Page 53 - China, 5000 years : innovation and transformation in the arts

not become pronounced until the reign of
WuEmperor of the Western Han (r. 141-87 BCE),
when Confucianism was established as the
orthodox state ideology.
II.
China's land area is very extensive, and a complex
regionalism characterized the primitive cultures of
the Neolithic era. Over time, of course, the various
cultures changed and influenced each other, thus
narrowing the differences between them. But even
after entering the age of civilization, regional
disparities continued to exist because of variations
in the natural environment and in cultural origins.
In this essay Chinese culture is taken to mean only
the mainstream culture. 2
Approximately five thousand years ago, from the
Liao River in the northeast through the central and
lower Yellow River basin and southward to the
central and lower Yangzi River basin, civilization
began to dawn. About four thousand years ago the
three early dynasties, Xia, Shang, and Zhou,
emerged successively in the central Yellow River
basin, and China entered the age of civilization.
What is generally known as Chinese culture
originated during this period, defined and
reinforced, from this time forward, by the traits
listed below.
First, the polity that emerged was multiethnic,
centered around the Huaxia people (later called the
Han people) and associated with other somewhat
closely related peoples. Even when one particular
ethnic group seized political control from another,
the state always remained multiethnic. In fact, its
Aspecific structure became ever more tight knit.
multiethnic state in which the Han people formed
the majority group emerged during Qin and Han.
Second, government took the form of an autocracy,
centered around the ruler as Son of Heaven.
Heaven, however, was not a personalized deity, nor
were the emperors god-kings or even priest-kings.
Rather, Heaven represented an idea of willed
cosmic order and propriety which the emperor
was expected, by means of moral example,
prescribed ceremonial, and efFective governance,
to reify on earth.
Third, a basically uniform writing system was
adopted, which promoted cultural interchange and
consensus among regions and peoples.
Fourth, hierarchical systems of rites were
established, to set norms for the conduct of the
Ofdifferent social classes. the systems created
during the three early dynasties, that begun during
the Zhou was the most comprehensive. Since 11 was
originally created to stabilize the Zhou class system.
FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF CHINESE CULTURE
the period-specific aspects of these rites disappeared
with the demise of the Zhou, but the rites
themselves did not disappear. They continued to
influence social behavior in subsequent dynasties,
and became a part of a longstanding tradition of
ritual conduct for individuals as well as the state.
A fundamental component of culture is beliefs. The
exact beliefs prevalent during the three early
dynasties are still unclear but are thought to have
been forms of shamanism, meaning in large part the
superstitious worship of heaven and earth, with
shamans as intermediaries between humankind and
the supernatural. 3 From the late Neolithic Liangzhu
culture of the Yangzi delta (ca. 3600-ca. 2000 BCE)
through the Shang and Zhou periods, precious jade
objects were used as offerings to heaven and
—earth jade bi disks to heaven and jade cong tubes
to earth. The mysterious and mesmerizing patterns
on ritual bronzes of the Shang and Zhou would
seem to make them instruments of shamanism, so
that Professor Zhang Guangzhi (K.C. Chang) has
used the term "shamanistic culture" to explain
them. 4 Shamanism, a pre-religious structure of
magical beliefs, was common to most early cultures.
But the use of jades for sacrifices to heaven and
earth, and the use of ritual bronzes in the worship
of ancestors and mountain and river gods, was
unique to the magical beliefs of China during the
three early dynasties. Like the Zhou rituals, at least
some of these practices survived into the Ming and
Qing dynasties as ceremonials protective of state
and society and as evidence of Heaven-pleasing
righteousness in the practitioners.
The (to us) mysterious images on ritual bronzes of
the three early dynasties could not have been cast
solely for the purpose of evoking awe. According to
the entry for "the third year of Duke Xuan" in the
Zuo zhuan (a historical narrative of the early
Eastern Zhou period, probably compiled toward
the end of Eastern Zhou), "There was virtue in the
time of the Xia, so the Nine Provinces submitted
to the Xia, and offered bronzes which they made in
tribute. Those living afar also offered drawings
depicting local spirits and demons. Then the Xia
cast a large ding on which were portrayed all the
spirits and demons, so that the people might know
of them. Thus, when they travelled to the
mountains, rivers, and forests around the land,
they would not be molested by the main spirits
and demons. To handle affairs from all over in
this manner was to act according to the mandate
of Heaven." 5
I Hiring the three early dynasties people were just
beginning to emerge from .1 state of barbarism.
They attributed all good and ill to supernatural
forces that were amenable to prayer and
propitiation, hence the popularity of shamanism.
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