Differences Between Han China And Confucianism

"Slowly, a new social and political hierarchy emerged, with scholars at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants" (Spodek 215). Confucian principles influenced many aspects of the culture, including government, education, commerce, and the justice system. Not only did Confucianism influence how the Chinese society operated, there was a strong emphasis placed on documenting history. This transformation took place mainly due to more people being educated in Confucianism and changing of leadership roles based on the worth and abilities of the

One of the primary aspects of social structure in China was class. In the Classical Era, the Han and Qin dynasties ran China as a bureaucracy based on a person’s importance to society. One of the main reasons status did not pertain to the amount of wealth a person had is that during this time, China was an agrarian based society, which meant that farmers did

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty right after the Qin Dynasty, so there are major similarities between the two. One of those is the social structure of the country. The system consists of three tiers. Bureaucrats and government officials are on top, skilled laborers such as farmers and blacksmiths were the middle class, and servants and merchants were the bottom class. The country was ran by the Emperor and his/her royal family. Importantly the social class did not impact the wealth or power of each individual or family, it only indicated their status. This is how order was established throughout this civilization.

Confucius created the doctrine that 300 years after his death became a permanent impulse of social life in China, established rules of behaviour not only in the state, but also the family as a social unit.1

The Han Dynasty of Ancient China was one of the most prominent and long lasting societies of the time. However, they were not untouched by the ravages of the world, and despite their Confucius roots, there was a war to be fought. The Salt and Iron debate is an example of how the Confucianism of the time affected the strategy of the war. Should the government stick to their principles, or protect their empire? When is the time to say “enough is enough”?

Various religions and philosophies were popular and influential in different times in China’s history. During the time of the Qin Dynasty, the first of the two main dynasties in Classical China, a philosophy known as Legalism was very popular. Legalism emphasized the importance of government and laws over anything else for obtaining order and success. This helped strengthen the Qin’s central government and create a degree of equality due to the fairness created by the laws. While Legalism was the most popular philosophy during the Qin Dynasty, other belief systems, such as the philosophy of Confucianism, existed in China. In the Han Dynasty, the second of the two main dynasties in Classical China, Confucianism was the major belief system from which much of life was based on (Wu, Han Dynasty Social Structure). The major

Its ideas did not meet the requirement of Qin and could not deal with the situation in Qin, so Confucianism was not adopted by Qin. On the other hand, Qin tended to adopt an offensive grand strategy, and Legalism conformed to the situation in Qin, thereby, it was much favored by the Qin’s ruling class.

It is clear from examining the philosophical thought and social trends during both the Qing and Ming dynasties that Confucian thought and ideology had a profound effect on Chinese society and moral values during that period.

As the dominant philosophical school for around two thousand years in Chinese imperial history, Confucianism is always regarded as the most representative ideology of China, associated with numerous books, poems, artworks and stories that glorify Confucianism’s permeation into every corner of Chinese society. However, before Han Wudi, Confucianism was only one of those competing philosophical schools founded in Spring and Autumn period. During the Warring States period and Qin dynasty, Legalism took place of all other philosophical schools

Due to Patriarchal families, the husband and/or father in a family was the head of the house. This provided him with less extreme punishments and control over his wife’s life. In addition, the sons, and most importantly the eldest son, took precedence over any daughter that was in the family. The class structure was very specific in China. At the top, there were the landowning aristocrats and educated bureaucrats. Next there were peasants, laboring masses, artisans, and at the very bottom, there were people with meaningless skills (performers) and

While the last section pointed out the positives aspects of Confucianism there were also negative aspects of it as well. One can say in early Confucianism, personal freedom and individuality were none existent. Early Confucianism focused mainly on solidarity, community, and importance of hierarchy. Even before the Qing dynasty which took place from 1644 to 1912 Confucianism was used as a tool to keep the lower class of China in line. However, it was during Qing dynasty radical change occurred in china which eventually led to the criticism of Confucianism.

The Zhou and Qin Dynasties demonstrated the importance for organization within a society; the Han Dynasty promoted the idea of Confucianism which then went on to increase respect within the

Since the Qin dynasty the classical Chinese Empire include a central government ran by a king or emperor commonly through a dynasty and provincial bureaucracies. During the Han dynasty when Confucianism was accepted as a main political structure, it changed and furthermore supported the Chinese governmental bodies of order. In Confucian philosophy, the idea of a bureaucracy was supported. Instead of having a bureaucracy with a collection of people with common political goals, Confucianism turned the bureaucracy to a collection of people with common political standards. Confucianism clearly heavily affected the bureaucracy that the civil service tests massively stressed Confucius thoughts. Also the emperor was also changed through Confucianism. Emperors through Confucianism could not kill, be brutal, and had to rule and be chosen by

The Zhou dynasty lasted from about 1045 to 256 B.C.E. They claimed to be given the mandate of heaven to justify overthrowing the Shang. Under the Zhou many different kinds of ruling took place. During feudalism the king gave his most trust worthy subjects called lords chunk of land to rule over. Feudalism worked for China until somewhere in the 700s B.C.E. When the power hungry lords stated to rival the king. Then the Chinese switched to confucianism. Confucius wanted men to work in fair and honest government. In Confucianism there were five basic relationships. The lower one must respect and obey the higher one. In exchange the higher one must always set a good example. Taoism's encouraged rulers to be strict but not harsh. Taoism's

Chinese philosophy is dominated by a set of so-called Confucian values. These values, inherent in Chinese thought, were pushed forward by Confucius himself during his life time in an effort to propose a better, guided way of leadership. While Confucian values stress the naturally good nature of man, they stand in direct opposition to the writings of Han Feizi, a legalist philosopher under the first emperor of China. For the Legalists, the nature of man must be stressed as evil, and combatted under that assumption. Han Feizi and Confucius take two different stances regarding man’s true nature, and in these differing stances propose varying guidelines for how a state and its leader should act. Confucianism, under the belief of limited action,