The Chinese Dynasties
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Dynasty
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Characteristics |
Confucian
Context
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The Ages of Chinese Legend |
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The
famous Emperors Yu, Shun and Yao, oft quoted Sage-Kings of Confucius'
philosophy.
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Hsia
Dynasty
(c.2205 - c.1600 BCE) |
The
development of bronze weaponry and chariots; the domestication of
animals; the cultivation of wheat and millet, along with the very
first written symbols.
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Tian
Ming withdrawn, and Wang (King) Jie falls from power ending
the dynasty.
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Shang
Dynasty
(c.1600 - c.1100 BCE) |
Often
referred to as the Yellow River Civilization or Yin Dynasty; formation
of a structured agricultural society; bureaucracy and social classes
well defined; writing system is professionally developed; first Chinese
calendar.
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Concept
of Shang-ti (God); ancestral worship and human sacrifice practiced;
I Ching (Book of Changes) written.
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Written
laws; money economy.
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King
Wen, King Wu and the Duke of Chou - referred to in the Confucian Classics
as great leaders and chun-tzu (Noble or Superior Men).
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Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BCE) |
Iron
working; ox-drawn ploughs used.
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K'ung
Fu Tzu (Confucius); Lao Tzu (founder of Taoism); Schools of Zisi;
development of jen, tian and tianming. Period
of the One Hundred Schools.
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Warring States Period (475 - 221 BCE) |
Disarray
in China as civil war between the states breaks out.
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Mo
Tzu; Meng Tzu (Mencius); Hsun Tzu; writing of the Da Xue (Great
Learning) and Zhong Yong (Doctrine of the Mean).
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Shih
Huang-ti unites China and becomes its first Emperor; feudalism is
replaced by hierarchical bureaucracy; written language; money; weights
and measures standardized; roads; canals; building of the Great Wall.
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Burning
of books; Confucian scholars killed; crime to speak of Confucius,
Mo Tzu or Lao Tzu; Confucianism repressed.
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Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) |
Introduction
of Buddhism; encylopaedic history; dictionary compiled; porcelain
produced.
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Legalism
mixed with Confucianism to produce "State Confucianism"
- the State Orthodoxy; annotations added to the Confucian Classics;
Grand Academy established; Old and New Text Schools established; Civil
Service exams introduced based upon Confucianism; philosophical concepts
of the Five Elements (Wu-hsing) and Yin-Yang begin; Indian
Buddhism comes to China and interacts with Confucianism; Confucianism
in turn is taken to Vietnam, Korea and Japan.
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Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 265 CE) |
China
divided into the three states of Wei, Shu and Wu; Wei gradually grew
dominant; Taoism and Buddhism increase in popularity; Indian science
adopted.
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Confucianism
eclipsed by rival religions and philosophies; Mysterious Learning;
'Pure Conversation'; Taoism begins to adopt certain Confucian ethics;
National Confucian Academy established in Korea; the Lun Yu
(Analects) exported to Japan by a Korean scholar.
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Tsin Dynasty (265 - 420 CE) |
Founded
by a Wei general; Chinese expansion moves southeast; split between
Northern and Southern China.
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Continuing
growth of Buddhism - debates between Confucianism and Buddhism intensify.
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Northern & Southern Dynasties (386 - 581 CE) |
Whilst
the Tsin ruled the South, a series of barbarian tribes ruled Northern
China.
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Sui Dynasty (581 - 618 CE) |
China
is reunified; centralized government re-established; Great Wall refortified;
canal system established.
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Buddhism
and Taoism favoured over Confucianism.
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T'ang Dynasty (618 - 907 CE) |
Territorial
expansion; Buddhism repressed; great achievements in poetry, sculpture
and painting; official corruption; general hardship; widespread development
of printing; paper money printed.
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Civil
service examinations return to Confucian roots; Confucianism regains
its prestige; Nestorian Christians visit China and mix Confucianism
with their own beliefs; Korean Silla Kingdom establishes Confucian
Studies; First Japanese Constitution incorporates Confucian ideas.
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Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) |
Great
social and intellectual change; central bureaucracy re-established;
widespread cultivation of tea and cotton; gunpowder used for military
purposes.
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Renaissance
of intellectual thought leads to Neo-Confucianism; Confucian thought
gains superiority over Buddhism and Taoism; Chu Hsi establishes the
Rationalist School; Lu Jiuyuan establishes the Idealist School; Korean
Koryo Dynasty adopts Confucian civil service examination system.
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Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1260 - 1368 CE) |
Mongols
invade China and a new dynasty is founded by Kublai Khan; contact
grows with the West; Chinese playwritings increases; revolts in Mongolia
lead to downfall of Yuan.
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Harmonisation
between Rationalist and Idealist Schools; Chu Hsi's annotations of
the Four Books are standardized for the civil service examinations;
Confucian ideals are discouraged by the Mongols.
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Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 CE) |
Mongols
are expelled; contact with European traders and missionaries; Matteo
de Ricci brings Christianity to China; porcelain, architecture, the
novel and drama flourish.
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Confucianism
is reinstated; Wang Yangming founds his own Idealist School; Confucian
Scholars enjoy high status at the Imperial Court.
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Qing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644 - 1911 CE) |
Manchus
establish new dynasty; territorial expansion; Chinese power weakens;
decline of central authority; increase in European trade; Opium Wars
with Britain; Hong Kong ceded to British Empire; Boxer Uprising; Puyi
is China's last Emperor.
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Confucianism
is the State Orthodoxy and religion; Han School of Evidential Research;
Confucianism set to decline with the dynasty.
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The Republic (1911 - 1949 CE) |
Dr.
Sun Yat-Sen establishes a republic; monarchy forced to abdicate, but
permitted to stay within the Forbidden City; civil unrest following
the republic's beginning; power struggles with warlords like Chiang
Kai-Shek; conflict between Nationalists and Communists.
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Confucianism
is employed by both reformers and conservatives following the Republic's
birth; Confucian Studies are permitted for a time; cries for the destruction
of Confucianism are made.
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The People's Republic (1949 CE - now) |
Mao
Zedong brings Communist rule to China; "Great Leap Forward";
"Cultural Revolution"; Tiananmen Square; modernisation and economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping; new player on the global stage.
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Confucianism
banned - gains prestige elsewhere in Taiwan, Japan, USA and in particular,
Hong Kong; following Mao's death, Confucian Studies are rehabilitated;
during 1980s, Confucianism begins to be welcomed back; establishment
of the Modern New Confucianism movement - Mou Zongsan and Tu Weiming.
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