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The influence of Confucius culture on China
The influence of Confucius culture on China
Impact of confucius philosophy on culture
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Qin Shi Huangdi, meaning First Magnificent Ruler of the Qin, was the first person to unite the whole of China and become emperor of the entire land. Due to the cruelty and lack of wisdom of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi constantly feared for his life, and after his death, his empire quickly lost its mandate from heaven. Qin Shi Huangdi feared for his life due to the majority of the ancient population wanting him dead for his enforcement of harsh laws. Furthermore, after his death, Qin Shi Huangdi’s empire quickly lost its mandate from heaven as the new Qin emperor went against the bestowed code of Confucianism, deciding to use brute force, and not think for himself. This resulted in many peasant uprisings and rebellions, with natural disasters …show more content…
Qin Er Shi’s incompetence to rule originated from his weak mindedness, that allowed his advisor, Zhao Gao, a chinese politician and eunuch, to manipulate him. Throughout his reign, Qin Er Shi became dependent on, “Zhao Gao so much... that he acted as a puppet emperor, with the eunuch as the puppeteer.” This is demonstrated when without any civil justification, Zhao Gao tried to persuade the emperor to have a political rival, Li Si, executed . Due to Qin Er Shi’s incompetence to think for himself, this was done. Qin Er Shi was ultimately a figurehead, with all the military and important decisions being made by Zhao Gao. However, the mandate from heaven allowed, “only one emperor to rule.” Qin Er Shi was the chosen emperor permitted to govern. However, Zhao Gao was making all the important decisions and had become an unofficial emperor, clearly inconsistent with the dictate which only allowed Qin Er Shi to rule. Due to this, the Qin dynasty’s mandate from heaven was revoked. A sign to the superstitious civilisation of ancient China that the mandate from heaven had been lost was natural disasters causing poor harvests. This natural disaster was severe flooding across much of ancient China, causing bad harvest of grain crops, the major source of food. These were believed signs that further emphasised it was time for dynastic change. Following the death of Qin Shi Huangdi, the new official Qin emperor, Qin Er Shi, did not think for himself, leading to the empire quickly losing its mandate from
The founder of the Qin dynasty was Qin Shi Huangdi, a title meaning “First Emperor.” He was a brutal ruler, but he brought about many changes. However, in addition to all the new, some old ideas were continued from the Zhou, such as the emphasis on the wheat and rice staple foods, and the philosophies, Confucianism and Daoism. The old continuities tended to have been deeply embraced by China, and, just as the Zhou did, the Qin would create some ideas that lasted, and some that did not. Qin Shi Huangdi enforced a tough autocratic rule and, as a result, opposed formal culture that could make people counter his rule. This meant that he burned many books and attacked Confucian ideas in order to keep the people from generating rebellious ideas. When the Qin dynasty fell, so too did the opposition towards education, because it took away from the civilization culturally. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was very short and had little time to fully develop its systems and ideas, it did pump out a vast quantity of new and lasting concepts, such as the Great Wall and a central government. One of the biggest contenders for the most well-known feature of the Qin dynasty is the Great Wall. This architectural masterpiece extends over 3,000 miles, and was mainly a
During 221 BC, China went through a time called the Warring States Period. Emperor Shi Huangdi rose to power during this time and defeated his enemies and consolidated rule in China. Emperor Shi Huangdi was the first person to unify China in all of history. The emperor was able to use legalist policies to increases his power over his people. Shi Huangdi philosophy of legalism says that all people are evil, and harsh laws must be made to keep them in line. If people are left alone, they will act badly. During the Warring States Period
Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who united China while it was experiencing civil war, also known as the Period of the Warring States. Through his Legalist ideas and integrity, Shi Huangdi was able to maintain political and social order by means of a centralized government. In under eleven years, he constructed the famous
Out of the three different thought systems, Legalism was a success in the sense that it achieved what the other two systems desperately strove for - the unification of China. "Qin conquered Yan in 226, Wei in 225, Chu in 223, Qu in 221. Now, in 221, it ruled the entire Chinese world and was ready to make that world over in the image of Qin" (Wills 41). Many of the Legalist ideas were quite thought provoking and praiseworthy; they believed in equality for all and government according to merit. However, the system gained a rotten reputation according to the ruthless rule of the First Emperor. Confucianism thus became the official Philosophy, gaining wide acceptance in China.
Li Si The "Historical Records," written by Sima Qian, is a historical account which showcases how the corrupted legalist system of the Qin Dynasty led to the loss of the Mandate of Heaven and the fall of the Empire. Qian, who lived during the Han Dynasty, used the example of Li Si, the Chief Minister of the Emperors of the Qin Dynasty, to emphasis the newly accepted Confucian values. It was the shortcomings of Li Si which led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty as well as his own death. However, Qian is careful to note that prior to his downfall, Li Si followed many Confucian values which allowed him to rise up from a commoner to his eventual position as Chief Minister.
In 1403, Yongle planned construction of a fleet to deepen their knowledge of the world. The governance of the fleet was given to his good friend Zheng He. Two years later, sixty boat had been built. The final armada had roughly 300 boats.
In the early fifth century due to the weak Sui dynasty (561-617). The Emperor taxed heavy on its citizens and forced them to build large monuments and buildings with little to no pay. Many people as a result of this hard labor died. Fed up with heavy taxation and forced labor, rebellions occurred trough out Sui China and put the emperor to its grave 618. That same year Li Yuan, who was a Sui Governor in a Chinese province, later became emperor Gaozu of Tang declared himself ruler of the new Tang Dynasty. During his eight year reign, he united parts of China, relaxed harsh laws and promoted trade. After his retirement his son Li Shimin became the next Emperor of the Tang. He was also known as Emperor Taizong. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, China flourished economically and militarily. After his death, China enjoyed prosperity and peace brought about the soil faction of imperial protection over the Chinese regions.1 Also for the first time in this time period , China had trade relations with Yamato Japan. China also had strong diplomatic relations with the western world for the first time. In 674 the Sassanid Persian royal house fled the advancing Arab army and arrived in the Tang capital, Chang’an. Which became the most populist city in the world at the time, with two million
History writing has evolved much over time with the contributions of many people. In the modern sense, it can be traced back to ancient Greece and China, where historians Herodotus and Sima Qian began keeping records of human existence. Although they were not literally the first people to write history, together they are named the first great historians of the Western world and the East because of their individual innovations and extensive work that has long affected history writing up until this day. There is much to debate when it comes to the greatness of these ancient historians, and although some believe they were both important and successful in what their works, The Histories and The Records of a Historian, accomplished, others believe the total opposite. Thomas R. Martin, the author of Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China, argues that the two men were indeed vital to the progression of history writing over time. In my opinion, Herodotus and Sima Qian made huge advancements in history writing, and their titles as the first great historians of the Western world and the East are very fitting.
Daily life was influenced in both Ancient India and China because of religion and philosophies. Their well being, their beliefs, and their caste system were affected by religion and philosophies.
As a child, the Qin emperor grew continuously more ambitious and was the first emperor to be able to successfully unify all of China (http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/qin_shihuang_1.htm). His great power was not only due to his ambition, but also the number of people he had in his army; it is reported that he had around 2 million soldiers- making him extremely powerful and giving him the power to unify China. Centuries later, the Mongols came into power. They are described as ‘phenomenally hard-driving and ambitious…and their accomplishments were considerable’ (http://countrystudies.us/mongolia/3.htm). The Mongols ruled from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Black sea (https://www.rt.com/news/world-most-notorious-tyrants/), a feat accomplished by their great military power and fighting on horseback. They were so powerful, that they were able to defeat the Song and capture its capital, Hangzhou, in the year 1276, which led to the creation of the Yuan Dynasty (http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-history/the-yuan-dynasty.htm). In addition, these conquests only further fueled the ambition of the Mongol leaders, driving them to continue on expanding their territory. These actions of expansionism for both the Mongols and the Qin dynasty were not without further benefits, though. With
From 1700 to roughly 220 BCE (before the Common Era), the region currently known as China was divided into six states: Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan, each ruled by different kings. These inter-warring states were already familiar with wall building techniques, each having constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. When Shih Huangdi, the young king of the ancient Chinese state of Qin (also spelled Ch’in, from which the word China derives), conquered each of the remaining five states in 221 BCE, the continuous warring finally came to an end. By conquering these states, Shih Huangdi established the Qin Dynasty, thus creating the first unification of China, and the first Chinese central government. In his efforts to make this new concept of centralized rule “stick”, as well as prevent the reemergence of feudal lords, Shih Huangdi ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the forme...
as Sung T'ai Tsu, was forced to become emperor in order to unify China. Sung
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were two grand empires that rose out of preexisting territories and provided relative peace over wide areas. The collapse of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), which was the first great land-based empire in East Asia, came after a period of war, confusion, and tyrannical rule. Due to the political disorder that stemmed from the early dynastic activity, the emergence of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 228 CE) sprung to focus on restoring order. On the other hand, the rise of the Roman Empire (44 BCE- 476 CE) originated from consolidating authority over aristocratic landlords and overriding the democratic elements of the earlier Republic. Instead, the Roman Empire redefined the concept of “citizen” as subjects to the Roman emperor. Both empires shared similar agendas to exploit their vast territories and resources, which helped them expand their political dominance; however, despite having similar political goals and foundations, their government system, cultural ideologies and imperial expansionist natures diverged.
The conversion to Christianity, he said was a vision or a dream in which Christ directed him to fight under Christian standards. He created the capital, Constantinople for the new Christian empire. Christianity increased gradually over the next two centuries. Some hundred years after the conversion, Christianity seemed to be the established religion of Rome. China also faced some changes in its religion. The new government form, Legalism rejected Confucianism, the previous religion adopted. Shi Huangdi, the ruler, did not allow Confucianism, he ordered all of the religious books and artifacts relating to Confucianism to be burned or destroyed. Although he was harsh and changed a lot during that time to unite China, he was accomplished, The Great Wall Of China was built during his rule. After the last emperor of the Qin dynasty’s death, there were a lot of resentment and anger, the Qin dynasty quickly crumbled. Liu Bang, the next ruler, founded the Han Dynasty. The greatest Dynasty in Chinese history. Confucianism was restored and now allowed by the legalist government still intact. Over the next series of rulers, Confucianism became the prime
The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.