#later han

Our Han Deep Dive Episode is now out, to complete season 2. @sunfin3k, @dongzhou3kingdoms, @zgongjin and @fuyonggu reunite to talk about the problems the Later Han had been wrestling with for some time and which left it vulnerable by the time we come to it in the novel. Power, finances, struggles at court, concerns abroad and, thanks to Gongjin's studies in archaeology, the impact of changing climate.

Jude's first time editing so any feedback on how he can improve is welcome. ⁠Transcript⁠

Timings:

Problems at Court: 01:37

Climate Change: 28:53

Foreign Affairs: 43:29

Last Years of Peace: 56:48

Goodbye: 67:37

Artwork by Zhaolie

The bad news guys is that you don’t get a chapter review today. The good news is that instead I’ve compiled a list of all the sources I can find on Jstor that relate to the Later Han/Three Kingdoms. There is some great stuff, with some very well known writers represented so I hope you all enjoy! But remember, you only get six free a month so pick wisely...

·       “Confucian” Values and Practises in Han China by Michael Loewe

·       A History of Court Lyrics in China during Wei-Ch’in Times by Howard L. Goodman

·       Adoption in Han China by Miranda Brown and Rafe De Crespigny

·       Cai Yan and the Poems Attributed to Her by Hans. H Frankel

·       Cao Zhi’s (192-232) Symposium Poems by Robert Joe Cutter

·       Celestial-Master Taoism and the Founding of the Ts’ao-Wei Dynasty: Li Fu Document by Howard L. Goodman

·       Chinese Polymaths, 100-300 AD: The Tung-kuan, Taoist Dissent, and Technical Skills by Howard L. Goodman

·       Chu-ko Liang in The Eyes of His Contemporaries by Eric Henry

·       Confucian Piety and Individualism in Han China by Michael Nylan

·       Divination by Shells, Bones and Stalks during the Han Period by Michael Loewe

·       Han Administrative Documents Recent Finds from the North-West by Michael Loewe

·       Historic Analogies and Evaluative Judgements: Zhuge Liang as Portrayed in Chen Shou’s “Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms” and Pei Songzhi’s Commentary by Hoyt Cleveland Tillman

·       On Reading Cao Zhi’s “Three Good Men”: Yong shi shi or Deng lin shi? by Robert Joe Cutter

·       Politics and Philisophy under the Government of Emperor Huan 159-168 A.D. by Rafe De Crespigny

·       Recent Research in China on Wei-Jin Nanbeichao History by Hou Xudong and Howard L. Goodman

·       Rethinking Chinese Kinship in the Han and the Six Dynasties: A Preliminary Observation by Hou Xudong and Howard L. Goodman

·       Rotten Pendent! The Literary and Historic Afterlife of Qiao Zhao by J. Michael Farmer

·       Some Notes on Han-Time Documents from Tun-huang by Michael Loewe

·       Some Notes On The Western Regions in Later Han by Rafe De Crespigny

·       The Bifurcation of the Yellow Turbans in Later Han by Howard S. Levy

·       The Calligrapher Cheng Yu (ca.163-230) and the Demographic of a Myth by Howard L. Goodman

·       The Cosmological Context of Sovereignty in Han Times by Michael Loewe

·       The Death of Empress Zhen: Fiction and Histography in Early Medieval China by Robert Joe Cutter

·       The Incident at the Gate: Cao Zhi, the Succession and Literary Fame by Robert Joe Cutter

·       The Jewish presence in Imperial China by Michael Loewe

·       The Kingdom of Nanzhong China’s Southwest Border Region Prior to the Eighth Century by John Herman

·       The Life and Legacy of Liu Biao: Governer, Warlord, and Imperial Pretender in Late Han China by Andrew Chittick

·       The Measurement of Grain during the Han Period by Michael Loewe

·       The Organs of Han Imperial Government: Zhongdu guan, duguan, xianguan and xiandao guan by Michael Loewe

·       The Orphan Ts’ao P’i, His Odd Poem, and Its Histotrophic Fame by Howard L. Goodman

·       The Study of Wooden Documents: Recent Developments by Michael Loewe

·       The Three Chaste Ones of Ba: Local Perspectives on the Yellow Turban Rebellion on the Chengdu Plain by J. Michael Farmer

·       Ts’ao Chih and His Immortals by Donald Holzman

·       Two Chapters in the Life of an Empress of the Later Han by Chauncey S. Goodrich

·       What’s in a Name? On the Appellative “Shu” in Early Medieval Chinese Histography by J. Michael Farmer

·       Yellow Turbans Religion and Rebellion at the End of Han by Howard S. Levy

-‘The Census of China during the period 2-742 A.D.’ (Issue 19)

-’An Interpretation of the Portents in the Ts'ien-Han Shu.’ (Issue 22)

-‘The Restoration of the Han Dynasty‘ (Issue 26)

-’The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, II.’ (Issue 31)

-’The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, III.’ (Issue 39)

Articles from the currently running Asia Major journal, in addition to the two older series, are present here: https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/en/publish5.php?TM=5&M=6&C=67&V=3. You’ll have to comb it a bit to find stuff relevant to the period you’re interested in, but it’s worth looking through (for instance, if you’ve ever wanted to read Haloun’s old article on the Liangzhou Rebellion, it is in the 1949 volume.)

On Friday will be the closing episode of season 2, discussing the Han's decline with @sunfin3k, @dongzhou3kingdoms, @zgongjin and @fuyonggu reunited. Clips from eunuch discussions, military expenses and inconsistency, climate change, late reform while we discuss much more in the episode itself. So come join us for Friday's discussion. https://youtu.be/JGe1ZZAJjCs

Artwork by Zhaolie

@dongzhou3kingdoms hosts @sunfin3k and @zgongjin as they return to discuss the Yellow Turbans in our first deep dive episode. Topics of conversation are the history of the Turbans, their beliefs, what we know of them, who they were and why things went so badly for them.

Our first deep dive, focused solely on the history of the subject (in this case, the Turbans) rather then a novel chapter and it's themes. When a major character dies or a major appropriate subject comes up, we are hoping to have one of these

Date of Taiping Jing article

Chapter timings 01:03 What We Know 15:05 Context in which they rose 21:42 Turban plot 29:40 The War 48:43 Aftermath

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Transcript

Two books have just come to my attention. One has been out for a few months, so I would be interested to know if any of you have read it yet?

The first is called The Battle of Red Cliffs: The History and Legacy of the Decisive Battle Fought Near the Start of Ancient China’s Three Kingdoms Period. I guess it does what it says on the tin, it is a book about Chibi. I’m sure I’ll pick it up at some point but frankly I’m doubtful it has anything RDC books doesn’t.

Themes: Luoyang; Objects

Overview:

           This essay is on polymathy. Goodman says that at the time this essay was written it was a new field of study. He defines the term, initially in an ancient western context, as a new kind of knowledge. This is contrasted with polydidactics which is conventional knowledge, the set texts for a given context. To cover the topic, he is going to study some well-known early scholars of China to see what skills and teachings feature in their writings. Goodman holds up Pei Songzhi up as an example of one doing this, after he rewrote a conventional history in a new way. His study will focus on three areas; cultural history, synergy among skills and the impact upon our historical methods.

           Goodman begins with the Dong guan [Tung-kuan], the court institution of learning for Eastern Han. It was a building within the palace that some very limited few scholars were allowed access to. It became the centre for polymathy as debates started about textual and ritual authorities which allowed for developing new ideas and approaches. The first important scholar linked with this was Pan Gu the historian. Initially the Dong guan was just a centre for historical record keeping but gradually became a centre for other areas too. For example, before Pan Gu was arrested there was evidence he was working on mathematical astrology.

          Next Goodman takes a side step away from his primary topic to look at the impact the Dong guan had on politics. While few male scholars had access, eunuchs and the Emperor’s harem did and this may have led to the struggles between the two factions. This is because the scholars who did have access were those who had deigned to take a low paid job and position within the court – there was no formal role; however, it was deemed worth it because of the rare selection of books that were kept within.  

           When Goodman gets to the reign of Emperor Huan, he says that Daoism and Daoist rites became increasingly used by the Court. The Dong guan as a result became known as a centre for the study of Daoist texts. Goodman is keen to make a distinction between the mainstream Daoism and the Neo-Daoism of various rebel groups that arose around the same time. Suggesting that the Daoism of the scholars was more academic and was probably not practised in their private religion Scholars wished to be appointed to the Dong guan as it allowed them to be paid to further their studies without having to engage in factional strife, and Goodman gives an overview and examples of scholars who were executed for speaking out against the eunuchs, including a long section on Cai Yong who headed up the Dong guan until his death.

          Goodman turns to astrology and court music. However, he points out that both of these were tied to rites and therefore legitimacy and so during the days of a falling dynasty these were perilous things to be studying as implications of disloyalty were never far away. Cai Yong led an attempt to try and rediscover a style of court music. The success (or lack) of the attempt itself is unimportant to Goodman’s study what he is interested in is the presence of a research program which “pushed the polymath envelope.”

           The Dong guan and most of its material was destroyed in the fire in Luoyang set by Dong Zhuo so there was a period where it didn’t exist. Many years later the Imperial Library of Wei filled the gap, while in Wu and Shu some sort of Dong guan was established – Chen Shou was appointed to Shu’s. Western Jin created a formalised role called a Gentleman drafter, a change from the unofficial role in the Han. They were placed under the direction of the Imperial Library.

           Between the burning of Luoyang and the Imperial Library assuming the role originally filled by the Dong guan, polymathy occurred more in local “schools”. Guan Lu, described as an outsider, is used as a case study to examine how this happened. After studying what he believed, Goodman contrasts him with Cai Yong. The later searched for knowledge in historical texts and ceremonial rites whereas Guan Lu used divination.  

           Goodman turns to study a third polymath. This one is Xun Xu. He spends some time describing the Xun clan. Goodman notes that Xun’s writings didn’t talk about Daoist or Confucian ideas, which was different to his direct contemporaries, and also different to the Dong guan school. However, Goodman argues that his polymathy grew out of the Dong guan school, this is because of the way he was informed by ancient devices and crossed bureaucratic lines, just as Cai Yong did. He was in charge of the Imperial library until he fell foul of politics.

          The conclusion contrasts Roman polymaths with Ancient Chinese ones. One of the big differences he picks up on is how in the East the opportunities to make their mark as a polymath was inside the court. What made them worthy of study though, in this field was the way they approached science and rites with attitudes and methods that had no pedigree, developing techniques that later Tang polymaths built upon.

Analysis:

Themes: Yellow Turbans

Overview:

            Chen starts this article by saying that the Yellow Turban rebellion struck a vital blow to the Han dynasty. Although he says that they were crushed within a few months, the Han never recovered and soon fell. He says the Yellow Turbans are significant not only for causing the fall of a dynasty but for also causing the shift between Ancient and Medieval China and it is in this context he believes they should be studied.

            With this is mind, Chen lays out what he suggests is the standard view of the Yellow Turban rebellion. That it was a Daoist led, peasant rebellion in response to a power struggle between the Confucian nobility and the eunuchs. Instead he argues that this was the transformation towards a Medieval Chinese aristocracy. Outlining his position, he says that the elite had been driven from the capital, and so merged with the more localised gentry fostering an anti-Han, and anti-eunuch feeling that created an atmosphere that gave birth to the Yellow Turbans. Having then incited the peasants to rebel the nobility then crushed them under the guise of Han loyalism, eventually becoming rulers of China in the Cao and Sima clans.

            Chen says he has long suspected that the scholarly criticism of the Confucian elite and the Yellow Turbans have been different side of the same coin. He argues this because they were popular in the same areas of China, at the same time and both went under cover to avoid persecution.

            Next, he questions whether the Yellow Turbans was truly a peasant movement suggesting the leadership came from the gentry and quotes Daoist scholar Ge Hong (284-363 AD) to say that some of Zhang Jue’s followers came from some wealth. He says all of this implies that Zhang Jue and his brothers came from the landed gentry, rather than being peasants themselves. He then quotes the Hou Han Shu, that says when the Yellow Turbans rose up, they went to strongholds and that word should be understood to mean a place with supplies, akin to the fortified homes of the gentry.

            Chen then argues that the local government were aware of the movement and sympathetic to it. He does this by referencing the Imperial Court being aware of the movement, and not seeking to repress it. Also, that after the rebellion they blamed it on the eunuchs, Chen thinks implying sympathy for the Yellow Turbans.

            He also thinks that the exaggerated numbers and threat that the gentry reported to the capital about the Yellow Turbans implies a plot. Alongside this Chen argues that the real animosity wasn’t towards local government but branches of the Han dynasty, which is why regional princes got killed. Descriptions of attacks on local government he believes are exaggerated.

            Ultimately, he concludes that all of these arguments point towards collaboration between the Confucian scholars and the Yellow Turbans. The Yellow Turbans then collapsing when the Confucian elite withdrew their support. He also adds that the violence of this rebellion wasn’t systematic of Daoism and therefore implies an outside influence.

Analysis:

            I had initially planned to skip over this article as I find myself somewhat sceptical of any revisionist argument, however for the sake of completion I decided I should review it too. Where I think Chi-yun Chen makes a good point is his argument that the Yellow Turbans were not an exclusively peasant movement. He makes a very strong argument based upon the use of the word stronghold to say that the Zhang family at least, and probably some of their followers came from a wealthier background.

            On the other hand, I find myself utterly unconvinced by his conspiracy theory, that the ousted Confucian scholars were secretly behind the rebellion he whole time. There are gaping holes in his argument, such as his initial assertion that both the Yellow Turbans and the gentry were being persecuted, only later to say that the Yellow Turbans were ignored by the central court. As well as his criticism of exaggerated numbers in the sources, this is a universal action, not just when it comes to the Yellow Turbans. He is not able to make any firm link between the Confucian scholars and the Yellow Turbans, relying instead on inference. What’s more his assertion that Cao Cao was part of this elite gentry faction is shown to be false by his own struggles with them during his rule, by encouraging policies unpopular with the mainstream Confucian scholars.