Part Four: Early Imperial China Table of Contents | Start Section
More about Excavations at the Tomb of the First Emperor, Buddhism in China
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Qin to Tang Dynasties King Zheng assumed the leadership of Qin in the year 246 B.C. at age thirteen, and only a few years later launched a series of military campaigns that led to the defeat of all rival states. He proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huangdi (the First Emperor of Qin), initiating an imperial dynasty that would rule over all the kingdoms of China. A new capital was built at Xianyang, on the Wei River opposite present-day Xi'an. Here, the First Emperor centralized control and formed a huge court bureaucracy to administer the new empire. The country was divided into thirty-six areas, each with its own governor. The emperor standardized weights, measures, writing scripts, money, roads, and even the axle widths of chariots. His most ambitious building projects included work on the first Great Wall (meant to keep out foreign invaders) and his own mausoleum, in which as many as 700,000 workers toiled to supply a model army for his defense (see object 15) and a model palace for his afterlife. The First Emperor is also remembered for his fear of subversion, which led to the burning of books and harsh treatment of scholars. His brutal regime and severe laws led to the demise of the dynasty, which was toppled only three years into the reign of his successor, his youngest son. |
The Han dynasty spanned nearly four hundred years. Historians have divided it into a western and an eastern period (A.D. 206 B.C.-24 and A.D. 25-220). The Western Han capital was located at nearby Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). The eastern capital was at Luoyang.
Significant developments during the Han included expansion of trade and empire to the north, south, and west along the Silk Route, and general domestic economic expansion. Also important was the formation of an Imperial Academy in 124 B.C., which, along with the Confucian trends in education, signaled a shift toward an educational system based on merit rather than lineage.
During the long reign of Wu Di (141-87 B.C.), the Chinese empire expanded to include parts of present-day Korea and Vietnam. Diplomatic and military expeditions were sent to Central Asia to deal with the Xiongnu, who threatened China's western frontier. As a result of these maneuvers, the Chinese colonized the Gansu corridor in the west. During the Han dynasty, iron began to be used on a more widespread basis for farm implements. Paper was improved, and the first dictionary was compiled, listing more than 9,000 characters.
Tombs began to be carved into the rock of mountains, and reliefs were placed along tomb chamber walls. For the first time in Chinese history, images of rural and daily life appeared in tombs, particularly in the form of reliefs, wall paintings, and tomb ceramics known as mingqi (see More About The Tomb of the First Emperor). Behind the proliferation of grave goods lay a desire both to represent earthly existence and to portray evolving conceptions of the heavenly realm. Various beliefs held that the soul divided at death, or was summoned to Mount Tai to be weighed before a heavenly court. An elaborate cosmology involving the five elements and the complementary principles yin and yang, along with Daoist prescriptions for immortality, inspired much of the imagery seen at this time, including strange beings, animals, and cloud formations. Jade items in tombs were probably meant to help preserve the body. The tomb became a dwelling place where the earthly and heavenly met.
During the first few centuries A.D., Buddhism began to find its way into China, principally along the Silk Routes and by sea, although it did not initially attract a large following. During the turmoil of the periods following the Han, known as Three Kingdoms (A.D. 220-265) and Northern and Southern Dynasties (or Six Dynasties, from A.D. 386-589), Buddhism gained the support of various rulers, including the northern Wei and Qi, who commissioned monumental sculpture and cave complexes. Fa Xiang became the first of several famous pilgrims to journey to India in search of sacred texts, and scholars began to translate Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese. By the late Tang/early Song dynasties, Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian texts were being disseminated in the form of printed books.
A general of the Northern Zhou, Yang Jian, founded the Sui dynasty in 581, uniting China once again. He initiated a number of legal and administrative reforms and undertook various public works, including the construction of the Grand Canal linking northern and central China between the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers. His successor, Yang Di, continued these reforms but conducted expensive and demoralizing military campaigns in the west and in Korea. He was eventually murdered, and once again a general, Li Yuan, founded a new dynasty -- the Tang.
The Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907) was a period of territorial expansion (the Tang regained much of the territory lost since the Han) and cultural exuberance. The Tang capital at Chang'an (Xi'an) became one of the largest cities in the world, home to a cosmopolitan population that included numerous foreigners. The Tang produced two of the most famous Chinese poets -- Li Bai and Du Fu. The flowering of art and literature during this period was augmented by the monk Xuan Zang, who traveled in India for sixteen years and returned in 645 with new texts and relics. Trade along the Silk Road flourished again, although it was challenged in the later Tang by new sea routes. Chinese ceramics, tea, silk, lacquer-ware, peaches, and pears were exchanged for imported horses, spices, perfumes, glassware, and jewelry.
Tang internationalism is reflected in its art. Tomb figurines with three-color glazes often depict foreigners, horses, and camels, as well as richly attired ladies at court. Lavish tombs were built with long ramps lined with lively mural paintings. Buddhist arts flourished at temples and cave sites such as Dunhuang in Gansu province and at Longmen in Henan province. Gold, silver, and other precious metals were used in the production of reliquaries and other Buddhist ceremonial objects.
Women enjoyed relatively high status during the Tang, participating in horseback riding, polo, and various forms of dance and music, many of which had been introduced from the West. Two women in particular became famous during the Tang: Wu Zetian, who rose from concubine status to become empress from A.D. 690-705; and Yang Guifei, who entered the court of the emperor Xuanzong in the 740s. Yang Guifei slowly infatuated the emperor, causing him to neglect the growing threat of border enemies and her own ambitious family members. When the capital was taken, the court fled and the emperor reluctantly ordered that she be strangled. From A.D. 751, China was on the defensive. Economic power shifted toward the south. Buddhism came under attack for amassing riches in monasteries, and peasant rebellions increased. A half-century of division would follow, until the Song reunified China in A.D. 960 |
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