Han Dynasty Research Paper

In China during 406-221 BCE, the battling states between the Zhou and the Han Dynasties? were in a state of governmental disorder. Although the era was in a disruptive state, it ushered in a cultural opening that left a long lasting imprint on the Chinese history. As a result, three major belief systems surfaced Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism in an attempt to achieve a sense of political order in a disorder period. There are distinctions in the way each of the belief systems approached the many problems that plagued the Chinese society. First, all of the founders were contemporaries in China. As well as considered philosophies, who studied the future, and sat out to focus on the present rather than the past. In contrast, Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism established various paths in search of an optimistic future for the success of China. Second, both Legalism and Confucianism developed a social belief system, but are considered a religion. However, both Legalism and Confucianism purpose was to create an orderly society in the hopes of prosperity. In contrast, Daoism does

Under the rule of Liu Bang, the Han dynasty (202B.C.E. - 220 C.E.) was one of the world’s largest and wealthiest empires. Among its achievements were improvements to the imperial administration, urban culture, technology and commerce. The dynasty was so successful that the people began to call themselves the Han people. Emperor Gaozu formerly known as Liu Bang , changed the bureaucracy and strict laws by lowering taxes, implementing less severe punishments and allowed Confucian scholars to serve as state officials. At first government officials were asked to recommend young men to join the government but eventually the emperor started an imperial university in order to pick better candidates for the job. These candidates

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

In restoring Confucianism to China, the Han government put their faith in the good of humanity. Under this system moral living by the people was paramount in the health of the government. The people were punished fairly (punishment fit the crime) for wrong doing but were encouraged to treat each other fairly, honor your parents, teachers, bosses, and governmental leaders. As an upper class, commoner or slave you were all important to the success of the government. Strength of the people and increased knowledge were stressed to create a more stable viable society. Each class of people had their place in the government and should not aspire to reach any

The Han Dynasty is the largest dynasty since the Zhou Dynasty, although this is not the dynasty for wars like the Zhou was. The year is one hundred and the Dynasty we are living in has learned much from the dynasties before it and used them to shape our civilization today. In the Han Dynasty we use our language, beliefs, and government all together for a successful system to live in. These three things are crucial to our individual lives and why China will retain power for many more dynasties. Another key to our success is the administrated structure we use. The dynasty before us (Qin Dynasty) divided our nation into many parts that were ruled by royal officials. We use this system too, however, we adopted the ideology from Confucius that emphasized

The Ming dynasty ruled China for 276 years after the fall of the Yuan dynasty. This empire was based in China. During the final years of the Yuan dynasty, it was a time of disaster. There were famines, drought, flooding of the Yellow River, a plague pandemic and other natural disasters; millions of people died. With all the chaos that was going on at the time, people were seeing these disasters as signs that the Yuan Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven and with that people were starting to rebel. The rebellion lasted for almost 20 years because as much as the Yuan troops tried to end the rebellions, the rebel armies grew in size. They were becoming larger and more powerful.

The Warring states period of ancient China brought about three different schools of thought, Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism that aimed to provide answers for troubling times. Although these three ideologies were aiming to provide an answer as to why China was constantly fighting during this time period, they provided three very different answers. Examining ideas of government, ethics and education of each ideology reveals that Confucianism centralizes its belief system around trusting human nature, and while Daoism and Legalism want to control over human nature, Daoism is focused on human connection with the universe and Legalism is focused on heavy control with laws.

The Chinese empire is by far the empire that impacted the world the most, and it was all because of their amazing innovations.The world’s oldest canal is the Grand Canal. At 1,795 kilometers (1,114 miles), it has 24 locks and 60 bridges, and claim to the third century, BCE during the Qin dynasty with the first emperor, Shi Huangdi. The Grand Canal, connected China, which greatly improved not only defense but administration of China. It was the first Qin emperor in 221 BCE who standardized writing in China. Before this, each area had it’s own particular writing system, but with the help of connections made by the Grand Canal. It connected the empire. In China each area had it’s own specific written language system. The Qin dynasty writing became

Confucius teachings became the state philosophy of China during the Han Dynasty and the basis of government and civil service exams (“Biography Confucius” 2).

Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this

China adopted three schools of thought regarding the nature of human beings and the universe. One particular area was called Confucianism which was developed by the Chinese first teacher known as Confucius. He felt that a rebirth needed to take place in an effort to create a more stable society. Prior to Confucius taking over, there was a great deal of violence and moral decay happening that Confucius was determined to change. Because Confucius was able to spread the word of Confucianism, the majority of the teachings in schools were based on his principles and became an integral part of the Chinese culture.

Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, can be argued to be the first and most significant of Chinese political thinkers. His philosophy traveled across the many kingdoms in China, centuries later becoming a part of the foundation of modern Chinese governance. Born after the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, Confucius belonged to the Warring States Era, a time of significant chaos. From the time of his being to modern day, people from China and many other countries in the world have studied the core values of his teachings, all hoping to make such values applicable to their own lives. Although the extent of Confucius’s teachings is astonishing at the least, one should not neglect to understand the interpretations of

The chapter also extends on to Confucius learning among the populace and its usage by the government, Confucian learning and its relevance to China’s modernization program, and connections between Confucian teachings and democracy. Essentially, the author’s purpose for chapter 1 is to establish an understanding on the importance of Confucian learning undergoing transformations and adapted to modern times.

From the 6th century to 221 BC, the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, the Ancient China experienced a lengthy chaos. Nonetheless, in such bloody era, the brilliant Chinese philosophers sprang up and started a Golden Age of philosophy. People call this phenomenon as the Contention of a Hundred schools of Thoughts. The philosophers discussed about the best way for a country to survive, for an emperor to rule and for people to live. Those thoughts impacted the lifestyle and social consciousness not only at that time but even in the following thousands of years, especially for the Confucianism which was exclusively adopted in Han dynasty and rule the China for two thousand years. In this essay, I will focus on the Confucianism, discuss the central doctrines.

Not much is known about the life of Confucius, which is noteworthy since his ideas and teachings had such a large influence on East Asian social and intellectual history. He was self-educated and sought out a career as not only a teacher, but as a social reformer, as well. The foundation for the culture and education in China was provided by Confucius, which is why he is known as China’s leading and most notable thinker in the fifth century B.C.E. He delivered the proper conduct, proper behavior and fundamental rules of how to live one’s life in a decent manner (Fiero, 2015).