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Confucianism’s Success during the Han and Tang Dynasties...

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Abigail Friedlen History 280 East Asian Civilizations Emi Bushelle 12/12/17

Confucianism’s Success during the Han and Tang Dynasties The rise of Confucianism in the Han dynasty allowed for great change and important creative and social advancements. Then again, during the Tang dynasty using Confucianism, China entered its historical golden age while also inspiring many other East Asian countries looking for a system that could affectively rule. Confucius lived between (551-479 BCE), and he easily became one of China’s greatest legacies. He was born in the state of Lu, and had the social statues of a Shi, someone from the upper class. The basis of his ideology stems from the importance of the five relationships, Confucian Virtues, and five main themes. To have Li is to transform oneself instead of only praying to ancestors, even though Confucians still believed that there were ancestors. People needed to be Confucius and have ritual by reading the five classics, being benevolent, honest, and very importantly believing in Filial piety; respecting one’s elders. Another main aspect of Confucianism is attempting to be happy every day on this earth. These beliefs became a substantial part of Chinese history and East Asian Civilizations.

It is important to recognize that other religions and philosophies were also sprouting all around East Asia around the same time as Confucianism. These include The Mencius; humans are inherently good, The Xunzi; humans are inherently bad, and the great creation of the Daodejing by the made-up figure Laozi. Even though these other works are also prominent in East Asia as a whole, Confucianism rises over and over again throughout East Asian history because of its success in large dynasties and its ability to expand wealth, knowledge, creativity, government organization, poetry, and literature. 1

The Han dynasty, established by Lu Bang a low-class commoner that joined the rebellion against the Qin, was the first to premier and embrace being Confucius politically, economically, and socially. It was a necessity to have a mastery of the five Confucius classics to hold any substantial post during the Han dynasty. The Han emperors allowed for the development of science, technology, and other aspects of their own culture, and because of this it was a time of great prosperity. Han rulers justified their reign by stating that they were given the Mandate of heaven this means that heaven, “charged certain good men with rulership over lineages of the world, and the heirs of these men might continue to exercise the heaven sanctioned power…But if the worth of the ruling family declines…Heaven night discard them and elect a new family or lineage.” (SEAT 24) This idea of succession was that the family that had the mandate of heaven could have power which lead to the rise of some of the most important Chinese Emperors.

The most important Han Emperor was Emperor Wu whom not only established Confucianism as a state ideal, but also discovered spices, gems, and textiles from the West. He was influenced by Dong Zhongshu who convinced him to take on Confucianism as a state ideal. Zhongshu believed that there was a connection between the emperor and his realm and that the emperor was the middle of society. During the Han empire the land that China claimed expanded through the colonization of the Han-Xiongnu conquered land. More examples of the Han dynasty flourishing under Confucianism was the reign of Wang Mang who outlawed slavery, nationalized gold, built ritual halls, asserts state ownership of forest and swamps, and limits private landholding. The Han provided a lay out for future dynasties by using Confucianism as its base to find success ruling over a great number of people and is repeated by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other East Asian eras until the collapsed of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

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The Tang dynasty and specifically its capital was the most populated city in the world. It was also considered Chinas true golden age. Its territory surpassed what the Han had conquered and the unique culture of China became noticeably vaster during the Tang dynasty. A government that could control millions of people was created for the first time under the Tang. To be an official one had to be selected only after taking the civil service exam which had its roots in the Confucius classics, “The great avenue to worldly success in China, submitted to a curriculum in which the Confucian classics remained unchallenged.” (SEAT 292)

The founding father and son duo of the Tang dynasty were Li Yaun (Gaozu), and his son Li Shimin (Taizong). Taizong kills his father and reigns as China’s most ideal Confucian ruler. The Tang Code, that had already been put into place was enforced and executed by Taizong, “The Code reflects an attempt by a centralized, bureaucratic, dynastic state… to assert its authority and protect its power over all of China. Yet the effective limits of that authority are acknowledged by the Code’s heavy reinforcement of Confucian ritual…” (SEAT 297) The Ten Abominations were a part of this code and the ideas under them were coined by legalist who historically come off as rigid and strict in Chinese History. The most offensive activities were inexcusable, and had Confucius ties like its absolute support and emphasis on Filial Piety, social norms, and family. This was scene under the law and the punishment would be altered according to who in society committed the crime. If a wife committed an act against her husband she would be punished harder than if he had committed the same crime. Later in the dynasty under Emperor Xuanzong people start writing poetry about anything and everything which allowed for personal expression. The social structure and control under Confucius leaders allowed for people to look past basic needs and enjoy luxuries.

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Near the end of the Han Dynasty and from across the silk road Indian Buddhism came and started to plant new religious seeds in China. This lead to an overwhelming fascination of alchemy and immortality by rulers. In the beginning of the Tang dynasty Buddhism was also tolerated and explored specifically by a Chinese monk named Hsuan-tsang who traveled from China to India and translated Buddhist writings into Chinese. Then during the end of the Tang dynasty Buddhist people were persecuted under the reign of Wu-Tsung. China was entering an economic depression and an easy way to gain money and land was to seize Buddhist monasteries. The Tang dynasty and its legal makeup got copied and altered in Japana and Korea, “It embarked on a program of land nationalization and redistribution, upon which was based the whole system of taxation and military organization… So Impressive…that both the Japanese and the Koreans copied it almost to the last detail.” (SEAT 292) It impacted these countries to the extent that they could catch up to China’s power and begin to challenge their military and culture.

The creation and implication of Confucianism in the Han and Tang dynasty lead to an organized and popular time in Chinese history. Confucius’s legacy will be remembered forever because of the success of dynasties under his philosophy of personal and government rightness and morality. His classics also were the base of the educational system in China for hundreds of years until the 20th century. Confucianism persevered from the ancient Chinese to modern history even with many other religions and ideologies that also influenced East Asia in important ways. It is clear the Han and Tang dynasties thrived because of Confucian roots in their societies, schools, government, and religion.

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