CHINA expeditions TO SOUTHEAST ASIA

The greatest diplomatic highlights of the Ming period were the enormous maritime tributary missions and expeditions of the admiral Zheng He (1371–1433), a favored court eunuch of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424). Zheng He's missions docked at ports throughout much of the Asian world, including those in Borneo, the Malay state of the Malacca Sultanate, Sri Lanka, India, Persia, Arabia, and East Africa. Meanwhile, the Chinese under the Yongle Emperor invaded northern Vietnam in 1402, and remained there until 1428, when Lê Lợi led a successful native rebellion against the Chinese occupiers.
Large tributary missions such as these were halted after Zheng He, with periods of isolationism in the Ming dynasty, coupled with the need to defend China's large eastern coastal areas against marauding wokou pirates. Although it was severely limited by the state, trade was overall not forbidden. After 1578, it was completely liberalized. Upon their arrival in the early 16th century, the Portuguese traded with the Chinese at Tuen Mun, despite some hostilities exchanged between both sides. The Chinese also traded avidly with the Spanish, sending numerous trade ships annually to the Philippines in order to sell them Chinese goods in exchange for mita-mined silver from the New World colonies of Spain. There was so much Spanish silver entering China that the Spanish minted silver currency became commonplace in Ming China. The Chinese attempted to convert the silver currency back to copper currency, but the economic damage was done.
In 1524, Beijing was visited by representatives of the Ottoman Empire

18 SONG DYNASTY AND SOTHEAST ASIA

Imperial China had a long tradition of foreign relations. From the Qin dynasty until the Qing dynasty, Chinese culture had influenced neighboring and distant countries, while gradually being transformed by outside influences as well.

 n premodern times, the theory of foreign relations of China held that the Chinese Empire was the Celestial Dynasty, the center of world civilization, with the Emperor of China being the leader of the civilized world. This view saw China as equivalent to "all under heaven". All other states were considered to be tributaries, under the suzerain rule of China. Some were direct vassals. Theoretically, the lands around the imperial capital were regarded as "five zones of submission", - the circular areas differentiated according to the strength of the benevolent influence from the Son of Heaven.
There were several periods when Chinese foreign policy took on isolationist tones, because of the view that the rest of the world was poor and backward with little to offer.
Nevertheless, China was a center of trade from early on in its history. Many of China's interactions with the outside world came via the Silk Road. This included, during the 2nd century AD, contact with representatives of the Roman Empire, and during the 13th century, the visits of Venetian traveler Marco Polo.
Chinese foreign policy was usually aimed at containing the threat of so-called "barbarian" invaders (such as the Xiongnu, Mongols, and Jurchen) from the north. This could be done by military means, such as an active offense (campaigns into the north) or a more passive defense (as exemplified by the Great Wall of China). The Chinese also arranged marriage alliances known as heqin, or "peace marriages."
Chinese officers distinguished between "matured/familiar barbarians" (foreigners influenced by Chinese culture) and "raw barbarians".^{[citation needed]}
In many periods, Chinese foreign policy was especially assertive. One such case was exemplified by the treasure voyages of Admiral Zheng He during the Ming dynasty.

 lthough many kings of the Shang and Zhou dynasties ruled beforehand, in 221 BC, the ruler of the Qin state, Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang), was the first to conquer the different vassal states under the Zhou dynasty, as well as other non-sinicized states. He was able to transform these different states into a relatively unified and uniform empire, the Qin Empire. Under his leadership and a society modelled around strict adherence to legalist philosophy, his once backwater western frontier state conquered all of the rivaling Warring States in ancient China. The Chinese domain was also extended into Inner Mongolia and Manchuria to the north, and with naval expeditions sent to the south, the indigenous Baiyue of modern-day Guangdong and northern Vietnam (the latter called Jiaozhi, and then Annam during the Tang dynasty) were also quelled and brought under Chinese rule.


The time of the Han dynasty (202 BC–AD 220) was a groundbreaking era in the history of Imperial China's foreign relations, during the long reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC), the travels of the diplomat Zhang Qian opened up China's relations with many different Asian territories for the first time. While traveling to the Western Regions in order to seek out an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu, Zhang Qian was imprisoned by the Xiongnu for many years, but he brought back detailed reports of lands that had been previously unknown to the Chinese. This included details of his travels to the Greek-Hellenized kingdoms of Fergana (Dayuan) and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (Daxia), as well as reports of Anxi (Persian Empire of Parthia), Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia), Shendu (India), and the Wusun Central Asian nomads. After his travels, the famous land trading route of the Silk Road leading from China to the Roman Empire was established. Emperor Wu was also known for his conquests and successful campaigns against the Xiongnu. He warred against the Kingdom of Wiman Joseon in order to establish the Four Commanderies of Han in Manchuria, one of which was established in northern Korea, the Lelang Commandery. The empire began expanding into southern China and northern Vietnam, then the territory of the Baiyue kingdoms. The Han Empire absorbed Minyue after defeating the state, and annexed the Dian in Yunnan. By 111 BC, Emperor Wu conquered the Nanyue kingdom in the Han–Nanyue War. Nanyue was ruled by the Triệu dynasty since the Qin naval officer Zhao Tuo had broken ties with mainland rule in the fall of Qin and establishment of Han.^[1][2]

The Han dynasty in 87 BC, after the territorial expansion and establishment of the Silk Road during the reign of Emperor Wu.

Yet Chinese trading missions to follow were not limited to travelling across land and terrain. During the 2nd century BC, the Chinese had sailed past Southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean, reaching India and Sri Lanka by sea before the Romans. This sea route became well traveled not only by merchants and diplomats, but also Chinese religious missionaries in search of further Indian Buddhist texts to translate from Sanskrit to Chinese. In AD 148, the Parthian prince known as An Shigao was the first to translate Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. There were many other Buddhist missionaries as well, including Yuezhi missionaries and Kushan Buddhist missionaries from northern India who introduced Buddhism to China. Emperor Ming establishing the White Horse Temple in the 1st century AD is demarcated by the 6th-century Chinese writer Yang Xuanzhi as the official introduction of Buddhism to China. Also by the 1st century AD, the Chinese made sea contacts with Yayoi Japan, inhabited by what the Chinese termed as the Wa people. By the 1st century, the Chinese also established relations with the Kingdom of Funan, centered in what is now Cambodia, but stretched partly into Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

 he Han general Ban Chao (AD 32-102) reconquered the states in the Western Regions (the modern day Tarim Basin in Xinjiang) after pushing the Xiongnu out of the region. This included the kingdoms of Kashgar, Loulan, and Khotan, which were returned to Chinese control. He also sent his emissary Gan Ying even further in order to reach Rome (Daqin). Gan Ying perhaps made it as far as the Black Sea and Roman-era Syria, but turned back. He did however bring back reports of the Roman Empire, and there is evidence that subsequent Roman embassies to China took place.
The first diplomatic contact between China and the West occurred with the expansion of the Roman Empire in the Middle-East during the 2nd century, the Romans gained the capability to develop shipping and trade in the Indian Ocean. The first group of people claiming to be an embassy of Romans to China is recorded in 166, sixty years after the expeditions to the west of the Chinese general Ban Chao. It came to Emperor Huan of Han China, "from Antun (Emperor Antoninus Pius), king of Daqin (Rome)". Although, as Antoninus Pius died in 161, leaving the empire to his adoptive son Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus), the convoy arrived in 166, and the both Emperor being "Antonius" the confusion arises about who sent the embassy.

17 Lý dynasty OF VIETNAM CHAMPA

The Lý dynasty (/liː/ LEE; Vietnamese: [ɲâː lǐ]) (Vietnamese: Nhà Lý, Hán Nôm: 家李), sometimes known as the Later Lý dynasty, was a Vietnamese dynasty that began in 1009 when Lý Thái Tổ overthrew the Early Lê dynasty and ended in 1225, when the queen Lý Chiêu Hoàng (then 8 years old) was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her husband, Trần Cảnh. During Lý Thánh Tông's reign, the official name of Vietnam became Đại Việt.

 he Lý were of Chinese ethnicity.^[2] Fujian province, Jinjiang village was the origin of Lý Thái Tổ 李公蘊, the ancestor of the Lý dynasty ruling family.^[a][3][4][5] China, Fujian was the home of Lý Công Uẩn. The ethnic Chinese background


During the Lý dynasty, the Vietnamese began their long march to the south (Nam tiến) at the expense of the Chams. Lê Đại Hành of the Early Lê dynasty had sacked the Cham capital of Indrapura in 982, whereupon the Chams established a new capital at Vijaya. This was captured twice by the Lý army, however, and in 1079 the Chams were forced to cede to the Lý rulers their three northern provinces. Soon afterwards, Vietnamese peasants began moving into the untilled former Cham lands, turning them into rice fields and moving relentlessly southward, delta by delta, along the narrow coastal plain. The Lý Emperors supported the improvement of Vietnam's agricultural system by constructing and repairing dikes and canals and by allowing soldiers to return to their villages to work for six months of each year. As their territory and population expanded, the Lý Emperors looked to China as a model for organizing a strong, centrally administered state. Minor officials were chosen by examination for the first time in 1075, and a civil service training institute and an imperial academy were set up in 1076. In 1089 a fixed hierarchy of state officials was established, with nine degrees of civil and military scholar officials. Examinations for public office were made compulsory, and literary competitions were held to determine the grades of officials.^[7]
In foreign relations with the Song dynasty during the Lý dynasty, Vietnam acted as a vassal state, although at its zenith it had sent troops into Chinese territory to fight the Song. In 1075, Wang Anshi, the prime minister, told the Song emperor that Đại Việt was being destroyed by Champa, with less than ten thousand soldiers surviving, hence it would be a good occasion to annex Đại Việt. The Song emperor mobilized troops and passed a decree to forbid all the provinces to trade with Đại Việt. Upon hearing the news, the Lý ruler sent Lý Thường Kiệt and Tôn Đản with more than 100,000 troops to China to carry out a pre-emptive attack against the Song troops. In the ensuing 40-day battle near modern-day Nanning, the Đại Việt troops were victorious, capturing the generals of three Song armies. In 1076, the Songs formed an alliance with Champa and the Khmer Empire and sent troops to invade Đại Việt. Lý Nhân Tông again sent Lý Thường Kiệt. Being one of the many great military strategists of Vietnam, Lý Thường Kiệt had placed spikes under the Như Nguyệt River before tricking the Song troops into the deadly trap, killing more than 1,000 Song soldiers and forcing the Song army to retreat. According to legend, during this time Lý Thường Kiệt had also composed the famous poem Nam quốc sơn hà (Rivers and Mountains of the South Nation), which asserted the sovereignty of Vietnam over its land. This poem is considered the first Vietnamese Declaration of independence.
For 30 years, the country was torn apart by war between various rival warlords. The devastating civil war ended with victory of the Imperial force, led by Trần Thủ Độ, the head of Trần clan. Some years later, the last sovereign of the dynasty, Empress Regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng receded the throne in favor of her consort, Trần Cảnh, one of the nephews of Trần Thủ Độ.
============================================

 

During Song times, new developments in rice cultivation — especially the introduction of new strains of rice from what is now Central Vietnam, along with improved methods of water control and irrigation — spectacularly increased rice yields. Rice was used primarily as food, but was also used to brew the wine consumed in homes and taverns.

Rice was grown primarily south of the Yangzi River. This area had many advantages over the north China plain, as the climate is warmer and rainfall more plentiful. The mild temperatures of the south often allowed two crops to be grown on the same plot of land — a summer and a winter crop.

The many rivers and streams of the region facilitated shipping, which reduced the cost of transportation and, thus, made regional specialization economically more feasible. During the Song period, the Yangzi River regions became the economic center of China.

 
s grown throughout East Asia before modern times, rice required much labor — to level the paddy fields, clear irrigation ditches, plant and especially transplant the seedlings, as well as to weed, harvest, thresh, and husk.

Farmers developed many varieties of rice, including drought resistant and early ripening varieties, as well as rice suited for special purposes such as brewing. They also remade the landscape by terracing hilly land, so that rice could be grown on it. Agricultural manuals helped to disseminate the best techniques for rice cultivation.

16 MONGOLS RULE

Song general Meng Gong defeated the Jin general Wu Xian and directed his troops to besiege the city of Caizhou, to which the last emperor of the Jurchen had fled. With the help of the Mongols, the Song armies were finally able to extinguish the Jin dynasty that had occupied northern China for more than a century. A year later, the Song generals fielded their armies to occupy the old capitals of the Song, but they were completely repelled by the Mongol garrisons under Tachir, a descendant of Boorchu, who was a famed companion of Genghis Khan. Thus the Mongol troops, headed by sons of the Ögedei Khan, started their slow but steady invasion of the south. The Song forces resisted fiercely, which resulted in a prolonged set of campaigns; however, the primary obstacles to the prosecution of their campaigns was unfamiliar terrain that was inhospitable to their horses, new diseases, and the need to wage naval battles, a form of warfare completely alien to the masters of the steppe. This combination resulted in one of the most difficult and prolonged wars of the Mongol conquests.^[3] The Chinese offered the fiercest resistance of among all the Mongols fought, the Mongols required every single advantage they could gain and "every military artifice known at that time" in order to win.^[4] A greater amount of "stubborn resistance" was put up by Korea and Song China towards the Mongol invasions than the others in Eurasia who were swiftly crushed by the Mongols at a lightning pace.^[5] The Mongol force which invaded southern China was far greater than the force they sent to invade the Middle East in 1256

15 Genghis Khan

The Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty under Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294) was the final step for the Mongols to rule the whole of China under the Yuan dynasty. It is also considered the Mongol Empire's last great military achievement

 Before the Mongol–Jin War escalated, an envoy from the Song dynasty arrived at the court of the Mongols, perhaps to negotiate a united offensive against the Jin dynasty, who the Song had previously fought during the Jin–Song Wars. Although Genghis Khan refused, on his death in 1227 he bequeathed a plan to attack the Jin capital by passing through Song territory. Subsequently, a Mongol ambassador was killed by the Song governor in uncertain circumstances.^[2] Before receiving any explanation, the Mongols marched through Song territory to enter the Jin's redoubt in Henan. In 1233 the Song dynasty finally became an ally of the Mongols,

14 Song Dynasty

Song Dynasty

 Starting in 960 and ending in 1279, the Song Dynasty consisted of the Northern Song (960-1127) and the Southern Song (1127-1279). With a prosperous economy and radiant culture, this period was considered as another period of 'golden age' after the glorious Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).

The Northern Song was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, a military general in the Latter Zhou (951 - 960). In 960, Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny in Chenqiao county (in current Henan Province).It was not long before the last king of the Latter Zhou was forced to abdicate. Thus a new dynasty - Song was established in Kaifeng. In that period, most part of China's territory was unified. However, in late Northern Song, the political corruption was serious and the regime began to decline. In 1127, it was destroyed by the Jin (1115 - 1234).

The Southern Song was set up by Zhao Gou, son of the last emperor of Northern Song. After Jin defeated the Northern Song, many imperial clansmen were captured by Jin's army. Fortunately, Zhao Gou had a luck escape. In 1127, he fled to Nanjing Yingtianfu (in current Shangqiu of Henan Province) and established the Southern Song Dynasty there. Later, the capital city was moved to Lin'an (currently Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province).The Southern Song's regime was subject to the Jin. Many patriotic generals were killed in the late period. In 1279, the army of the Yuan Dynasty captured Lin'an, putting the Southern Song to an end.

Generally, the Song Dynasty was prosperous in many respects of the society. In agriculture, the productive technology was improved which promoted the output of food; in handicraft industry, the division of labor became more detailed which made the  handicrafts technology reach an advanced level; additionally, the development of the commodity economy exceeded the previous level. Particularly, the earliest paper currency appeared at that period.

As for the development of science and culture, tremendous achievements were made during this period. Two of China's four great inventions - typography and compass were both invented and the application of gunpowder also developed rapidly. With regard to literature, a large number of outstanding scholars and poets, such as Zhuxi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Sima Guang and Shen Kuo, emerged and built up the splendid cultural atmosphere of the Song Dynasty.

 Emperors

Order		Name	Notes		Reign Time (years)
Northern Song (960 - 1127)
1	Song Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin)		Formerly the leading general of the Latter Zhou (951 - 960); He usurped the throne and founded the Song Dynasty by launching a coup.	960 - 976
2	Song Taizong (Zhao Guangyi)		The younger brother of Zhao Kuangyin; during his reign, the whole China was unified by his defeating the Northern Han (951 - 979).	976 - 997
3	Song Zhenzong (Zhao Heng)		Son of Emperor Taizong; In his reign, the military power of Song was strengthened but he signed the first humiliating treaty with the Liao (916 - 1125). Especially, he founded the famous ceramic kiln in Jingdezhen.	997 - 1022
4	Song Renzong (Zhao Zhen)		Son of Emperor Zhenzong; His reign was the turning point of the Song Dynasty from the prosperity to the disintegration.	1022 - 1063
5	Song Yingzong (Zhao Shu)		Son of one of the imperial clansmen and was adopted by Emperor Renzong; Actually, Emperor Yingzong's father was the first cousin of Emperor Renzong.	1063 - 1067
6	Song Shenzong (Zhao Xu1)		During his reign, he appointed Wang Anshi as Chancellor who presented a series of reform policy. He tried to expel Xixia (a contemporary kingdom of the Northern Song) troops out of the Song's territory but it was in vain.	1067 - 1085
7	Song Zhezong (Zhao Xu3)		Son of Emperor Zhenzong; In his reign, a conventional chancellor named Sima Guang was appointed, who once halted the reform policy put forth by Wang Anshi.	1085 - 1100
8	Song Huizong (Zhao Ji)		The 11th son of Emperor Shenzong; one of the few monarchs who favored Taoism and against Buddhism; As an emperor, he was more well-known as a painter, poet, calligrapher and musician.	1100 - 1125
9	Song Qinzong (Zhao Huan)		The eldest son of Emperor Huizong; He ascended to the throne after his father abdicated. However, the Song court was defeated by the Jin army in 1127 after which both Qinzong and Huizong were demoted to commoner.	1126 - 1127
Southern Song (1127 - 1279)
10	Song Gaozong (Zhao Gou)		The ninth son of Emperor Huizong who escaped the capture of the Jin court; He founded the weak Northern Song in Lin'an (currently Hangzhou).	1127 - 1162
11	Song Xiaozong (Zhao Shen)		He belonged to the seventh generation descendants of Emperor Taizu.	1162 - 1189
12	Song Guangzong (Zhao Dun)		The present Chongqing City was originally named by Guangzong, meaning ‘double celebration'.	1189 - 1194
13	Song Ningzong (Zhao Kuo)		In his reign, the cultural and intellectual achievements were abundant.	1194 - 1224
14	Song Lizong (Zhao Yun)		He was not interested in state affairs. In his reign, the Jin (1115 - 1234) was destroyed in 1234.	1224 - 1264
15	Song Duzong (Zhao Qi)		Nephew of Emperor Lizong; His reign was full of rebellions and war affairs.	1264 - 1274
16	Song Gongdi (Zhao Xian)		Son of Emperor Duzong; His reign lasted for only two years then he abdicated to his elder brother.	1275 - 1276
17	Song Duanzong (Zhao Shi)		Son of Emperor Duzong; His reign also lasted for two years till his death.	1276 - 1278
18	Song Weiwang (Zhao Bing)		Younger brother of Duanzong and died at eight; Chancellor Lu Xiu carried him jumping into the sea after the Yuan army's invasion.	1278 - 1279

13 Five Dynasties & Ten States

Five Dynasties & Ten States

 fter Zhu Quanzhong usurped the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and founded the Later Liang Dynasty (907 - 923), there were sequentially four dynasties after that. All these five dynasties were called Five Dynasties in Chinese history. Meanwhile, there were also ten kingdoms originating from the former Jiedushi (regional military attachment) of Tang. Hereunder is the timeline of the Five Dynasties and Ten States:

Period	Dynasty	Capital City	Reign Period	Destroyed by
Five Dynasties	Later Liang	Luoyang, Kaifeng	907 - 923	Later Tang
	Later Tang	Luoyang	923 - 936	Later Jin
	Later Jin	Luoyang, Kaifeng	936 - 946	Liao
	Later Han	Kaifeng	947 - 951	Later Zhou
	Later Zhou	Kaifeng	951 - 960	Song
Ten States	Southern Wu	Yangzhou	902 - 937	Southern Tang
	Southern Tang	Nanjing	937 - 975	Song
	Wu Yue	Hangzhou	907 - 978	Song
	Southern Chu	Changsha	927 - 951	Southern Tang
	Northern Han	Taiyuan	951 - 979	Song
	Southern Han	Guangzhou	917 - 971	Song
	Former Shu	Chengdu	907 - 925	Later Tang
	Later Shu	Chengdu	934 - 965	Song
	Southern Ping	Jingzhou	924 - 963	Song
	Min	Fuzhou	909 - 945	Southern Tang

 Five Dynasties
The period of the five dynasties lasted for only 53 years, from 907 to 960. In 907, Zhu Quanzhong established the Later Liang in Kaifeng (provincial capital of Henan Province).In his reign, old conventions of the Tang Dynasty were discarded while new reforms were reinforced. However, Zhu did not pursue the cause of unification and later became corrupt. In 923, Later Liang was defeated by Li Cunxu.
The Later Tang lasted for 14 years. During this dynasty, the second emperor of Later Liang, Emperor Mingzong, was an enlightened emperor. He carried out many favorable policies under which people lived an affluent life. Likewise, rulers of the Later Tang did not unify the whole country either. Finally, the regime was destroyed by Emperor Mingzong's brother-in-law Shi Jingtang, with the help of the Qidan group from the northern areas.
After the downfall of the Later Tang, Shi Jingtang was enthroned as emperor of the Later Jin by the king of the Qidan group. In this way, the regime of the Later Jin was attached to the Qidan group. Till the reign of Shi Zhonggui, who was the foster son of Shi Jingtang, wanted to break away from the control of Qidan. Unfortunately, the Later Jin was captured by Qidan who afterwards set up the Liao Dynasty in capital Kaifeng.
Although the Qidan group established a new dynasty, their regime did not last long in the central plain areas because of the objection from the local people. Before long, Liu Zhiyuan, a man from Taiyuan, led his army into the central plain and soon founded a new dynasty - Later Han. In 950, suspecting that a military general named Guo Wei plotting to rebel, Liu Chengyou (the second emperor of the Later Han) wanted to kill him. But Liu Chengyou did not fulfill his goal; instead, Guo Wei along with his military force killed Liu Chengyou and founded Later Zhou in 951.
Comparatively, the Later Zhou was the most prosperous one among the five dynasties. Under the wise ruling of Guo Wei and his foster son Chai Rong, the national strength was greatly enhanced. In that period, the rulers gradually unified almost the whole country. But the third emperor was a child who was enthroned at the age of seven. In 960 when the regime unstable, a military general in the court, named Zhao Kuangyin, took the chance of resisting the Liao aggressors and launched a mutiny in Chenqiao County. Soon the child emperor had to yield the throne to Zhao, after which a new dynasty - Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) was founded.

 

 

12 Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

Viewing the Chinese history record, you will find the Tang Dynasty was the most glistening historic period in China's history. Founded in 618 and ending in 907, the state, under the ruling of the Tang Emperors, became the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. Particularly, in this glorious period, the economy, politics, culture and military strength reached an unparalleled advanced level.

 t the end of Sui Dynasty (581 - 618), the whole country fell into chaos due to the tyranny of Emperor Yang; rebellions roused by peasants were everywhere. Resenting Emperor Yang's ruling, the chief officer of Taiyuan - Li Yuan, who was also known as Tangguo Gong (a vassal in Sui Court) raised an army in Taiyuan from May 617. In November of the same year, Li Yuan's army captured the capital city Chang'an (currently Xian) and put a new monarch, Yang You, on the throne as Emperor Gong. Meanwhile, Li Yuan proclaimed himself Da Chengxiang (prime minister) and Tang Wang (King of Tang). In 618 after Emperor Yang was killed by his chancellor, Yuwen Huaji, Li Yuan seized the chance to proclaim himself emperor and changed the state title into Tang, still with Chang'an as the capital city.

 Glorious Period
The first glorious period was from 627 to 649 when the Tang Dynasty was just set up and its national strength was recovering from the previous weak condition. Under Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's wise governing, the national strength and social development reached an unparalleled prosperity - economy and commerce flourished, the social order was stable, corruption never existed in the court and the national boundaries were even open to foreign countries.

 After Li Shimin died, the throne passed to his ninth son Li Zhi who was later crowned as Emperor Gaozong and married Li Shimin's imperial concubine Wu Meiniang. Wu Meiniang was officially named Wu Zetian and afterwards became the empress. Actually it was Wu Zetian who had the real power during Emperor Gaozong's reign since the emperor suffered from bad health. After Li Zhi died, Wu successively enthroned and dethroned her two sons - Li Xian and Li Dan. In 690, disregarding the objections and criticisms of all chancellors, Wu Zetian proclaimed herself Emperor Shengshen and established a new dynasty - Zhou, which lasted for 15 years. During her reign, the state economy continued to develop rapidly.
In 705, a coup broke out which brought one of the former emperors, Li Xian, to the throne as Emperor Zhongzong. However, Emperor Zhongzong's ruling was manipulated by his wife, Empress Wei. In 710, plotting to be the second woman emperor, Empress Wei along with Princess Anle poisoned Zhongzong. At that time, Li Longji (son of Li Dan) launched a coup with the assistance of his parental aunt Princess Taiping, killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle. After that, Li Dan was crowned as Emperor Ruizong.
The second glorious period was during Emperor Xuanzong's reign. In 712, Emperor Ruizong abdicated and Li Longji was enthroned as Emperor Xuanzong. Under his ruling, the national economy, politics and culture all developed rapidly and the social development entered a new heyday. In that period, Chang'an City was the largest and the most prosperous metropolis in the world. Since the title of Xuanzong's reign was Kaiyuan, that period was called the Heyday of Kaiyuan, in which the dynasty reached its summit of prosperity.

 Decline and Ruin
In his old age, Emperor Xuanzong was complacent and indifferent to state affairs. Hopelessly, he indulged himself in the beauty of his concubine Yang Yuhuan. Besides, he also appointed some wicked chancellors who corrupted the political order. Meanwhile, troops on the frontiers gradually gathered together and formed a powerful military force. In 755, An Lushan aligned with Shi Siming and launched a rebellion, called the An Shi Rebellion which lasted for eight years and heavily knocked the Tang regime. From then on, the national strength was weakened daily by separatist forces in local areas. Because of the incompetence of the emperors the dominance of the eunuchs and power struggles between chancellors became increasingly intense. Hence the Tang Dynasty declined from generation to generation. In 859, a large-scale peasant uprising launched by Huang Chao again severely attacked the Tang regime. In 907, the last Tang emperor, Emperor Ai was forced to abdicate by Chancellor Zhu Quanzhong, who afterwards changed the state title into Liang, finally putting the ever powerful and mighty dynasty to an end.

11The Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty

 

The Sui Dynasty (581–618) was a dynastic clan that ruled for 37 years over much of the region. The course of their empire was strangely reminiscent of the Qin Empire; the Mandate of Heaven seemed to come into play.

Like the Qin Dynasty in Many Ways...

The Sui Empire started when the ruling clan conquered Nanjing in 589. Along with the Qin Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty was one of the two dynasties of shortest duration that ruled big empires in the region.
The Qin Dynasty had ruled much of the same region 800 years before though their great empire only lasted for 15 years.
As the Qin Dynasty did, the Sui Dynasty used the people to carry out huge construction projects and fight large-scale wars to invade other countries. Their Great Wall and Grand Canal ranked among the world's greatest feats of engineering at the time.
Their rule was harsh, and their dynasty ended in big rebellions also.

 

he Pre-Sui Era: AD 25–581

Perhaps the Sui rulers initiated their large-scale projects in an attempt to make their empire more secure since the region had a history of 500 years of large empires disappearing.
The Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) lasted for about 200 years. At its end, the Eastern Han Empire split into three warring states. That was called the Three Kingdoms Period.
Then in 376 AD, there were two large empires that divided the region north and south.

The Northern Zhou

In 560, there were four kingdoms in the area. This was called the Southern and Northern Dynasties era (420–589).
One of the four kingdoms of this era was called the Northern Zhou. The Northern Zhou controlled a big inland region that reached from Mongolia and down into the southwest. It was far from the sea. 

he Beginning of the Sui Empire (581)

In 581, the Sui Dynasty began when a member of the ruling clan of Northern Zhou killed about 60 of his brothers and relatives and made himself the emperor of his kingdom.
He was called Emperor Wen. He wanted to strengthen his empire, so he gained the support of Confucian bureaucrats and expanded his army. 

Sui Emperor Wen (589–604)

Emperor's Wen goal was to control the region. Do this this, he initiated large construction projects, installed Confucian bureaucrats, and initiated major wars.
The Chen Empire was to the southeast, and the big Yangtze River was a natural boundary.
It is said that Emperor Wen sent about 500,000 troops across the Yangtze River in 588. In 589, he conquered the Chen Empire capital called Jiankang that is now called Nanjing. This is how the Sui Empire began.
During his reign, he initiated construction projects involving millions of laborers reminiscent of the Emperor of the Qin. His major policies were spreading Buddhism, reinstituting rule by Confucian bureaucrats, and making the people poorer for his wars and construction projects. 

The Spread of Buddhism

Emperor Wen was a Buddhist and tried to spread Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism had spread and became popular in the region in the various kingdoms during the preceding several hundreds of years.
The religion was taught by monks and others from Central Asia and by various kings and emperors starting from the Eastern Han era.
In the year 601, Emperor Wen expressed an edict that said:
“All the people within the four seas may, without exception, develop enlightenment and together cultivate fortunate karma, bringing it to pass that present existences will lead to happy future lives, that the sustained creation of good causation will carry us one and all up to wondrous enlightenment.”

Sui Emperor Yang (604–618)

His son came to power in the year 604. He was named Emperor Yang. He ruled for 14 years and continued his father's policies of installing a Confucian bureaucracy, making wars, and building major construction projects, but because he poured so much of the empire's resources into these projects, he exhausted his resources and the people rebelled.
He was more like the Qin Emperor than his father, and he was also known for expending a lot of money on luxuries.

Yang's Construction Projects

The Grand Canal, built by Sui Emperor Yang.

Like the Qin Emperor, he too ordered construction of large construction projects. He started to rebuild the Great Wall. During his reign, millions of laborers were forced to extend a section that stretched into Inner Mongolia.
A major engineering achievement was finishing the construction of much of the Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing. He urged his people to finish it quickly because he wanted to use it to transport resources for his war against Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom.
Though building the canal impoverished his own empire, the relative ease of travel on it added to the Tang Empire's prosperity.
The canal extended from the merchant city of Hangzhou in the south, across the Yangtze River, and up to Luoyang that was the capital of the empire.

• See the Grand Canal in Hangzhou and the Grand Canal in Suzhou where it is at it's best, in China's Yangtze Delta area of ancient water towns.

War Against the North

He used the Grand Canal to send large armies for his campaigns into the Korean Peninsula to invade Goguryeo. A costly expedition was said to involve about 1.5 million troops and thousands of ships.
It is said that large mounds of equipment and rations were captured by the Goguryeo troops. Altogether, there were about four campaigns, and the Goguryeo troops defeated them all. Many died in the severely cold winters

The End of the Sui Empire

There was a lot of discontent about the loss of life, the forced labor, and the heavy taxes. Various leaders led rebellions. Emperor Yang was assassinated in 618 by his advisers.
In the northern part of the empire, Li Yuan (李淵, 566–635) and his clan emerged as powerful rulers. After capturing Chang'an (now Xi'an), Li Yuan declared himself the Tang Emperor in the year 618. 

10 Jin dynasty

The Jin dynasty, distinguished as the Sima Jin and Liang Jin, was a Chinese dynasty, empire, and era traditionally dated from AD 265 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan, son of Sima Zhao who was created Prince of Jin and posthumously declared the founder of the dynasty. It followed the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD), which ended with the conquest of Eastern Wu by the Jin.
There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty: the Western Jin (265–316) when the capital was located at Luoyang or Chang'an (modern Xi'an) and the Eastern Jin (317–420) when it was relocated to Jiankang (modern Nanjing). Sima Rui was forced to relocated to Jiankang owing to civil wars and invasion from the Five Barbarians of the north and west. The Eastern Jin was eventually overthrown by the Liu Song.


Under the Wei, who emerged victorious from China's Three Kingdoms period, the Sima clan rose to prominence, particularly after the 249 coup d'état at the Gaoping Tombs. Sima Zhao assisted the throne in suppressing other rebellions, recovering Shu and capturing Liu Shan in 263 and opposing Zhong Hui's rebellion the next year. His ambitions for the throne remain proverbial in Chinese but he died before he could rise higher than prince of Jin, a title named for the Zhou-era marchland and duchy around Shaanxi's Jin River. (He was granted the title as his ancestral home was located in Wen County within Jin's former lands.)
The Jin dynasty was founded in AD 265 by Sima Yan, posthumously known as Emperor Wu (the "Martial Emperor of Jin"). He forced Cao Huan's abdication but permitted him to live in honor as the prince of Chenliu and buried him with imperial ceremony. There was a brief period of Chinese unity following the conquest of Eastern Wu in 280, but the state was soon weakened by corruption, political turmoil, and internal conflicts. Sima Yan's son Zhong, posthumously known as Emperor Hui (the "Benevolent Emperor of Jin"), was developmentally disabled. Conflict over his succession in 290 expanded into the devastating War of the Eight Princes. Afterwards, the empire was too weak to resist the uprisings and invasions of the Wu Hu (the "Five Barbarians"). Large numbers of Chinese fled south from the Central Plains; among other effects, these refugees and colonizers gave Quanzhou's Jin River its name as they settled its valley in Fujian. The Jin capital Luoyang was captured by Liu Cong in 311. Sima Chi, posthumously known as Emperor Huai (the "Missing Emperor of Jin"), was captured and later executed. His successor Sima Ye, posthumously known as Emperor Min (the "Suffering Emperor of Jin"), was captured at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) in 316 and also later executed.^[1]
The remnants of the Jin court fled to the east, reëstablishing their government at Jiankang within present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu. Sima Rui, the prince of Langye, was enthroned in 318, posthumously becoming known as Emperor Yuan (the "First Emperor of the Eastern Jin").^[1] The rival northern states, who denied the legitimacy of his succession, sometimes referred to his state as "Langye". The Emperors of Eastern Jin had limited power, owing to their dependence on the support of both local and refugee noble families (notably the Huan, Wang, and Xie) which possessed military power. Although there was a stated goal of recovering the "lost northern lands", paranoia within the royal family and a constant string of disruptions to the throne caused the loss of support among many officials. Military crises—including the rebellions of the generals Wang Dun and Su Jun but also lesser fangzhen (方鎮, "military county") revolts—plagued the Eastern Jin throughout its 104 years of existence.
...

09 Three Kingdoms Period

Three Kingdoms Period

Cao Cao

Just as the name implies, the Three Kingdoms were made up of three kingdoms - Wei, Shu and Wu. As a single dynasty, the Three Kingdoms Period originated in 220 AD when Wei replaced the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD) and ended in 280 AD when the Wu was defeated by the Court of Jin. It is considered to be a special historical period full of power struggles and sophisticated military strategies.

 Political History

In 189 when Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han dynasty died, a young emperor - Emperor Shao was put on the throne. Resenting the manipulation of eunuchs, two generals Yuan Shao and He Jin plotted to murder them. During the chaos caused by the fighting between the eunuchs and generals, Dong Zhuo, a treacherous court official of the Eastern Han drove his army into Luoyang. With full political power in his hand, Dong Zhuo dethroned Emperor Shao and put Emperor Xian on the throne. All Dong's deeds aroused strong protest from the courtiers and many local officials. As the political situation became acute, a large-scale civil war finally broke out.

After Dong Zhuo invaded Luoyang, Cao Cao fled to Chenliu (currently southeast of Kaifeng in Henan Province) and began to assemble military forces to revolt. In 193, Dong was killed in a mutiny but the melee remained. This period of unrest continued until 196, Balkanized areas were formed among which the most two powerful ones were those of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

In 196, Cao Cao held Emperor Xian under duress and took this advantage to strengthen his military power. In 201, with comparatively weaker strength, Cao Cao defeated Yuan  Shao in the Battle of Guandu after which he gradually unified the northern area of China. In 209, Cao Cao drove his troops to the southern area and captured Jingzhou. But when he wanted to expand his power further to the south, he was defeated by the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan in the Battle of Red Cliff and thus he withdrew his army back to the central plains of China.

Liu Bei

In 220 when Cao Cao died, his eldest son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, with Wei as his National Title and Luoyang as his capital city. In 221, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, with Shu his national title and Chengdu the capital city. And in 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor in Wuchang (currently Wuhan), and later moved the capital to Jiankang (currently Nanjing), with the national title Wu. Since then, the so-called Three Kingdoms' Tripartite Confrontation was formed. On the whole, Wei occupied the north, Shu occupied the southwest and Wu occupied the southeast.

Upon the founding of the three kingdoms, rulers of each kingdom all committed to improve the way of ruling and develop their national economy. In the Kingdom of Wei, Cao Cao made many reforms to discard old policies inform previous dynasties. The Tun Tian  (farming done by soldiers) System was also carried out, which greatly promoted the national productivity. In the Kingdom of Shu, Zhuge Liang set up strict social order and tried to govern the kingdom by law. With his assistance, Shu's agriculture and handicraft industry developed rapidly. Additionally, Shu formed a friendly relationship with ethnic minorities in southwestern areas. In the Kingdom of Wu, the shipbuilding industry was much more prosperous. As for the national strength, Wei ranked first, Wu second and Shu third.

Throughout the Three Kingdoms Period, battles between the three countries were countless. Among those, battles between Shu and Wu fighting for Jingzhou, Shu and Wei fighting for Hanzhong as well as Wei defeating Shu were all illustrious ones in Chinese history.

Finally, the end of the Three Kingdoms Period started from the Sima Yan (son of Sima Yi and chancellor of Wei)'s usurpation of Wei and the establishment of the Jin Dynasty (265 - 420). In 282 when the Jin army conquered the last kingdom - Wu's capital, the Three Kingdoms Period was ended.

 Emperors during this period

Order	Name	Notes	Reign Time (years)
Kingdom of Wei (220-265)
1	Wei Wendi (Cao Pi)	The second son of the Chinese politician and poet Cao Cao; he is considered the founder of Wei	220 - 226
2	Wei Mingdi (Cao Rui)	Son of Cao Pi; during his reign, the Shu and Wu become more entrenched. Before he died, he entrusted his son Cao Fang to the regency of Cao Shuang and Sima Yi - ultimately a fatal mistake for his empire.	226 - 239
3	Wei Qiwang (Cao Fang)	Adopted son of Cao Rui, he was rumored to be the son of Cao Kai who was a grandson of Cao Cao. Although, he reigned longer than any other emperor in Wei's history, he did not have any real imperial authority. He was eventually deposed by Sima Yi.	239 - 254
4	Gaoguixiang Gong (Cao Mao)	A grandson of Cao Pi, his reign was under the domination of the Simas. He attempted a coup against Sima Zhao, but was killed by Sima's troop.	254 - 260
5	Wei Yuandi (Cao Huan)	A grandson of Cao Cao, and the last emperor of Wei who was still a figurehead of the Simas. During his reign, the Shu was defeated by the Wei. He was forced to abdicate by Sima Yan, and was given the title of "Prince of Chenliu" which he retained for the rest of his life.	260 - 265
Kingdom of Shu (221-263)
1	Zhao Liedi (Liu Bei)	A descendant of the Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) imperial family and born into the commoner class. With military counselor Zhuge Liang's assistance, he founded Shu and became the first emperor of the Shu.	221 - 223
2	Hou Zhu (Liu Chan)	The second and last emperor of Shu. During his reign, he surrendered to the Kingdom of Wei in 263.	223 - 263
Kingdom of Wu (222-280)
1	Dadi (Sun Quan)	Son of Sun Jian and founder of Wu, Sun Quan had the longest reign among the emperors of Wu	222 - 252
2	Kuai ji wang (Sun Liang)	Sun Quan's youngest son and heir, he was known as the Prince of Kuaiji , a title given to him after he was removed by the regent Sun Lin	252 - 258
3	Jingdi (Sun Xiu)	Another son of Sun Quan and brother of Sun Liang, Sun Xu was known for being tolerant of differing opinions and for being studious	258 - 264
4	Wen Cheng Hou (Sun Hao)	The eldest son of Sun He and a crown prince of the first emperor Sun Quan. During his reign, he surrendered to the Jin Court.	264 - 280

08-4 Confucius and Education

4. Confucius and Education

A hallmark of Confucius' thought is his emphasis on education and study. He disparages those who have faith in natural understanding or intuition and argues that the only real understanding of a subject comes from long and careful study. Study, for Confucius, means finding a good teacher and imitating his words and deeds. A good teacher is someone older who is familiar with the ways of the past and the practices of the ancients. (See Lunyu 7.22) While he sometimes warns against excessive reflection and meditation, Confucius' position appears to be a middle course between learning and reflecting on what one has learned. “He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger” (Lunyu 2.15).^[23] He taught his students morality, proper speech, government, and the refined arts. While he also emphasizes the “Six Arts” — ritual, music, archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy, and computation — it is clear that he regards morality as the most important subject. Confucius' pedagogical methods are striking. He never discourses at length on a subject. Instead he poses questions, cites passages from the classics, or uses apt analogies, and waits for his students to arrive at the right answers. “Only for one deeply frustrated over what he does not know will I provide a start; only for one struggling to form his thoughts into words will I provide a beginning. But if I hold up one corner and he cannot respond with the other three I will not repeat myself” (Lunyu 7.8).
Confucius' goal is to create gentlemen who carry themselves with grace, speak correctly, and demonstrate integrity in all things. His strong dislike of the sycophantic “petty men,” whose clever talk and pretentious manner win them an audience, is reflected in numerous Lunyu passages. Confucius finds himself in an age in which values are out of joint. Actions and behavior no longer correspond to the labels originally attached to them. “Rulers do not rule and subjects do not serve,” he observes. (Lunyu 12.11; cf. also 13.3) This means that words and titles no longer mean what they once did. Moral education is important to Confucius because it is the means by which one can rectify this situation and restore meaning to language and values to society. He believes that the most important lessons for obtaining such a moral education are to be found in the canonical Book of Songs, because many of its poems are both beautiful and good. Thus Confucius places the text first in his curriculum and frequently quotes and explains its lines of verse. For this reason, the Lunyu is also an important source for Confucius' understanding of the role poetry and art more generally play in the moral education of gentlemen as well as in the reformation of society. Recent archaeological discoveries in China of previously lost ancient manuscripts reveal other aspects of Confucius's reverence for the Book of Songs and its importance in moral education. These manuscripts show that Confucius had found in the canonical text valuable lessons on how to cultivate moral qualities in oneself as well as how to comport oneself humanely and responsibly in public.

08-3 Confucius' Political Philosophy

Confucius' Political Philosophy

Confucius' political philosophy is also rooted in his belief that a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern. “If the people be led by laws, and uniformity among them be sought by punishments, they will try to escape punishment and have no sense of shame. If they are led by virtue, and uniformity sought among them through the practice of ritual propriety, they will possess a sense of shame and come to you of their own accord” (Lunyu 2.3; see also 13.6.). It seems apparent that in his own day, however, advocates of more legalistic methods were winning a large following among the ruling elite. Thus Confucius' warning about the ill consequences of promulgating law codes should not be interpreted as an attempt to prevent their adoption but instead as his lament that his ideas about the moral suasion of the ruler were not proving popular.
Most troubling to Confucius was his perception that the political institutions of his day had completely broken down. He attributed this collapse to the fact that those who wielded power as well as those who occupied subordinate positions did so by making claim to titles for which they were not worthy. When asked by a ruler of the large state of Qi, Lu's neighbor on the Shandong peninsula, about the principles of good government, Confucius is reported to have replied: “Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister, the father being a father, and the son being a son” (Lunyu 12.11). I should claim for myself only a title that is legitimately mine and when I possess such a title and participate in the various hierarchical relationships signified by that title, then I should live up to the meaning of the title that I claim for myself. Confucius' analysis of the lack of connection between actualities and their names and the need to correct such circumstances is often referred to as Confucius' theory of zhengming. Elsewhere in the Analects, Confucius says to his disciple Zilu that the first thing he would do in undertaking the administration of a state is zhengming. (Lunyu 13.3). In that passage Confucius is taking aim at the illegitimate ruler of Wei who was, in Confucius' view, improperly using the title “successor,” a title that belonged to his father the rightful ruler of Wei who had been forced into exile.^[22] Xunzi composed an entire essay entitled Zhengming. But for Xunzi the term referred to the proper use of language and how one should go about inventing new terms that were suitable to the age. For Confucius, zhengming does not seem to refer to the ‘rectification of names’ (this is the way the term is most often translated by scholars of the Analects), but instead to rectifying the behavior of people and the social reality so that they correspond to the language with which people identify themselves and describe their roles in society. Confucius believed that this sort of rectification had to begin at the very top of the government, because it was at the top that the discrepancy between names and actualities had originated. If the ruler's behavior is rectified then the people beneath him will follow suit. In a conversation with Ji Kangzi (who had usurped power in Lu), Confucius advised: “If your desire is for good, the people will be good. The moral character of the ruler is the wind; the moral character of those beneath him is the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends” (Lunyu 12.19).
For Confucius, what characterized superior rulership was the possession of de or ‘virtue.’ Conceived of as a kind of moral power that allows one to win a following without recourse to physical force, such ‘virtue’ also enabled the ruler to maintain good order in his state without troubling himself and by relying on loyal and effective deputies. Confucius claimed that, “He who governs by means of his virtue is, to use an analogy, like the pole-star: it remains in its place while all the lesser stars do homage to it” (Lunyu 2.1). The way to maintain and cultivate such royal ‘virtue’ was through the practice and enactment of li or ‘rituals’—the ceremonies that defined and punctuated the lives of the ancient Chinese aristocracy. These ceremonies encompassed: the sacrificial rites performed at ancestral temples to express humility and thankfulness; the ceremonies of enfeoffment, toasting, and gift exchange that bound together the aristocracy into a complex web of obligation and indebtedness; and the acts of politeness and decorum—such things as bowing and yielding—that identified their performers as gentlemen. In an influential study, Herbert Fingarette argues that the performance of these various ceremonies, when done correctly and sincerely, involves a ‘magical’ quality that underlies the efficacy of royal ‘virtue’ in accomplishing the aims of the ruler.

4. Confucius and Education

A hallmark of Confucius' thought is his emphasis on education and study. He disparages those who have faith in natural understanding or intuition and argues that the only real understanding of a subject comes from long and careful study. Study, for Confucius, means finding a good teacher and imitating his words and deeds. A good teacher is someone older who is familiar with the ways of the past and the practices of the ancients. (See Lunyu 7.22) While he sometimes warns against excessive reflection and meditation, Confucius' position appears to be a middle course between learning and reflecting on what one has learned. “He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger” (Lunyu 2.15).^[23] He taught his students morality, proper speech, government, and the refined arts. While he also emphasizes the “Six Arts” — ritual, music, archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy, and computation — it is clear that he regards morality as the most important subject. Confucius' pedagogical methods are striking. He never discourses at length on a subject. Instead he poses questions, cites passages from the classics, or uses apt analogies, and waits for his students to arrive at the right answers. “Only for one deeply frustrated over what he does not know will I provide a start; only for one struggling to form his thoughts into words will I provide a beginning. But if I hold up one corner and he cannot respond with the other three I will not repeat myself” (Lunyu 7.8).
Confucius' goal is to create gentlemen who carry themselves with grace, speak correctly, and demonstrate integrity in all things. His strong dislike of the sycophantic “petty men,” whose clever talk and pretentious manner win them an audience, is reflected in numerous Lunyu passages. Confucius finds himself in an age in which values are out of joint. Actions and behavior no longer correspond to the labels originally attached to them. “Rulers do not rule and subjects do not serve,” he observes. (Lunyu 12.11; cf. also 13.3) This means that words and titles no longer mean what they once did. Moral education is important to Confucius because it is the means by which one can rectify this situation and restore meaning to language and values to society. He believes that the most important lessons for obtaining such a moral education are to be found in the canonical Book of Songs, because many of its poems are both beautiful and good. Thus Confucius places the text first in his curriculum and frequently quotes and explains its lines of verse. For this reason, the Lunyu is also an important source for Confucius' understanding of the role poetry and art more generally play in the moral education of gentlemen as well as in the reformation of society. Recent archaeological discoveries in China of previously lost ancient manuscripts reveal other aspects of Confucius's reverence for the Book of Songs and its importance in moral education. These manuscripts show that Confucius had found in the canonical text valuable lessons on how to cultivate moral qualities in oneself as well as how to comport oneself humanely and responsibly in public.