History UsefulNotes / DynastiesFromShangToQing

Confucianism became the state ideology from the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han onwards[[note]]Emperor Yuan's great-great grandfather Emperor Wu had merely used Confucianism as window-dressing to mask his Legalist tendencies. This pragmatism continued all the way until the reign of Emperor Yuan's father, Emperor Xuan. Indeed, Emperor Xuan criticized his son's leaning towards Confucianism, but did nothing to curb it.[[/note]].

A massive bureaucracy was used by every dynasty to manage the empire, for both administrative and military purposes. Before the Qin Dynasty, bureaucracies of various Chinese states were reserved only for members of the nobility, with commoners filling lower-rank positions. This begin to change in the State of Qin, and later, the Qin Dynasty, where commoners (of the Qin) had greater opportunities to participate in political decision-making. During the Han era, local examinations were conducted to select potential bureaucrats not limited to members of the nobility. Though these examinations differed from region to region, with the Emperor himself occasionally hosting examinations in the capital. This process was streamlined from the UsefulNotes/SuiDynasty onwards, which became the nationalized Imperial Examination that was offered to nearly anyone who is literate. The test can cover a wide array of subjects, including Confucian classics, military strategy, engineering, an assortment of practical applications and so on. This was a major force for retaining stability within the society, to ensure anyone willing had an opportunity to participate in government affairs and attain high office. In addition, the Imperial Examinations ensured the writing system remain unified across the country, even as various spoken languages rose and fell. This system was certainly ahead of its time, and many nationwide examinations across the globe today follow a similar vein. However, occasional criticisms are leveled against this system in the modern era due to the perception of it partially contributing to China's ignominy during the so-called 'Century of Humiliation' that started after the [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Industrial Revolution]]. The reason for this being that the Imperial Examinations introduced a level of social mobility and stability the Chinese people saw no need to deter from, and thus unnecessary to drastically alter the way Chinese government operated. If a dynasty performed poorly in its waning years, it was often attributed to bad management and/or corrupt officials, not because the fundamentals of governance may be out-of-date. Thus after more than two thousand years since the UsefulNotes/HanDynasty, the Chinese suddenly found themselves dragging their feet trying to retain China's sovereignty against encroaching Western Powers and cope with new world realities when rules of the game had changed dramatically. \\\

->''"Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han. Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han. Sui, Tang, Song. Sui, Tang, Song. Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic. Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic. [[UsefulNotes/MaoZedong Mao Zedong]]. [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Mao Zedong.]]"''

A common misconception is the belief that Chinese Emperors were absolute monarchies and held absolute power. This is incorrect. Traditionally, even the most accomplished Chinese Emperors faced a bureaucracy that countered Imperial power on numerous fronts, forming a system of checks and balances; indeed, an old Chinese maxim goes: "imperial power does not reach the county" (original: 皇权不下县), signalling the amount of power the local bureaucracy had. A good Emperor was open to criticisms, and critique against the government was tolerated to a considerable degree. This trend also extended to the Imperial Examinations, where answers often contained what intellectuals thought of the Emperor and the Imperial Bureaucracy at the time. This gradually changed during the Yuan Dynasty, when the central government became more authoritarian, and critique against the government became more subtle. \\\

->''"Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han. Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han. Sui, Tang, Song. Sui, Tang, Song. Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic. Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic. [[UsefulNotes/MaoZedong Mao Zedong]]. [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Mao Zedong.]]"''
-->-- To the tune of "Frère Jacques"/"Brother John"/"Where is Thumbkin"

A common misconception is the belief that Chinese Emperors were absolute monarchies and held absolute power. This is incorrect. Traditionally, even the most accomplished Chinese Emperors faced a bureaucracy that countered Imperial power on numerous fronts, forming a system of checks and balances. A good Emperor was open to criticisms, and critique against the government was tolerated to a considerable degree. This trend also extended to the Imperial Examinations, where answers often contained what intellectuals thought of the Emperor and the Imperial Bureaucracy at the time. This gradually changed during the Yuan Dynasty, when the central government became more authoritarian, and critique against the government became more subtle. \\\

Another common misconception is the usage of the term 'peasant' when discussing China-related topics. There was no peasant class in ancient China, neither was there serfdom similar to that of Medieval Europe. In China, there was the 'commoner' (百姓 ''bǎixìng'', IPA: [pai̯˨˩ɕiŋ˥˩]; lit. "hundred surnames") class, who engaged in agricultural work, mercantile activities, attain higher education, engage in examinations for political office, own property and other activities that are usually not associated with Medieval peasantry. The closest equivalent to the Chinese 'commoner' class were the Roman plebeians, and even then, social mobility amongst Chinese commoners enjoyed progressively higher flexibility post-Han Dynasty.\\\

-->-- '''Luo Guanzhong''', the opening line of ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', and a succinct summary of the concept that HistoryRepeats[[note]]In reality, the above line was inserted into ''Romance'' by Qing-era editor Mao Zonggang or his father, Mao Lun; father and son both edited ''Romance'' heavily.[[/note]]

Another common misconception is the usage of the term 'peasant' when discussing China-related topics. There was no peasant class in ancient China, neither was there serfdom similar to that of Medieval Europe. In China, there was the 'commoner' (百姓 ''bǎixìng'', roughly pronounced "bye-seeng", IPA: [pai̯˨˩ɕiŋ˥˩]; lit. "hundred surnames") class, who engaged in agricultural work, mercantile activities, attain higher education, engage in examinations for political office, own property and other activities that are usually not associated with Medieval peasantry. The closest equivalent to the Chinese 'commoner' class were the Roman plebeians, and even then, social mobility amongst Chinese commoners enjoyed progressively higher flexibility post-Han Dynasty.\\\

Another common misconception is the usage of the term 'peasant' when discussing China-related topics. There was no peasant class in ancient China, neither was there serfdom similar to that of Medieval Europe. In China, there was the 'commoner' (百姓 baixing; lit. hundred surnames) class, who engaged in agricultural work, mercantile activities, attain higher education, engage in examinations for political office, own property and other activities that are usually not associated with Medieval peasantry. The closest equivalent to the Chinese 'commoner' class were the Roman plebeians, and even then, social mobility amongst Chinese commoners enjoyed progressively higher flexibility post-Han Dynasty.\\\

This page would have been labeled {{Imperial|China}} UsefulNotes/{{China}}, but that title was already taken. This page contains the basic outlines of Chinese history prior to the founding of the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen. See [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors the relevant article]] for the rise of the Guomindang, the Civil Wars, and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Much of this comes courtesy of Website/{{Wikipedia}}, though we've quite a few (mostly amateur, but some professional) Sinologists among us.\\\

This page would have been labeled ImperialChina, but that title was already taken. This page contains the basic outlines of Chinese history prior to the founding of the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen. See [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors the relevant article]] for the rise of the Guomindang, the Civil Wars, and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Much of this comes courtesy of Website/{{Wikipedia}}, though we've quite a few (mostly amateur, but some professional) Sinologists among us.\\\