Chinese History: Bronze Age, Buddhism, and Ming Dynasty - Essay Example

Question I. 2 The Bronze Age represents the time when men learnt to mine and smelt copper and tin to produce bronze.The Chinese Bronze Age started by 1700 B.C during the kingdom of the Shang dynasty. China started producing bronze objects over four thousand years ago in the period of the Lungshan culture and influenced the use of Bronze ceremonial vessels in Chou and Shang dynasties. Bronze ritual vessels were often cast with different types of engraved decoration expressing the aspirations and practices of the Shang people and the life aspects of the Chou people. The bronze ritual vessel was made through sophisticated techniques that were not used in the Middle East and other parts of the world for a long time. The positive consequence about the manner in which the bronze ritual vessel is made is that they are durable and reflect ancient Chinese significant institutions and belief systems. Chinese bronze ritual vessels were also used for the keeping of meritorious achievements, appointments, settlement of contracts, and taking of oaths. The bronze ritual vessel was also used for giving food to ancestors. This marked a sacrifice to ancestors that ensured success and survival to those who made the sacrifices to them. This was seen as an aspect of respect to ancestors especially since respect to ancestors was a central aspect to the Chinese culture and life that lasted for many years. The usage of the bronze ritual vessel represents a social importance to the Chinese. It shows the preservation of Chinese culture and social beliefs. The bronze vessels that have lasted from the Shang and Chou dynasties reflect information about different generations to the present. They have a social sense in that they show the different generations and the changes that have occurred in different years to the present. The bronze vessels expressed strong religious sense (Ledderose 23). Because the bronze ritual vessels were used to mark different achievements of people in life and important events, they have had an economic value in the sense that those who make them sell them and get money from them. Museums and cultural centers have also preserved them, attracting people from different parts of the world coming to see them and thereby proving to be economically profitable. The terra cotta warriors or army and horses are the most important archeological excavations of the twentieth century. It is one of the top attractions in the country to date. It has much importance because of the detailed representation of the army that triumphed over all other Chinese armies of the time and played a key role in building unified china. The significance of the terra cotta army has been documented in the Terra cotta army museum that is located two kilometers east of Tomb of Qin Shihuang., the first emperor to unify china thousands of years ago. The terra cotta army statuses were made to capture historical aspects of China as a show of glory, important triumph over other warring states against China and to mark the belief that objects such as statuses have a chance of being animated in the afterlife. The terra cotta army took a period of 38 years and 720 thousand builders to complete it. To date, 1,868 terra cotta warriors and chariots have been unearthed. The terra cotta army had been underground for over two thousand years before farmers who were digging a well in 1974 came by them. The terra cotta army is made of clay and requires sensitive care to ensure that they remain intact. However, the positive consequence of this is that it can last for many more years (Ledderose 53). The Chinese culture has been known as one of the artistic cultures in the world. Both the bronze ritual vessel and the terra cotta army represent some of the objects that expose Chinese richness in art. These are types of Chinese handicrafts that were very important to the Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese founders made their sculptures and art objects from clay and metal where in some cases clay and bronze were used to produce the casting molds. For instance, a desired vessel was fashioned from clay to form the core and outer molds that were then filled with bronze then the clay was removed to form the bronze vessel. Therefore, the two show the rich Chinese technique and artistry. In my view, Ledderose’s idea of modular production gives us useful insights into the Chinese culture. He identifies a common theme of Chinese art that allows him to relate bronze with architecture. He successfully gives an insight into the Chinese art by delving into the Chinese world of art and production techniques. He offers an important insight into the distinct art and traditions present in Chinese culture that can be addressed and studied differently from one another (Ledderose 9). Question II. 2 Buddhism is one of the major religions in the world having been established in the Northeastern part Of India and was founded on the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, also referred to as Buddha. Buddhism arrived in China during the first century or even earlier. However, it did not spread or have an immediate impact on the Chinese people because it was the community of foreign trades who remained with it. Nevertheless, at around 150 CE, Chinese translations of Buddhist texts were produced by people such as An Shigao. Most of the first translations were the Hinayana (inferior vehicle) that served as a curiosity and diversion for the leisurely elite. Most of the first translations into Chinese were philosophical, mythical and legalistic growing into Chinese soil and further into a Chinese religion. There are certain things that challenged and or helped the growth of Buddhism in China. One thing that has been a challenge to Buddhism in China is the vast array of new doctrines, beliefs and concepts that it brought to China. For example, Buddhism had beliefs and conceptions of heavens, hells, reincarnation, the doctrine of Karma and a new pantheon among other issues all of which were to be imparted into the Chinese culture. This was a challenge because the Chinese had their own beliefs, concepts, doctrines and beliefs, which they valued very much. This meant that convincing the Chinese to abandon theirs and take up those brought by the Buddhists was an up heal task. Each society has its own way of doing things and living. It is rather difficult for a society that has had its own value systems for hundreds of years to trust in and accept new value systems especially those brought by foreigners. This was the case that happened between the Chinese and the Buddhists. Buddhism was introduced to China along with new types of behaviors such as seated mediation and offerings before images. It also introduced rites of confession and consecration among other issues. This is confirmed in The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture where Kieschnick states, “it possible in many cases to determine what came to China with Buddhism and what originated in China independently” (Kieschnick 23). Despite the fact that this was a major challenge for the Buddhists, the constant pressure helped in the spread of Buddhism in China as Kieshnick states, “More commonly, however, changes happened only very slowly under constant cultural pressure from Buddhist individuals and institutions (Kieshnick 284). Another thing that provided a challenge to Buddhism in China was the material culture of the Chinese, which Buddhism opposed with utmost rigor. From the early establishment of Buddhism texts to the present day, Buddhist monks have renounced the world of things. As such, Buddhism interfered with the material world of the Chinese by bringing in new sacred symbols, buildings, objects, rituals, ways of thinking and interacting with materials. The first contact that the Buddhists had in China expressed the dislike and discontent for the Chinese material culture. The first evidence for this was in the first century when Buddhists continued with the change and evolvement with respect to the change in the environment and demands of a dynamic society with the call to discard material things. The continued stay of Buddhists in China helped them deal with this issue. As Kieschnick states, “the persistent presence of Buddhist practices and ideas provided the resources as well as the vast stretches of time needed for the spread and development of particular forms of material culture” (Kieschnick 284). It is not wrong to state that the Buddhists had their own liking to objects but theirs was not a material culture but a belief in sacred objects. This clearly contrasted the Chinese material culture as Kieschnick notes that the new Buddhist belief in sacred objects was primarily in icons and relics and was a new notion in China, which was present before the entry of Buddhism in China. However, these objects were new including the complex and vast apparatus that were used to produce and disseminate them (Kieschnick 29). The main challenge lied in the fact that for the Chinese, it was just a material culture while for the Buddhists was a sacred one. Therefore, the Buddhists had a challenge in ensuring that they imparted the sacred feel to the Chinese with respect to objects (Kieschnick 57-58). In my view, Buddhism teaches people to understand, use and regulate things. Buddhism is against the development of material culture in people and only recommends that people get attached to things that they must have to survive and sustain lives. Therefore, this ensures that people do not just become materialistic , but must have a good reason to own, preserve and use things thereby regulating the above said. In my view, the insistence of shunning materialism influenced the Chinese culture in a way that the Chinese abandoned their material culture for Buddhist thinking and teaching which altered the class system that existed. The importance of Buddhist Monks in the history of China is that they influenced the Chinese to abandon material culture and focus on spiritual quest and most importantly the truth. Question III. 2. Writings about luxury goods in Ming China revealed a lot about Ming ideas about things and about the past. There is much evidence that suggests that during the Ming dynasty in China, the enjoyment of the fruits of commerce was a permitted behavior. During this time, people were buried with certain quantities of goods that they would use in their afterlife. The writings reveal the belief in material culture that existed during the Ming dynasty where much thought was placed on objects and things such as secular and religious buildings, furniture, textiles, paintings and jewelry among other things and objects. The Ming China reflected a relationship between manufactured things of the material world and the social order that was preferred by the elite who held the power at the time. As Craig Clunas points out in Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China, “the increased quantity of material being put into circulation, either as new work or as reprints of earlier writings, was unprecedented and points to a heightened awareness of the production and consumption of luxury goods as an arena for potential social conflict” (Clunas 8). During the late Ming dynasty, a highly sophisticated and self-reflexive culture of consumption developed and objects became a part of the system of exchange at the period. The late Ming dynasty saw a prosperous and peaceful period in China where both the elite and the general public enjoyed stable and complacent lifestyles. There was an expansion of commerce and international trade in the period showing the importance that Ming placed on Objects. It is at this time that people in China enjoyed an increased social mobility. China’s population doubled at this point and there was a visible presence of merchants in China because of the view on material culture present. Writings about the luxury goods in Ming China inform use that Ming valued material life more than anything else did. Early Ming decorative arts showed the inherited wealthy eclectic legacy that included Chinese traditions and foreign influences. For example, the Essential Criteria in Clunas’ book shows the contemporary material culture that is largely influenced by objects of earlier periods (Clunas 11). An important aspect of Essential Criteria of Antiquities is that it provides a pattern that shows an authenticity (Zhen) as a major value of connoisseurship as seen in Ming China. The texts contain information of the collection, presentation and usage of art objects that reflect the material culture in Ming China that range from food, clothing and drink among other things. In the Ming China, there were class anxieties, as the elite feared that their class would be taken over and they would not enjoy life as they did before. In the Ming dynasty, elites same as other people such as the merchants had a chance at enjoying the luxury goods. Before this, luxury goods only belonged to the elites. According to Clunas, despite the fact that every person had a chance at acquiring objects and goods, luxurious goods and objects were only afforded by the elite. For instance, he acknowledges that the state confiscated goods such as gold, vessels, silver, minerals and dragon eggs among goods (Clunas 48). In this also were goods that were divided in terms of those that the state confiscated and those that were converted to money according to Yan Song inventory list including textiles, garments, books, bedding and furniture among other things (Clunas 49). All these reveal that the Ming China was a highly commodified society irrespective of the fact that it was divided into classes. Luxury goods were a preserve for the elite something that contributed to changes in Ming China. The Ming Literature texts address issues of consumption in both negative and positive ways. However, they are not detached from a discourse of morality, governance and universal order discourse that links humanity from any class in the society. In the Ming China, the majority of the population was busy with issues of whether to consume enough of the available necessities of life to avoid death rather than the choices about consumption. The difference of access was clear in the choices in terms of the range of commodities to be used. The elite are the ones who make decisions on how things out to be (Clunas 43). Therefore, as Clunas points out, “ in the pre-industrial world of goods of the Ming elite is a clear parallel to the situation described by Adrian Forty as intrinsic to the more complex world of the nineteenth century in Europe and America” (Clunas 53). Thus, the writings reveal the manner in which consumption f luxury goods affected decision-making and class struggles in Ming China. In my opinion, The Ming Literature texts address issues of consumption in Ming China and shows that Ming was a materialistic individual who wanted to preserve the culture and class system of ancient China. The issue in Ming China was not about what to consume but about the amount to consume with respect to the different classes that people occupied. This clearly shows the class anxieties between the elite and the low classes where the elite wanted to preserve their status by all means. This explains the consumption of luxurious goods by the elites unlike the other people. Work Cited Clunas, Craig. Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. Print Kieschnick, John. The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print. Ledderose, Lothar. Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2000. Print. Read More