Morris Rossabi - A History of China

The religious attitudes of the Western and later Eastern Zhou elite diverged from those of the Shang. Earlier beliefs centered on a variety of coequal divinities associated with nature, with Di represented as the dominant figure. The Western Zhou supplanted Di with Tian (Heaven), vital for the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, and tended to deemphasize animal and nature deities. Proper performance of ancestral rituals became at least as significant as obeisance to deities. Another indication of increasing secularism entailed transformations in the tombs. Human and animal sacrifices at burial sites diminished considerably. At these same tombs, various jade objects were buried with prominent individuals. Bi discs, symbolizing Heaven, as well as jade artifacts representing Earth and jade plugs for the openings of the deceased’s body to protect it from harm, served as important mortuary pieces. Later, in the Han dynasty, the custom of using jade to protect the body of the dead reached its height with the creation of elaborate jade suits for members of the elite. However, not all jades were designed as mortuary objects; many were fashioned as ornaments.

Despite its glorious philosophical, literary, and artistic masterpieces, the Zhou dynasty encountered difficulties in its last years. The Warring States era, with no centralized government, needed economic and political changes. Standardized currency and writing systems, regular taxes on agriculture and commerce, a local and regional administration that ensured safety and security and basic restraints on the seemingly all-powerful nobility, and a policy for dealing with occasionally obstreperous foreigners on China’s northern frontiers were required for greater stability and peace. The victory of one of the Warring States and the resulting unification and centralization of China brought about such a transformation.

1 1 Burton Watson, trans., Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), p. 95.

1 Roger Ames, trans., Sun-tzu: The Art of Warfare (New York: Ballantine Books, 1993).

2 Roger Ames, Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation (New York: Ballantine Books, 1998).

3 Hsu Cho-yun, Ancient China in Transition (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1965).

4 Victor Mair, trans., Tao-te-ching (New York: Bantam Books, 1990).

5 Benjamin Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980).

6 Burton Watson, The Tso Chuan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1989). Burton Watson’s translations of classic philosophic and literary texts are invaluable for the general reader. See his Han Feizi: Basic Writings, Zhuangzi: Basic Writings, Xunzi: Basic Writings , and Mozi: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003).

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.