Empress Dowager Dou, d. 135 BCE
Emperor Jing, r. 156-141 BCE
| “Way of Heaven” | ||
|---|---|---|
| *Yin and Yang | ||
| "Way of Man" | "Way of Earth" | |
| Dynasty | Element | Color |
| Yellow Emperor | Earth | Yellow |
| Xia | Wood | Green |
| Shang | Metal | White |
| Zhou | Fire | Red |
| Qin | Water | Black |
| Han | Earth | Yellow |
*Dong Zhongshu (175?-105? BCE)
Revival of Zhou political ideas
Emperor as Son of Heaven
*Mandate of Heaven
Rituals of kingship (Hinsch 145-47)
Emperor and Empress
Socio-political ideals:
Confucian moral virtue & patrilinealism
Cosmological ideas (Hinsch 153-67)
*Yin and Yang
Heaven and Earth
*Five Elements
Portents
5 Erudite Scholars
5 Confucian classics as basis of civil service exams
Book of Changes (Yijing)
Book of Documents (Shujing)
Book of Songs/Poetry (Shijing)
Book of Rites (Liji)
Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu)
Dong Zhongshu
Lived 45 BCE-23 CE
Example of *Consort kin (Hinsch pp. 109-12)
Dowager Empress Wang, d. 13 CE
Wife of Emperor Yuan (r. 49-33 BCE)
Mother of Emperor Cheng (r. 33-7 BCE)
Aunt of Wang Mang
Prime Minister, 8-7 BCE
Limits landholding to 3000 mu (500 acres)
Out of power under Emperor Ai, 7-1 BCE
Return to power in cooperation with Empress Wang
Regent for two child emperors, 1 BCE-9CE
Founds Xin Dynasty, 9-23 CE
Land reform
Idealism of Rites of Zhou
*Well-field (tick-tack-toe) system
Threat to power of great landowners
Elites resist reforms
Commoners face hardship
Natural Disasters
Yellow River “China’s sorrow”
N to S in 11 CE
*Red Eyebrow rebellion 22-25 CE
Mother Lü (Hinsch, p. 102)
Liu Xiu (5 BCE-56 CE)
Emperor Guangwu (r. 25-56 CE)Capital in Luoyang