigo cam- and air support, asserting that otherwise paign was a Japanese drive southward Japan might succeed in eliminating from Hankou and northwestward from China from the war. The United States Guangzhou to take Guilin and open the did not accede, and Chinese-American communication line to the India-China relations began to cool. border. By November the Chinese had lost Guilin, Liuzhou, and Nanning, and Phase Three: the Japanese were approaching Guiyang Approaching Crisis (1944–45) on the route to Chongqing and Kunming. This was the high-water mark of Japan’s China was in crisis in 1944. Japan faced war in China. Thereafter, it withdrew increasing pressure in the Pacific and experienced divisions for the defense of threats to its supply bases and communi- its overextended empire, and China cations lines in China as well as to nearby finally began to benefit from the well- shipping. Its response was twofold—first, trained X-Force when two divisions were to attack from Burma toward Assam to flown in from Burma in December to cut the supply lines or capture the air- defend Kunming. fields at the western end of the Hump Meanwhile, the Chinese government and, second, to capture the railway sys- was involved in a crisis of relations with tem in China from north to south and the United States, which contended that seize the eastern China airfields used by the Chinese army must be reformed, par- the United States. ticularly in its command structure, and The British and Indian army defeated that lend-lease supplies must be used the Japanese attack on Assam (March– more effectively. There were also many July 1944) with help from transport subsidiary problems. Gen. Joseph Stilwell, planes withdrawn from the Hump. But the executor of disagreeable U.S. policies the Japanese campaign in China, known in China, had developed an unconcealed as Ichigo, showed up the weakness, inef- disdain for Chiang, whom he nominally ficiency, and poor command of the served as chief of staff. Stilwell was an Chinese armies after nearly seven years effective troop commander, and Roosevelt of war. During April and May the requested that Chiang place Stilwell in Japanese cleared the Beiping-Hankou command of all Chinese forces. In the railway between the Huang He and the context of Chinese politics, in which con- Yangtze. Chinese armies nominally num- trol of armies was the main source of bering several hundred thousand troops power, President Chiang’s compliance were unable to put up effective resis- was virtually inconceivable. He declined tance. Peasants in Henan attacked the the request and asked for Stilwell’s recall. 290 | The History of China

Roosevelt agreed, but thereafter his rela- Yan’an area in May 1944 and to a group tions with Chiang were no longer cordial. of U.S. observers that established itself Stilwell was replaced by Gen. Albert there in July, the communists professed Coady Wedemeyer. allegiance to democracy and to continued cooperation with the Nationalist Nationalist Deterioration government in the war effort. There was convincing evidence that the areas under The military weakness in 1944 was symp- communist control extended for hun- tomatic of a gradual deterioration that dreds of miles behind Japanese lines in had taken place in most aspects of northern and central China. Nationalist Chinese public life. Inflation This situation was the result of many began to mount alarmingly as the gov- factors. Communist troop commanders ernment pumped in large amounts of and political officers in areas behind paper currency to make up its fiscal defi- Japanese lines tried to mobilize the entire cits. Salaries of government employees, population against the enemy. Party army officers, teachers, and all those on members led village communities into wages fell far behind rising prices. For greater participation in local government most, this spelled poverty amid growing than had been the case before. They also war-weariness. Dissatisfaction with the organized and controlled peasants’ asso- government’s policies spread among ciations, labour unions, youth leagues, intellectuals. Inflation gave opportuni- and women’s associations. They linked ties for some groups to profit through together the many local governments and hoarding needed goods, smuggling high- the mass organizations and determined value commodities, black market their policies. Because of the need for currency operations, and graft. unity against Japan, the communist orga- Corruption spread in the bureaucracy nizers tended to follow reformist economic and the armed forces. As the war dragged policies. The party experimented with on, government measures to suppress various forms of economic cooperation to dissidence grew oppressive. Secret police increase production; one of these was activity and efforts at thought control mutual-aid teams in which farmers tem- were aimed not only against communists porarily pooled their tools and draft but also against all influential critics of animals and worked the land collectively. the government or the KMT. In areas behind Japanese lines, some mutual-aid teams evolved into work-and- Communist Growth battle teams composed of younger peasants: when danger threatened, the The communist armies were growing teams went out to fight as guerrillas under rapidly in 1943 and 1944. According direction of the local communist army; to U.S. war correspondents visiting the when the crisis passed, they returned to The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 291 the fields. The party recruited into its who requested U.S. assistance in improv- ranks the younger leaders who emerged ing relations between China and the from populist activities. Thus, it pene- Soviet Union and in settling the commu- trated and to some extent controlled the nist problem. multitude of villages in areas behind In September 1944, Patrick J. Hurley Japanese lines. As the Japanese military arrived as U.S. ambassador to China and grip weakened, the experienced commu- as Roosevelt’s personal representative. nist armies and political organizers Hurley attempted to mediate, first in dis- spread their system of government ever cussions in Chongqing and then by more widely. By the time of the CCP’s flying to Yan’an in November for a con- Seventh Congress in Yan’an (April–May ference with Mao Zedong. But the 1945), the party claimed to have an army positions of the two sides could not be of more than 900,000 and a militia of reconciled, and the talks broke off in more than 2,000,000. It also claimed to March 1945. Between June and August, control areas with a total population of Hurley resumed protracted discussions, 90,000,000. These claims were disput- both indirect and in conferences with able, but the great strength and wide high-level representatives from both geographical spread of communist orga- sides. Each side distrusted the other; each nization was a fact. sought to guarantee its own survival, but the KMT intended to continue its politi- Efforts to Prevent Civil War cal dominance, while the CCP insisted on the independence of its armies and Between May and September 1944, repre- regional governments under whatever sentatives of the government and the coalition formula might be worked out. CCP carried on peace negotiations at The Pacific war (which in China Xi’an. The main issues were the disposi- became known as the War of Resistance tion, size, and command of the communist Against Japanese Aggression) ended on armies, the relationship between commu- Aug. 14 (Aug. 15 in China), 1945, and the nist-organized regional governments formal Japanese surrender came on and the Nationalist government, and September 2. China rejoiced. Yet the problems of civil rights and legalization country faced enormously difficult prob- of the CCP and its activities in Nationalist lems of reunification and reconstruction areas. Suggestions for a coalition govern- and a future clouded by the dark prospect ment arose for the first time. No of civil war. settlement was reached, but it appeared that the antagonists were seeking a Civil war (1945–49) peaceful solution. U.S. Vice Pres. Henry A. Wallace visited Chongqing in June In a little more than four years after and had several discussions with Chiang, Japan’s surrender, the CCP and the 292 | The History of China

People’s Liberation Army (PLA; the name the main eastern cities, such as Beiping, by which communist forces were now Tianjin, Shanghai, and the prewar capital, known) conquered mainland China, and, Nanjing. The U.S. Navy moved Chinese on Oct. 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of troops from southern China to other China was established, with its capital at coastal cities and landed 53,000 marines Beijing (the city’s former name restored). at Tianjin and Qingdao to assist in dis- The factors that brought this about were arming and repatriating Japanese troops many and complex and subject to widely but also to serve as a counterweight to varying interpretation, but the basic fact the Soviet army in southern Manchuria. was a communist military triumph grow- Furthermore, U.S. Gen. Douglas ing out of a profound and popularly based MacArthur ordered all Japanese forces in revolution. The process may be perceived China proper to surrender their arms in three phases: (1) from August 1945 to only to forces of the Nationalist govern- the end of 1946, the Nationalists and com- ment. They obeyed and thereby were munists raced to take over Japanese-held occasionally engaged against Chinese territories, built up their forces, and communist forces. fought many limited engagements while Immediately after the surrender, the still conducting negotiations for a peace- communists sent political cadres and ful settlement; (2) during 1947 and the troops into Manchuria (Northeast China). first half of 1948, after initial Nationalist This had been planned long in advance. success, the strategic balance turned in Gen. Lin Biao became commander of the favour of the communists; and (3) the forces (the Northeast Democratic Allied communists won a series of smashing Army), which incorporated puppet troops victories beginning in the latter part of of the former Japanese Manchukuo 1948 that led to the establishment of the regime and began to recruit volunteers; it People’s Republic. got most of its arms from Japanese stocks taken over by the Soviets. A Race for Territory Manchuria was a vast area with a population of 40 million, the greatest As soon as Japan’s impending surrender concentration of heavy industry and rail- was known, the commander of the com- ways in China, and enormous reserves of munist armies, Zhu De, ordered his coal, iron, and many other minerals. The troops, on August 11, to move into Soviet Union had promised the Nationalist Japanese-held territory and take over government that it would withdraw its Japanese arms, despite Chiang Kai- occupying armies within 90 days of shek’s order that they stand where they Japan’s surrender and return the region to were. The United States aided the China. The government was determined Chinese government by flying many to control Manchuria, which was vital to divisions from the southwest to occupy China’s future as a world power. However, The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 293

Lin Biao’s army attempted to block the Attempts to End the War entry of Nationalist troops by destroying rail lines and seizing areas around ports Peace negotiations continued in of entry. Soon the two sides were locked in Chongqing between Nationalist and a fierce struggle for the corridors into communist officials after Japan’s surren- Manchuria, although negotiations were der. An agreement reached on Oct. 10, under way in Chongqing between Mao 1945, called for the convening of a multi- Zedong and Chiang for a peaceful settle- party Political Consultative Council to ment. The Soviet army avoided direct plan a liberalized postwar government involvement in the struggle, but it dis- and to draft a constitution for submission mantled much industrial machinery and to a national congress. Still, the sides shipped it to the Soviet Union together were far apart over the character of the with hundreds of thousands of Japanese new government, control over the areas prisoners of war. By the end of 1945 the liberated by the communists, and the size Nationalists had positioned some of their and degree of autonomy of the commu- best U.S.-trained armies in southern nist armies in a national military system. Manchuria as far north as Mukden (pres- Hurley resigned his ambassadorship on ent-day Shenyang), a strategic rail centre November 26, and the next day U.S. Pres. to which Nationalist troops were trans- Harry S. Truman appointed Gen. George ported by air. The government’s hold was C. Marshall as his special representative, precarious, however, because the com- with the specific mission of trying to munist Eighteenth Army Group and the bring about political unification and the New Fourth Army had regrouped in cessation of hostilities in China. northern China, abandoning areas south Marshall arrived in China on of the Yangtze after a weak bid to take December 23. The Nationalist govern- Shanghai. By the end of 1945, communist ment proposed the formation of a forces were spread across a band of prov- committee of three, with Marshall as inces from the northwest to the sea. They chairman, to end the fighting. This com- had a grip on great sections of all the rail- mittee, with Generals Chang Chun way lines north of the Longhai line, which (Zhang Qun) and Zhou Enlai as the were vital supply lines for Nationalist Nationalist and communist representa- armies in the Tianjin-Beiping area and in tives, respectively, met on Jan. 7, 1946. Manchuria. The Nationalist government The two agreed on January 10 that held vast territories in the south and west Chiang and Mao would issue orders to and had reestablished its authority in the cease hostilities and halt troop move- rich provinces of the lower Yangtze val- ments as of January 13 midnight, with ley and in a few important cities in the exception of government troop move- northern China; it had also assumed civil ments south of the Yangtze and into and control on Taiwan. within Manchuria to restore Chinese 294 | The History of China sovereignty. The agreement also called captured a strategic junction between for the establishment in Beiping of an Mukden and Changchun, the former executive headquarters, equally repre- Manchukuo capital; on April 18 commu- sented by both sides, to supervise the nists captured Changchun from a small cease-fire. Nationalist garrison directly following This agreement provided a favour- the Soviet withdrawal. On that day able atmosphere for meetings in Marshall returned to China after a trip to Chongqing of the Political Consultative Washington and resumed his efforts to Council, composed of representatives of stop the spreading civil war. the KMT, the CCP, the Democratic League, the Young China Party, and nonparty Resumption of Fighting delegates. For the remainder of January, the council issued a series of agreed rec- Each side seemed convinced that it could ommendations regarding governmental win by war what it could not achieve by reorganization, peaceful national recon- negotiation—dominance over the other. struction, military reductions, the creation Despite the efforts of Chinese moderates of a national assembly, and the drafting of and General Marshall, fighting resumed a constitution. President Chiang pledged in July in Manchuria, and in northern that the government would carry out China the Nationalists attempted mas- these recommendations, and the political sive drives in Jiangsu and Shandong to parties stated their intention to abide by break the communist grip on the rail- them. The next step was meetings of a ways. The communists launched a military subcommittee, with Marshall as propaganda campaign against the United adviser, to discuss troop reductions and States, playing upon the nationalistic amalgamation of forces into a single theme of liberation; they were hostile national army. because of the extensive U.S. military Early 1946 was the high point of and financial assistance to the KMT at conciliation. It soon became clear, how- the very time that Marshall was mediat- ever, that implementing the various ing. The Nationalist government had recommendations and agreements was become increasingly intransigent, confi- being opposed by conservatives in the dent of continued U.S. help. To exert KMT, who feared these measures would pressure and to try to keep the United dilute their party’s control of the govern- States out of the civil war, in August ment, and by Nationalist generals, who Marshall imposed an embargo on further objected to reducing the size of their shipment of U.S. arms to China. By the armies. The communists attempted to end of the year, however, he realized that prevent the extension of Nationalist his efforts had failed. In January 1947 he military control in Manchuria. On March left China, issuing a statement denounc- 17–18 a communist army attacked and ing the intransigents on both sides. All The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 295 negotiations ended in March; the die was imports. The government had to import cast for war. large amounts of grain and cotton, but, in In the latter half of 1946, government the months immediately after Japan’s forces made significant gains in northern surrender, it also permitted the import of China and Manchuria, capturing 165 luxury goods without effective restric- towns from the enemy. Buoyed by these tions. As an anti-inflationary measure, it victories, the government convened a sold gold on the open market. These poli- multiparty National Assembly on cies permitted a large gold and U.S. November 15, despite a boycott by the currency reserve, estimated at $900 mil- CCP and the Democratic League. The lion at the end of the war, to be cut in half delegates adopted a new constitution, by the end of 1946. Foreign trade was which was promulgated on New Year’s hampered by excessive regulation and Day, 1947. The constitution reaffirmed corrupt practices. Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the The spiraling effects of inflation were People as the basic philosophy of the somewhat curbed by large amounts of state; called for the fivefold division of supplies imported by the United Nations powers among the executive, legislative, Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, judicial, control, and examination yuan chiefly food and clothing, a wide variety (“governmental bodies”); and established of capital goods, and materials for the the people’s four rights of initiation, refer- rehabilitation of agriculture, industry, endum, election, and recall. The way was and transportation. In August 1946 the prepared for election of both central and United States sold to China civilian-type local officials, upon which the period of army and navy surplus property at less Nationalist tutelage would end. than 20 percent of its estimated procure- The Nationalist government strug- ment cost. In spite of these and other gled with grave economic problems. forms of aid, the costs of civil war kept Inflation continued unabated, caused the budget continuously out of balance. principally by government financing of Speculation, hoarding of goods, and military and other operations through black market operations as hedges the printing press: approximately 65 per- against inflation continued unabated. cent of the budget was met by currency The constant depreciation in the value of expansion and only 10 percent by taxes. paper currency undermined morale in all Government spending was uncontrolled; classes who depended on salaries, includ- funds were dissipated in maintaining ing troops, officers, and civilian officials. large and unproductive garrison forces. By contrast, it appears that the com- Much tax revenue failed to reach the trea- munists in their areas, which were mostly sury because of malpractices throughout rural, practiced a Spartan style of life the bureaucracy. Inflation inhibited close to the common people. Morale exports and enhanced the demand for remained high in the army and was 296 | The History of China continuously bolstered by indoctrination initiative passed to the PLA during that and effective propaganda. As they had year. In midsummer, troops under Liu during the war years, communist troops Bocheng started moving toward the tried in many ways to win support of the Yangtze; by late in the year the commu- masses. In newly occupied areas, social nists had concentrated strong forces in policy was at first reformist rather than central China. Chen Yi operated on both revolutionary. sides of the Longhai railway, east of In Manchuria, Lin Biao was forging a Kaifeng; Liu Bocheng was firmly estab- formidable army of veteran cadres from lished in the Dabie Mountains on the northern China and natives of Manchuria, borders of Anhui, Henan, and Hubei, now well equipped with Japanese weap- northeast of Hankou; and Chen Geng ons. By 1947 the communists’ Northeast had another army in Henan west of the Democratic Allied Army controlled all Beiping-Hankou railway. These groups of Manchuria north of the Sungari cut Nationalist lines of communication, (Songhua) River, the east, and much of destroyed protecting outposts along the the countryside in the Nationalist strong- Longhai and Ping-Han lines, and isolated hold in the south. There the Nationalists cities. had most of their best-trained and best- By the end of 1947 the government equipped divisions, but the troops had forces, according to U.S. military esti- been conscripted or recruited in China’s mates, still numbered some 2,700,000 southwest, and they garrisoned cities and facing 1,150,000 communists, but the railways in a distant land. Beginning in Nationalists were widely spread and on January 1947, Lin Biao launched a series the defensive. In November, Mao Zedong of small offensives. By July the established the communist headquarters Nationalists had lost half of their territory at Shijiazhuang, a railway centre leading in Manchuria and much matériel; deser- from the Beiping-Hankou line into tions and casualties, caused by indecisive Shanxi; this was a measure of how con- Nationalist leadership and declining solidated the communist position was in troop morale, reduced their forces by half. northern China. In a report to the CCP Lin Biao was not yet strong enough to Central Committee in December, Mao take Manchuria, but he had the exuded confidence: Nationalist armies hemmed up in a few major cities and with only a tenuous hold The Chinese people’s revolution- on the railways leading southward. ary war has now reached a turning point . . . The main forces The Tide Begins to Shift of the People’s Liberation Army have carried the fight into the Although government forces overran Kuomintang Area . . . This is a Yan’an in March 1947, the strategic turning point in history. The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 297

A Land Revolution The Decisive Year, 1948

One reason for communist success was The year 1948 was the turning point in the social revolution in rural China. The the civil war. In central China, commu- CCP was now unrestrained by the multi- nist armies of 500,000 troops proved class alliance of the United Front period. their ability to fight major battles on the In mid-1946, as civil war became more plains and to capture, though not always certain, the party leaders launched a hold, important towns on the Longhai land revolution. They saw land redistri- line such as Luoyang and Kaifeng. In bution as an integral part of the larger northern China they encircled Taiyuan, struggle; by encouraging peasants to the capital of Shanxi; took most of Chahar seize landlords’ fields and other prop- and Jehol, provinces on Manchuria’s erty, the party apparently expected to western flank; and recaptured Yan’an, weaken the government’s rural class which had been lost in March 1947. The base and strengthen its own support decisive battles were fought in Shandong among the poor. This demanded a deci- and Manchuria, where the forces of Chen sive attack on the traditional village Yi and Liu Bocheng and those under Lin social structure. The party leaders Biao crushed the government’s best believed that to crack the age-old peas- armies. For the government it was a year ant fear of the local elite and overcome of military and economic disasters. the traditional respect for property In Shandong, despite the departure rights required unleashing the hatred of of Chen Yi’s forces, communist guerrillas the oppressed. Teams of activists moved gradually reduced the government’s hold through the villages, organizing the on the railway from Qingdao to Jinan; poor in “speak bitterness” meetings to they penned up about 60,000 govern- struggle against landlords and ment troops in the latter city, an important Nationalist supporters, to punish and railway junction. Instead of withdrawing often to kill them, and to distribute their that garrison southward to Suzhou, the land and property. The party tried to government left it, for political reasons, control the process in order not to alien- to stand and fight. Then Chen Yi’s forces ate the broad middle ranks among the returned to Shandong and overwhelmed peasants, but land revolution had a the dispirited Jinan garrison on dynamism of its own, and rural China September 24. This opened the way for a went through a period of terror. Yet communist attack on Suzhou, the historic apparently the party gained from the northern shield for Nanjing and a vital revolutionary dynamism; morale was at railway centre. fever pitch, and, for those who had ben- Beginning in December 1947, a com- efited from land distribution, there was munist offensive severed all railway no turning back. connections into Mukden and isolated 298 | The History of China the Nationalist garrisons in Manchuria. black market operations. The people The government armies went on the were required to sell their gold, silver, defensive in besieged cities, partly out of and foreign currency to the government fear that demoralized divisions would at the pegged rate; large numbers did so defect in the field. Instead of withdrawing in a desperate effort to halt the inflation. from Manchuria before it was too late, In Shanghai and some other places, the the government tried unsuccessfully to government used draconian methods to reinforce its armies and to supply the enforce its decrees against speculators, garrisons by air. With the fall of Jinan, but it apparently could not control its Lin Biao launched his final offensive. He own expenditures or stop the printing now had an army of 600,000, nearly twice presses. Furthermore, the government’s the Nationalist force in Manchuria. He efforts to fix prices of food and commod- first attacked Jinzhou, the government’s ities brought about an almost complete supply base on the railway between Jinan stagnation of economic activity, except and Mukden; it fell on October 17. for illicit buying and selling at prices Changchun fell three days later. The far above the fixed levels. Some army great garrison at Mukden then tried to officers and government officials were retake Jinzhou and Changchun and to themselves engaged in smuggling, open the railway line to the port of speculation, and other forms of corrup- Yingkou on Liaodong Bay. In a series of tion. Then came the loss of Jinan and battles, Lin Biao’s columns defeated this the knowledge of the threat in cream of the Nationalist forces. By early Manchuria. During October the final November the Nationalists had lost some effort to halt inflation collapsed, with 400,000 troops as casualties, captives, or shattering effect to morale in Nationalist- defectors. held cities. Prices started rocketing The government’s military opera- upward once more. tions in the first part of 1948 produced ever larger budget deficits through the Communist Victory loss of tax receipts, dislocation of transportation and productive facilities, and Between early November 1948 and early increased military expenditures. Inflation January 1949, the two sides battled for was out of control. In August the govern- control of Suzhou. Zhu De concentrated ment introduced a new currency, the 600,000 troops under Chen Yi, Liu gold yuan, to replace the old notes at Bocheng, and Chen Geng near that stra- the rate of 3,000,000:1, promising drastic tegic centre, which was defended by reforms to curtail expenditures and Nationalist forces of similar size. Both increase revenue. Domestic prices and armies were well-equipped, but the foreign-exchange rates were pegged, Nationalists had a superiority in armour with severe penalties threatened for and were unopposed in the air. Yet poor The Late Republican Period and the War Against Japan | 299 morale, inept command, and a defensive large army. General Li tried to secure U.S. psychology brought another disaster to support in the peace negotiations and in the Nationalist government. One after the military defense of southern China, another, its armies were surrounded and but the U.S. government, attempting to defeated in the field. When the 65-day extricate itself from its entanglement battle was over on January 10, the with the collapsing forces of the Nationalists had lost some 500,000 men Nationalist government, pursued a pol- and their equipment. The capital at icy of noninvolvement. Nanjing would soon lie exposed. When peace negotiations broke With Manchuria and most of the down, communist armies crossed the eastern region south to the Yangtze in Yangtze virtually unopposed; the communist hands, the fate of Tianjin and Nationalist government abandoned its Beiping was sealed. The railway corridor indefensible capital on April 23 and between Tianjin and Zhangjiakou was moved to Guangzhou. In succession, hopelessly isolated. Tianjin fell on communist forces occupied Nanjing January 15 after a brief siege, and Beiping (April 24), Hankou (May 16–17), and surrendered on the 23rd, allowing a Shanghai (May 25). The Nationalists’ peaceful turnover of China’s historic cap- last hope lay in the south and west, but ital and centre of culture. Xi’an, a longtime Nationalist bastion Thus, during the last half of 1948, the and the gateway to the northwest, had communist armies had gained control fallen to Gen. Peng Dehuai on May 20. over Manchuria and northeastern China During the last half of 1949, powerful nearly to the Yangtze, except for pockets communist armies succeeded in taking of resistance. They had a numerical the provinces of southern and western superiority and had captured such huge China. By the end of the year, only the stocks of rifles, artillery, and armour islands of Hainan, Taiwan, and a few that they were better equipped than the other offshore positions were still in Nationalists. Nationalist hands, and only scattered Great political shifts occurred in pockets of resistance remained on the 1949. Chiang Kai-shek retired temporar- mainland. The defeated Nationalist gov- ily in January, turning over to the vice ernment reestablished itself on Taiwan, president, Gen. Li Tsung-jen (Li Zongren), to which Chiang had withdrawn early in the problem of holding the government the year, taking most of the govern- together and trying to negotiate a peace ment’s gold reserves and the Nationalist with Mao Zedong. Li’s peace negotia- air force and navy. On October 1, with tions (February–April) proved hopeless. most of the mainland held by the PLA, The Nationalists were not prepared to Mao proclaimed the establishment in surrender; they still claimed to govern Beijing of the government of the People’s more than half of China and still had a Republic of China. ChaPTER 14

Establishment of the People’s Republic

he communist victory in 1949 brought to power a peas- Tant party that had learned its techniques in the countryside but had adopted Marxist ideology and believed in class struggle and rapid industrial development. Extensive experience in running base areas and waging war before 1949 had given the CCP deeply ingrained operational habits and proclivities. The long civil war that created the new nation, however, had been one of peasants triumphing over urban dwellers and had involved the destruction of the old ruling classes. In addition, the party leaders recognized that they had no experience in overseeing the transitions to socialism and industrialism that would occur in China’s huge urban centres. For this, they turned to the only government with such experience—the Soviet Union. Western hostility against the People’s Republic of China, sharpened by the Korean War, contributed to the intensity of the ensuing Sino-Soviet relationship. When the CCP proclaimed the People’s Republic, most Chinese understood that the new leadership would be preoccupied with industrialization. A priority goal of the communist political system was to raise China to the status of a great power. While pursuing this goal, the “centre of gravity” of communist policy shifted from the countryside to the city, but Chairman Mao Zedong insisted that the revolutionary Establishment of the People’s Republic | 301

This undated propaganda cartoon features Chinese peasants with a poster of Chairmen Mao Zedong. AFP/Getty Images vision forged in the rural struggle would workers and peasants, under the leader- continue to guide the party. ship of the CCP. The people’s state would In a series of speeches in 1949, exercise a dictatorship “for the oppres- Chairman Mao stated that his aim was to sion of antagonistic classes” made up of create a socialist society and, eventually, opponents of the regime. world communism. These objectives, he The authoritative legal statement of said, required transforming consumer this “people’s democratic dictatorship” cities into producer cities to set the basis was given in the 1949 Organic Law for the on which “the people’s political power Chinese People’s Political Consultative could be consolidated.” He advocated Conference, and at its fi rst session the forming a four-class coalition of elements conference adopted a Common Program of the urban middle class—the petty bour- that formally sanctioned the organization geoisie and the national bourgeoisie—with of state power under the coalition. 302 | The History of China

Following the communist victory, a wide- attitude toward popular participation in spread urge to return to normality helped politics. Many communists, however, the new leadership restore the economy. considered these changes a betrayal of Police and party cadres in each locality, the revolution; their responses gradually backed up by army units, began to crack became more intense, and the issue even- down on criminal activities associated tually began to divide the once cohesive with economic breakdown. Soon it was revolutionary elite. That development possible to speak of longer-term develop- became a central focus of China’s politi- mental plans. cal history from 1949. The cost of restoring order and building up integrated political institutions at Reconstruction and all levels throughout the country proved consolidation, 1949–52 important in setting China’s course for the next two decades. Revolutionary pri- During this initial period, the CCP made orities had to be made consonant with great strides toward bringing the country other needs. Land reform did proceed in through three critical transitions: from the countryside: landlords were virtually economic prostration to economic eliminated as a class, land was redistrib- growth, from political disintegration to uted, and, after some false starts, China’s political strength, and from military rule countryside was placed on the path to civilian rule. The determination and toward collectivization. In the cities, how- capabilities demonstrated during these ever, a temporary accommodation was first years—and the respectable showing reached with noncommunist elements; (after a century of military humiliations) many former bureaucrats and capitalists that Chinese troops made against UN were retained in positions of authority in forces on the Korean peninsula in 1950– factories, businesses, schools, and gov- 53—provided the CCP with a reservoir of ernmental organizations. The leadership popular support that would be a major recognized that such compromises political resource for years. endangered their aim of perpetuating PLA (People’s Liberation Army) revolutionary values in an industrializ- troops—called Chinese People’s ing society, yet out of necessity they Volunteers—entered the Korean War accepted the lower priority for commu- against UN forces in October 1950. nist revolutionary goals and a higher Beijing had felt threatened by the north- place for organizational control and ward thrust of UN units and had enforced public order. attempted to halt them by its threats to Once in power, communist cadres intervene. However, Douglas MacArthur, could no longer condone what they had commander of the UN forces, ignored the once sponsored, and inevitably they threats, and, when UN troops reached adopted a more rigid and bureaucratic the Chinese border, Beijing acted. By the Establishment of the People’s Republic | 303 time hostilities ended in July 1953, increase production and to lay the basis approximately two-thirds of China’s com- for long-term socialization. bat divisions had seen service in Korea. These programs coincided with a In the three years of war, a “Resist massive effort to win over the population America, aid Korea” campaign translated to the leadership. Such acts as a marriage the atmosphere of external threat into a law (May 1950) and a trade-union law spirit of sacrifice and enforced patriotic (June 1950) symbolized the break with emergency at home. Regulations for the the old society, while mass organizations Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries and the regime’s “campaign style” dra- (1951) authorized police action against matized the new. dissident individuals and suspected During 1949–50, policy toward the groups. A campaign against anticommu- cities focused on restoring order, rehabil- nist holdouts, bandits, and political itating the economy, and, above all, opponents was also pressed. Greatest wringing disastrous inflation out of the publicity attended Beijing’s dispatch of urban economy. To accomplish these troops to Tibet about the same time that tasks, the CCP tried to discipline the it intervened in Korea. The distinctive- labour force, win over the confidence of ness and world reputation of the Tibetan the capitalists, and implement drastic fis- culture was to make this a severe test of cal policies so as to undercut inflation. communist efforts to complete the con- These policies brought such remarkable solidation of their power. In 1959, after a successes that by late 1950 many urban period of sporadic clashes with the Chinese viewed the CCP leadership as Chinese, the Tibetans rose in rebellion, to needed reformers. Indeed, numerous cap- which Beijing responded with force. italists believed them to be “good for Under the Agrarian Reform Law of business.” 1950, the property of rural landlords was But, beginning in 1951, the revolu- confiscated and redistributed, which ful- tionary agenda of the communists began filled a promise to the peasants and to be felt in the cities. A Suppression of smashed a class identified as feudal or Counterrevolutionaries campaign dealt semifeudal. The property of traitors, violently with many former leaders of “bureaucrat capitalists” (especially the secret societies, religious associations, “four big families” of the Nationalist and the KMT in early 1951. In late 1951 Party [KMT]—the K’ungs [Kongs], and early 1952, three major political cam- Soongs [Songs], Chiangs [Jiangs], and paigns brought the revolutionary essence Ch’ens [Chens]), and selected foreign of the CCP home to key urban groups. nationals was also confiscated, helping The Three-Antis campaign targeted com- end the power of many industrialists and munist cadres who had become too close providing an economic basis for industri- to China’s capitalists. The Five-Antis alization. Programs were begun to campaign was aimed at the capitalists 304 | The History of China themselves and brought them into line the authority of his potential competitors, on charges of bribery, tax evasion, theft of notably Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai, both state property and economic informa- leading members of party and state tion, and cheating on government organs. The ensuing power struggle contracts. Finally, the thought-reform lasted more than a year, reflecting an campaign humbled university professors underlying fissure in the CCP. Gao him- and marked a turning point in the move self had long been a man of the rural base from Western to Soviet influence in struc- areas, while Liu and Zhou were associ- turing China’s university curriculum. ated far more with the pre-1949 work in The pressures toward national politi- the “white areas” (areas outside CCP con- cal consolidation and the costly struggle trol). After 1949, base area veterans in Korea produced significant conse- believed that they received fewer high quences. In the several provinces of positions than their struggles in the wil- Manchuria (now called the Northeast), derness had warranted. Within weeks there was a growing concentration of after the National Conference of the party industrial and military presence, as well (March 1955) had proclaimed the defeat as an increased presence of Soviet eco- of the Gao clique, Beijing approved a nomic advisers and key elements of long-delayed First Five-Year Plan (techni- China’s tiny corps of technicians and cally covering the years 1953–57). That specialists. This was a natural develop- summer, active programs for agricultural ment in view of the extensive economic collectivization and the socialization of infrastructure left behind by the Japanese industry and commerce were adopted. in that region and its proximity to Korea. The period 1949–52 was marked by Additionally, Northeast China had long changes in Soviet influence in China. been an area of Soviet interest. The officially sanctioned terms of that Gao Gang headed Northeast China, influence had been worked out in a visit and, in addition to his authoritative by Mao to Moscow from mid-December regional position, Gao also influenced 1949 until the following March and were decisions in Beijing. He planned the formalized in the Treaty of Friendship, Three-Antis campaign and took the lead Alliance, and Mutual Assistance (signed in adapting Soviet techniques to Chinese Feb. 14, 1950). Years later the Chinese factory management and economic plan- charged that Moscow had failed to give ning. He promoted these techniques on a Beijing adequate support under that national basis when he moved to Beijing treaty and had left the Chinese to face in late 1952 to set up the State Planning UN forces virtually alone in Korea. The Commission. Working closely with the seeds of doubt concerning Soviet willing- head of the party’s Organization ness to help China had been sown. Department and other senior officials, Moreover, one of the errors purportedly Gao allegedly tried to drastically reduce committed by Gao Gang was his Establishment of the People’s Republic | 305 zealousness in using Soviet advisers and The transition promoting the Soviet economic model to socialism, 1953–57 for management. After the purge of pro- Gao elements, steps were taken to reduce The period 1953–57, corresponding to the direct Soviet control in China that First Five-Year Plan, was the beginning of included reaching agreement on the final China’s rapid industrialization, and it is withdrawal of Soviet troops from Port still regarded as having been enormously Arthur (Lüshun; since 1984 part of Dalian) successful. A strong central governmen- by mid-1955. Moscow proved amenable tal apparatus proved able to channel to these changes, as the death of long- scarce resources into the rapid develop- time Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had ment of heavy industry. Despite some produced new Soviet efforts to end ten- serious policy issues and problems, the sions with the Chinese. The applicability communist leadership seemed to have of the Soviet model to China and the the overall situation well in hand. Public degree to which its use might become a order improved and many saw a stronger pretext for Soviet manipulation of China China taking form. The march to social- began to be questioned. ism seemed to go along reasonably well Nevertheless, these potential with the dictates of industrial develop- reductions in Soviet influence were coun- ment. The determination and terbalanced by growing Soviet activity in fundamental optimism of the communist other fields. The Chinese army was reor- leaders appeared justified, especially in ganized along Soviet lines, with a greater view of the decades of invasion, disinte- emphasis on heavy firepower and mobil- gration, self-doubt, and humiliation that ity. Soviet texts and propaganda materials had been the lot of the Chinese people flooded the country. The Soviet Union had before 1949. earlier extended $300 million in credit The First Five-Year Plan was explic- (used up by 1953), which was followed by a itly modeled on Soviet experience, and smaller developmental loan in 1954 (used the Soviet Union provided both material up by 1956). Under these aid programs, the aid and extensive technical advice on its Soviets supplied the equipment and tech- planning and execution. During 1952–54 nical aid for a large number of industrial the Chinese established a central plan- projects. The Soviet Union also played a ning apparatus and a set of central major role in Chinese foreign policy, and it ministries and other government institu- appears that China accepted Moscow’s tions that were close copies of their Soviet leadership in the international communist counterparts. Those actions were offi- movement. Coordinating with the Soviets, cially ratified by the first meeting of the Beijing supported revolutionary activity National People’s Congress in September throughout Asia and opposed compro- 1954, which formally established the mise with neutralist regimes. Central People’s Government and 306 | The History of China adopted the first constitution of the production in the countryside. The People’s Republic of China. The plan debate was symptomatic of the larger adopted Stalinist economic priorities. In tensions within the party regarding urban a country where more than four-fifths of and rural development, Soviet influence, the population lived in rural areas, about and the development of huge govern- four-fifths of all government investment ment ministries in Beijing. The strengths was channeled into the urban economy. of Mao Zedong lay in agricultural policy, The vast majority of this investment went social change, and foreign relations, and to heavy industry, leaving agriculture rel- in the mid-1950s he began to shift the atively starved for resources. The plan national agenda more in the direction of provided for substantial income differen- his own expertise. tials to motivate the labour force in the In July 1955 Mao, against the wishes state sector, and it established a “top of most of his colleagues in the CCP down” system in which a highly central- leadership, called for an acceleration of ized government apparatus exercised the transition to lower-level, and then to detailed control over economic policy higher-level, agricultural producers’ through enormous ministries in Beijing. cooperatives in the countryside. The key Those developments differed substan- difference between these two forms con- tially from the priorities and proclivities cerned the middle class of peasants, of the Chinese communist movement in farmers able to live off their own land. the decades before 1949. Nevertheless, The advanced cooperative was particu- the First Five-Year Plan was linked with larly disadvantageous to the wealthier the transition of China’s rural and urban peasants because it invested the coop- economy to collective forms. erative itself with title to the land, granting no right of withdrawal, and Rural Collectivization because wages were based on labour performed, not land contributed. Middle- This transition was most obvious in the level peasants came to resent landless countryside. After land reform had been peasants, whom the party was recruiting carried out, mutual aid teams allowed the into the new cooperatives. Also, the communists to experiment with volun- advanced form, modeled on the Soviet tary forms of agricultural collectivization. kolkhoz, brought with it the outside A campaign was launched in late 1953 to political controls that were necessary to organize into small collectives, called extract the agricultural surpluses lower-level agricultural producers’ coop- required to pay for China’s capital equip- eratives, averaging 20 to 30 households. ment in its industrialization and to feed Vehement debate soon broke out those moving into the cities to work in within the CCP concerning how quickly the growing industries. Many middle- to move to higher stages of cooperative level peasants actively resisted these Establishment of the People’s Republic | 307 changes and the measures for enforcing Such actions can be understood them, particularly grain rationing, com- against the background of the experi- pulsory purchase quotas, and stricter ences of the capitalists in the previous regulations on savings and wage rates. few years. The Five-Antis campaign of Nevertheless, Chinese agricultural orga- 1952 had terrorized many of them and left nization in 1956 reached the approximate most deeply in debt to the government, level of collectivization achieved in the owing purported back taxes and financial Soviet Union: a peasant owned his penalties. In any case, the state sector of house, some domestic animals, a garden the economy and the state controls over plot, and his personal savings; by the banking had increased to such a degree end of 1956, some seven-eighths of that the capitalists relied heavily on the China’s peasant households were orga- government for the contracts and busi- nized into advanced cooperatives. ness necessary to keep from bankruptcy. After the Five-Antis campaign, the gov- Urban Socialist Changes ernment extended the reach of its trade unions into the larger capitalist enter- Mao combined this massive transforma- prises, and the “joint labour–management” tion of the agricultural sector with a call committees set up under government for the “socialist transformation” of pressure in those firms usurped much of industry and commerce, in which the the power that the capitalists formerly government would become, in effect, the had exercised. Thus, many Chinese capi- major partner. In Chinese communist talists saw the socialist transformation of fashion, this change was not simply 1955–56 as an almost welcome develop- decreed from above. Rather, extreme ment, because it secured their position pressures were put on private merchants with the government while costing them and capitalists in late 1955 to “volunteer” little in money or power. their enterprises for transformation into “joint state-private” firms. The results Political Developments were sometimes extraordinary. For example, all the capitalists in a given The socialist transformation of agricul- trade (such as textiles) would parade ture, industry, and commerce thus went together to CCP headquarters to the relatively smoothly. Nevertheless, such beat of gongs and the sound of fire- changes could not take place without crackers. Once there, they would present considerable tensions. Many peasants a petition to the government, asking streamed into the cities in 1956–57 to that the major interest in their firms escape the new cooperatives and to seek be bought out at the rate that the gov- employment in the rapidly expanding ernment deemed appropriate. The state-run factories, where government government would graciously agree. policy kept wages rising rapidly. China’s 308 | The History of China urban population mushroomed from 77 ties with the KMT. After 1949 and particu- million in 1953 to 99.5 million by 1957. larly during the first part of the Korean Several problems also became War, the Central Committee launched a increasingly pressing. First, CCP leaders major campaign to reeducate teachers found that the agricultural sector was not and scientists and to discredit Western- growing fast enough to provide addi- oriented scholarship. In 1951 the emphasis tional capital for its own development shifted from general campaigns to self- and to feed the workers of the cities. Until reform; in 1955 it shifted once again to an then, agricultural policy had attempted intensive thought-reform movement, fol- to wring large production increases out lowing the purge of Hu Feng, until then of changes in organization and land own- the party’s leading spokesman on art and ership, with little capital investment. By literature. This latter movement coin- 1956–57 that policy was shown to be cided with the denunciation of a scholarly inadequate. study of the Dream of the Red Chamber Second, Soviet assistance had been (Hongloumeng), an 18th-century novel of made available to China as loans, not tragic love and declining fortunes in a grants. After 1956 China had to repay Chinese family. Literature without a clear more each year than it borrowed in new class moral received blistering criticism, funds. Thus, the Chinese could no longer as did any hint that the party should not count on Moscow for net capital accumu- command art and literature—a theme lation in its industrialization drive. identified with the ousted Hu Feng—and Third, the vastly expanded govern- “Hu Feng elements” were exposed among mental responsibility for managing the intellectuals in schools, factories, and country’s urban firms and commerce cooperatives. required far more experts than before. For The intensity of these attacks slack- this, the leadership tried to resolve the ened in early 1956. Party leaders publicly increasingly severe strains that had char- discussed the role of intellectuals in the acterized the relationship between the new tasks of national construction and country’s intellectuals (including techni- adopted the line “Let a hundred flowers cal specialists) and the CCP. blossom, a hundred schools of thought The leadership’s policies up to that contend.” Because intellectuals in China point had been ambivalent toward the included high school graduates as well as intelligentsia: on the one hand it had those with college or advanced profes- required their services and prestige, but sional training, the policy affected a vast on the other it had suspected that many number of people. The “hundred flowers” were untrustworthy, coming from urban line explicitly encouraged “free-ranging” and bourgeois backgrounds and often discussion and inquiry, with the explicit having close family and other personal assumption that this would prove the Establishment of the People’s Republic | 309 superiority of Marxism-Leninism and these textual manipulations led to an speed the conversion of intellectuals to unresolved controversy concerning the communism. Their response to the par- initial intent of Mao’s speech. ty’s invitation for free discussion and The leadership’s explanation was that criticism was gradual and cautious. Mao had set out to trap the dangerous Instead of embracing Marxism, more- elements among the intellectuals by over, many used the opportunity to encouraging their criticism of the party translate and discuss Western works and and government. An alternative view ideas and blithely debated “reactionary” was that the leaders used the metaphor doctrines at the very moment Hungarian of the trap to rationalize their reaction intellectuals were triggering a wave of to the unanticipated criticism, popular anticommunist sentiment in Budapest. demonstrations, and general antiparty Following this initial phase of the sentiments expressed in the late spring, Hundred Flowers Campaign, Mao when the term “hundred flowers” gained Zedong issued what was perhaps his international currency. Whatever the cor- most famous post-1949 speech “On the rect explanation for these significant Correct Handling of Contradictions textual changes, the communist leaders Among the People” (Feb. 27, 1957). Its had encouraged free criticism of the essential message was ambiguous. He party and its programs, and they had then stressed the importance of resolving turned on their critics as rightists and “nonantagonistic contradictions” by counterrevolutionaries. In June, noncom- methods of persuasion, but he stated that munists who had thrown caution to the “democratic” methods of resolution winds reaped the full fury of retaliation in would have to be consistent with central- an anti-rightist campaign. The intellectu- ism and discipline. He left it unclear als who had responded to Mao’s call for when a contradiction might become an open criticism were the first victims, but “antagonistic” and no-holds-barred strug- the movement quickly spread beyond gle. The final authoritative version of his that group to engulf many specialists in speech contained explicit limits on the the government bureaucracy and state- conduct of debate that had been absent run firms. By the fall, the fury of the in the original. According to that version, campaign began to turn toward the the party would judge words and actions countryside, and those, especially among to be correct only if they united the popu- the rural cadres, who had remained lace, were beneficial to socialism, unenthusiastic about the “high tide” of strengthened the state dictatorship, con- agricultural change came under fire and solidated organizations, especially the were removed. The spreading anti-rightist party, and generally helped strengthen campaign then inspired fear in those international communism. In addition, who wanted a slower, more pragmatic 310 | The History of China approach to development and shifted the Indochina in 1954 and to try to normalize initiative to others who, like Mao, believed its foreign relations. that the solutions to China’s core prob- Premier Zhou Enlai symbolized lems lay in a major break with the China’s more active diplomatic role at incrementalist Soviet strategy and in a the Bandung Conference in April 1955, bold new set of distinctly Chinese ideas. held at Bandung, Indonesia, which dis- International events dovetailed with that cussed Asian-African issues. His slogan basic thrust by the winter of 1957–58. was “Unity with all,” according to the line of peaceful coexistence. This “Bandung Foreign Policy line” associated with Zhou gained world- wide attention when he told the delegates While the Chinese initially took their there that his government was fully pre- principal cues in shaping foreign policy pared to achieve normal relations with all from domestic developments and generally adhered to the initial pro-Soviet line, they began to act—on the basis of several important lessons gained during the Korean struggle—to reduce Beijing’s militant and isolationist attitudes in international aff airs. Beijing had recognized that the great costs of the war, the questionable reliability of Soviet military backing, and the danger of direct U.S. retaliation against China had come close to threatening its very existence. Although in preserving North Korea as a communist state China had attained its principal strategic objective, its leaders understood the costs and risks involved and were determined to exercise a greater caution in their international dealings. Another lesson was that the neutralist countries in Asia and Africa were not Western puppets, and it was politically profi table to promote friendly relations with them. These lessons, as reinforced Zhou Enlai, a leading architect of by domestic considerations, led China to China’s foreign policy. Encyclopædia take a conciliatory role in the confer- Britannica, Inc. ence leading to the Geneva Accords on Establishment of the People’s Republic | 311 countries, including the United States. final analysis, however, the spiraling dete- One result of his initiative was the start of rioration in Sino-Soviet relations proved ambassadorial talks between China and impossible to reverse. the United States. China adopted a new, more militant Between 1955 and 1957, however, foreign policy that can be traced most changes in Soviet and U.S. policies clearly to Mao’s statement during a caused Chinese leaders to doubt the Moscow trip in November 1957 that the validity of this more cautious and concil- “East wind prevails over the West wind,” iatory foreign policy. At the 20th which implied a return to militant strug- Congress of the Soviet Communist Party gle. According to some estimates, the in 1956, First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev change in line was necessitated by the announced a de-Stalinization policy. This U.S. buildup of anticommunist regimes development angered Mao Zedong for to encircle China and by the lack of two reasons: he thought, correctly, that it major gains in peaceful coexistence with would undermine Soviet prestige, with Third World neutrals. Other analysts potentially dangerous consequences in argue that Mao regarded the launching eastern Europe, and he chafed at of a Soviet space vehicle (October 1957) Khrushchev’s warning to other commu- and the Sino-Soviet nuclear-sharing nist parties not to let a willful leader have agreement as indications that the bal- his way unchecked. Thus, a new situation ance of world forces had changed in in Sino-Soviet relations began to emerge, favour of communism. in which antagonisms based on different national traditions, revolutionary experi- New directions in ences, and levels of development that national policy, 1958–61 had previously been glossed over broke through to the surface. The pressures behind the dramatic inau- Chinese leaders—Mao foremost guration in 1958 of “Three Red among them but by no means alone—now Banners”—i.e., the general line of socialist began to question the wisdom of closely construction, the Great Leap Forward, following the Soviet model. Economic and the rural people’s communes—are difficulties provided a major set of rea- still not fully known. Undoubtedly, a com- sons for moving away from that model, plex mixture of forces came into play. and increasing mutual distrust exacer- Mao personally felt increasingly uncom- bated the situation. Nevertheless, at the fortable with the alliance with the Soviet end of 1957 the Soviet Union evidently Union and with the social and political agreed to provide China with the techni- ramifications of the Soviet model of cal assistance needed to make an atomic development. On ideological grounds bomb, and during 1958 the Soviet Union and because it shifted policy away from increased its level of aid to China. In the his personal political strengths, Mao 312 | The History of China disliked the Soviet system of centralized policy by the State Council and its sub- control by large government ministries, ordinate ministries. The best available substantial social stratification, and evidence suggests that almost all the top strong urban bias. In addition, the Soviet leaders supported Mao as he developed model assumed that agricultural surplus a series of initiatives that eventually need only be captured by the govern- produced the Great Leap strategy and ment and made to serve urban the people’s communes. The only major development. This was true for the Soviet exceptions appear to have been Zhou Union in the late 1920s, when the model Enlai and Chen Yun, a force in Chinese was developed, but the situation in China economic policy; both faded from the was different. Chinese policy had to public eye in 1958 only to be brought devise a way first to create an agricultural back into active roles as the Great Leap surplus and then to take a large part of it faltered in 1959. to serve urban growth. The Soviet model The general line of socialist construc- also rested on implicit assumptions about tion and the Great Leap Forward were the energy and transportation sectors announced at the second session of the that were not compatible with the Eighth Party Congress (May 1958), which Chinese realities of the 1950s. concentrated as much on political slo- To some extent, obscure political bat- gans as on specific objectives. Special tles also became caught up in the debates emphasis was placed on political guid- over Chinese development strategies. In ance by party cadres of the country’s the spring of 1958, for example, Mao scientists and technicians, who were Zedong elevated Marshal Lin Biao to a viewed as potentially dangerous unless higher position in the CCP than that held they would become fully “Red and by Defense Minister Peng Dehuai. At the expert.” The progressive indoctrination same time, Mao initiated a critique of of experts would be paralleled by intro- China’s slavish copying of Soviet mili- ductory technical training for cadres, tary strategy. thereby in theory transforming the entire Overall, the radicalization of policy elite into political-technical generalists. that led to the Great Leap Forward can be The Congress of 1958 called for a bold traced back to the anti-rightist campaign form of ideological leadership that could of 1957 and a major meeting of China’s unleash a “leap forward” in technical leaders at the resort city of Qingdao innovation and economic output. To link in October of that year. By the time of the new generalist leaders and the another central meeting—this one in masses, emphasis fell on sending cadres Nanning in January 1958—Mao felt con- to the lower levels (xiafang) for firsthand fident enough to launch a blistering experience and manual labour and for critique of the domination of economic practical political indoctrination. Establishment of the People’s Republic | 313

great Leap forward

The program that came to be known as the Great Leap Forward was a failed industrialization campaign undertaken by the Chinese communists between 1958 and early 1960. Mao Zedong hoped to develop labour-intensive methods of industrialization that would emphasize manpower rather than the gradual purchase of heavy machinery, thereby putting to use China’s dense population and obviating the need to accumulate capital. Rather than building large new factories, he proposed developing backyard steel furnaces in every village. Rural people were organized into communes where agricultural and political decisions emphasized ideological purity rather than expertise. The program was implemented so hastily and zealously that many errors occurred; these were exacerbated by a series of natural disasters and the withdrawal of Soviet technical personnel. China’s agriculture was severely disrupted, causing widespread famine in 1958–62. By early 1960 the government had begun to repeal the Great Leap Forward; private plots were returned to peasants, and expertise began to be emphasized again.

In 1958, during the Great Leap Forward, employees of a hotel build a small rudimentary steel smelting furnace. Jacquet-Francillon/AFP/Getty Images 314 | The History of China

The Great Leap Forward involved an agriculture and, within the urban sector, enormous amount of experimentation. It of both large- and small-scale industry. If had no detailed blueprint, but there were it worked, this would resolve the dilemma some underlying strategic principles. of an agricultural bottleneck that had There was a general reliance on a combi- seemed to loom large on the horizon as of nation of ideological and organizational 1957. It would, however, involve a major techniques to overcome seemingly insu- departure from the Soviet model, which perable obstacles that was focused on the would predictably lead to increased ten- countryside and that drew from policies sions between Beijing and Moscow. of the 1930s and 1940s. The basic idea Largely because of unusually good was to convert the massive labour sur- weather, 1958 was an exceptionally good plus in China’s hinterlands into a huge year for agricultural output. But, by the production force through a radical reor- end of that year, the top CCP leadership ganization of rural production. The sensed that some major problems search for the best organizational form to demanded immediate attention. Initial achieve this result led in August 1958 to optimism had led peasants in many areas popularization of the “people’s com- to eat far more than they usually would mune,” a huge rural unit that pooled the have, and stocks of grain for the winter labour of tens of thousands of peasants and spring months threatened to fall dan- from different villages in order to increase gerously low. In addition, reports of agricultural production, engage in local sporadic peasant unrest cast some doubt industrial production, enhance the avail- on the rosy picture being presented to ability of rural schooling, and organize a the leaders by their own statistical sys- local militia force in accordance with tem, the accuracy of which in turn came Mao’s preferred national military strat- into question. egy of combining the deterrence of an The fall harvest of 1958 had not been atomic bomb with guerrilla warfare. as large as expected, and in February and Mao believed that through these rad- March 1959 Mao Zedong began to call for ical organizational changes, combined appropriate adjustments to make poli- with adequate political mobilization cies more realistic without abandoning techniques, the Chinese countryside the Great Leap as a whole. Mao emerged could be made to provide the resources as one of the most-forceful advocates of both for its own development and for the scaling back the Great Leap in order to continuing rapid development of the avert a potential disaster. He faced sub- heavy industrial sector in the cities. stantial resistance from provincial CCP Through this strategy of “walking on leaders, whose powers had been greatly two legs,” China could obtain the simul- increased as part of the Great Leap strat- taneous development of industry and egy. A meeting at Lushan in the summer Establishment of the People’s Republic | 315 of 1959 produced an unanticipated and Vladimir Lenin’s 90th birthday, for exam- ultimately highly destructive outcome. ple, Beijing published an article that Defense Minister Peng Dehuai raised a contained a slightly veiled critique of range of criticisms of the Great Leap, Soviet foreign policy, arguing that the based in large part on his own investiga- Soviets had become soft on imperialism. tions. He summed these up in a letter that Khrushchev reacted with a rapid with- he sent to Mao during the conference. drawal of all Soviet technicians and Mao waited eight days to respond to the assistance that July. (When he quietly letter and then attacked Peng for “right offered to return them that November, his deviationism” and demanded the purge offer was refused.) of Peng and all his followers. Despite the importance of these dif- The Lushan Conference resulted in ficulties, China’s worst problem was bad several major decisions: Peng Dehuai was policy. The people’s communes were too replaced as defense minister by Lin Biao large to be effective, they ignored age-old (who would later be marked for succession marketing patterns in the countryside, to Mao’s position of CCP chairman), the and they required administrative and Great Leap Forward was scaled back, and a transport resources that did not exist. political campaign was launched to iden- Their structure and means of allocating tify and remove all “rightist” elements. resources removed almost all incentive to The third decision effectively canceled work, and the breakdown in the statistical the second, as party officials refused to system meant that the top leaders had scale back the Great Leap for fear of being grossly erroneous ideas about what was labeled as “rightists.” The net effect was occurring. Thus, even after many rural to produce a “second leap”—a new radical areas were beset by massive starvation, upsurge in policy that was not corrected the orders from above continued to until it produced results so disastrous demand large-scale procurement of food- that they called into question the very stuffs. The rural cadres were so afraid of viability of the communist system. being branded rightist that they followed The CCP celebrated the 10th anni- these unrealistic orders, thus deepening versary of national victory in October the famine. By 1961 the rural disaster 1959 in a state of near euphoria. The caught up with the cities, and urban weather turned in 1959, however, and dur- industrial output plummeted by more ing the next two years China experienced than 25 percent. As an emergency mea- a severe combination of floods and sure, nearly 30 million urban residents drought. Although the economy was in were sent back to the countryside because serious trouble by mid-1960, the Chinese they could no longer be fed in the cities. leaders sharpened their debate with The Great Leap Forward had run its Moscow. In April 1960, on the occasion of course, and the system was in crisis. 316 | The History of China

Rjead ustment the direction, policy, and line of the party and reaction, 1961–65 and the state.” The “first line” administrative and day-by-day direction of the state The years 1961–65 did not resemble the had been given to Liu Shaoqi, who had three previous ones, despite the persis- assumed the chairmanship of the People’s tence of radical labels and slogans. The Republic of China in 1959 (though Mao Chinese themselves were loath to retained his position of party chairman); acknowledge the end of the Great Leap additional responsibilities in the first line period, declaring the validity of the gen- were given to Deng Xiaoping, another eral line of socialist construction and its tough-minded organizer who, as general international revolutionary corollary for secretary, was the party’s top administra- one and all. tor. By 1962 Mao had apparently begun to Reality can be seen, however, in the conclude that the techniques used by increasing role of the Chinese military these comrades in the first line not only and security personnel. At a top-level violated the basic thrust of the revolu- meeting of the Military Affairs Committee tionary tradition but also formed a in October 1960 and at one of the rare pattern of error that mirrored what he plenary sessions of the party’s Central viewed as the “modern revisionism” of Committee the following January, the the Soviet Union. elite gave the highest priority to restor- Under Liu and Deng, the CCP during ing security and national order. Party 1960–61 developed a series of documents recruitment procedures were tightened, in major policy areas to try to bring the and a major thought-reform movement country out of the rapidly growing crisis. was launched within the cadres’ ranks. In most instances, these documents were The Central Committee also established drafted with the assistance of experts six supraprovincial regional bureaus who had been reviled during the Great charged with enforcing obedience to Leap Forward. These documents marked Beijing and bringing the new procedures a major retreat from Great Leap radical- for control into line with local conditions. ism. The communes were to be reduced The army, now firmly under Lin Biao, on the average by about two-thirds so as took the lead, beginning with a “purifica- to make them small enough to link tion” movement against dissidents within peasants’ efforts more clearly with their its own ranks. Throughout 1961 and most remuneration. Indeed, by 1962 in many of 1962, the central officials worked to areas of rural China, the collective sys- consolidate their power and to restore tem in agriculture had broken down faith in their leadership and goals. completely, and individual farming was By January 1962 Mao had, as he later revived. Policy toward literature, art, and put it, moved to the “second line” to con- motion pictures permitted a “thaw” centrate “on dealing with questions of involving treatment of a far broader Establishment of the People’s Republic | 317

had supported the launching of the Great Leap, there was disagreement over the lessons to be learned from the movement’s dramatic failure. The Great Leap had been intended both as a means of accelerating economic development and as a vehicle for achieving a mass ideological transformation. All leaders agreed in its aftermath that a mobilization approach to economic development was no longer appropriate to China’s conditions. Most also concluded that the age of mass political campaigns as an instrument to remold the thinking of the public was past. Mao and a few of his supporters, however, still viewed class struggle and mass mobilization as core ingredients in keeping the revolutionary vision alive. Mao personally lost considerable prestige over the failure of the Great Leap—and the party’s political and organizational apparatus was damaged—but Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong pose in he remained the most powerful individ- Bejing during a ceremony in April of ual in China. He proved able time and 1959. AFP/Getty Images again to enforce his will on the issues that he deemed to be of top priority. range of subjects and a revival of many Claims made later, during the Cultural older, prerevolutionary artistic forms. Revolution, that Mao had been pushed The new program in industry strength- aside and ignored during 1961–65 are not ened the hands of managers and made a supported by the evidence. worker’s eff orts more closely attuned to Mao was in fact deeply troubled as he his rewards. Similar policies were adopted contemplated China’s situation during in other areas. In general, China during 1961–65. He perceived the Soviet socialist 1961–65 did a remarkable job of reviving revolution in the years after Stalin’s death the economy, at least regaining the level in 1953 to have degenerated into “social of output of 1957 in almost all sectors. imperialism.” Mao evidently had been These policies raised basic questions shocked by these developments in the about the future direction of the revolu- Soviet Union, and the revelation made tion. While almost all top CCP leaders him look at events in China from a new 318 | The History of China vantage point. Mao became convinced period. At a major Central Committee that China too was headed down the road plenum in September 1962, he insisted toward revisionism. He used class strug- that “class struggle” remain high on the gle and ideological campaigns, as well as Chinese agenda, even as enormous concrete policies in various areas, to try efforts continued to be made to revive the to prevent and reverse this slide into rev- economy. He also called for a campaign olutionary purgatory. Mao’s nightmare of “socialist education,” aimed primarily about revisionism played an increasing at reviving the demoralized party appara- role in structuring politics in the tus in the countryside. By 1964 he began mid-1960s. to press hard to make the Chinese educa- Mao was not the only leader who har- tional system less elitist by organizing boured doubts about the trends in the “part-work, part-study” schools that recovery effort of 1961–65. Others gath- would provide more vocational training. ered around him and tried to use their Throughout this period, foreign observ- closeness to Mao as a vehicle for enhanc- ers noted what appeared to be some ing their political power. The key tension between a continuing thread of individuals involved were Mao’s political radicalism in China’s propaganda and a assistant of many years, Chen Boda, who strong pragmatic streak in the country’s was an expert in the realm of ideology; actual domestic policies. Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, who had strong The most important set of measures policy views in the cultural sphere; Kang Mao took concerned the PLA, which he Sheng, whose strength lay both in his and Lin Biao tried to make into a model understanding of Soviet ideology and in organization. Events on the Sino-Indian his mastery of Soviet-style secret police border in the fall of 1962 helped the PLA techniques; and Lin Biao, who headed the reestablish discipline and its image. From military and tried to make it an ideal type 1959 to 1962 both India and China, ini- of Maoist organization that combined tially as a by-product of the uprising in effectiveness with ideological purity. Tibet, resorted to military force along Each of these people in turn had personal their disputed border. On Oct. 12, 1962, a networks and resources to bring to a week before the Chinese moved troops coalition. While their goals and interests into disputed border territories, Indian did not entirely coincide, they all could Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated unite on two efforts: enhancing Mao’s that the army was to free all Indian power and upsetting Mao’s relations with territory of “Chinese intruders.” In the Liu Shaoqi (then the likely successor to conflict that followed, Beijing’s regi- Mao), Deng Xiaoping, and most of the ments defeated Indian forces in the remainder of the party leadership. border region, penetrating well beyond Mao took a number of initiatives in it. The Chinese then withdrew from most domestic and foreign policy during the of the invaded area and established a Establishment of the People’s Republic | 319 demilitarized zone on either side of Army uniformity and discipline, it was the line of control. Most signifi cantly, the seen, could transcend the divided classes, leadership seized on the army’s victory and all army men could be made to com- and began to experiment with the possi- ply with the rigorous political standards bility of using army heroes as the ideal set by Mao’s leadership. types for popular emulation. Lin Biao developed a simplifi ed and Increasingly preoccupied with indoc- dogmatized version of Mao’s thought— trinating its heirs and harking back to eventually published in the form of revolutionary days, Beijing’s leaders clos- the “Little Red Book,” Quotations from est in outlook to Mao Zedong and Lin Chairman Mao—to popularize Maoist Biao viewed the soldier-communist as ideology among the relatively unedu- the most suitable candidate for the cated military recruits. As the military second- and third-generation leadership. forces under Lin increasingly showed

Mao Zedong at a Red Guard rally in Bejing in 1966. His followers wave their “Little Red Books,” or Quotations from Chairmen Mao, as he passes. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 320 | The History of China that they could combine ideological polemicists in Beijing and Moscow pub- purity with technical virtuosity, Mao tried licly engaged in barbed exchanges. When to expand the PLA’s organizational the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear authority and its political role. Beginning Test-Ban Treaty with the United States in 1963, Mao called on all Chinese to and Great Britain in August 1963, Chinese “learn from the PLA.” Then, starting in articles accused the Soviets of joining an 1964, Mao insisted that political depart- anti-Chinese conspiracy. Confronted by ments modeled on those in the PLA be this new strategic situation, the Chinese established in all major government shifted their priorities to support an anti- bureaucracies. In many cases, political foreign line and promote the country’s workers from the PLA itself staffed these “self-reliance.” Mao’s calls for “revolution- new bodies, thus effectively penetrating ization” acquired a more nationalistic the civilian government apparatus. Other aspect, and the PLA assumed an even efforts, such as a national propaganda larger place in Chinese political life. campaign to learn from a purported army These many-sided trends seemed to hero, Lei Feng, also contributed to collide in 1963 and 1964. With the split in enhancement of the PLA’s prestige. the international communist movement, The militancy of subsequent cam- the party in late 1963 called on intellectu- paigns to learn from army heroes, or from als, including those in the cultural sphere, the PLA as a whole, was echoed in inter- to undertake a major reformulation of national politics. In a tour of Africa in late their academic disciplines to support 1963 and early 1964, Zhou Enlai startled China’s new international role. The initial his hosts by calling for revolution in assignment for this reformulation fell to newly independent states and openly Zhou Yang, a party intellectual and deputy challenging the Soviet Union for the director of the Central Committee’s leadership of the Third World. Propaganda Department, who tried to Simultaneously, China challenged the enlist China’s intellectuals in the ideologi- U.S. system of alliances by establishing cal war against Soviet revisionism and in formal relations with France and chal- the struggle for rigidly pure political stan- lenged the Soviet Union’s system by dards. (Less than three years later, however, forming closer ties with Albania. Zhou Yang was purged as a revisionist, Beijing’s main target was Moscow. A and many intellectuals were condemned Soviet-U.S. crisis in Cuba (October 1962) as Mao Zedong’s opponents.) had coincided with the Sino-Indian strug- Closely connected with the concerns gle, and in both cases the Chinese of the intellectuals were those relating believed the Soviet Union had acted to the party and the Communist Youth unreliably and had become “capitulators” League. A drive began to cultivate what of the worst sort. For the next months, one author called “newborn forces,” and Establishment of the People’s Republic | 321 by mid-1964 young urban intellectuals conventional strategies for economic were embroiled in a major effort by the development and took seriously Soviet Central Committee to promote those calls for “united action” in Vietnam and forces within the party and league; the establishment of closer Sino-Soviet meanwhile, their rural cousins were buf- ties. Their position, it was later alleged, feted by moves to keep the socialist received the backing of the general staff. education campaign under the party’s With the dispatch of about 50,000 logistic organizational control through the use personnel to Vietnam after February 1965, of “work teams” and a cadre-rectification factional lines began to divide the mili- movement. tary forces according to ideological or In the summer of 1964, Mao wrote a national security preferences. document titled “On Khrushchev’s Phony Meanwhile, some members tried to Communism and Its Historical Lessons restore rigid domestic controls. Where for the World,” which summarized most Mao in May 1963 had called for an of Mao’s doctrinal principles on contra- upsurge in revolutionary struggle, by the diction, class struggle, and political following September other leaders were structure and operation. This summary circumscribing the area of cadre initia- provided the basis for the reeducation tive and permitting a free-market system (“revolutionization”) of all youth hoping and private ownership of rural plots to to succeed to the revolutionary cause. flourish. A stifling of the revolutionary This high tide of revolutionization lasted upsurge was supposedly evident in regu- until early August, when U.S. air strikes lations of June 1964 for the organization on North Vietnam raised the spectre of of poor and lower-middle-peasant asso- war on China’s southern border. A year- ciations, and by early 1965 Mao could long debate followed on the wisdom of point to bureaucratic tendencies through- conducting disruptive political cam- out the rural areas. In a famous document paigns during times of external threat. on problems arising in the course of the This period of time has come to be socialist education campaign, usually interpreted as one of major decision referred to as the “Twenty-three Articles,” within China. One ingredient of the Mao in January 1965 stated for the first debate was whether to prepare rapidly for time that the principal enemy was to be conventional war against the United found within the party, and he once more States or to continue the revolutioniza- proclaimed the urgency of class struggle tion of Chinese society, which in Mao’s and mass-line politics. view had fundamental, long-term impor- It was in that period of emphasis on tance for China’s security. Those who self-reliant struggle that China acquired argued for a postponement of the inter- nuclear weapons. Although the Soviet nal political struggle supported more- Union supported Chinese nuclear aims 322 | The History of China for a time, that effort was taken over com- Lin Biao repeated Mao’s position on pletely by the Chinese after June 1959. By people’s war, further arguing that popu- 1964 the costs of the program had forced lar insurrections against noncommunist a substantial reduction in other defense governments could succeed only if they costs. China’s first atomic explosion (Oct. took place without substantial foreign 16, 1964) affected the debate by appear- assistance. To the extent that indigenous ing to support Mao’s contention that rebels came to depend on outside sup- domestic revolutionization would in no port, inevitably their bonds with the local way jeopardize long-term power aspira- populace would be weakened. When this tions and defense capabilities. happened, the rebellion would wither for Mao’s military thinking, a product of lack of support. On the other hand, the his own civil war experiences and an essen- hardships imposed by relying on indig- tial component of his ideology, stressed enous resources would stimulate the the importance of military strength comradeship and ingenuity of the insur- through sheer numbers (“people’s war”) gents. Equally important, Lin’s statement during the transition to nuclear status. He also indicated a high-level decision for felt that preparation for such a war could China to remain on the defensive. turn China’s weaknesses into military Lin’s speech coincided with yet assets and reduce its vulnerability. Mao’s another secret working conference of the view of people’s war belittled the might of Central Committee, in which the Maoist modern advanced weapons as “paper group reissued its call for cultural revolu- tigers” but recognized that China’s stra- tionization, this time convinced that the tegic inferiority subjected it to dangers effort of 1964 had been deliberately largely beyond its control. His reasoning sabotaged by senior party and military thus made a virtue out of necessity in officials. Initiated by Mao Zedong and the short run, when China would have Lin Biao, the purge first struck dissident to depend on its superior numbers and army leaders, especially the chief of staff; the morale of its people to defeat any as the power struggle began, China invader. In the long run, however, he held turned its back on the war in Vietnam that China would have to have nuclear and other external affairs. The September weapons to deprive the superpowers of meeting may be taken as a clear harbin- their blackmail potential and to deter their ger of what came to be known as the aggression against smaller states. Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. ChaPTER 15

China Since 1965

ThE CuLTuRaL REvOLuTION, 1966–76

As the clash over issues in the autumn of 1965 became polarized, the army initially provided the battleground. The issues concerned diff erences over policy directions and their implications for the organization of power and the qualifi cations of senior offi cials to lead. Much of the struggle went on behind the scenes; in public it took the form of personal vilifi cation and ritualized exposés of divergent worldviews or, inevitably, “two lines” of policy. Lin Biao, in calling for the creative study and application of Mao’s thought in November and at a meeting of military commissars the following January, consistently placed the army’s mission in the context of the national ideological and power struggle. In these critical months, the base of operations for Mao and Lin was the large eastern Chinese city of Shanghai, and newspapers published in that city, especially the Liberation Army Daily, carried the public attacks on the targets selected.

Attacks on Cultural Figures

The fi rst target was the historian Wu Han, who doubled as the deputy mayor of Beijing. In a play Wu wrote, he supposedly had used allegorical devices to lampoon Mao and laud the deposed former minister of defense, Peng Dehuai. The denunciation of Wu and his play in November 1965 324 | The History of China

A Chinese communist poster commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Paris Commune in 1871. RDA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images constituted the opening volley in an him with his best shock troops. As a prin- assault on cultural fi gures and their cipal purpose, the Cultural Revolution thoughts. was launched to revitalize revolutionary As the Cultural Revolution gained values for the successor generation of momentum, Mao turned for support to Chinese young people. the youth as well as the army. In seeking The attack against authors, scholars, to create a new system of education that and propagandists during the spring of would eliminate diff erences between 1966 emphasized the cultural dimension town and country, workers and peasants, of the Cultural Revolution. Increasingly it and mental and manual labour, Mao was hinted that behind the visible targets struck a responsive chord with the youth; lay a sinister “black gang” in the fi elds of it was their response that later provided education and propaganda and high up China Since 1965 | 325 in party circles. Removal of Peng Zhen delay in reopening the campuses. Party and Lu Dingyi and subsequently of Zhou officials and their wives circulated among Yang, then tsar of the arts and literature, the campuses to gain favour and to indicated that this was to be a thorough- obstruct their opponents. Intrigue and going purge. Clearly, a second purpose of political maneuvering dominated, the Cultural Revolution would be the although political lines were not at first elimination of leading cadres whom Mao sharply drawn or even well understood. held responsible for past ideological sins The centres of this activity were Beijing’s and alleged errors in judgment. schools and the inner councils of the Central Committee; the students were Attacks on Party Members the activists in a game they did not fully comprehend. Gradual transference of the revolution This phase of the Cultural Revolution to top echelons of the party was man- ended in August 1966 with the conven- aged by a group centred on Mao Zedong, ing of a plenary session of the Central Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, and Committee. Mao issued his own big- Chen Boda. In May 1966 Mao secretly character poster as a call to “Bombard the assigned major responsibilities to the headquarters” (“Paoda silingbu”), a call army in cultural and educational affairs. to denounce and remove senior officials, Another purpose of the Cultural and a 16-point Central Committee deci- Revolution, as then conceived, would be sion was issued in which the broad a “revolution in the superstructure”: a outlines for the Cultural Revolution were transformation from a bureaucratically laid down and supporters were rallied to run machine to a more popularly based the revolutionary banner. The immediate system led personally by Mao and a sim- aim was to seize power from “bourgeois” plified administration under his control. authorities. The locus of the struggle Following the May instructions, the would be their urban strongholds. Now educational system received priority. more than ever, Mao’s thought became “Big-character posters,” or large wall the “compass for action.” newspapers (dazibao), spread from the Evidently fearing that China would principal campuses in Beijing through- develop along the lines of the Soviet rev- out the land. University officials and olution and concerned about his own professors were singled out for criticism, place in history, Mao threw China’s cities while their students, encouraged by the into turmoil in a gigantic effort to reverse central authorities, held mass meetings the historic processes then under way. He and began to organize. In June the gov- ultimately failed in his quest, but his ernment dropped examinations for efforts generated problems with which university admissions and called for a his successors would have to struggle for reform of entrance procedures and a decades. Mao adopted four goals for his 326 | The History of China

Red guards

The Red Guards constituted a number of paramilitary units of radical university and high-school students formed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Responding in 1966 to Mao Zedong’s call to revitalize the revolutionary spirit of the Chinese Communist Party, they went so far as to attempt to purge the country of its pre-communist culture. With a membership in the millions, they attacked and persecuted local party leaders, schoolteachers, and other intellectuals. By early 1967 they had overthrown party authorities in many localities. Internal strife ensued as different units argued over which among them best represented Maoism. In 1968 their disruption of industrial production and urban life led the government to redirect them to the countryside, where the movement gradually subsided.

Young members of the Red Guard marching in the streets of Bejing. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images China Since 1965 | 327

Cultural Revolution: to replace his desig- turn included several important turning nated successors with leaders more points. The latter half of 1966 was not faithful to his current thinking, to rectify only when the Red Guard mobilized the CCP, to provide China’s youth with a (including Red Guard reviews of more revolutionary experience, and to achieve than a million youths at a time by Mao specific policy changes to make the edu- Zedong and Lin Biao in Beijing) but also cational, health care, and cultural systems when key Political Bureau (Politburo) less elitist. He initially pursued those leaders were removed from power, most goals through a massive mobilization of notably Pres. Liu Shaoqi and CCP the country’s urban youths—organized in General Secretary Deng Xiaoping. In groups called the Red Guards—while October 1966 both Liu and Deng engaged ordering the CCP and the PLA not to in public self-criticism. Mao, however, suppress the movement. rejected both acts as inadequate. At the When Mao formally launched the same meeting, Mao heard bitter com- Cultural Revolution in August 1966, he plaints from provincial party leaders had already shut down the schools. about the chaos of the political campaign. During the following months, he encour- While acknowledging the validity of aged the Red Guards to attack all much of what was said, Mao nevertheless traditional values and “bourgeois” things declared that it would do more good than and to put CCP officials to the test by harm to let the Cultural Revolution con- publicly criticizing them. These attacks tinue for several more months. were known at the time as struggles In January 1967 the movement began against the Four Olds (i.e., old ideas, cus- to produce the actual overthrow of pro- toms, culture, and habits of mind), and vincial CCP committees and initial the movement quickly escalated to com- attempts to construct new organs of mitting outrages. Many elderly people political power to replace them. The first and intellectuals were physically abused, such “power seizure” (duoquan) took and many died. Nonetheless, Mao place in Shanghai and was followed by believed that this mobilization of urban temporary confusion as to just what kind youths would be beneficial for them and of new political structure should be estab- that the CCP cadres they attacked would lished to replace the discredited be better for the experience. municipal CCP and government appara- tuses. At first, a “commune”gongshe ( ), Seizure of Power reminiscent of the 1871 Commune of Paris, was set up, but the final form The period from mid-1966 to early 1969 adopted was called a “revolutionary constituted the Red Guard phase of the committee” (geming weiyuanhui); that Cultural Revolution, and those years in appellation subsequently was given to 328 | The History of China

Chinese government committees until among local military commanders, Mao the late 1970s. tilted toward reestablishing some order. The chaos involved in the overthrow In 1968 Mao decided to rebuild the of the Shanghai authorities combined CCP and bring things under greater con- with political outrages throughout the trol. The military dispatched officers and country to lead many remaining top CCP soldiers to take over schools, factories, leaders to call in February 1967 for a halt and government agencies. The army to the Cultural Revolution. During this simultaneously forced millions of urban attempt to beat back radicalism, more- Red Guards to move to the hinterlands to conservative forces clamped down on live, thereby removing the most disrup- Red Guard activism in numerous cities. tive force from the cities. These drastic The movement, dubbed the “February measures reflected Mao’s disillusion- adverse current,” was quickly defeated ment with the Red Guards’ inability to and a new radical upsurge began. Indeed, overcome factional differences. The by the summer of 1967, large armed Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in clashes occurred throughout urban August 1968, which greatly heightened China, and even Chinese embassies China’s fears for its security, gave these abroad experienced takeovers by their measures added urgency. own Red Guards. The Red Guards splin- tered into zealous factions, each The End of purporting to be the “true” representative the Radical Period of the thought of Mao Zedong. Mao’s own personality cult, encouraged so as to pro- Thus, in 1968 the society began to return vide momentum to the movement, to business, though not as usual. China’s assumed religious proportions. The regular schools began to reopen, although resulting anarchy, terror, and paralysis the number of students in higher institu- threw the urban economy into a tailspin. tions represented only a small proportion Industrial production for 1968 dipped 12 of those three years earlier. In July yet percent below that of 1966. another of Mao’s “latest instructions” During 1967 Mao called on the PLA approved science and engineering edu- under Lin Biao to step in on behalf of the cation and called for the “return to Maoist Red Guards, but this politico-mili- production” of all graduates. In October tary task produced more division within 1968 a plenary session of the Central the military than unified support for radi- Committee met to call for convening a cal youths. Tensions surfaced in the party congress and rebuilding the CCP summer, when Chen Zaidao, a military apparatus. From that point on, the issue commander in the key city of Wuhan, of who would inherit political power as arrested two key radical CCP leaders. the Cultural Revolution wound down Faced with possible widespread revolt became a central question of Chinese China Since 1965 | 329 politics. (The answer came only with a serious menace, especially given the coup against the radicals a month after political division and social chaos that Mao Zedong’s death on Sept. 9, 1976.) still prevailed in much of the country. China’s actions following the meet- When the Party Congress convened ing of October 1968 suggested the in April 1969, it did so in the wake of two degree to which fear of a Soviet invasion bloody Sino-Soviet border clashes that contributed to the closing down of the had occurred in early and mid-March. Cultural Revolution’s most radical Written into the new party constitution phase. Almost immediately after the was an unprecedented step—Defense meeting, China called on the United Minister Lin Biao was named as Mao’s States to resume ambassadorial-level successor—and the military tightened its talks in Warsaw. Beijing also renewed its grip on the entire society. Both the conventional diplomacy—it had reduced Central Committee and the new party its level of ambassadorial representation committees being established through- abroad to a single ambassador in Egypt— out the country were dominated by and quickly sought to expand the range military men. Indeed, less than one-third of countries with which it enjoyed diplo- of the Eighth Central Committee mem- matic relations. bers elected in 1956 were reelected in China’s concern stemmed partly 1969, and more than two-fifths of the from the Soviet leadership’s articulation members of the Ninth Central Committee of a policy (called the Brezhnev Doctrine) chosen in 1969 held military posts. that was used to justify the invasion of Premier Zhou Enlai tried to cut back Czechoslovakia on the grounds that the Lin Biao’s power and to relieve some of Soviet Union was obligated to intervene the threat to China’s security by engag- whenever the regime in a socialist coun- ing the Soviets in direct negotiations on try was being threatened internally or the border dispute. A series of serious externally. To Beijing’s horror, even North military clashes along the border, culmi- Vietnam came out in support of this nating in a limited but sanguinary Soviet threatening posture. Moscow had long thrust several miles into the Uygur made clear its belief that a “military- Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, height- bureaucratic dictatorship” had seized ened tensions. Zhou briefly met with power from the “true communists” in Soviet Premier Aleksey Kosygin at the Beijing. To add to Beijing’s concern, since Beijing airport in early September, and 1966 the Soviet Union had been building the two agreed to hold formal talks. up a sizable military force along the for- Nevertheless, Lin Biao declared martial merly demilitarized Sino-Soviet border. law and used it to rid himself of some of While the forces deployed as of late 1968 his potential rivals. Several leaders who were not adequate for a full-scale inva- had been purged during 1966–68, includ- sion of China, they certainly posed a ing Liu Shaoqi, died under the martial 330 | The History of China law regime of 1969, and many others suf- large measure to the study of politics and fered severely. to vocational training. Examinations of Lin quickly encountered opposition, the traditional type were abolished, and however. Mao became wary of a succes- stress was placed on collective study. The sor who seemed to want to assume power authority of teachers in the classroom too quickly and began to maneuver was seriously eroded. These trends against Lin. Premier Zhou Enlai joined reached their most extreme form when forces with Mao in that effort, as possibly a student in the Northeast was made a did Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing. Mao’s assis- national hero by the radicals because he tant, Chen Boda, decided to support Lin’s turned in a blank examination paper and cause, however. Therefore, while in 1970– criticized his teacher for having asked 71 many measures were undertaken to him the examination questions in the bring order and normalcy back to society, first place. increasingly severe strains split the top Many bureaucrats were forced to leadership. leave the relative comfort of their offices for a stint in “May 7 cadre schools,” usu- Social Changes ally farms run by a major urban unit. People from the urban unit had to live By 1970 many of the stated goals of the on the farm, typically in quite primitive Cultural Revolution had been trans- conditions, for varying periods of time. lated into at least somewhat-operational (For some, this amounted to a number of programs. These included initiatives years, although by about 1973 the time designed to reduce what were termed periods in general had been held to the “three major differences”—those about six months to one year.) While on separating intellectual from manual the farm the urban cadre would both labour, worker from peasant, and urban engage in rigorous manual labour and from rural. undertake intensive, supervised study of Many measures had been taken to ideology. The object was to reduce make the educational system less elitist. bureaucratic “airs.” The number of years at each level of Millions of Chinese youths were also schooling was shortened, and admission sent to the countryside during these to a university became based on the rec- years. Initially, these were primarily Red ommendations of a student’s work unit Guard activists, but the program soon rather than on competitive examination. achieved a more general character, and it All youths were required to engage in at became expected that most middle- least several years of manual labour school graduates would head to the before attending a university. Within countryside. While in the hinterlands, schools, formal scholarship yielded in these young people were instructed to China Since 1965 | 331

“learn from the poor and lower-middle thus it had a highly uneven effect on the peasants.” Quite a few were merely sent peasants. Some villages, especially those to the counties immediately adjacent to near major cities, became caught up in the city from which they came. Others, the turmoil, but many peasants living in however, were sent over long distances. more-remote areas experienced less Large groups from Shanghai, for instance, interference from higher-level bureau- were made to settle in Heilongjiang, the cratic authorities than would normally northernmost province in the Northeast. have been the case. This rustication was in theory perma- Nevertheless, there were two dimen- nent, although the vast majority of these sions of the Cultural Revolution that did people managed to stream back to the seriously affect peasants’ lives. First, the cities in the late 1970s, after Mao’s death country adopted a policy of encouraging and the purge of his radical followers. local rural self-sufficiency in foodstuffs. The system of medical care was also This policy stemmed from ideological and revamped. Serious efforts were made to security considerations, and it had begun force urban-based medical staffs to before the onset of the Cultural Revolution. devote more effort to serving the needs of Its major consequence was a stress on the peasants. This involved both the reas- grain production so great that a quite irra- signment of medical personnel to rural tional and uneconomical cropping pattern areas and, more important, a major emerged. Second, great stress was placed attempt to provide short-term training to on separating income from the amount of rural medical personnel called “barefoot work performed by a peasant. Pressure doctors.” This latter initiative placed at was applied to raise the unit of income dis- least a minimal level of medical compe- tribution to the brigade rather than the tence in many Chinese villages; ideally, team (the former was several times larger the referral of more-serious matters was than the latter), and an increasing share of to be made to higher levels. Another the collective income was to be distributed prong of the effort in the medical arena on the basis of welfare and political crite- was to place relatively greater stress on ria rather than on the basis of the amount the use of Chinese traditional medicine, of work performed. which relied more heavily on locally available herbs and on such low-cost Struggle for the Premiership treatments as acupuncture. Western medicine was simply too expensive and As these programmatic aspects of the specialized to be used effectively through- Cultural Revolution were being put into out China’s vast hinterlands. place and regularized, the political battle The Cultural Revolution was primar- to determine who would inherit power ily an urban political phenomenon, and at the top continued and intensified. 332 | The History of China

Tensions first surfaced at a meeting of assert was an attempt to flee to the Soviet the Central Committee in the summer of Union. The Chinese high military com- 1970, when Chen Boda, Lin Biao, and their mand who had served under Lin was supporters made a series of remarks that purged in the weeks following his death. angered Mao Zedong. Mao then purged Lin’s demise had a profoundly disil- Chen as a warning to Lin. At the end of lusioning effect on many people who had 1970 Mao also initiated a criticism of supported Mao during the Cultural Lin’s top supporters in the military forces, Revolution. Lin had been the high priest calling them to task for their arrogance of the Mao cult, and millions had gone and unwillingness to listen to civilian through tortuous struggles to elevate this authority. The situation intensified dur- chosen successor to power and throw out ing the spring of 1971 until Lin Biao’s son, his “revisionist” challengers. They had in Lin Liguo, evidently began to put together this quest attacked and tortured respected plans for a possible coup against Mao teachers, abused elderly citizens, humili- should this prove the only way to save his ated old revolutionaries, and, in many father’s position. cases, battled former friends in bloody During this period, Zhou Enlai confrontations. The sordid details of Lin’s engaged in extremely delicate and secret purported assassination plot and subse- diplomatic exchanges with the United quent flight cast all this in the light of States, and Mao agreed to a secret visit to traditional, unprincipled power strug- Beijing by the U.S. national security gles, and untold millions concluded that adviser Henry Kissinger in July 1971. they had simply been manipulated for That visit was one of the more dramatic personal political purposes. events of the Cold War era and laid the Initially, Zhou Enlai was the major groundwork for U.S. Pres. Richard M. beneficiary of Lin’s death, and from late Nixon’s trip to China the following 1971 through mid-1973 he tried to nudge February. At a time when the Vietnam the system back toward stability. He War continued to blaze, China and the encouraged a revival and improvement United States took major steps toward of educational standards and brought reducing their mutual antagonism in the numerous people back into office. China face of the Soviet threat. Lin Biao strongly began again to increase its trade and opposed this opening to the United other links with the outside world, while States—probably in part because it would the domestic economy continued the for- strengthen the political hand of its key ward momentum that had begun to build architect in China, Zhou Enlai—and the in 1969. Mao blessed these general moves Kissinger visit thus amounted to a major but remained wary lest they call into defeat for Lin. question the basic value of having In September 1971 Lin died in a plane launched the Cultural Revolution in the crash in Mongolia in what the Chinese first place. In Maoist thought it had China Since 1965 | 333 always been possible for formerly way- economic decline and increasing chaos ward individuals to reform under pressure made Mao shift back toward Zhou and and again assume power. Deng. With Zhou hospitalized, Deng During 1972 Mao suffered a serious assumed increasing power from the sum- stroke, and Zhou learned that he had a mer of 1974 through the late fall of 1975. fatal cancer. These developments high- During this time Deng sought (with lighted the continued uncertainty over Zhou’s full support) to put the Four the succession. In early 1973 Zhou and Modernizations (of agriculture, industry, Mao brought Deng Xiaoping back to science and technology, and defense) at power in the hope of grooming him as a the top of the country’s agenda. To fur- successor. But Deng had been the second ther this effort, Deng continued to most-important victim purged by the rehabilitate victims of the Cultural radicals during the Cultural Revolution, Revolution, and he commissioned the and his reemergence made Jiang Qing, drafting of an important group of docu- by then head of the radicals, and her fol- ments much like those developed in lowers desperate to return things to a 1960–62. They laid out the basic princi- more radical path. From mid-1973, ples for work in the party, industry, and Chinese politics shifted back and forth science and technology. Their core ele- between Jiang and her followers—later ments were anathema to the radicals, dubbed the Gang of Four—and the sup- who used their power in the mass media porters of Zhou and Deng. The former and the propaganda apparatus to attack group favoured political mobilization, Deng’s efforts. class struggle, anti-intellectualism, egali- The radicals finally convinced Mao tarianism, and xenophobia, while the that Deng’s policies would lead eventu- latter promoted economic growth, stabil- ally to a repudiation of the Cultural ity, educational progress, and a pragmatic Revolution and even of Mao himself. Mao foreign policy. Mao tried unsuccessfully therefore sanctioned criticism of these to maintain a balance among these differ- policies in the wall posters that were a ent forces while continuing in vain to favourite propaganda tool of the radicals. search for a suitable successor. Zhou died in January 1976, and Deng The balance tipped back and forth— delivered his eulogy. Deng then disap- nudged by Mao first this way, then peared from public view and was formally that—between the two groups. The radi- purged (with Mao’s backing) in April. cals gained the upper hand from mid-1973 The immediate reason for Deng’s down- until mid-1974, during which time they fall was a group of massive demonstrations whipped up a campaign that used criti- in Beijing and other cities that took cism of Lin Biao and Confucius as an advantage of the traditional Qingming allegorical vehicle for attacking Zhou festival to pay homage to Zhou’s memory and his policies. By July 1974, however, and thereby challenge the radicals. 334 | The History of China

In the immediate wake of Deng’s Bold actions in the late 1970s went far purge, many of his followers also fell from toward coping with those immediate power, and a political campaign was problems, but the Cultural Revolution launched to “criticize Deng Xiaoping and also left more-serious, longer-term lega- his right-deviationist attempt to reverse cies. First, a severe generation gap had correct verdicts [on people during the been created in which young adults Cultural Revolution].” Only Mao’s death had been denied an education and had in September and the purge of the Gang been taught to redress grievances by of Four by a coalition of political, police, taking to the streets. Second, corruption and military leaders in October 1976 grew within the CCP and the govern- brought this effort to vilify Deng to a ment, as the terror and accompanying close. Although it was officially ended by scarcities of goods during the Cultural the 11th Party Congress in August 1977, Revolution had forced people to fall back the Cultural Revolution had in fact con- on traditional personal relationships and cluded with Mao’s death and the purge of on extortion in order to get things done. the Gang of Four. Third, the CCP leadership and the system itself suffered a loss of legitimacy Consequences of the when millions of urban Chinese became Cultural Revolution disillusioned by the obvious power plays that took place in the name of political Although the Cultural Revolution largely principle in the early and mid-1970s. And bypassed the vast majority of the people, fourth, bitter factionalism was rampant, who lived in rural areas, it had highly seri- as members of rival Cultural Revolution ous consequences for the Chinese system factions shared the same work unit, each as a whole. In the short run, of course, the still looking for ways to undermine the political instability and the zigzags in eco- power of the other. nomic policy produced slower economic growth and a decline in the capacity of China after the government to deliver goods and ser- the death of Mao vices. Officials at all levels of the political system had learned that future shifts in Perhaps never before in human history policy would jeopardize those who had had a political leader unleashed such aggressively implemented previous pol- massive forces against the system that he icy. The result was bureaucratic timidity. had created. The resulting damage to In addition, with the death of Mao and the that system was profound, and the goals end of the Cultural Revolution, nearly that Mao Zedong sought to achieve three million CCP members and other ultimately remained elusive. The agenda citizens awaited reinstatement after hav- he left behind for his successors was ing been wrongfully purged. extraordinarily challenging. China Since 1965 | 335

During the Cultural Revolution, peasants gathered in Nanshangio, China, to recite passages of Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book.” AFP/Getty Images

Domestic Developments candidate elevated to the premiership by Mao following the purge of Deng Readjustment and Recovery Xiaoping, as the chairman of the CCP and thus the offi cial leader of China. Hua tried Mao’s death and the purge of the Gang to consolidate his position by stressing his of Four left Hua Guofeng, a compromise ties to Mao and his fi delity to Mao’s basic 336 | The History of China ideas, but many others in the top leader- Lacking detailed information on the ship wanted to move away from these economy, the leaders adopted an overly issues, and Hua’s position eroded over the ambitious 10-year plan in early 1978 and remainder of the decade. Furthermore, used the government’s resources to the Hua’s successor as party chairman, Hu limit throughout that year to increase Yaobang, helped abolish the chairmanship investment and achieve rapid economic in 1982 in response to concerns that one growth. Much of that growth consisted person might again become too powerful of reactivating capacity that had lain within the party; however, he remained as idle because of political disruption. general secretary. Future growth would be harder to The ambivalent legacies of the achieve, and long-term trends in matters Cultural Revolution were reflected in the such as capital-output ratios made it members of the Political Bureau chosen increasingly clear that the old strategies just after the 11th Party Congress had would be less effective. convened in August 1977. Like Hua One of the major changes of 1978 was Guofeng, almost half of the members China’s sharp turn toward participation were individuals whose careers had ben- in the international economy. While in efited from the Cultural Revolution; the the 1970s there had been a resumption of other half were, like Deng Xiaoping, the the foreign trade that had been largely Cultural Revolution’s victims. While a halted in the late 1960s, along with balance between the two groups would far-more-active and Western-oriented be reached only after a period of years, in diplomatic initiatives, the changes dur- the short run the tide quickly shifted in ing and after 1978 were fundamental. favour of the latter group. China’s leaders became convinced that large amounts of capital could be Economic Policy Changes acquired from abroad to speed up the country’s modernization, a change in In the late fall of 1976, the CCP leadership attitude that elicited an almost frenetic tried to bring some order to the country response from foreign bankers and through a series of national conferences. entrepreneurs. They moved quickly to appeal to workers’ These several strands came together interests by reinstating wage bonuses. in late 1978 at a major meeting of the CCP The economy had stagnated that year leadership, when China formally agreed largely because of political turmoil, and to establish full diplomatic relations with Mao’s successors were anxious to start the United States. China’s leaders also things moving again. Despite some formally adopted the Four Modernizations uncertainty, Deng was rehabilitated and as the country’s highest priority, with all formally brought back into his previous other tasks to be subordinated to that offices in the summer of 1977. of economic development. This set of China Since 1965 | 337 priorities differed so fundamentally from one family to accumulate large amounts those pursued during the Cultural of land) was permitted. Revolution that the implications for future Peasants were also allowed far greater policy and for the interests of various sec- choice in what crops to plant, and many tors of the population were profound. abandoned farming altogether in favour The opening of China’s economy to of establishing small-scale industries or the outside world proceeded apace. In the transport companies and other services. late 1970s the country adopted a joint- Thus, rural patterns of work, land leas- venture law, and it subsequently enacted ing, and wealth changed markedly after numerous other laws (such as one gov- 1978. Exceptionally good weather during erning patents) to create an attractive the early 1980s contributed to record environment for foreign capital. An ini- harvests. tial experiment with “special economic The reforms in the urban economy zones” along the southern coast in the had more-mixed results, largely because late 1970s led in 1984 to a decision to the economic system in the cities was so open 14 cities to more intense engage- much more complex. Those reforms ment with the international economy. sought to provide material incentives for The idea was to move toward opening greater efficiency and to increase the use ever larger sections of the country to for- of market forces in allocating resources. eign trade and investment. Problems arose because of the relatively Within the domestic economy, irrational price system, continuing mana- numerous experiments were undertaken gerial timidity, and the unwillingness of in finance, banking, planning, urban eco- government officials to give up their nomic management, and rural policy. Of power over economic decisions, among these, by far the most important were the other difficulties. In the urban as well as series of measures taken toward the the rural economy, the reformers tackled roughly four-fifths of the population that some of the fundamental building blocks lived in the countryside at the time. Prices of the Soviet system that had been paid for farm products were sharply imported during the 1950s. increased in 1979, thus pumping signifi- Reforms have continued in the rural cant additional resources into the and urban areas. Rural producers have agricultural sector. The collective farm- been given more freedom to decide how ing system was gradually dismantled in to use their earnings, whether for agricul- favour of a return to family farming. At tural or other economic activities. Private first, families were allowed to contract entrepreneurship in the cities and the for the use of collective land for a lim- rationalization, privatization, and, in ited period of time. Subsequently, the some cases, dismantling of state-owned period of those contracts was extended, enterprises have gained speed. At the and subcontracting (essentially, allowing same time, the central government has 338 | The History of China moderated the pace of change—primarily into prominent positions. Deng proved to avoid increases in social unrest result- masterful at maintaining a viable coali- ing from rising unemployment—and tion among the diverse forces at the top. constructed a social safety net for those By the end of 1981 he had succeeded in who lose their jobs. nudging Hua Guofeng and others of the more-rigid Maoists out of high-level Political Developments positions. Although he refused to take the top positions for himself, Deng saw The reformers led by Deng Xiaoping his supporters become premier (Zhao tried after 1978 to reduce the level of Ziyang and then Li Peng) and general political coercion in Chinese society. secretary of the CCP (Hu Yaobang, Zhao, Millions of victims of past political cam- and Jiang Zemin), and he worked hard to paigns were released from labour camps, try to consolidate and maintain their and bad “class labels” were removed from hold on power. those stigmatized by them. This dramati- In early 1982 the CCP leadership cally improved the career and social made a concerted attempt to restructure opportunities of millions of former polit- the leading bodies in both the govern- ical pariahs. To a considerable extent, ment and the party, and much was moreover, the range of things considered reorganized, with the appointment of political was narrowed, so that mundane many new officials. This general effort elements such as style of dress and continued, with the focus increasingly on grooming and preferences in music the bloated military establishment, but and hobbies were no longer considered progress slowed considerably after the politically significant. More importantly, initial burst of organizational reformism. criticizing policy no longer triggered Throughout 1982–85 the CCP political retaliation against the critics. carried out a “rectification” campaign Overall, the role of the Public Security designed to restore morals to its mem- (police) forces was cut back substantially. bership and weed out those who did The reformers also tried to make not support reform. This campaign preparations for their own political suc- highlighted the increasing difficulties cession. This involved first rehabilitating inherent in maintaining discipline and cadres who had been purged during the limiting corruption at a time of rapid Cultural Revolution (most of which was change, when materialistic values were accomplished in the late 1970s). These being officially propagated. cadres in many cases were old and no lon- By the mid-1980s, China was in ger fully able to meet the demands being transition, with core elements of the made on them, and they were encouraged previous system called into question to retire. Younger, better-educated people while the ultimate balance that would committed to reform were then brought be struck remained unclear even to the China Since 1965 | 339

On June 5, 1989, a lone protester stands down a column of tanks at the entrance to Tiananmen Square in Bejing. CNN/Getty Images top participants. The reform movement the CCP and the government had began to sour in 1985. Financial decen- become widespread. Students—eventu- tralization and the two-price system ally joined by many others—took to the combined with other factors to produce streets in dozens of cities from April to infl ation and encourage corruption. June to demand greater freedom and China’s population, increasingly exposed other changes. Government leaders, to foreign ideas and standards of living, after initial hesitation, used the army to put pressure on the government to speed suppress this unrest in early June (most the rate of change within the country. visibly in Tiananmen Square), with sub- These forces produced open unrest stantial loss of life. China’s elderly within the country in late 1986 and again revolutionaries then reverted to more- on a much larger scale in the spring of conservative economic, political, and 1989. By 1989 popular disaff ection with cultural policies in an attempt to 340 | The History of China reestablish firm control. In 1992, however, scholarly talent to world-class standards. Deng Xiaoping publicly criticized what This involved re-creating a highly selec- he called the country’s continuing “left- tive and elitist system of higher education, ism” and sought to renew the efforts at with admission based on competitive economic reform. Economic growth had academic examination. Graduate study been especially remarkable in southern programs were introduced, and thou- China, which had developed the highest sands of Chinese were sent abroad for concentration of private-sector enter- advanced study. Large numbers of for- prise. Since the mid-1990s the CCP has eign scholars were also used to help worked to drastically accelerate market upgrade the educational system. reforms in banking, taxes, trade, and Somewhat ironically, the value the investments. These reforms have contin- reformers attached to making money had ued apace, and the party has attempted to the unintended consequence of encour- increase public support by conducting aging many brilliant people to forgo energetic anticorruption campaigns that intellectual careers in favour of more- rely in part on high-profile prosecutions lucrative undertakings. The range of and occasional executions of high-level cultural fare available was broadened officials accused of corruption. greatly, and new limits were constantly Jiang proved to be a capable succes- tested. Few groups had suffered so bit- sor to Deng. He replaced Zhao Ziyang as terly as China’s writers and artists, and general secretary in 1989 after the policies since the 1980s have reflected Tiananmen incident and also was named the ongoing battle between cultural liber- chair of the Central Military Commission als and more-orthodox officials. (1989) and president of the National People’s Congress (1993). He combined International Relations a pragmatic, reform-minded economic policy with an insistence that the party True reintegration of the People’s maintain strong control over the gov- Republic of China into the international ernment. Jiang consolidated his power community can be said to date to 1971, after Deng’s death in 1997 to become when it replaced Taiwan (Republic of China’s paramount ruler but gradually China; ROC) as China’s representative to relinquished his posts to Hu Jintao in the United Nations. With that event, 2002–04. many countries that formerly had recognized the ROC established relations with Educational and the People’s Republic. The normalization Cultural Policy Changes of diplomatic ties with the United States, which began in 1973, culminated in 1979. In education, the reformers gave top pri- China’s foreign policy since the mid- ority to training technical, scientific, and 1970s generally has reflected the country’s China Since 1965 | 341 preoccupation with domestic economic developments to warn about the dangers development and its desire to promote a of reform, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang peaceful and stable environment in Zemin were able to minimize such back- which to achieve these domestic goals. sliding and move China closer to Except for its disagreement with Vietnam becoming a major world power. The over that country’s invasion of Cambodia country’s admission into the World Trade in 1978, China has by and large avoided Organization in 2001 was considered a disputes and encouraged the peaceful significant step in its further integration evolution of events in Asia. China into the global economy. Added to that adopted a policy of “one country, two sys- was the international prestige that tems” in order to provide a framework for accompanied Beijing’s selection to host the successful negotiation with Great the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Britain for the return of Hong Kong and adjacent territories in 1997 and with Relations with Taiwan Portugal for the return of Macau in 1999; both were given special administrative A major unresolved issue in the region status. Furthermore, China became an has been the status of Taiwan. Since 1949 advocate of arms control and assumed a the regimes on both the mainland and more-constructive, less-combative stance Taiwan have agreed that Taiwan is a provin many international organizations. ince of China—the principal difference The bloody suppression of the dem- being that each has asserted it is the legiti- onstrations in 1989 set back China’s mate government of the country. Tensions foreign relations. The United States, the were especially high between the two enti- European Community (European Union ties in the first decades after the split, since 1993), and Japan imposed sanc- marked by periodic artillery duels between tions, though by 1992 China had largely batteries on the Taiwan-controlled islands regained its international standing with of Matsu and Qemoy, just off the coast of all but the United States. But by the mid- Fujian province, and those opposite them 1990s both sides had taken steps toward on the mainland. The ROC’s claim of improved relations, and China retained legitimacy was dealt a serious blow after its most-favoured-nation status in U.S. 1970 with its loss of UN representation trade—subject to annual review by the and diplomatic recognition by most of U.S. Congress until 2000, when Congress the world’s countries. Still, Taiwan has made the status permanent. remained viable and has emerged as a The collapse of communism in east- global economic powerhouse, its security ern Europe beginning in mid-1989 and guaranteed by a commitment from the the subsequent disintegration of the United States and backed by U.S. military Soviet Union deeply disturbed China’s presence in the region. The continued leaders. While hard-liners used these American involvement in Taiwan affairs 342 | The History of China has at times been a source of friction in world’s third largest economy and also U.S.-China relations. the third largest trading country, China Through all this, economic ties have accounted in 2007 for approximately 5 improved considerably between the percent of world GDP and had recently mainland and Taiwan. Taiwan has graduated in status to a middle-income become one of China’s major trading country. Beijing was also emerging as a partners, and large numbers of people key global aid donor. In terms of produc- from the island live and work on the tion, China supplied more than one-third mainland. Beijing has continued to press of the world’s steel, half of its cement, and for reintegrating Taiwan as a province of about a third of its aluminum. China under mainland administration. China’s achievements in poverty However, a growing movement on reduction from the post–Mao Zedong era, Taiwan has advocated that the island in terms of both scope and speed, were become an independent sovereign state impressive; about 400 million people had and not continue to be considered a part been lifted from poverty. The standard of of China. Tensions escalated after the living for many Chinese was improving, pro-independence Chen Shui-bian was and this led to a widespread optimism elected president of the ROC in 2000. that the government’s goal of achieving Nonetheless, discussions have continued an overall well-off, or xiaokang, society, between the two sides, and in 2005 high- was possible in the near future. ranking Nationalist Party (KMT) officials The figures that illustrated China’s traveled to the mainland, the first such remarkable economic achievements, visits since 1949. In addition, tensions however, concealed huge and outstand- between China and Taiwan eased signifi- ing challenges that, if neglected, could cantly after the Nationalists regained jeopardize those very same gains. Many control of both Taiwan’s legislature and local and foreign-development analysts the presidency in 2008. agreed that China’s unsustainable and reckless approach to growth was putting Conclusion the country and the world on the brink of environmental catastrophe. China was In anticipation of the 2008 Olympic already coping with limited natural Games, Beijing underwent a huge make- resources that were fast disappearing. In over that China used to show how fast addition, not everyone was sharing the change could happen in a country of benefits of growth—about 135 million 1.3 billion people. New subway lines were people, or one-tenth of the population, completed, and more and more sky- still lived below the international abso- scrapers were added each month to the lute poverty line of $1 per day. There was landscape to replace the fast-disappearing a huge inequality between the urban and traditional housing (hutongs). As the rural population, as well as between the China Since 1965 | 343 poor and the rich. The increasing num- wastewater were released into waterways ber of protests (termed mass incidents without any treatment. China had about 7 in China) was attributed to both environ- percent of the world’s water resources mental causes and experiences of injustice. and roughly 20 percent of its population. If these social problems remained, it could In addition, this supply was severely imperil the “harmonious development,” or regionally imbalanced—about four-fifths hexie fazhan, project of the government of China’s water was situated in the and eventually erode the Communist southern part of the country. Party of China’s continued monopoly of The Pearl River Delta and Yangtze political power. River Delta, two regions well developed China consumed more coal than the owing to recent export-oriented growth, U.S., Europe, and Japan combined and in suffered from extensive contamination 2007 was about to surpass, or had already from heavy-metal and persistent organic surpassed, the U.S. as the world’s biggest pollutants. The pollutants emanated emitter of greenhouse gases. Beijing was from industries outsourced from the also the biggest emitter of sulfur dioxide, developed countries and electronic which contributes to acid rain. Chinese wastes that were illegally imported from scholars blamed the increase in emis- the U.S. According to an investigation of sions on rapid economic growth and the official records conducted by the Institute fact that China relied on coal for 70% of of Public and Environmental Affairs its energy needs. More than 300,000 pre- (IPE), a domestic environmental nongov- mature deaths annually were attributed ernmental organization, 34 multinational to airborne pollution. The changing life- corporations (MNCs) with operations style of the increasing number of in China had violated water-pollution- middle-class families also contributed to control guidelines. These MNCs included the problem. In Beijing alone, 1,000 new PepsiCo, Inc., Panasonic Battery Co., and cars were added to the roads every day. Foster’s Group Ltd. The IPE’s data were Seven of the 10 most polluted cities in the based on reports by government bodies world were located in China. at local and national levels. The UN 2006 Human Development China was beginning to realize, how- Report cited China’s worsening water ever, that its growth path was not cost-free. pollution and its failure to restrict heavy According to the State Environmental polluters. More than 300 million people Protection Administration and the World lacked access to clean drinking water. Bank, air and water pollution was costing About 60 percent of the water in China’s China 5.8 percent of its GDP. Though the seven major river systems was classified Chinese government carried the responsi- as being unsuitable for human contact, bility for fixing the overwhelming and more than one-third of industrial environmental consequences of China’s wastewater and two-thirds of municipal breakneck growth, help, if offered, from the 344 | The History of China transnational companies and consumers shouldered disproportionate tax burdens from industrialized countries that bene- while having less access to public ser- fited greatly from China’s cheap labour vices, such as education and health care. and polluting industries could also be uti- Recently, the government abolished a lized in the challenging cleanup task. number of taxes to help address poverty When the Chinese government in in the countryside. 2004 began setting targets for reducing The temporary migration from rural energy use and cutting emissions, the areas to the cities of 100 million–150 mil- idea of adopting a slower growth model lion Chinese peasants was not an easy and the predictions about the looming transition. The rural migrant workers environmental disaster were not received who kept factories and construction sites with enthusiasm at first. By 2007, however, running were denied access to urban targets had been established for shifting housing and to urban schooling for their to renewable energy, for employing children. Women migrant workers faced energy conservation, and for embracing triple discrimination for being poor emission-control schemes. The target was unskilled labour, female, and rural in ori- to produce 16 percent of energy needs gin. The anger and bitterness that set off from alternative sources (hydro and other riots and protests (reportedly more than renewable resources) by 2020. 80,000 in 2006) in the countryside Inside China in 2007, people were was not so much about poverty as it was more concerned about issues related to about fairness. Agricultural land in the problem of widespread inequality China was communally owned. (In the- than they were about showcasing the ory, each village owned the land around upcoming Olympics. The Gini coefficient it, and each family held a small tract of (which indicates how inequality has land on a long-term lease.) In the past 20 grown in relation to economic growth) years, however, urbanization had claimed had increased in China by 50 percent some 16 million acres (about 6.5 million since the late 1970s. Less than 1 percent hectares) of farmland; people saw their of Chinese households controlled more land being taken from them and then than 60 percent of the country’s wealth. turned into homes that were sold to the This inequality was more pronounced new rich for several million dollars, and when seen in urban versus rural per cap- they witnessed local officials lining their ita income. In the countryside, life was own pockets. Meanwhile, they received harsh, and people were poor. The ratio of little compensation in return and spent urban versus rural per capita income years away from home to live tenuous grew from 1.8:1 in the early 1980s to 3.23:1 hand-to-mouth existences as factory or in 2003. (The world average was between construction workers. Many were 1.5:1 and 2:1.) Added to the problem of low cheated of their wages by unscrupulous income, Chinese rural residents also bosses. Given the reports of mass public China Since 1965 | 345

A portrait of former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong displayed during National Day celebrations in Beijing on October 1, 2009. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images protests, it was evident that many in government was founded in 1949. China China were clamouring for a more equi- has experienced many bewildering table distribution of China’s bounty from changes in fortune. It has been both its two-decades-long growth. conquered and conqueror, shattered On October 1, 2009, China’s com- and united. Yet, longer than any other munist government celebrated its 60th nation in the world, it has retained its anniversary with a huge military parade essential character through all of its featuring tanks and marching soldiers. many incarnations. China faces many This display demonstrated China’s challenges as it looks to the future. But growing military might. It was just one with its wealth of history, resources, and symbol of how far China has come from people, it is likely to be able to adapt to its weak and devastated state when the whatever may come . Glossary assay Analysis of components in an feiqian “Flying money”; a type of paper ore to determine quantity of each credit used to transmit funds. component. fief Area of land given to select bourgeois According to Marxist individuals, usually relatives of doctrine, a capitalist, or a person the ruler. who owns property. filial piety The Confucian virtue of cash crop Any crop grown specifically devotion to and respect for one’s to be sold. parents and ancestors. cell A small entity that acts as a gongsuo Trade guild. unit within a larger political guozijian State academy. organization. herrenvolk A master race. censorate Body of government jia Family. officials responsible for supervis- khan A ruler, often of a Central Asian ing the conduct of other officials country. and rulers. khanate The area over which a khan Collective A business or farm orga- presides. nized under the political idea of microlith Small stone artifact. centralized economic control. mingjiao The “doctrine of names”; a Comintern An international association combination of Confucian and of communist parties from different Legalist ideas forming a doctrine countries, started in the Soviet emphasizing social duty, ritual, law, Union in 1919. and human traits. communism A system of social prefect An official appointed to govern organization based on the idea of a prefecture, often with a limited holding all property in common range of authority. and of workers being organized to prefecture system Division of land into labor for the community rather localities governed by appointed than for themselves. officials (prefects). corvée Unpaid labour for a feudal lord. primogeniture The eldest son’s dowager A widow with a title or right to inherit all the property of property from her deceased his parents. husband. revisionism A strain of Marxism eunuch A male who has been castrated, in which certain classic often for the purposes of serving as Marxist principles have been a palace official or guard. abandoned. Glossary | 347 sanjiao “Three teachings”; the major soviet A governmental council, particu- Chinese philosophies: Daoism, larly of the former Soviet Union. Confucianism, and Buddhism. triad A fraternal secret society, often scapulae Shoulder blades, often used in built around kinship, work, or native- divination. place ties, with its own set of rules, sinecure A position or title with few rituals, and lore. responsibilities, if any, and usually, vassal An individual who serves a some form of income. feudal lord. For Further Reading

Abramson, Marc S. Ethnic Identity in Culture. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Tang China. Philadelphia, PA: University Press, 2003. University of Pennsylvania Kohn, Livia. Daoism and Chinese Press, 2008. Culture. Cambridge, MA: Three Bell, Daniel A., ed. Confucian Political Pines Press, 2001. Ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Kuhn, Dieter. The Age of Confucian Rule: University Press, 2008. The Song Transformation of China. Bol, Peter K. Neo-Confucianism in Cambridge, MA: Harvard University History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press, 2009. University Asia Center, 2008. Lewis, Mark Edward. China Between Clark, Paul. The Chinese Cultural Empires: The Northern and Southern Revolution: A History. New York, NY: Dynasties. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Cambridge University Press, 2008. University Press, 2009. Fenby, Jonathan. Modern China: The Liu, Li. The Chinese Neolithic: Trajectories Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to Early States. New York, NY: to Present. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2004. HarperCollins, 2008. Pan, Philip P. Out of Mao’s Shadow: Feng, Li. Bureaucracy and the State in The Struggle for the Soul of a New Early China: Governing the Western China. New York, NY: Simon and Zhou. New York, NY: Cambridge Schuster, 2008. University Press, 2008. Rowe, William T. China’s Last Empire: Gascoigne, Bamber. The Dynasties of The Great Qing. Cambridge, MA: China. New York, NY: Carroll & Harvard University Press, 2009. Graff, 2003. Schneewind, Sarah. A Tale of Two Gelber, Harry G. The Dragon and the Melons: Emperor and Subject in Foreign Devils: China and the World, Ming China. Indianapolis, IN: 1100 B.C. to the Present. New York, Hackett, 2006. NY: Walker & Company, 2007. Tanner, Harold M. China: A History. Graff, David A., and Robin Higham.A Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2009. Military History of China. New York, Thorp, Robert L. China in the Early NY: Westview Press, 2002. Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. Hansen, Valerie. The Open Empire: A Philadelphia, PA: University of History of China to 1600. New York, Pennsylvania Press, 2006. NY: W.W. Norton, 2000. Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and Kieschnick, John. The Impact of the Making of the Modern World. Buddhism on Chinese Material New York, NY: Random House, 2004. Index

A Boxer Rebellion, 250, 251–253, 254, 258, 263 bronze casting, advent of, 33–35, 42, 52 Abahai, 214, 216, 217 Buddha, 92, 112, 178 accompanying-in-death, practice of, 36–37, 40 Buddhism, 110, 112, 135, 136, 145, 159, 178, 217 Agrarian Reform Law of 1950, 303 during Ming dynasty, 191, 209–210, 211 agriculture during Mongol dynasty, 178, 180, 181, 184 changes in during Zhou dynasty, 50–52 during Qing dynasty, 250 in Ming dynasty, 206–207 during Shiguo, 133–134 in People’s Republic of China, 306–307, during Six Dynasties, 85, 89, 90, 91, 92–95 308, 313, 314, 316, 337 during Sui dynasty, 96 in Qin dynasty, 55 during Tang dynasty, 122–125, 126 in Qing dynasty, 223–224 introduction of to China, 21, 82 in Song dynasty, 163 Buyantu, 181, 182 Aidi, 66–67 Aisin Gioro clan, 214 Aizong, 170 C Alcock Convention, 242 Cairo Declaration, 288 Altan Khan, 194, 202 Cai Yuanpei, 264–265 ancestor worship, 33, 39–40, 45 Cao Cao, 68, 83 An Lushan, 106, 116, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125, Cao Kun, 272 126, 127, 128 Cao Pi, 68 antiforeign movement, 234, 240, 242 Changchun, 178 Arrow incident, 234 Chang Chun, 293 chariot, first appearance of, 37 Chen Boda, 318, 325, 330, 332 B Chen Di, 213 Bai Juyi, 125 Chen Duxiu, 264, 266, 268, 269 Ban Chao, 77 Chengdi, 66, 67 barbarians Chen Geng, 296, 298 dynasties of, 135–137 Cheng Yi, 208 era of invasion and rule, 84, 85, 86, 90, Chen Jiongming, 265, 266 93–94 Chen Qimei, 261 Bei Han, 140 Chen Yi, 286, 296, 297, 298 Bei Qi dynasty, 95, 105 Chen Youliang, 190 Bei Zhou dynasty, 87, 95, 96, 97, 105 Chen Yun, 312 Bilge, 116 Chen Zaidao, 328 Blücher, V.K. (Galen), 274 Chiang Kai-shek, 255, 268, 272, 274, 275, Borodin, Mikhail M., 269, 271–272, 274, 276–277, 280, 286, 287–290, 291, 292, 293, 275, 276 294, 299 350 | The History of China

China since 1965, 323–345 during Six Dynasties, 87, 89, 90, 92, 94 Chinese Communist Party (CCP), 266–269, during Song dynasty, 123, 139, 140, 141, 143, 273–274, 275–276, 278–280, 284, 285–286, 144, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156 291–293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 300–322, 326, during Sui dynasty, 96 327–328, 334, 335–336, 338–339, 343 during Tang dynasty, 107, 123, 125 Chinese Revolution, 257–258, 259 during Zhou dynasty, 54 Chinese Revolutionary Party, 265 Neo-, 123, 156, 159–162, 166, 178, 181, 182, Chongzhen emperor, 196 199, 208, 229 Christianity in China, 187–188, 204, 235, 237, Confucius, 52, 53, 79, 88, 89, 162, 181, 333 242, 251, 271 Cultural Revolution, 268, 317, 322, 323–329, Chuluo, 100 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336, 337, 338 Chun, Prince, 256, 258 culture/art Churchill, Winston, 288–289 during Han dynasty, 78–80, 82 Ci’an, 240 during Jin dynasty, 137 civil service, 157 during Ming dynasty, 208–209, 211 under Han dynasty, 69–71, 79 during Mongol dynasty, 182–186, 212 under Ming dynasty, 199–200 during Neolithic Period, 28, 29–31, 32 under Nan Song dynasty, 155–156 during Qing dynasty, 227, 229–230 under Qin dynasty, 157 during Shang dynsasty, 37–38, 42 under Song dynasty, 139, 140, 141 during Shiguo, 134 civil war (1945–1949), 291–299, 300 during Six Dynasties, 85 Cixi, 240, 250, 252, 253, 254, 256 during Tang dynasty, 122–126 communes, creation of people’s, 311, 312, 313, during Zhou dynasty, 42 314, 315, 316 and People’s Republic of China, 308, communism in China, 255, 266–269, 272, 316–317, 323–325, 340 273–274, 275–276, 278, 284, 300–322, 323–345 establishment of, 21–22 D growth/spread of, 290–294, 295–298 Daizong, 119 and revolution, 268 Danfu, 42 and victory over Nationalist government, Daoguang emperor, 220, 232 298–299, 300 Daoism, 82, 94–95, 159 Confucian Classics (Wujing), 79, 98, 108, 112, during Ming dynasty, 194, 209–210 123, 134, 144, 157, 159, 181, 199, 208, 229 during Mongol dynasty, 178 Confucianism, 91, 136, 137 during Shiguo, 133–134 during Han dynasty, 64, 65, 70, 87 during Six Dynasties, 87, 89, 90–92 during Ming dynasty, 199, 204, 210, 211 during Song dynasty, 141 during Mongol dynasty, 178, 181–182 during Tang dynasty, 122, 123 during Qin dynasty, 56 Daoist rebellions, 83, 90 during Qing dynasty, 218, 228, 229, 234, Democratic League, 294, 295 235, 236, 237, 238, 242, 250 Deng Xiaoping, 268, 316, 318, 327, 333–334, during Shiguo, 133–134 335, 336, 338, 340 Index | 351 Dezong, 119–120, 121 G Dong Jin, 85 Donglin Academy, 211 Gang of Four, 333, 334, 335 Dong Qichang, 211 Gao Gang, 304–305 Dorgon (Chengzong), 217, 218 Gaohou, 64 Dou Jiande, 101, 102–103, 104 Gao Qi, 182, 210 Duan Qirui, 261, 262, 263, 273 Gaozu (Lin Bang; Han dynasty), 60, 62, Du Fu, 125 64, 71 Duzong, 155 Gaozu (Li Yuan; Tang dynasty), 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 Gaozong (Li Zhi; Tang dynasty), 110, 111, E 112, 115 East India Company, 204, 231–232 Gaozong (Nan Song dynasty), 149–150, East Turkistan, during Late Qing dynasty, 151–152, 153–154 244 Ge Hong, 89, 91 Elliot, Sir Charles, 232–233 Genghis Khan, 137, 168, 169, 170, 175, Elliot, Sir George, 232 178, 189 Esen Taiji, 193, 202 Gia Long, 246 eunuchs, 59, 68, 71, 119, 120, 121–122, 147, 152, Gong Qinwang (Prince Gong), 235, 236, 192, 193, 196, 201, 203, 220 240–241, 242 Europeans, early experiences in China, Grand Canal, 98, 131, 177, 190, 205, 207, 223 187–188, 193, 204–205, 208, 222 Great Leap Forward, 268, 313, 311, 312–315, 316, 317 Great Wall of China, 57, 58, 76, 77–78, 86, 96, F 99, 101, 135, 141, 196, 198, 202 Fang Guozhen, 190, 191 Guangwudi (Liu Xiu), 60, 67–68 Fang Xiaoru, 210 Guangxu emperor, 250 Feng Guifen, 242–243 Guangzong, 151, 154 Feng Guozhang, 261, 262, 263 Gui Liang, 236 Feng Menglong, 212 Gui Youguang, 212 Feng Yunshan, 237 Guo Shoujing, 177, 186 Feng Yuxiang, 273, 276 Guo Songtao, 245 feudalism abolishment of during Qin dynasty, 56 decline of, 47, 52–53 H during Mongol dynasty, 172 Hakka, 236–237 during Zhou dynasty, 44–47, 48–49, 50, 109 Han dynasty, 21, 54, 56, 58, 60–82, 83, 84, 85, First Five-Year Plan, 304, 305–306 86, 95, 96, 109, 110, 129, 140, 141 Five-Antis campaign, 303–304, 307 administration of empire, 69–76 foot binding, 166 armed forces/military in, 65, 66, 68, Fu Gongtuo, 104 72–73, 76 Fulin (Shunzhi), 217, 218 civil service in, 69–71, 79 352 | The History of China

cultural developments during, Hu Weiyong, 197 78–80, 94 Hu Yaobang, 336, 338 Dong Han, 60, 64, 67–69, 70, 75, 77, 84, 91, 152 practice of government in, 73–76, 97 I provincial government in, 71–72 Ichigo campaign, 289 relations with other peoples, 76–78 Ignatyev, Nikolay, 235 succession in, 63–64 industrial development Xi Han, 60, 61–67, 68, 71, 74–75, 77 in People’s Republic of China, 300, 303, Hanfeizi, 53 305, 306, 308, 313, 314 Hanlin Academy, 121, 182–183, 198, 213 in Qing dynasty, 243 Han Lin’er, 190, 191 iron industry, early, 52 Han Tuozhou, 154, 161 Han Yu, 125 Hao Jing, 170 J Hedi, 68 Japan Heshen, 220 during Early Republican Period, 260–261, Ho Lung, 284 263–264 Hongguang emperor, 196 during Late Qing dynasty, 246–247 Hong Kong during Late Republican Period, 281–291 ceding of to British, 233 international alliance against in World return of to China, 341 War II, 286–289 Hongwu emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang), 191, Jiajing emperor, 194, 213 192, 193, 197, 198, 199, 202, 203, 205 Jiancheng, 104, 107 Hongxi emperor, 193 Jiang Qing, 318, 325, 330, 333 Hong Xiuquan, 237 Jiang Zemin, 338, 340 Hongzhi emperor, 193 Jianwen emperor, 193 Houji, 42 Jiaqing emperor (Yongyan), 220, 246 Hua Guofeng, 335–336, 338 Jia Sidao, 155, 170–171 Huang Chao, 122 Jie peoples, 86, 87 Huang He (Yellow River), 132 Ji Kang, 89, 91 Huangong, 46 Jin dynasty/state, 135, 136–137, 168, 170, 172, Hu Feng, 308 176, 177, 178, 214, 216 Hu Hanmin, 261 Jingtai emperor, 193 Huiwang, 56 Jin Shengtan, 212 Huizong, 145–146, 147, 149 Juchen, 135, 136–137, 147–148, 149, 150–151, 154, Hu Jintao, 340 159, 162, 168, 169, 170, 172, 173, 176, 214 Hundred Days of Reform, 249–250, 253 Hundred Flowers Campaign, 308–309 Huns, 86 K Huo Guang, 66 Kaihuang Code, 96 Hurley, Patrick J., 291, 293 Kang Quantai, 122 Index | 353

Kang Sheng, 318, 325 Li Shimin (Taizong), 102, 103, 104, 107–108, Kangxi emperor (Xuanye), 218 109, 110 Kang Youwei, 249–250, 253 Li Tsung-jen, 299 Kapghan, 116 Liu Bang (Gaozu), 60, 62, 64, 71 Karakhan, Lev M., 269 Liu Bei, 68–69 Karakhan Manifesto, 266 Liu Bingzhong, 173, 181 Khitan, 135–136, 137, 140–141, 142, 168, 172, Liu Bocheng, 284, 296, 297, 298 173, 176 Liu Gengshi, 67 Kissinger, Henry, 332 Liu Heita, 104 KMT (Kuomintang; Nationalist Party), 260, Liu Heng (Wendi), 64, 79 268, 269, 271–272, 273–274, 275–276, 277, Liu Jin, 193 280, 286, 290, 291, 294, 303, 308 Liu Kunyi, 252 Kojong, 247 Liu Shaoqi, 278, 286, 304, 316, 318, 327, 329 Korea, during the Late Qing dynasty, Liu-Song dynasty, 85 247–248 Liu Wuzhou, 104 Korean War, 300, 302–303, 304, 308, 310 Liu Xiu (Guangwudi), 60, 67–68 Kublai Khan, 170–171, 172, 173, 175, 178, 181, Liu Yuan, 85 186, 189 Liu Zongyuan, 125 Kwantung Army, 278 Li Yuan (Gaozu), 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 Li Yuanhong, 257, 262 L Li Zhi (Gaozong), 110, 111, 112, 115 Laozi, 87, 92, 122, 178 Li Zhi (Ming dynasty), 211, 212 Legalism, 87, 89, 96 Li Zicheng, 196, 216–217 Lei Feng, 320 Li Zitong, 104 Liang Qichao, 250, 253 Lizong, 155, 162 Liao dynasty, 135–136, 147, 148, 177 Long March, 268, 278, 280 Liao Zhongkai, 272, 274 Longqing emperor, 194 Li Bai, 125 Longwu emperor, 196 Li Dazhao, 266, 268, 269, 272 Lu Dingyi, 325 Li Deyu, 122 Li Hongzhang, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 248, 252, 253, 255, 263 M Li Kan, 185 MacArthur, Douglas, 292, 302 Li Linfu, 115, 116 Ma Duanlin, 183 Li Mi, 101, 102 Manchu, 21, 87, 196, 204, 208, 214–230, 250, Lin Biao, 278, 284, 292, 293, 296, 297, 298, 312, 252, 258 315, 316, 318, 319–320, 322, 323, 325, 327, mandarins, 69 329–330, 332 Mao Zedong, 266, 268, 275, 291, 293, 296, 299, Lin Liguo, 332 330, 332–333 Lin Zexu, 232 and Cultural Revolution, 323–328, 332 Li Peng, 338 China after death of, 331, 334–342 354 | The History of China

death of, 329, 334 government of, 172–178, 199 and establishment of People’s Republic of groups of, 202 China, 300–301, 304, 306, 309–310, and introduction of Christianity, 187–188 311–312, 313, 314–315, 316, 317–318, literature/art during, 182–186, 212 319–320, 321, 322 religion and intellectual life under, 178–186 and Long March, 278–280 Mozi, 52, 53 Marco Polo Bridge Incident, 281 Mugong, 54 Maring (Hendricus Sneevliet), 266–268, 269 Mukden Incident, 278 Marshall, George C., 293, 294 Muravyov, Nikolay, 235 Marxism, 266, 268, 300, 309 Muslim rebellions during Qing dynasty, May Fourth Movement, 265, 266 239–240, 244 May Thirteenth Incident, 273 Myanmar, during Late Qing dynasty, 245 Meiji Restoration, 246, 247 Mei Yingzuo, 213 Mei Zu, 213 N Mencius, 52 Nanchao, 85 Mingdi, 68, 77 Nan Cheng dynasty, 85 Ming dynasty, 107, 120, 180, 186, 188, 190–213 Nanjing Massacre, 282, 283 collapse of, 211, 216, 217 Nan Liang dynasty, 85 culture of, 208–213 Nan Qi dynasty, 85 economic policy and developments of, Nan Song dynasty, 147–167, 168 205–208 bureaucratic style of, 155–159 and fine arts, 211 chief councillors of, 153–155 foreign relations of, 201–205 clerical staff during, 158–159 founding of, 191–192 consolidation under, 148–150 government and administration of, court’s relations with the bureaucracy, 196–201, 216 151–153 and literature, 211–213 decline of, 162–163 and the Manchu, 196, 204, 208, 214 relations with the Juchen, 150–151, 154, 159 military during, 198, 201, 203 rise of Neo-Confucianism, 159–162 Nan Ming, 196 Napier, William John, 232 and Nam Viet (Vietnam), 203 National Assembly, 258, 259–260, 295 and raids by Japan, 194, 203 National Government, 276–278, 280, 284, taxation during, 207–208 285–286, 290, 291, 292–295 Ming Yuzhen, 190 loses control/power, 296, 297–299 Möngke, 170, 178 Nationalist Party (KMT), 260, 261, 265, 268, Mongolians (Xianbei), 86 269, 271–272, 273–274, 275–276, 277, 280, Mongols/Mongol (Yuan) dynasty, 135, 137, 285–286, 290, 291, 294, 303, 308 162, 168–189, 202, 216, 217 National Revolutionary Army, 274, 276 conquest of China, 168–172 Neo-Confucianism, 181, 182, 199, 208, 229 economy under, 177–178 rise of during Nan Song dynasty, end of rule, 188–189, 190, 191, 192 159–162, 178 Index | 355

Neolithic Period in China, 24–33 and international relations, 320, 329, 336, Nepal, during Late Qing dynasty, 245 340–342 New Culture Movement, 264–265 new directions in national policy New Fourth Army Incident, 286 (1958–61), 311–315 Nian Rebellion, 236, 238–239 and nuclear weapons, 321–322 Nine-Power Pact, 269–270 opening of economy to outside world, Ningzong, 151, 154, 162 336–337, 341 Nixon, Richard, 332 political developments, 307–310, Northern Expedition, 274–275, 276 338–340 Nurhachi, 196, 214–216 readjustment and reaction (1961–65), 316–322 reconstruction and consolidation, O 302–305 Ögödei, 172, 173 role of military, 302–303, 305, 311, 316, Olympics (2008), 341, 342, 344 318–320, 321, 322, 323, 328, 329 Open Door policy, U.S., 252 and rural collectivization, 306–307, 308 opium trade, 230, 231–232, 234 since 1965, 323–345 Opium Wars, 242 and social changes, 330–331 first, 232–234, 235, 236, 245 and struggle for premiership, 331–334 second, 234–236 and suppression of 1989 demonstrations, Oyrat, 193, 194, 202, 217, 222 339, 341 transition to socialism, 305–311 urban socialist changes, 307 P Pingdi, 66, 67 Painted Pottery culture, 26, 28, 29 Pingwang, 47 Pang Xun, 122 Political Consultative Council, 293–294 paper, invention of, 79–80 pollution in modern China, 343–344 Parkes, Harry, 234 Polo, Marco, 149, 188 Pei Ju, 100, 101 Pottinger, Henry, 233 Peking man, 22 poverty in modern China, 344–345 Peng Dehuai, 284, 299, 312, 315, 323 prehistory in China, 22–33 Peng Zhen, 325 People’s Liberation Army (PLA), 292, 296, 299, 302, 318, 320, 328 Q People’s Republic of China, 268, 292, 299 Qiang, 86, 135 aid/influence from Soviet Union, Qianlong emperor, 219–220 300, 304–306, 308, 310, 311–312, 315, Qian Xuan, 184–185 321–322 Qi Jiguang, 194 establishment of, 300–321 Qin dynasty, 42, 53, 54–59, 61, 62, 75, 76, 84, foreign policy of, 310–311 95, 141, 157 and industrialization, 300, 303, 305, 306, family structure under, 55–56 308, 313, 314 and unification of China, 56–58 356 | The History of China

Qing dynasty, Early (Manchu), 87, 133, 157, Ren Renfa, 185 193, 196, 197, 206, 214–230 Renzong, 141 and economic development, 223–226 Republican Period, Early, 259–280 foreign relations of, 222–223 early power struggles, 259–260 and Korea, 222 and foreign presence, 271, 273 and Japan, 222–223 intellectual movements, 264–265 political institutions of, 218–220 interwar years, 265–280 rise of the Manchu, 214–217 militarism in, 270–271 social organization under, 228–229 and relations with Japan, 260–261, 263– society of, 226–230 264, 270, 271, 277–278, 280 trends during, 230 Republican Period, Late, 281–299 Qing dynasty, Late, 231–258, 262 and civil war, 291–299, 300 changes in outlying areas, 244–248 and relations with Japan, 281–290 constitutional movements during, 256–257 rise of communism during, 290–291 end of, 258, 259 and U.S. aid to China, 286–289 foreign relations of, 241–242 Revive China Society, 253 and Opium Wars, 232–236 Revive Han Association, 253–254 reform and upheaval, 248–253 Ricci, Matteo, 204 reformist and revolutionist movements Roosevelt, Franklin D., 287–290, 291 during, 253–258 Ruizong, 112, 113 Self-Strengthening Movement of, 240–243, 249 uprisings during, 236–240 S Qin Kui, 153–154 Sanguo (Three Kingdoms), 83, 84 Qinzong, 147, 150 Second Revolution, 260 Qiying, 233–234 Self-Strengthening Movement, 240–243, 249 Qui Fu, 122 Senggelinqin, General, 239 Quotations from Chairman Mao, 319 Shang dynasty, 34, 35–40, 42–43, 44, 61 Shang Yang, 53, 55, 56 Shegui, 100 R Shenzong (Song dynasty), 142, 143, 144, 145 Red Guards, 326, 327, 328, 330 Shenzong (Wanli emperor; Ming dynasty), 193 religious beliefs/practices Shi Chaoyi, 117, 127 during Han dynasty, 65, 66, 80, 82 Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms), 130, 133–135, 140 during Ming dynasty, 209–211 Shihuangdi, 56–58 during Mongol dynasty, 178–182 Shiliuguo (Sixteen Kingdoms), 85, 86–87 during Neolithic Period, 32–33 Shi Miyuan, 154, 155, 162 during Qing dynasty, 229, 237, 239 Shi Siming, 117, 118, 127 during Shang dynasty, 38–39 Shu-Han dynasty, 83, 84 during Shiguo, 133–134 Shunzhi emperor (Fulin), 217, 218 during Six Dynasties, 87–89, 90–95 Shunzong, 120 during Tang dynasty, 111, 112, 122–125 Sian Incident, 280 Index | 357 silk, 27, 28, 31, 52, 76, 77, 79, 82, 106, 128, 141, and integration of south, 98–99 163, 186, 202, 225 and reunification of China, 95, 96 Silk Road, 27, 76, 82, 135 Sun Yat-sen, 253, 254, 255, 258, 259, 260, Sima Qian, 52, 55 261, 262, 263, 265, 266, 269, 271, 272, 273, Sino-French War, 243 280, 295 Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), 240, 244, Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries 248, 254, 258 campaign, 303 Sino-Japanese War (1937–1943), 280, Suzong, 117, 118 281–289, 291 Six Dynasties, 83–95 division of China during, 83–84 T intellectual activity during, 87–90 Taewŏn’gun, 247 religion during, 90–95 Taichang emperor, 196 Socialist Youth League, 266, 268 Tainshun emperor, 193 social organization/hierarchies Taiping, 113 in Early Qing dynasty, 226–229 Taiping Rebellion, 236–238, 239, 240, 245, 251 in Ming dynasty, 197, 200 Taiwan, relationship with China, 340, 341–342 in Neolithic Period, 33 Taizong (Li Shimin; Tang dynasty), 102, 103, in Shang dynasty, 36–37, 39–40 104, 107–108, 109, 110, 111 in Tang dynasty, 126–127 Taizong (Song dynasty), 140 in Zhou dynasty, 45, 52, 53 Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin), 130, 138–139, 140 Society of Brothers and Elders, 253 Tang code, 96 Song dynasty (Bei Song), 122, 123, 129, 130, Tang dynasty, 70, 87, 95, 97, 101, 102–129, 131, 131, 134, 137, 138–167, 170, 175, 177, 191, 196 133, 135, 136, 137, 140, 141, 159, 177, 181, 196 consolidation under, 140–142 administration of state, 104–105 culture of, 163–167 cultural developments during, 122–126 decline and fall of, 145–147 fiscal and legal system, 105–107, 156 invasion of by Mongols, 170–172, 176, 177, growth of economy during, 128–129 180, 182 late Tang, 117–122, 130 military during, 140, 143, 147, 149–150 military during, 111–112, 115–117, 120 Nan Song, 147–159, 168 period of power, 107–117 reforms under, 142–145 population movements during, 127–128 unification/administration during, prosperity and progress during, 114–115 138–140, 200 provincial separatism during, 118–120 Song Jiaoren, 260 social change during, 126–127 Song Lian, 211–212 struggle for central authority in late Tang, Stalin, Joseph, 276, 305, 306, 311, 317 120–122 Stilwell, Joseph, 289–290 Tang Hualong, 257, 258 Sui dynasty, 70, 87, 90, 92, 95–101, 102, 104, Tangut, 135, 176 105, 106, 108, 110, 127 Tang Xianzu, 212 foreign affairs under Yangdi, 100–101 Tan Sitong, 250 institutional reforms of Wendi, 96–97 Tardu, 96 358 | The History of China Tatars, 202 W Thibaw, 245 thought-reform campaign, 304, 308, 316 Wade, Sir Thomas Francis, 245 Three-Antis campaign, 303, 304 Wallace, Henry A., 291 Three Principles of the People, 254, 255, 256, Wang, Empress, 110, 111 280, 295 Wang Anshi, 142, 143, 144–145 Tiananmen Square protests, 339, 340 Wang Ching-wei, 274, 275–276, 282, 283 Tianqi emperor, 196 Wang Chong, 82 Tibet Wang Mang, 60, 67, 71, 74, 75, 175 during Late Qing dynasty, 244–245 Wang Pei, 120 rebellion against People’s Republic of Wang Shichong, 102–103, 104 China, 303, 318 Wang Shizhen, 211–212 Tibetans, 86, 112, 113, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, Wang Shuwen, 120 135, 180, 181, 217 Wang Wei, 126 Timur, 203 Wang Xizhi, 91, 184 Togon-temür, 180, 189 Wang Yangming, 210, 211–212 Tongzhi emperor (Zaichun), 240 Wang Zhen, 193 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 194 Wang Zhengjun, 67 Treaty of Aigun, 235 Wang Zhi, 193 Treaty of Beijing, 235 Wanli emperor, 194, 196, 208 Treaty of Kuldja, 235, 244 Washington Conference, 269 Treaty of Nanjing, 233, 234 Wedemeyer, Albert Coady, 290 Treaty of Wanghia, 233 Wei, Empress, 113 Treaty of Whampoa, 233 Wei dynasty, 83, 84, 87, 94 treaty-port system, 233, 235 Wei Zhongxian, 196 Triad fraternities, 229 Wendi (Han dynasty), 64, 79 Truman, Harry S., 293 Wendi (Sui dynasty), 87, 95–97, 98, 105 Tuoba (Bei Wei), 86, 87, 94 Wengong of Jin, 46, 49 Turks, 86, 95–96, 99, 100, 101, 109, 111, 112, Weng Wei, 125 113, 115–116, 122 Wenwang, 42–43 Wen Xiang, 236, 240 Wenzong, 121 U White Lotus sect, 229, 230, 251 Unequal Treaties, 270, 271, 273, 277 women’s roles/status United League, 254–256, 257, 265 in Han dynasty, 63, 64 Urianghad tribes, 202 in modern China, 344 in Neolithic Period, 33 in Qing dynasty, 227–228 V in Shang dynasty, 39 Vietnam, during Late Qing dynasty, 245–246 in Song dynasty, 166–167 Voytinsky, Grigory N., 266, 269 World Trade Organization, 341 Index | 359

World War I, 260–261, 262–264 Xue Ju, 101, 102 World War II, 282, 283, 286–289 Xue Xuan, 210 Wu Cheng’en, 212 Xu Guangjin, 234 Wudai (Five Dynasties) period, 126, 130–133, Xu Guangqi, 204 134, 135, 138 Xu Heng, 181 Wu Daoxuan, 126 Xu Jingye, 112 Wu dynasty, 83, 84, 85 Xunzi, 52 Wudi (Han emperor), 54, 64, 65–66, 74, 76, 77, 80–82 Wudi (Nan Liang emperor), 85 Y Wu Han, 323–324 Yangdi, 97–101, 102 Wuhou, Empress, 110–111, 112–113, 114, Yang Guifei, 115, 117 115, 116 Yang Guozhong 115, 116 Wu Peifu, 272–273 Yang Hucheng, 280 Wu Sangui, 216–217 Yang Quyun, 253 Wu School of art, 211 Yang Shen, 213 Wuwang, 42, 43 Yang Weizhen, 182 Wuzong, 122, 123 Yang Xi, 91 Yan Song, 194 Yan Xishan, 270, 276 X Yellow Turbans, 68, 83, 90 Xia dynasty, 35, 40 Yelü Chucai, 172–173 Xiandi, 68 Ye Mingchen, 234 Xianfeng emperor, 235, 240 Yen Fu, 254 Xiang Ying, 285, 286 Ye Ting, 284–285, 286 Xianzong, 120–121 Yingzong, 142 Xiaogong, 55, 56 Yinreng, 218 Xiao Xian, 104 Yizong, 122 Xiaozong, 150–151, 154 Yong, 117 Xi Jin, 84 Yongle emperor, 193, 194, 202, 203, 205 Xiongnu, 65, 67, 68, 76, 77, 78, 85, 86 Yongli emperor, 196 Xi Xia dynasty, 135, 140, 141, 142, 168, 170 Yongzheng emperor (Yinzhen), 218–219, Xizong, 122 220, 230 Xuande emperor, 193, 202 Yuandi, 66, 67, 68 Xuandi, 66 Yuan Shikai, 255, 258, 259, 260, 261–262, Xuantong emperor, 256 264, 265 Xuanwang, 48 Yuan Zai, 119 Xuanxue, 89–90, 92, 94 Yuan Zhongdao, 212 Xuanzang, 122–123 Yue Fei, 150 Xuanzong (Li Longji), 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, Yu Qian, 193, 194 118, 125, 126 Yuwen Huaji, 102, 103 360 | The History of China Z Zhenzong, 140–141 Zhezong, 145 Zeng Guofan, 237, 239, 242, 247 Zhongzong, 112, 113 Zeng Guoquan, 246 Zhou (Shang ruler), 43 Zeng Jize, 244 Zhou dynasty, 41–54, 62, 112 Zhang Binglin, 254–256 Chunqiu period, 42, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, Zhangdi, 68, 77 53, 54, 55 Zhang Fakui, 276 Dong Zhou, 42, 45 Zhang Juzheng, 194, 196 feudal system of, 44–47, 48–49, 50, 52–53 Zhang Luoxing, 239 rise of monarchy, 48–50 Zhang Qian, 78 urbanization and assimilation during, 47–48 Zhang Shicheng, 190 Xi Zhou, 41–42 Zhangsun Wuji, 110 Zhanguo period, 42, 47, 49, 50, 52, 58 Zhang Xueliang, 277, 280 Zhou Enlai, 268, 278, 280, 293, 304, 310–311, Zhang Xun, 262 312, 320, 329, 330, 332, 333 Zhang Zhidong, 252, 256 Zhougong, 43, 44 Zhang Zuolin, 266, 270, 272, 273, 276, 277 Zhou Yang, 320, 325 Zhaodi, 66 Zhuangzi, 87 Zhao Mengfu, 184–185, 186 Zhu De, 278, 284, 292, 298 Zhao Ziyang, 338, 340 Zhu Wen, 130, 131 Zheng Chenggong, 196 Zhu Xi, 154, 159–161, 162, 178, 181, 199, 208, Zhengde emperor, 194, 213 210, 211 Zheng He, 193, 203 Zongli Yamen, 240–241, 246, 254 Zhengtong emperor, 193 Zuo Zongtang, 239, 242, 244