China s Neo Kinship Society 1 Outline 1 Epictetus Roman philosophy of Empire conclusion 2 The Fall of the Roman Empire Weakness of Roman law 3 China The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of the Chinese Empire Strength Confucian bureaucracy and its familybased philosophy 2 Adapting to the loss of practical freedom Roman history and freedom 1 Struggle for practical freedom 2 Loss of practical freedom 3 Stoicism we can still be truly free True freedom is controlling your mind Stoicism as philosophy of people who have lost their practical freedom to control their lives but still believe in freedom 3 The world is in good order In piety towards the gods I would have you know the chief element is this to have right opinions about them as existing and as administering the universe well and justly and to have set yourself to obey them and to submit to everything that happens and to follow it voluntarily in the belief that it is being fulfilled by the highest intelligence 31 4 Is Socrates a Model Stoic See Epictetus 53 Well O Crito if so it is pleasing to the gods so let it be Anytus and Meletus can kill me but they cannot hurt me Was Socrates really a Stoic 1 Did he teach that external material goods and the good of the body were not in our control 2 Did he teach that our fate is determined by God recall NDE of Er 5 Comparing Epictetus with Socrates Socrates Is something good because the gods command it or do the gods command it because it is good Plato s Euthyphro Conclusion we human beings can know what is good in itself Epictetus we human beings cannot know what is good regarding external events We should believe that the Gods know what they are doing and accept events as they happen 6 Stoic philosophy of empire Socrates virtue does not come from wealth but that wealth and every other good thing which men have whether in public or in private comes from virtue Stoic position virtue is unrelated to wealth Virtue mind is in our power not wealth body 7 Accept your role in life Plato on the next life lottery Who chooses your parents Epictetus Remember that you are an actor in a play the character of which is determined by the Playwright if He wishes the play to be short it is short if long it is long if He wishes you to play the part of a beggar remember to act even this role adroitly and so if your role be that of a cripple an official or a layman For this is your business to play admirably the role assigned you but the selection of that role is Another s 17 8 China Summary 1 Two approaches in China s history Familycentered Confucianism and Legalism 2 Compare China to other civilizations Rome Egypt Mesopotamia 3 What questions do these comparisons create China s long duration and its Confucian system 4 How explain this unique system Geographical origins of China Social features of Chinese origins 9 Two Approaches to Society The Governor of She said to Confucius In our village there is a man nicknamed Straight Body When his father stole a sheep he gave evidence against him Confucius answered In our village those who are straight are quite different Fathers cover up for their sons and sons cover up for their fathers Straightness is to be found in such behaviour Analects XIII 18 10 Conflict in China Family or State The Governor of She the State the Law is primary Confucius 551 479 BCE the Family is primary 11 Legalism in the West Socrates discussion with the Laws Are we not first your parents Platonic resolution of the conflict of Antigone Further developed in Roman Cosmopolitan law Expressed in Stoic obedience to divine Law 12 Historical Expression of this Conflict Confucius 551 479 BCE Period of Warring States 481 222 BCE Qin dynasty unites China 221 BCE Qin Shi Huangdi The First Emperor See movie Hero Adopts Legalism burns books of Confucius Han revolution 202 BCE Peasant leader Liu Bang died 195 BCE Han rulers adopt the philosophy of Confucius How long did the Qin Chin dynasty last 13 Duration of Roman Empire Roman Empire 27 BCE 476 CE Urban proletariat abandons Rome Become voluntary serfs on large latifundia Serfdom exchange portion of product labor for land Replacing slaves Root of European feudalism 14 Why did the Roman Empire fall Practical Limits of expansion Slaves become expensive Army based on mercenary barbarian soldiers Intellectual Legal citizenship is empty abstract Christian otherworldliness Gibbon Other see Spodek 197 15 Empty Legality as a Cause of Fall Recall early reasons for State rule 1 Technological irrigation 2 Defense 3 Exploitation civilization trap Greek and Roman republics 4 Legal Rights to freedom for some based on human made law But with empire legal rights become empty Rome hires barbarians to fight its wars Barbarians defeat Rome 16 Long Duration of Chinese Empires Legalist Qin 221 202 BCE 19 yrs Confucian Han 202 BCE to 220 CE 422 years Period of disunity 361 years Chinese empire reunited by Sui 581 Minor interruptions esp 1916 49 over 1300 years History of the Decline and Fall and Rise Again of Chinese Empire 17 Underlying Unity It appeared that the Chinese Empire like that of Rome had lost control of its original homeland and divided forever Spodek 223 Cultural and ideological unity continues Persistence of Chinese Han Confucian bureaucracy Thus below the surface of foreign rule a powerful stratum of Chinese elites remained in place Spodek 223 18 Basic Issues Why did the Confucian family system triumph with the Han dynasty Why was the Legalism of the Qin rejected How explain enduring unity of Chinese state Is this connected to the rejection of legalism Is this connected to the Confucian family centered system of bureaucracy 19 Egypt and China What do they have in Common Long duration of Egyptian State Explanation Unity based on Nile irrigation Periods of feudal breakdown China too is an irrigation state Feudal breakdowns in China 220 581 1916 49 1949 reunification under Communist State of Mao Zedong Major achievement of Sui dynasty Grand Canal Linking Yellow Huang He and Yangzi Rivers 20 21 Contrast with Mesopotamia Centralized Bureaucratic legal state Expansion outside irrigation system Assyrian rule by brute force ultra legalism Recall functions of early states Technological maintain canals Force defend and dominate China 1 Expands beyond Yellow River disunity 2 Reunification based on expanded irrigation Force legalism not so important 22 Geographical Origin Not in the Flood Plains China s first settlements had avoided the immediate flood plain of the Yellow