To what extent was China a unified country in the early imperial period (Qin through Tang)?

Résumé du document

To a large extent, China can be considered as a dramatically diverse country. Firstly, while its physical boundaries were constantly changing throughout its history, its territory remained constantly perceived as a juxtaposition of contrasting environments. Moreover, since the evolution of the 1950s, Chinese scholars and politicians have especially laid extra emphasis on China's ethnic and cultural diversity. However, despite the political purpose and influence of such claims, it is evident that China was and continues to remain a multiethnic country inhabited by various minorities. Additionally, Hansen titled in her book, that China can be considered as an ?open empire' which comprises of various relationships with the outside world. All these thoughts and facts just reiterate the significance and growth that China has witnessed and its zest to acquire more and more. To cite another critical example, China developed a tremendous network of trade routes known as the ?Silk Road' theory. Through this, the country received numerous kinds of influences which could have impeded the construction of a Chinese identity during the early imperial period.

Extraits

[...] However, to many extents it could be relevantly associated with Confucian thoughts[34]. It is clear that “Confucius ( ) exerted a profound influence on the development of Chinese culture through his teachings”[35] influencing Chinese emperors and scholars[36] throughout China's history. His principles also had a profound impact on commoners. Indeed, The Analects “influenced the values and habits of thought of Chinese for centuries. Many of its passages became proverbial sayings, unknowingly cited by illiterate peasants”[37]. Confucian ideas were promoted by some emperors and by popular writings. [...]

[...] In hell, Mahamaudglyayana's mother said to her son: you diligently sacrificied to me while you were at home, it only got you a reputation in the village for filial piety. Granted that you did sprinkle libations of wine upon my grave, but it would have been better for you to copy a single line of a sutra”. Ibid., p1116. Ibid., p1119. To legitimize the overthrown of the Qin, the new ruling family had to condemn their laws as well as the Legalists' ideas on which they were based. [...]

[...] This division of power was briefly studied in the previous essay (Group p4). Hansen, p103-104. The debate on salt and iron, p361. Ibid., p361. Taxation system applied to the entire empire to finance the policies of the central government. This shows that Emperor Wu maintained his authority on a unique political entity. The Great Tang Code, p546. Introduction of Buddhism, p415. Ibid., p420 From Mencius' quotation heard of using what is Chinese to change what is barbarian, but I never heard of using what is barbarian to change what is Chinese”. [...]

[...] However, despite many episodes of disunity, China did not disappear[4]. Therefore, throughout this essay, I will attempt to show that although many forces contributed to divide the country, various actors succeeded to create a unified Chinese empire during the early imperial period.*** While many period of political chaos tended to fragment the country throughout China's history, some leaders succeeded to create a Chinese centralized empire during the early imperial period. Firstly, the constant desire of peace and order expressed by early Chinese thinkers testified the existence of various wars and period of political instabilities which divided the country. [...]

[...] The unification of China and the creation of a centralized state headed by the emperor remained the central concern of Chinese rulers throughout the early imperial period. For instance, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty struggled against the Xiongnu to prevent the fragmentation of his empire “set[ing] up defense stations, establish[ing] a system of warning beacons, and garrisoned the outlying areas to ensure their protection”[18] . In order to sustain the high costs of his policies, he also introduced new fiscal reforms “establish[ing] the salt, iron and liquor monopolies and the system of equitable marketing”[19] which were applied to the entire empire[20]. [...]