This article highlights the state's nature as a social construct, contract, and idea - as a body of encoded laws and self-held restraints that restrict the coercive nature of state power and prevent the people from rising up in revolt. As power is restrained, it becomes less necessary by way of generosity, the more coercion is used, the more it becomes necessary by way of reaction to repression.
Life is an unstable equilibrium, and we're just wobbling around the trend line.
I will be very interested to know more about the roots of Chinese thought. May I make a suggestion: You refer to many people, rulers, emperors and sages. If you could kindly attach a date to each name, for me who does not recognize the names, maybe I could better research the topic by the dates of what was going on in the empire at that time.
You introduce "a commonplace idea in early Chinese historiography: that the early sage kings were purely benevolent and secured their power through generosity rather than by fear. The belief is one of the few to traverse all of the various schools of thought."
Wow, is that myth? (And myths can exert power on thinking.) It is my belief that there were many "Chinas". China went through many periods of dissolution and re-configuration, in that, its continuity is actually quite weak and there have been many ruptures. But every new dynasty wrote the history of the previous dynasty, so that in historiographical terms there is a lot of continuity of the myth, which in turn created a strong coherence at the level of consciousness—that “China” is actually a real thing. But in actual life, there have been huge ruptures.
I am weak on Asian history. Some periods of Chinese history stand out. What were the dates of the three kingdoms? When did the Han dynasty fall, about 150 AD? Then warfare until 264-280 AD. One might assume that in any age, the MIND-SET WAS THE CULMINATION of all the so-called enlightenment that preceded it? If true, that relegates much of Chinese antiquity into myth.
The principle of the kingdom of Wei was "Time and Heaven," i.e., fate. The Cao family kept pace with the times and time worked for it. Cao Cao declared that "ability is higher than conduct", so he rejected Confucianism. Only "might was right".
The Wu became an empire in 229. It continued the Han tradition of granting privileges to the learned Confucianists and the hereditary bureaucracy. Like any conservative system, Wu policy was doomed. Sun Quan's successors brought to power temporary-ists, such as Zhuge Ke, assassinated in 253. Struggles of court cliques and intrigues developed. The ruling elite no longer cared about the people, because they relied on the police and the army.
The kingdom of Shu was a most interesting and remarkable phenomenon. But its principle of "Humanity and Friendship" was never realized. Shu arose from a combination of the high intelligence of Zhuge Liang and the daring of Liu Bei's thugs. By capturing together, the rich Sichuan, they were given the material means to accomplish "great deeds. But they didn't do it.
During the Three Kingdoms period, all energetic individuals became visible and died. Some (in yellow scarves) for the idea of the "great peace", others for the red Han Empire, some for their loyalty to their leader, others for their own honor and glory in the posterity, etc. After the terrible cataclysm, China socially represented a cluster of ashes. After the census in the middle of the II century, about 50 million people were counted in the empire, and in the middle of the III century only -7,5 million. Even the most mediocre government could now govern an impersonal remnant mass.
Yan's coup ended the Confucian legacy, if not de jure, then de facto. In every office were totally unprincipled, amoral scoundrels who divided their time between stealing from their subjects and dissolute debauchery. This was a time of such decay, that China recovered from it only 300 years later, purged by the fires of the Barbary invasions.
WOWEE: If there was a time of rule by generosity, I want to know about it, or if it is only myth.
I never ever found a "golden age" in European history, of which I have a more thorough knowledge.
Thanks for your site on Chinese thought and history.
This article highlights the state's nature as a social construct, contract, and idea - as a body of encoded laws and self-held restraints that restrict the coercive nature of state power and prevent the people from rising up in revolt. As power is restrained, it becomes less necessary by way of generosity, the more coercion is used, the more it becomes necessary by way of reaction to repression.
Life is an unstable equilibrium, and we're just wobbling around the trend line.
Hello Bureaucrat from Xianyang,
I will be very interested to know more about the roots of Chinese thought. May I make a suggestion: You refer to many people, rulers, emperors and sages. If you could kindly attach a date to each name, for me who does not recognize the names, maybe I could better research the topic by the dates of what was going on in the empire at that time.
You introduce "a commonplace idea in early Chinese historiography: that the early sage kings were purely benevolent and secured their power through generosity rather than by fear. The belief is one of the few to traverse all of the various schools of thought."
Wow, is that myth? (And myths can exert power on thinking.) It is my belief that there were many "Chinas". China went through many periods of dissolution and re-configuration, in that, its continuity is actually quite weak and there have been many ruptures. But every new dynasty wrote the history of the previous dynasty, so that in historiographical terms there is a lot of continuity of the myth, which in turn created a strong coherence at the level of consciousness—that “China” is actually a real thing. But in actual life, there have been huge ruptures.
I am weak on Asian history. Some periods of Chinese history stand out. What were the dates of the three kingdoms? When did the Han dynasty fall, about 150 AD? Then warfare until 264-280 AD. One might assume that in any age, the MIND-SET WAS THE CULMINATION of all the so-called enlightenment that preceded it? If true, that relegates much of Chinese antiquity into myth.
The principle of the kingdom of Wei was "Time and Heaven," i.e., fate. The Cao family kept pace with the times and time worked for it. Cao Cao declared that "ability is higher than conduct", so he rejected Confucianism. Only "might was right".
The Wu became an empire in 229. It continued the Han tradition of granting privileges to the learned Confucianists and the hereditary bureaucracy. Like any conservative system, Wu policy was doomed. Sun Quan's successors brought to power temporary-ists, such as Zhuge Ke, assassinated in 253. Struggles of court cliques and intrigues developed. The ruling elite no longer cared about the people, because they relied on the police and the army.
The kingdom of Shu was a most interesting and remarkable phenomenon. But its principle of "Humanity and Friendship" was never realized. Shu arose from a combination of the high intelligence of Zhuge Liang and the daring of Liu Bei's thugs. By capturing together, the rich Sichuan, they were given the material means to accomplish "great deeds. But they didn't do it.
During the Three Kingdoms period, all energetic individuals became visible and died. Some (in yellow scarves) for the idea of the "great peace", others for the red Han Empire, some for their loyalty to their leader, others for their own honor and glory in the posterity, etc. After the terrible cataclysm, China socially represented a cluster of ashes. After the census in the middle of the II century, about 50 million people were counted in the empire, and in the middle of the III century only -7,5 million. Even the most mediocre government could now govern an impersonal remnant mass.
Yan's coup ended the Confucian legacy, if not de jure, then de facto. In every office were totally unprincipled, amoral scoundrels who divided their time between stealing from their subjects and dissolute debauchery. This was a time of such decay, that China recovered from it only 300 years later, purged by the fires of the Barbary invasions.
WOWEE: If there was a time of rule by generosity, I want to know about it, or if it is only myth.
I never ever found a "golden age" in European history, of which I have a more thorough knowledge.
Thanks for your site on Chinese thought and history.
.
百姓的翻译不应该是a hundred surnames. 很喜欢你的内容，热心的提示一下。