The Cambridge History of China - Volume 1 The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220

THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY

OF CHINA

General editors

DENIS TWITCHETT and JOHN K. FAIRBANK

Volume i

The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220

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Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

Work on this volume was partially supported by the National Endowment

for the Humanities, Grant RO-20431-83.

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Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

GENERAL EDITORS' PREFACE

When The Cambridge History of China was first planned, more than a decade

ago, it was naturally intended that it should begin with the very earliest

periods of Chinese history. However, the production of the series has taken

place over a period of years when our knowledge both of Chinese prehistory

and of much of the first millennium B.C. has been transformed by the spate

of archeological discoveries that began in the 1920s and has been gathering

increasing momentum since the early 1970s. This flood of new information

has changed our view of early history repeatedly, and there is not yet any

generally accepted synthesis of this new evidence and the traditional writ￾ten record. In spite of repeated efforts to plan and produce a volume or

volumes that would summarize the present state of our knowledge of early

China, it has so far proved impossible to do so. It may well be another

decade before it will prove practical to undertake a synthesis of all these

new discoveries that is likely to have some enduring value. Reluctantly,

therefore, we begin the coverage of The Cambridge History of China with the

establishment of the first imperial regimes, those of Ch'in and Han. We are

conscious that this leaves a millennium or more of the recorded past to be

dealt with elsewhere, and at another time. We are equally conscious of the

fact that the events and developments of the first millennium B.C. laid the

foundations for the Chinese society and its ideas and institutions that we

are about to describe. The institutions, the literary and artistic culture, the

social forms, and the systems of ideas and beliefs of Ch'in and Han were

firmly rooted in the past, and cannot be understood without some

knowledge of this earlier history. As the modern world grows more inter￾connected, historical understanding of it becomes ever more necessary and

the historian's task ever more complex. Fact and theory affect each other

even as sources proliferate and knowledge increases. Merely to summarize

what is known becomes an awesome task, yet a factual basis of knowledge

is increasingly essential for historical thinking.

Since the beginning of the century, the Cambridge histories have set a

pattern in the English-reading world for multivolume series containing

chapters written by specialists under the guidance of volume editors. The

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

vi GENERAL EDITORS' PREFACE

Cambridge Modern History, planned by Lord Acton, appeared in sixte

volumes between 1902 and 1912. It was followed by The Cambridge Ancit

History, The Cambridge Medieval History, The Cambridge History of Engli.

Literature, and Cambridge histories of India, of Poland, and of the Britis

Empire. The original Modern History has now been replaced by The Ne,

Cambridge Modern History in twelve volumes, and The Cambridge Econom,

History of Europe is now being completed. Other Cambridge histories re

cently undertaken include histories of Islam, Arabic literature, Iran, Juda￾ism, Africa, Japan, and Latin America.

In the case of China, Western historians face a special problem. The

history of Chinese civilization is more extensive and complex than that of

any single Western nation, and only slightly less ramified than the history

of European civilization as a whole. The Chinese historical record is im￾mensely detailed and extensive, and Chinese historical scholarship has been

highly developed and sophisticated for many centuries. Yet until recent

decades the study of China in the West, despite the important pioneer

work of European sinologists, had hardly progressed beyond the translation

of some few classical historical texts, and the outline history of the major

dynasties and their institutions.

Recently Western scholars have drawn more fully upon the rich tradi￾tions of historical scholarship in China and also in Japan, and greatly

advanced both our detailed knowledge of past events and institutions and

also our critical understanding of traditional historiography. In addition,

the present generation of Western historians of China can also draw upon

the new outlooks and techniques of modern Western historical scholarship,

and upon recent developments in the social sciences, while continuing to

build upon the solid foundations of rapidly progressing European, Japa￾nese, and Chinese studies. Recent historical events, too, have given promi￾nence to new problems, while throwing into question many older concep￾tions. Under these multiple impacts the Western revolution in Chinese

studies is steadily gathering momentum.

When The Cambridge History of China was first planned in 1966, the aim

was to provide a substantial account of the history of China as a benchmark

for the Western history-reading public: an account of the current state of

knowledge in six volumes. Since then the outpouring of current research,

the application of new methods, and the extension of scholarship into new

fields have further stimulated Chinese historical studies. This growth is

indicated by the fact that the history has now become a planned fifteen

volumes, but will still leave out such topics as the history of art and of

literature, many aspects of economics and technology, and all the riches of

local history.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

GENERAL EDITORS' PREFACE vii

The striking advances in our knowledge of China's past over recent

decades will continue and accelerate. Western historians of this great and

complex subject are justified in their efforts by the needs of their own

peoples for greater and deeper understanding of China. Chinese history

belongs to the world not only as a right and necessity, but also as a subject

of compelling interest.

JOHN K. FAIRBANK

DENIS TWITCHETT

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

CONTENTS

General editors' preface

List of maps and tables

Preface to volume i

List of abbreviations

Official titles and institutional terms

Han weights and measures

Han emperors

Introduction

by MICHAEL LOEWE, University of Cambridge

The written sources and their problems

Archeological evidence

Historical scholarship

Characteristic developments of the early empires

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xvii

xxiii

XXV

xxxviii

xxxix

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The state and empire of Ch'in 20

by DERK BODDE, Professor Emeritus, University of

Pennsylvania

Political and social background 21

The state of Ch'in: the early centuries (8Q7?-36 I B.C.) 30

The adoption of reforms (361-338 B.C.) 34

Military growth (338-250 B.C.) 38

Final conquests and triumph (250-221 B.C.) 40

Reasons for the triumph 45

The Ch'in empire: reforms, achievements, excesses (221-

210 B.C.) 52

Intellectual currents during the empire 72

The collapse of Ch'in (210-206 B.C.) 81

Reasons for the collapse 85

Appendix 1: Sources and modern studies 90

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CONTENTS

Appendix 2: Interpolations in the Shih-chi 94

Appendix 3: Statistics in the Shih-chiand elsewhere 98

The Former Han dynasty 103

by MICHAE L LOEWE

The pattern of political history 103

The founding of the dynasty (210-195 B.C.) n o

The consolidation of the empire (195-141 B.C.) 128

The full force of modernist policies (141-87 B.C.) 152

The years of transition (87-49 B.C.) 179

Reform and decline (49 B.C.-A.D. 6) 198

Wang Mang, the restoration of the Han dynasty, and

Later Han 223

by HAN S BIELENSTEIN , Columbia University

The rise of Wang Mang 224

The reign of Wang Mang (A.D. 9-23) 232

The restoration of the Han dynasty 240

The Later Han dynasty 251

The conduct of government and the issues at stake

(A.D. 57-167) 291

by MICHAE L LOEWE

The reigns of Ming-ti and Chang-ti (A.D. 57-88) 292

The reigns of Ho-ti, Shang-ti, and An-ti (A.D. 88-125)

297

The reign of Shun-ti (A.D. 126-144) 305

The reign of Huan-ti (A.D. 146-168) 311

The fall of Han 317

by B. J. MANSVELT BECK, Sinological Institute,

University of Leiden

The crisis of 168 317

The reign of Ling-ti (A.D. 168-189) 323

The collapse of dynastic power 341

The fall of Han in perspective 357

Han foreign relations 377

by Ytf YING-SHIH , Yale University

The world order of Han China: theory and practice 377

The Hsiung-nu 383

The Western Regions 405

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CONTENTS XI

The Ch'iang 422

The eastern barbarians: Wu-huan and Hsien-pi 436

The Korean peninsula 446

The south (Nan-yiieh) 451

The southeast (Min-yiieh) 455

The southwest 457

Contacts with the Mediterranean world 460

7 The structure and practice of government 463

by MICHAE L LOEWE

The civil service 463

The central government 466

Provincial and local government 470

The armed forces 479

The practice of government 482

8 The institutions of Later Han 491

by HAN S BIELENSTEI N

The central government 491

The local administration 506

The army 512

Civil service recruitment 515

Power in government 517

Conclusion 319

9 Ch'in and Han law 520

by A. F. P. HULSEWE , Professor Emeritus, Leiden

University

Sources 520

General principles 522

The codes 525

The judicial authorities 328

The judicial process 531

Forms of punishment 532

Administrative rules 336

Private law 541

10 The economic and social history of Former Han 545

by NISHIJIM A SADAO , Professor Emeritus, University of

Tokyo

Rural society and the development of agricultural

techniques 531

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XU CONTENTS

The development of cities, commerce, and

manufacturing 574

Financial administration 591

11 The economic and social history of Later Han 608

by PATRICIA EBREY, University of Illinois,

Urbana-Champaign

Economic history 608

Social history 626

12 The religious and intellectual background 649

by MICHAE L LOEWE

Literary sources and classification schemes 649

The developments of four centuries 653

Mythology 657

Religious beliefs and practices 661

Mantic beliefs and practices 673

The universe and its order 683

Ethical principles and the organization of man 703

Immortality and services to the dead 715

13 The concept of sovereignty 726

by MICHAE L LOEWE

Changing attitudes: 221 B.C. to A.D. 220 726

The institution of rulership 729

Ethical values and the failings of Ch'in 731

Tung Chung-shu 733

The Mandate of Heaven: Pan Piao's essay 735

The choice of the patron element 737

The views of Wang Ch'ung and Wang Fu 739

The debt to Ch'in and Wang Mang 740

The dignity of the throne 740

The role and functions of the emperor 743

14 The development of the Confucian schools 747

by ROBER T P. KRAMERS , University of Zurich

The ancient traditions: proponents and documents 747

Idealistic and rationalist attitudes 749

Tsou Yen 750

The intellectual policy of the Ch'in empire 751

Attention to Confucian values 752

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CONTENTS Xlll

Tung Chung-Shu's syncretism 753

The Five Classics 754

The growth of the schools and official scholarship 756

15 Confucian, Legalist, and Taoist thought in Later Han 766

by CH'E N CH'I-YON , University of California, Santa

Barbara

Former Han and Wang Mang: the heritage 767

Later Han 779

The breakdown of central authority 795

The value of Later Han thought 806

16 Philosophy and religion from Han to Sui 808

by the late PAUL DEMIEVILLE, College de France

The decline of philosophy during Later Han 808

Popular Taoism at the end of the Han dynasty 815

The introduction of Buddhism 820

The philosophical revival of the third century 826

Buddhist and Taoist gnosis 838

Buddhism under the southern and northern dynasties 846

Taoism under the southern and northern dynasties 860

Buddhism and Taoism under the Sui dynasty 868

Postscript to Chapter 16 873

by TIMOTH Y BARRETT, University of London

Bibliography 879

Glossary-index 921

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MAPS AND TABLES

Maps

1 Pre-imperial China, ca. 250 B.C. page 39

2 The Ch'in empire 41

3 The Han empire, 195 B.C. 125

4 Ch'ang-an, capital of Former Han 134

5 The Han empire, 163 B.C. 138

6 Kingdoms in revolt, 154 B.C. 142

7 The Han empire, 143 B.C. 146

8 The Han empire, 108 B.C. 166

9 The Han empire, A.D. 2 194

10 The population of China, A.D. 2 241

11 The population of China, A.D. 140 242

12 The Han empire, A.D. 140 252

13 Lo-yang, capital of Later Han 263

14 Contending warlords, ca. A.D. 200 342

15 Ts'ao Ts'ao's last years 353

16 The Western Regions and the Silk Roads 406

17 The salt and iron agencies, A.D. 2 603

Tables

1 Emperors of Former Han xxxix

2 Emperors of Later Han xl

3 Descendants of Liu Pang 132

4 Descendants of Liu Fei, King of Ch'i 143

5 Wen-ti and his descendants 145

6 Wu-ti and his consorts 174

7 Huo Kuang and his family 182

8 The imperial succession: Hsuan-ti to P'ing-ti 216

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MAPS AND TABLES XV

9 Genealogy of Later Han emperors 260

10 Imperial gifts to the Hsiung-nu 397

11 Population counts for select commanderies 472

12 Marquisates of Former Han 477

13 Population and land subject to registration 485

14 Later Han regents 515

15 Registered population, A.D. 2 to A.D. 146 596

16 Registered arable land, A.D. 2 to A.D. 146 597

17 Family background of subjects with biographies in the

Hou-Han shu 635

18 Official status of presumed relatives on county sponsor lists 641

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Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008