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Flashcards in Early Chinese Intellectual History Deck (54)
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1
Q

Su Qin

A

Sū Qín 蘇秦 (380-284 BCE)

  • Warring States political strategist and persuader
  • chief advocate of the “Vertical Alliance” (Hé zòng 合縱)
  • disciple of Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子
2
Q

Vertical Alliance

A

Hé zòng 合縱 (often written: 合從)

  • clique of the School of Diplomacy (Zòng Héng jiā 縱橫家) during the Warring States Period (period 350-250 BCE)
  • anti-Qin alliance
  • North-South axis: six states united against Qín 秦 (Qí 齊, Chǔ 楚, Yān 燕, Hán 韓, Zhào 趙, Wèi 魏)
  • lead by Sū Qín 蘇秦
3
Q

School of Diplomacy

A

Zòng Héng jiā 縱橫家 (also: 從衡家)

  • “School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliances”
  • Warring States political and diplomatic clique
  • originated by Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子
  • main adherents: Sū Qín 蘇秦 (Vertical Aliance) and Zhāng Yí 張儀 (Horizontal Alliance)
  • see e.g. Hán Fēizǐ 韓非子 en Zhànguó cè 戰國策
4
Q

Horizontal Alliance

A

Lián héng 連橫 (also written: 連衡)

  • clique of the School of Diplomacy (Zòng Héng jiā 縱橫家) during the Warring States Period (period 350-250)
  • pro-Qin alliance
  • East-West axis: six states allied with Qín 秦
  • lead by Zhāng Yí 張儀
5
Q

方士

A

fāngshì 方士

  • “masters of techniques” (Lewis), “recipe gentleman” (Harper)
  • all kinds of specialists, e.g. doctors, astrologers,… with expertise knowledge
  • difference with rú 儒: fāngshì always seems to be outside of the imperial court
  • the term is not attested to in pre-Hàn sources, first occurrence is in the Shǐjì 史記
  • during the Hàn 漢, the label fāngshì 方士 was applied to third century BCE men who disseminated correlative cosmology and various occult arts (Harper)
6
Q

Zhang Yi

A

Zhāng Yí 張儀

  • Warring States political strategist and persuader
  • chief advocate of the “Horizontal Alliance” (Lián héng 連橫)
  • disciple of Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子
  • Zhāng Yí repetitively negotiated with the six states (Qí 齊, Chǔ 楚, Yān 燕, Hán 韓, Zhào 趙, Wèi 魏), thereby destroying their relations with the Horizontal Alliance, and paving the way for Qín’s 秦 unification of China
7
Q

A

Rú 儒

  • category of rú 儒 as in rú jiā 儒家 (“Confucian”) was constructed during the Hàn 漢 period
  • in the pre-Qin period, rú should be translated as “scholar” or “man of learning”
  • the only two categories that existed in the pre-Qin period are mò 墨 and rú 儒
8
Q

法家

A

Fǎ jiā 法家 “Legalism”

  • this category did not exist in the pre-Qin period
  • scholars/strategists such as Hán Fēizǐ 韓非子, Shēn Bùhài 申不害, Lǐ Sī 李斯, Shāng Yāng 商鞅, Wú Qǐ 吳起, etc. should be considered as rú 儒 rather than Fǎ jiā 法家
  • the only two categories that existed in the pre-Qin period are mò 墨 and rú 儒
9
Q

Sun Wu

A

Sūn Wǔ 孫武 or Sūnzǐ 孫子 (late 6th century BCE)

  • military general (jiāng 將), strategist, and philosopher during the Spring and Autumn Period
  • traditionally seen as author of The Art of War (Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ 孫子兵法)
10
Q

Sun Bin

A

Sūn Bìn 孫臏 (died 316 BCE)

  • Warring States military strategist
  • alleged descendant of Sūnzǐ 孫子
  • disciple of Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子
  • wrote military treatise Sun Bin’s Art of War (Sūn Bìn Bīngfǎ 孫臏兵法), of which some chapters were rediscovered in a 1972 archaeological excavation in Yínquèshān 銀雀山, after being lost for almost 2000 years
11
Q

Sima Rangju

A

Sīmǎ Rángjū 司馬穰苴 (late 6th century BCE)

  • military general (jiāng 將) during the Spring and Autumn Period
  • credited with writing the Sīmǎ fǎ 司馬法, one of the seven military classics
12
Q

Wu Qi

A

Wú Qǐ 吳起 (440-381 BCE)

  • military leader, philosopher, and politician in the Warring States Period
  • known as author of the Wúzǐ 吳子, a treatise on military strategy, and one of the seven military classics
13
Q

Guiguzi

A

Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子

  • Warring States master of politics, diplomacy, and military strategy
  • founder of the School of Diplomacy (Vertical and Horizontal Alliances)
  • earliest records in Shǐjì 史記, which names him as the teacher of famous strategists such as Sū Qín 蘇秦, Zhāng Yí 張儀, and Sūn Bìn 孫臏
  • supposedly wrote the philosophical treatise Guǐgǔzǐ 鬼谷子 (probably a later forgery, not in Hànshū Yìwénzhì 漢書藝文志)
14
Q

Shang Yang

A

Shāng Yāng 商鞅 (390-338 BCE)

  • minister in state of Qín 秦 during Warring States Period
  • one of the boldest reformers of his age, and the architect of Qín’s economic and military supremacy
  • supposedly wrote the Shāngjūnshū 商君書 (known as a “Legalist” book)
  • reforms: militarization (e.g. recruiting peasants in military), abolished primogeniture, increased taxes, privatized land, made many new laws, system of ruthless punishments, promotion of agriculture and martial virtues
15
Q

Seven Military Classics

A

Wǔjīng qī shū 五經七書

  • seven canonized military texts (six from early China, one from Táng 唐 period)
  • this anthology was canonized in 1080 under Emperor Shénzōng 神宗 of the Sòng 宋 dynasty
  • seven texts:
    1. Liù Tāo 六韜 (Jiāng Zǐyá 姜子牙)
    2. Sīmǎ Fǎ 司馬法 (Sīmǎ Rángjū 司馬穰苴)
    3. Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ 孫子兵法 (Sūn Wǔ 孫武)
    4. Wúzǐ 吳子 (Wú Qǐ 吳起)
    5. Wèi Liáozi 尉繚子 (Wèi Liáo 尉繚)
    6. Huáng Shí gōng sān lüè 黃石公三略 (Zhāng Liáng 張良)
    7. Questions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong 唐太宗李衛公問對
16
Q

Shen Buhai

A

Shēn Bùhài 申不害 (4th century BCE)

  • chancellor of the state of Hán 韓 during the Warring States Period
  • classified as a “Legalist” philosopher
  • supposedly wrote the Shēnzǐ 申子, which is now lost, but some fragments survive in other texts
  • the Shēnzǐ 申子 articulates techniques (shù 術) by which the ruler can control his ministers and maintain absolute authority
17
Q

Li Kui

A

Lǐ Kuī 李悝 (455-395 BCE)

  • chief minister in state of Wèi 魏 and advisor to marquis Wén of Wèi 魏文侯 during the Warring States Period
  • known for his “Legalist” reforms that inspired Shāng Yāng 商鞅
  • two main achievements:
    1. theory on the optimal use of language
    2. supposedly wrote the Fǎjīng 法經
18
Q

Wei Liaozi

A

Wèi Liáozi 尉繚子 (also: Yù Liáozǐ)

  • text on military strategy supposedly written by Wèi Liáo 尉繚 during the Warring States or Qín 秦 period
  • one of the seven military classics
  • a more philosophical version (5 chapters) was found among the Yínquèshān 銀雀山 Hàn 漢 bamboo manuscripts discovered in 1972
19
Q

Wei Liao

A

Wèi Liáo 尉繚 (also: Yù Liáo)

  • supposed author of the Wèi Liáozi 尉繚子
  • according to the Shǐjì 史記, Wèi Liáo was an advisor to Qín Shǐ Huáng 秦始皇
20
Q

Shangjunshu

A

Shāngjūnshū 商君書

  • so-called “Legalist” book
  • supposedly written by Shāng Yāng 商鞅 during the Warring States Period
21
Q

六藝

A

Liù yì 六藝

  1. Six Arts
  2. Six Classics (also: Liù jīng 六經)
22
Q

Six Arts

A

Liù yì 六藝 “Six Arts”

  • basis of education during the Zhōu 周 period
  • see e.g. Zhōulǐ 周禮
  1. rites or etiquette – lǐ 禮
  2. music – yuè 樂
  3. archery – shè 射
  4. charioteering – yù 御
  5. calligraphy or literacy – shū 書
  6. mathematics – shù 數
23
Q

Six Classics

A

Liù yì 六藝 or Liù jīng 六經 “Six Classics”

  • see Hànshū Yìwénzhì 漢書藝文志
  1. Lǐjì 禮記
  2. Yuèjì 樂記
  3. Shījīng 詩經
  4. Shūjīng 書經
  5. Chūnqiū 春秋
  6. Yìjīng 易經
24
Q

Well-field System

A

Jǐngtián 井田 “Well-field System”

  • first described in Mèngzǐ 孟子
  • Zhōu 周 (imaginary?) system of land cultivation: 9 units of which 8 units are private (sītián 私田) and the center unit is communally cultivated (gōngtián 公田) on behalf of the landowner
  • this system was suspended by Shāng Yāng 商鞅
25
Q

Zhou Hierarchy

A

Zhōu 周 Hierarchy

  1. Zhou king (Zhōu wáng 周王)
  2. rulers of vassal states (zhūhóu 諸侯)
  3. ministers (qīng 卿)
  4. high officers or grandees (dàifu 大夫)
  5. shì 士
  6. commoners (shùmín 庶民)
26
Q

Axial Age

A

Axial Age (“Achse” = axis, pivot)

  • term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers to describe the period from 800 to 200 BCE, during which similar thinking appeared in Persia, India, China, and Greece
  • according to Jaspers, the Axial Age gave birth to philosophy as a discipline, and he saw in developments in religion and philosophy striking parallels (without stimulus diffusion) between the different regions
  • “the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently in China, India, Persia, Judea, and Greece. And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today” (Jaspers, The Origin and Goal of History)
  • Axial thinkers in China: Confucius and Laozi
  • Cho-yun Hsu (Zhuōyún Xǔ) 許倬雲, David Nivison, Heiner Roetz, A. C. Graham
27
Q

Zi Huaizi

A

Zǐ Huázǐ 子華子

  • early Chinese thinker said to be from the state of Wèi 魏
  • his writings survive only in quotations in the Lǚshì Chūnqiū 呂氏春秋
  • he argues that what is most important is quán shēng 全生 “keeping one’s own life complete” (全生為上)
28
Q

Yang Zhu

A

Yáng Zhū 楊朱 (440–360 BCE)

  • Chinese philosopher during the Warring States Period
  • Yáng Zhū’s surviving ideas, known as “Yangism,” appear primarily in the Chinese texts Huáinánzǐ 淮南子, Lǚshì Chūnqiū 呂氏春秋, Mèngzǐ 孟子, and possibly the Lièzǐ 列子 and Zhuāngzǐ 莊子
  • known for his philosophy of the self-cultivation of shēng 生
29
Q

Shen Dao

A

Shèn Dào 慎到 or Shènzǐ 慎子 (?350-?275 BCE)

  • Warring States “Daoist” philosopher at the Jìxià 稷下 Academy at the turn of the fourth and third centuries BCE
  • his own original 42 essays have been lost, and only 7 are still extant, and he is known largely through short references and the writings of others, notably Hánfēizǐ 韓非子 and Zhuāngzǐ 莊子
  • a critical reconstruction of the lost book of Shènzǐ 慎子 was made by Paul Thompson, and published in 1979 as The Shen Tzu Fragments
  • among the Shangbo manuscripts are six bamboo slips with sayings of Shènzǐ
30
Q

Jixia Academy

A

Jìxià 稷下 Academy

  • scholarly academy during the Warring States Period in the state of Qí 齊
  • scholars said to have attended the Jìxià Academy:
  • Shèn Dào 慎到
  • Zhuāngzǐ 莊子
  • Zōu Yǎn 鄒衍
  • Mèngzǐ 孟子
  • Xúnzǐ 荀子
  • Chúnyú Kūn 淳于髡
31
Q

Chunyu Kun

A

Chúnyú Kūn 淳于髡 (4th century BCE)

  • philosopher, emissary, and official during the Warring States Period
  • scholar at the Jìxià 稷下 Academy
  • contemporary of Mèngzǐ 孟子
  • known for his wit
  • he is discussed in the Shǐjì 史記 chapter called “Jesters” (Huájī lièzhuàn 滑稽列傳)
32
Q

Zou Yan

A

Zōu Yǎn 鄒衍 (305 BC – 240 BCE)

  • Warring States thinker and scholar at the Jìxià 稷下 Academy
  • retrospectively classified as a representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School (Yīn Yáng jiā 陰陽家) in Hàn 漢 sources (e.g. Shǐjì 史記 and Hànshū 漢書)
  • Joseph Needham described Zōu Yǎn as “The real founder of all Chinese scientific thought”
  • his teachings combined and systematized two theories: Yīn Yáng 陰陽 and Wǔ xíng 五行
  • all of Zōu Yǎn’s writings are lost and are only known through quotations in early Chinese texts
  • biography in Shǐjì 史記 devotes 3 times more space to Zōu Yǎn than to Mèngzǐ 孟子 or Xúnzǐ 荀子
  • of pre-Hàn sources, only the Hánfēizǐ 韓非子 and Zhànguócè 戰國策 mention him once
33
Q

Gaozi

A

Gàozĭ 告子 (ca. 420-350 BCE)

  • philosopher during the Warring States Period
  • Gàozĭ’s teachings are no longer extant
  • contemporary of Mèngzǐ 孟子
  • most of our knowledge about him comes from the Mèngzǐ chapter titled “Gàozĭ” 告子, which deals with human nature (xìng 性)
34
Q

Hui Shi

A

Huì Shī 惠施 or Huìzǐ 惠子 (380-305 BCE)

  • sophist philosopher during the Warring States Period
  • famous for ten paradoxes about the relativity of time and space (see “Tiānxià” 天下 chapter of Zhuāngzǐ 莊子)
35
Q

Hui Shi’s Ten Paradoxes

A

Huì Shī shí shì 惠施十事 “Huì Shī’s Ten Paradoxes/Theses”

  • in “Tiānxià” 天下 chapter of Zhuāngzǐ 莊子:
    1. “The largest thing has nothing beyond it; it is called the One of largeness. The smallest thing has nothing within it; it is called the One of smallness.”
    2. “That which has no thickness cannot be piled up; yet it is a thousand lǐ in dimension.”
    3. “Heaven is as low as earth; mountains and marshes are on the same level.”
    4. “The sun at noon is the sun setting. The thing born is the thing dying.”
    5. “Great similarities are different from little similarities; these are called the little similarities and differences. The ten thousand things are all similar and are all different; these are called the great similarities and differences.”
    6. “The southern region has no limit and yet has a limit.”
    7. “I set off for Yuè today and came there yesterday.”
    8. “Linked rings can be separated.”
    9. “I know the center of the world: it is north of Yān and south of Yuè.”
    10. “Let love embrace the ten thousand things; Heaven and earth are a single body.”
36
Q

Gongsun Long

A

Gōngsūn Lóng 公孫龍 (ca. 325–250 BCE)

  • Warring States sophist philosopher said to belong to the “School of Names” (Míng jiā 名家)
  • supposed author of the Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ 公孫龍子
  • best known for paradoxes in the tradition of Huì Shī 惠施, e.g. “White horses are not horses” 白馬非馬也
37
Q

Gongsun Longzi

A

Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ 公孫龍子

  • the only extant book ascribed to one of the sophists, Gōngsūn Lóng 公孫龍
  • Hànshū Yìwénzhì 漢書藝文志 enters a Gōngsūn Lóngzǐ in 14 piān 篇, under Míng jiā 名家, the extent text, however, consists of only 6 piān 篇
38
Q

Zongfa System

A

Zōngfǎ 宗法 system

  • a Zhōu 周 kinship system which provided for the succession of the Zhōu kings and rulers by primogeniture: the eldest son took his place in the “principal lineage” (dà zōng 大宗)
39
Q

Ba System

A

Bà 霸 hegemony system

  • first institutionalized by Duke Huán of Qí 齊桓公 and his adviser Guǎn Zhòng 管仲 during the Spring and Autumn Period (7th century BCE)
  • Wǔ Bà 五霸 “Five Hegemons”: Duke Huán of Qí 齊桓公, Duke Wén of Jìn 晉文公, King Zhuāng of Chǔ 楚莊王
40
Q

Chunqiu

A

Chūnqiū 春秋 “Spring and Autumn Annals”

*a terse chronicle of events in the state of Lǔ 魯, covering the reigns of twelve dukes from Lǔ 魯 during the period from 722-479 BCE

41
Q

月令

A

Yuè lìng 月令

  • “ordinances of the month”: a type of calendar
  • focus on: (Harper)
    1. seasonal phenomena and the correct human activities to be observed throughout the year
    2. unseasonal phenomena and incorrect conduct which disturbed the essential harmony between nature and mankind
  • these calendars clearly have a political nature: astrological and calendrical data, including yīn-yáng 陰陽 and wǔxíng 五行 correlations, are set forth as the foundation of an orderly state (Harper)
  • Yuè lìng 月令 calendars are found in:
    1. Lǐjì 禮記, “Yuè lìng” 月令 chapter
    2. twelve opening chapters of each monthly section in the first part of the Lǚshì Chūnqiū 呂氏春秋
    3. Huáinánzǐ 淮南子, “Shízé” 時則 chapter
    4. Guǎnzǐ 管子, “Xuángōng” 玄宮 chapter
42
Q

干支

A

Gānzhī 干支

  1. “ten heavenly stems” 十天干
  2. “twelve earthly branches” 十二地干

=> when combined, they form the cycle of sixty

43
Q

Doubting Antiquity School

A

Yí gǔ pài 疑古派

  • initiated by Hú Shì 胡適
  • headed by Gù Jiégāng 顧頡剛
  • mid 1910s and 1920s (May Fourth and New Culture Movement)
  • group of scholars and writers who showed doubts and uncertainty of antiquity in Chinese academia: they doubted the authenticity of pre-Qín texts and the existence of the Xià 夏 dynasty
  • influenced western scholars such as Bernhard Karlgren
44
Q

Invention of Chinese Writing (Boltz)

A

Invention of Chinese Writing
William Boltz

Three developmental stages:

  1. zodiographic stage => zodiographs as the graphic representation of speech
  2. multivalent stage:
    a. rebus or paronomastic use of graphs
    b. polyphonic use of graphs
  3. determinative stage => adding:
    a. semantic determinatives
    b. phonetic determinatives
45
Q

Periodization of Early Chinese Language (Boltz)

A

Periodization of Early Chinese Language (William Boltz)

  1. archaic period (1200-1000 BCE): OBI and short bronze inscriptions
  2. pre-classical period (1000-600 BCE): bronze inscriptions, Shàngshū 尚書, Shījīng 詩經, Zhōuyì 周易
  3. classical period (600-200 BCE): “standard Classical Chinese”
46
Q

Cambridge History of Ancient China

A

Cambridge History of Ancient China

  • from Shāng 尚 (first written records) until Qín 秦 unification in 221 BCE
  • multidisciplinary approach: integration of material and textual sources
  • four periods:
    1. Shāng 尚
    2. Western Zhōu 西周
    3. Spring and Autumn 春秋
    4. Warring States 戰國
    => each period has two chapters: one based on written sources, one based on archaeological records
47
Q

Time in Early China

A

Time in Early China
(Shaughnessy, CHAC)

  • time in early China is based on:
    1. natural changes: seasons, waxing and waning of the moon, cycle of day and night
    2. social changes: reigns of kings
48
Q

三皇五帝

A

Sān huáng wǔ dì 三皇五帝

  1. Sān huáng 三皇:
    i. Fúxī 伏羲: writing (bāguà 八卦), fishing
    ii. Shénnóng 神農: agriculture
    iii. Suìrén 燧人: fire (or Nǚwā 女媧: creation myth)
  2. Wǔ dì 五帝:
    i. Huángdì 皇帝
    ii. Zhuānxū 顓頊
    iii. Dì Kù 帝嚳
    iv. Yáo 堯
    v. Shùn 舜
    (vi. Yǔ 禹)
49
Q

堯, 舜, 禹

A

Yáo 堯, Shùn 舜, Yǔ 禹

  • three mythological rulers
  • they all wanted to abdicate the throne to the next in view of the latter’s virtues, and the latter eventually succeeded to their high positions despite their intent of yielding to the sons of the former ruler
50
Q

Shanhaijing

A

Shānhǎijīng 山海經

  • compilation of early geography and myth
  • three main textual layers compiled and assembled by different authors over a period of some six to eight centuries
  • the compilers conceived the earth as being divided into three concentric rectangles:
    1. a central territory
    2. four seas
    3. a ‘great wilderness’
  • traditionally ascribed to Yǔ 禹 and his assistant Yì 益
  • Karlgren: “product of the Han era, in parts not even of the early Han”
51
Q

Huangdi neijing

A

Huángdì nèijīng 黃帝內經

  • ancient Chinese medical text
  • the name Huángdì nèijīng 黃帝內經 is usually prefixed to the titles of four books:
    1. Sùwèn 素問
    2. Língshū 靈樞
    3. Tàisù 太素
    4. Míngtáng 明堂
    => since the Northern Sòng it has been used as a collective title for the first two
  • composed of dialogues between the Yellow Emperor (Huángdì 黃帝) and one of six legendary ministers
  • Graham: cosmological doctrine based on Yin-Yang and Five Phases
  • now seen not as a single book but as a collection of inter-related short writings from distinct medical lineages at different times
  • Nathan Sivin: Sùwèn 素問 and Língshū 靈樞 probably date to the 1st century BCE (based on comparison with Mǎwángduī 馬王堆 medical manuscripts)
52
Q

Zuozhuan

A

Zuǒzhuàn 左傳

  • Schaberg: a collection of anecdotes and exegetical comments related to the Chūnqiū 春秋
  • organized around the years of the reigns of the twelve dukes who ruled the state of Lǔ 魯
  • it covers a slightly longer period than the Chūnqiū (722 to 463 BC)
  • two traditional assumptions about Zuǒzhuàn:
    1. witten by Zuǒ Qiūmíng 左丘明 who is mentioned in the Lúnyǔ 論語 and taken to be a contemporary of Confucius (implausible)
    2. composed as a commentary on the Chūnqiū 春秋
  • the longest of all the pre-Qin texts
53
Q

Guoyu

A

Guóyǔ 國語

  • “dialogues or discourses of the states”: accounts of the sayings of rulers and prominent persons, which were drawn up for the various states of the Spring and Autumn period
  • 21 juǎn 卷, in eight geographical sections, arranged chronologically:
    1. Zhou 周 (周語)
    2. Lu 魯 (魯語)
    3. Qi 齊 (齊語)
    4. Jin 晉 (晉語)
    5. Zheng 鄭 (鄭語)
    6. Chu 楚 (楚語)
    7. Wu 吳 (吳語)
    8. Yue 越 (越語)
  • according to the Shǐjì 史記 compiled by Zuǒ Qiūmíng 左丘明, but probably a compilation of several authors
  • the scope of the Guóyǔ overlaps to a considerable extent with that of the Chūnqiū 春秋 and the Zuǒzhuàn 左傳, but it differs in organization, emphasis, and in many of its historical details
54
Q

Early Chinese historiographical works

A

Early Chinese historiographical works (such as Zuǒzhuàn 左傳 and Guóyǔ 國語)

  • not readings them as historical documents, but rather as documents of intellectual history
    => as traces of historiographical practice (Schaberg) rather than faithful historical records