China was another of the origin points of
early civilization in the world. In the Chinese case, civilization emerged
in the Yellow River valley. What I find especially
interesting about studying early Chinese history--aside from the unique factors that
tended to promote cultural continuity over a long period of time, such as the
development of a written script, the fear
of outside invasion and the importance accorded social stability--is the complexity
of the sequence of ruling dynasties. One of the most important of these dynasties was the
Zhou, which technically lasted almost one thousand years but in reality lasted
only about four hundred years; that is still a long time. It was
during the Zhou Dynasty that the key political
concept central to classical China emerged, i.e., the idea of
the "Mandate of Heaven." Rulers claimed the "Mandate"
as their source of authority, conferred on them by ien (heaven); and who could dare to dispute the
will of heaven, i.e., no one! Since heaven encompassed
all lands, an emperor was lord of all; and since there was only one heaven,
there had to be only one ruler on earth. Please feel free to review my lecture notes
(rtf file) on early Chinese history. You
may send me any suggested corrections or additions.
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