Ancient Chinese Civilization - Essay Example

Ancient Chinese civilization Loyalty, Justice, and Honor Introduction The stories from the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods are written in such a way that throughout the novel there are quite a number of different issues addressed. There is a little bit on religious beliefs and practices, family organization and family values, the roles of males and females in the society and also the vast difference between the poor and the rich but most significantly the virtues of loyalty, justice and honor are greatly displayed. There are many events covered in the novel and all of them revolve around betrayal of loyalty and trust and the serious repercussions of such betrayal. Loyalty From the novel The Three Kingdoms, we see that the Chinese society around that period greatly valued loyalty as a strong virtue that bounded together two or more people who had the same ambitions and mission. Loyalty was so important during this age such that there were vows which were cited either in secrecy or at a very serene place. The first instance when loyalty was displayed was when the three brothers came together in fraternity to bind themselves in a code of honor that greatly guided their future actions and also kept them strong even when they were on the brink of dying. The oath was a very important symbol of unity and loyalty to one another as their words suggested i.e. “we three Lui Pei, Kuan Yu and Chang Fei, though of separate birth, now bind ourselves in brotherhood, combining our strength and purpose to relive the present crisis (Lo Kuan-Chung & Moss Roberts, page 9)”. Loyalty was basically what the leadership in China was based on. Every leader throughout the novel, the three kingdoms, demanded that of all their subjects as there was always an imminent attack on them by those who were dissatisfied by the leadership. We see those loyal to the throne being treated well and showered with gifts so that they continue being loyal and expose those they suspected of disloyalty. Disloyalty was a serious offence not tolerable in the Chinese society during this period and any slight sign of disloyalty normally led to nothing less than execution. This punishment as if not severe enough, would be followed by the execution of the ‘traitor’s’ whole house hold. There are many cases where this was evident, for instance in the case where Ts’ao Ts’ao realized of the plot to kill him, he first apprehended Ping and tortured him for days. Thereafter he went on to arrest the other six conspirators, including Tung Cheng. They were all executed together with their household (women and children alike) bringing the total of people killed to 700 people after the executions. This shows the extent to which disloyalty was not tolerated. Even after all these executions there was still those who did not lose their loyalty simply because they took an oath to not to break it. We see Ping being tortured in order to sell out the others but because he had bit off one off his fingers as an oath to kill Ts’ao, he said that he was the only one who wanted him (Ts’ao) killed. This shows that loyalty and disloyalty were both treated with the same amount of seriousness as trust and distrust were separated by a very thin line. Ts’ao was also a victim of disloyalty when he chose to leave Yuan Shao’s command as an imperial inspector in Yen after he was trusted with all of Yuan Shao’s best men. This literally means that as much as loyalty was important, there were some who did not handle it with that much seriousness as in the case of Ts’ao betraying Shao. On the other hand there were others who held on to their loyalty till death, like Ping. We also see disloyalty as a feature in the Chinese society in the case of His-men Chi’ng cheating on his wife Li Kuei-chich with Pan Chin-lien as was realized when a love letter was found being secretly delivered byTai-an. (Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roypage227). Still on loyalty, we see the same dedication and loyalty in the novel by Wu Chenge’n and Anthony C. Wu. Here a monk Tripitaka Tang travels from China to India just to fulfill his loyalty to the Emperor by obtaining the Buddhist Scriptures. Justice Justice was also a virtue that was vastly displayed and greatly influenced the various actions and occurrences in the novel three kingdoms. This virtue was used as a justification for many of the novel’s character’s actions. Justice is basically a moral quality of being righteous and an act of being fair to all. The many warriors including Lui Pei, Chang Fei, Kuan Yu, Li Pi and many others wanted a society that was free from oppression of the poor by the strong and those in power. The quest for justice is the reason why the three brothers met in the first place, each brought together by the call to fight against the Yellow Scarves and bring justice back to the land. When Lui Pei met Chang Fei, he told him that he was planning on raising troops to rise and destroy the Yellow Scarves and defend the people. This is an indication that justice for the people was the main reason why he (Lui Pei) wanted to start a campaign against the rebels. The leadership in China during these periods had one major characteristic, dictatorship. Those in power, like Ts’ao, ruled over the land with an iron fist. He had his loyal subjects and soldiers rip up everything in the kingdom and bring everything that was of value. This was no justice. Everyone disliked this oppression and when one man stood up in the name of Li Pi, everyone supported him. Everyone wanted justice and that justice was to be realized by the death of Ts’ao. Li Pi actually managed to seize Ts’ao but he was rescued by Shao before being killed. Justice as a virtue was the reason why Tung Cheng, Ping and the other conspirators all wanted Ts’ao dead as he was oppressing the common people. All the power and control was in the hands of the strongest and there was actually no other avenue for justice other than the leader himself. Throughout the novel, we see Ts’ao personally determining what was to happen to anyone who was found committing a crime. He determined who was a criminal, what type of punishment to give out (which was mostly death) and also when the criminal he accuses would die. This was not fair at all since there was not any other process to determine one’s innocence or guilt and this was a very large loop hole he greatly misused to his own selfish interests. The novel by Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roy also brings out an element that shows that those who lived in the Chinese Empire during those periods believed in Justice. We see a maid servant walking by and seeing the page boy and His-men Ching’s woman committing adultery and not keeping quiet about it. She saw that what was going on was not right and that the two had to pay for their despicable deeds and the page boy got stripped and was given a real thrashing (Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roy page 235). Honor There is also honor, a virtue portrayed by most of the characters in the novel by Lo Kuan-Chung & Moss Roberts. All the men were proud and would have lost everything before losing their honor. Honor can be defined as integrity in one’s beliefs and actions. Those beliefs are basically oaths and brotherhood bonds created. Honor is being able to defend these beliefs even if it means death. Betrayal is a main issue captured in the novel, but there were a few men who died in honor while defending their oath even after being tortured for days and not betraying their brotherhood. For instance Ping even after failing to assassinate Ts’ao chose not to plead with him and declined to sell out Tung Cheng and the other conspirators. Even after being tortured and offered clemency if he would rat out the other perpetrators he chose death, in honor. He said “my wish to kill you was my own. No one sent me. Now that the mission has failed, nothing remains but to die (Lo Kuan-Chung & Moss Roberts, page 39)”. He then killed himself before confessing to anything and that was a great show of honor. Honor, or simply the dedication to respect one’s oath of brotherhood no matter what, was a trait that was greatly admired by many in the novel including Ts’ao himself. He admitted (although not openly) to admiring the strong honor Lord Kuan had towards their oath with Lui Pei such that he put the safety and the needs of Pei’s family ahead of his. He gave them all the gold and silver he was given and would also stay up the whole night by their door to make sure nothing happens to them. These were just but a few of his countless sacrifices that went a long way to show Ts’ao that he (Lord Kuan) was a man of honor. This man of honor posed a great threat to Ts’ao as he as not sure when he would turn against him since his allegiance was not to him but to his arch enemy, Pei. Also looking at the novel by Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roy we see that honor was also valued with the same magnitude. We see His-men’s brother in law infuriated by the dishonor of his sister Li Kuei-ch’ing. He says “as long as you have people in line to keep you in line, what need is there to deflower a painted woman in the first place?” (Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roy page 227) Conclusion Basically the three virtues; loyalty, justice, and honor were a major aspect in China during those times. They greatly influenced the various actions of the powerful individuals which in turn shaped the history of China. All the characters in the novel acted based on the three important virtues as described. Works cited Lo, Kuan-chung, and Moss Roberts. Three Kingdoms: Chinas Epic Drama. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976. Print. Hsiao-hsiao-sheng and David Tod Roy. The Plum in the Golden Vase. New Jersey: Princeton University press. Wu Chenge’n and Anthony C. Wu. Journey to the West (4 Volumes, 100 Chapters). University of Chicago, 1977 Read More