Politics Through Chinese History - Essay Example

Discuss China's traditional political organization during its long span of dynastic history. China had been conquered several times by alien invaders. Dynasties and governments changed but the Chinese way of life remained the same. The Manchus, for instance, overthrew the Ming Dynasty (last native dynasty of China) and ruled for 267 years. They forced the Chinese to wear queues (pigtails) as a sign of subjugation. This new hair-do changed the appearance of the people but not their mentality or spirit. In fact the Manchu conquerors themselves changed their way of life and became "more Chinese than the Chinese themselves". (Grousset, p. 94) Society in old China was divided to five classes. The highest class was composed of scholars, for whom the mandarins (government officials) were selected. Next arrived the farmers, the largest group; the artisans ranked third; and the merchants and traders constituted the fourth class. The soldiers occupied the lowest class. In ancient China, fighting was considered the lowest occupation. A Chinese proverb said, "Good iron is not used for nails, nor are good men wasted as soldiers." (Grousset, p. 96) The basis of Chinese society was the family. A Chinese family consisted of grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, daughters-in-law and servants. Family ties were very close. Every member of the family was duty-bound to safeguard the family honor and prestige. If a son did something wrong, he and the family will lose face, that is, disgraced. The parents were the absolute masters in the family. They arranged the marriage of the children and decided what professions they would take. Disobedience to parents was regarded as a serious sin. If the father died, the oldest son took his place. A family with many children was believed to be blessed by the gods. Women had few rights. Their place was at home. Their duties were to serve the men, to take care of the children and to attend to household work. They also worked in the fields like male laborers. The economic life in Old China centered on agriculture. About 80% of the Chinese people were peasants who lived in villages and toiled daily in their small farms. Those without farms were engaged in various industries such as bakery, carpentry, brick-making, weaving and retail merchandising. (Grousset, p. 99) Guilds existed in China long before they were established in Medieval Europe. A guild was an association of men engaged in an occupation. Hence, there were merchant's guilds, baker's guilds, musicians' guilds, and carpenters' guilds. The guilds fixed the prices of goods, determined wages, and working conditions, and looked after the welfare of the members. In matters of religion, the Chinese were very practical. They were deeply concerned about the gods, religious dogmas, and the future life. Heaven to them was abstract thing. They simply worshipped their ancestors and gods and paid homage to heaven and earth, mountains in other objects of nature. They were free from religious bigotry. They were free from being Confucians, Taoists and Buddhists at the same time. (Labourette, p. 56) Political life in Old China was regulated by Confucian precepts. At the head of the empire was the Emperor, who was regarded as the "Son of the Heaven." He ruled by the "mandate of heaven", that is, by permission of the gods. If he became corrupt, he immediately lost the mandate of heaven, and the people can overthrow him by revolution and place another ruler on the throne. (Labourette, p. 54) Below the emperor was a bureaucracy consisting of ministers, viceroys and governors. The ministers were the advisers of the emperor. The viceroys were head of the viceroyalties. Each viceroyalty is consisted of several provinces. The governors ruled the provinces. Because of the vastness of the empire, the Emperor, who resided in luxury in Peking usually knew nothing of what was happening in the provinces. Many viceroys and governors became petty despots in their respective realms. The unit of the local government was the village. It was governed by the council of village elders chosen by the family heads. The only link between the village and the imperial government at Peking was the local magistrate, whose main function was to collect taxes for the Emperor. (Labourette, p. 51) In almost all matters, the village enjoyed democracy. There was little interference with the village life by the Peking government. The Manchus were foreigners when they settled in China so when they overthrew the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese where greatly against their governance. They did not want to be under the control by foreigners in their own territory. The Manchus were militarily capable and their army was very strong and well-trained. Since they would want to rule China for long periods of time, they decided that they will need to assimilate with the rich culture that China had. This endeavor had not been a very big challenge to the Manchus for they have learned and lived much of the Chinese culture during their stay in power. (Grousset, p. 103) The cultures and tradition remained still even though there was a turnover in the government. The Emperor presided over religious rituals of the original Chinese with all of the ideals and philosophies of Confucius remained their guidelines in ruling over China. There were a lot of traditions and systematic procedures that the Manchus chose to still be exercised and practiced. They still want to have the civil service examinations which served as the ticket to prestige and government position. These civil service examinations have outlived its predecessors. In fact, it is still being used today even in other countries. The Manchus over rule the positions available inside the capital however outside the capital or in provinces, the Chinese people are commonly appointed or chose for the local positions. However the Han Chinese was not permitted to hold military positions. As Confucius Teachings stated the importance of obedience, the people remained obedient to the Emperor. (Grousset, p. 106) Since the Manchus way of staying in power was to assimilate the culture that the Chinese had, they still have high value for their own tradition. They did not want to lose their own identity as Manchus. They made sure that they would be able to avoid cultural diffusion. What, in your opinion, is the single, most important feature of China's heritage Explain the basis for your choice and discuss how your topic contributed to China's heritage. Great emphasis was placed on learning in China. Children of the rich and the poor attended schools were they memorized the Confucian Classics. After graduation they took the civil service examinations. Passing these examinations was the dream of every young Chinese, for it meant appointment to a government office and enjoyment of high social prestige. (Labourette, p. 49) Chinese learning was based solely on Confucian philosophy and ethics. The study of engineering, physics, chemistry and other sciences was neglected. The traditional way of life in Old China kept the Chinese helpless against the surging tide of Western imperialism in the 19th century. While the Western nations were developing their physical sciences, improving their military weapons, and perfecting their industrial techniques, the Chinese were contentedly browsing in the glories of their past, serenely pursuing their Confucian studies and traditional arts. They isolated themselves from world progress. They proudly considered their country as the greatest country in the world calling it "Middle Kingdom" and looked down on all foreigners and they called them "Barbarians". Consequently, Old China deteriorated and became militarily weak. Her philosophy, literature and arts may be among the best in the world, but her anticipated weapons of war and her ignorance of modern sciences made her an easy victim of Western aggression. References: Grousset, Rene. (1950). The Rise and Splendour of the Chinese Empire. London. p. 94-122. Labourette, Kenneth S. (1946) The Chinese, Their History and Culture. New York. 3rdEdition, revised. p.49-56. Read More