Macro regions

Macro regions are inward-looking and generally self-contained spheres of

economic and socio-cultural activity, such as the Szechuan basin, the Yunnan
plateau, and the North China plain. These macro regions are flat, and thus suitable
for agriculture. Macro regions are important in Chinese history as they describe
spheres which were kept apart by centrifugal forces which hindered unification of
macro regions, and were also pulled together by centrifugal forces, which facilitated
unification. The most notable centripetal force between Chinese macro-regions was
the lack of natural lines of communications. Natural lines of communication refers to
geographical and climate features which facilitate travel and trade, such as
waterways, mountain passes, open plains, and favorable weather. This lack of
natural lines of communication explains why the civilizations which emerged in
these macro regions tended to remain independent from civilizations in other macro
regions. Centrifugal forces refer to forces which facilitate unification of these macro
regions. These forces include imperial conquest, and cultural contamination.
Nuclear Area/interactive spheres
The nuclear area theory holds that Chinese civilization emerged from a single
millet-based agrarian culture in the yellow river valley in north china. This refers to
the Peiligang and Yangshao cultures of circa 6500 2000 BCE. This theory is
important as it coincides with the traditional narrative that Chinese civilization
emerged from a single source. On the other hand, the interactive sphere theory
holds that Yangshao culture wasnt the only culture that existed at the time, but
rather that it was merely one of the many Neolithic culture that coexisted. Yangshao
culture interacted with other regional cultures, and emerged as the dominant
culture, rather than the only one. This theory is important as it recent discoveries
have shown that this theory is more accurate, which thus affirms the beliefs of the
Doubting Antiquity School, which denies the nuclear area theory.
Oracle Bones
Oracle bones were tools used by Shamans to communicate with ancestral
spirits of the spirit world through divinations, usually on behalf of the King. The
Shaman would gouge small dimples into a bone, pose a question to an ancestral
spirit, apply a heated metal rod to a dimple, and examine the cracking of the bone
to arrive at a conclusion of what the ancestral spirit was trying to convey. Scribes
would then carve the question, the answer, and the date into the bone for future
reference. These oracle bones are significant as they act as proof of the existence of
the Shang state, and also provide insight into Shang life.

Sanxingdui Culture

Sanxingdui culture refers to the artifacts found in Sichuan in 1987. These

artifacts that were found had an art style that was unlike any seen in other parts of
China, and were just as advanced as those of the Shang. The uniqueness of these
articles challenges the idea that Bronze Age culture spread out from the Yellow
River heartland to other parts of China. These artifacts are significant as historians
have close to no idea of the meaning behind these artifacts, nor about who the
people who created them were.

Mandate of Heaven
The mandate of heaven refers to the idea that Heaven, or Tian, gives the
right to rule All Under Heaven, or Tian Xia, to the most virtuous of people. The
person which heaven selected to rule All Under Heaven holds the Mandate of
Heaven, so long as he works to ensure the happiness and prosperity of those he
rules. The Mandate of Heaven is important as it acts as the mythological
justification for legitimacy of rule, in addition to the other two components of
effective political rule, muscle and money. The idea of the Mandate of Heaven
served to help usurpers legitimize their rule, as they could justify their usurpation as
righteous by claiming that the reason that their usurpation was successful was
because heaven had given them the Mandate of Heaven, and thus they had the
right to rule All Under Heaven.

Guan Zhong
Guan Zhong was a minister to Duke Huan of Qi who helped centralize power
into the hands of the ruler. Guan Zhong is credited with dividing the population of Qi
into geographic units directly controlled by the state (rather than feudal
subdomains controlled by nobles), instituting a uniform tax system based upon
direct taxation of households, reorganizing the military on the basis of compulsory
service (rather than relying on aristocrats and their feudal levies), implementing a
state economic policy based upon monopolization of iron and salt, and controlling
prices and currency to ensure market stability. These changes made it so that rulers
no longer had to rely on aristocratic lords to supply them with the muscle and
money to sustain their authority.

Zhou Kinship Feudalism

Zhou Kinship feudalism refers to how the Zhou king sent relatives and trusted
subordinates to rule over conquered Shang lands, in order to maintain control over
the conquered lands. The idea behind this was that since those in charge of the
lands were directly related to the Zhou king, they would be less likely to turn against

the Zhou king. The position of lord over these conquered fiefdoms was a hereditary
position, which is significant as this system involved independent nodes of political,
economic, and military power. This made political power under Zhou fragmented,
and over time as the lords loyalty to the Zhou diminished, the fiefdoms essentially
became independent states. This led to the emergence of the hegemon system
where the strongest of the states would act as the protector, and exercise military
authority on behalf of the Zhou.

Li (Propriety and rites) and Ren (humanity)

Li and Ren are the basis for Confucius idea of a harmonious society where each
person acted in accordance with the behavioral norms associated with their societal
roles (Li), and exercised empathy towards other human beings (Ren). The idea
behind Li is that since a person is defined by their relationships with other people,
society is in harmony if people act in accordance with the expectations of their
relationships. For example, in a father-son relationship, the son must respect, obey,
and perform ancestral rites for his father. Similarly, the father has the mutual
obligation of educating, protecting, and disciplining his son. The idea behind Ren is
that since humanity is defined by social interactions, a person who is unable to
empathize is not a functional human. Thus Ren is important, as through Ren,
humanity can be brought into harmony.

Duke of Zhou (Zhou Gong)

Sun Zi and the Art of War

Sun Zi was a military advisor to King Helu. Sun Zi auditioned for his job by
demonstrating that any person, even the Kings concubines, can be trained to
become a soldier through effective discipline. Sun Zis ideas as a military
commander revolved around the idea of total war. Given that the stakes were so
high in war, war was to be commanded by specialists, rather than the traditional
way of giving commanding positions on the basis of lineage. Sun Zi believed that an
effective commander conducted war on the basis of deception, and victory should
be obtained no matter the methods the ends justified the means. Sun Zi also
promoted the idea that war should be conducted in a calculated and cautious
manner, with regards to how one should seek victory with as few losses as possible,
as the goal is to take all under heaven intact. These ideas are important as they
impacted the military policies of rulers in China for hundreds of years.

The Four Beginnings (The Four Sprouts)

Mencius expanded on Confucianism by arguing that humans are by nature
good, and that faults in humans are a result of evil influences of a wicked world. The
innate goodness within humans he characterized as four beginnings, or sprouts:
humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. Mencius argued that these
sprouts were within every person, and if placed in the right environment, would
blossom. This meant that so long as a person could feel empathy, the four sprouts
would be present. This idea is important as it expands on Conficious

King You of the Western Zhou

Jun Zi (Superior Man)

Although Confucius believed that every person is innately good, he knew that
in reality not every person was the embodiment of virtue. Thus he classified people
into two groups: xiao ren (petty men), and jun zi (superior men). Petty men, as the
name implies, are people who are driven by greed and self-interest. Jun Zi, on the
other hand, possess all the virtues of humanity, righteousness, trustworthiness,
integrity, filial piety, loyalty, respectfulness, and reciprocity. Confucius believed that
the Jun Zi could transform others by power of positive example, and make the petty
men feel shame for their lack of virtue in comparison, and thus develop a moral
compass to exercise virtue in the future.

Duke Huan of Qi

Double Ears (Chong er) Duke Wen of Jin

Shang Yang (Lord Shang)

The Yangshao and Longshan Eras

Wu Zixu

Mo Zi

3 August Sovereigns and 5 Emperors