The social structure of Chinese society in modern times. Meaning China: Traditional Chinese Society in the Collier Dictionary

Technique and Internet 17.07.2019

T.A. BYCHKOVA

Tomsk, 2003

TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY

HISTORY DEPARTMENT

Department of Modern and Contemporary History and International Relations,

Department of World Politics

T.A. BYCHKOVA

CULTURE OF TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES IN CHINA AND JAPAN

Textbook for a special course of lectures

Tomsk University Press, 2002

Bychkova T.A. Culture of traditional societies of China and Japan. Textbook for a special course of lectures. Tomsk: Tomsk University Press. 2001. 63 p.

The textbook is intended for students of the specialty “ International relationships” Faculty of History of Tomsk University.

Editor: Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences V.P. Zinoviev

Reviewer: Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at MGIMO(U)

Voskresensky A.D.

(Soros Foundation). Russia

©- Bychkova T.A.

Preface 4

Introduction 4
I. TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF CHINA 5 Traditional Chinese cosmological system 5 Personality in Chinese tradition 7
The personality of the ruler in Chinese tradition 7

Junzi, xiaozhen, zhen 9

^ Junzi - a person who knows 10
Junzi - a man of morals 11
Junzi - Man of Duty 12

Junzi relationship to wealth 12

Junzi - man of culture 13

Taoist personality 14

Chan Buddhism and Chinese Culture 14
Traditional Chinese Thinking 17
^ The Emotional World of a Chinese Man 19

Fate in the traditional interpretation 20

Good and Evil in Chinese Tradition 21

Traditional Values of Chinese Society 21
Social Justice 24
National character of the Chinese 25
Chinese prose and poetry 26
II^ . TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF JAPAN 31

Borrowing Tradition 31

The worldview of the Japanese 32

The role of Buddhism in the spiritual life and work of the Japanese 33
Japanese contextual thinking 36 Correlation between material and spiritual values 37
Japanese Artistic Thinking 38

^ Japanese prose and poetry 39

Conclusion 46

Foreword

In contemporary international relations, all greater value acquire sociocultural factors. For this reason, in the training of international specialists, a country-specific aspect, including the study of the culture and mentality of the peoples of the largest countries of the world, should occupy a greater place than before. These, of course, include China and Japan, which are part of the Asia-Pacific region, where, according to many analysts, the centers of political and economic activity of the modern world are gradually moving. The ancient societies of this part of the Earth managed to avoid the tragic conflict between tradition and modernization that is characteristic of the Islamic world.

The mentality of the Chinese and Japanese, which is different from Europeans, left its mark on the nature of their diplomacy, so it is advisable to give future specialists in the field of international relations systematized knowledge of the cultural identity of these peoples.

The present tutorial is a summary of a special course of lectures given to students of the Department of International Relations of the Faculty of History. The course of lectures, designed for 20 hours, is intended for students of 3-4 courses in the specialization Diplomacy, Global politics. In an extended version (up to 32 hours) it can be read as a specialization course "China" for students studying in the specialty "Regional Studies".

Introduction

Some researchers believe that in the 21st century there will be a paradigm shift: instead of technocentrism, cultural centrism will come, that is, new system values, another accent of a person's life orientations. The place of the cult of boundless consumerism will be taken by the cult of reasonable self-restraint, modesty of needs. The needs of the soul will prevail over the needs of the body. In this way, we are talking about alternative lifestyles. Such an alternative will arise on the paths of correlation of "Western" (technogenic) and "Eastern" (traditional) worldview orientations. Man will understand that the laws and logic of Nature as a “living whole” cannot be further violated aggressively and with impunity.

The ideas of co-evolution of man and nature, the inextricable connection between science and morality, self-restraint and self-improvement are the ideas of Eastern cultures. This explains the steadily growing interest in them.
The author of this development did not set herself the task of showing the comprehensive development of the cultural tradition in China and Japan - this is impossible and unnecessary, since there is a huge literature that explores its various aspects. The purpose of the author is to provide the reader with key terms, concepts, to equip the reader with an understanding of the fundamentals, the foundation on which the cultural tradition of China and Japan rests, i.e. to give an initial idea of the diverse phenomenon called "Confucian civilization".
There are hundreds of definitions of what "culture", "civilization", "tradition" is. It is important to keep in mind that the original meaning of the term "culture" is "cultivation". A person cultivates the environment around him, at the same time creating and improving his mental world. Our focus will be on the spiritual culture of the Chinese and Japanese. Tradition, according to the original meaning of the word, is something that is passed down from person to person, from generation to generation. These are by no means frozen norms and ideas, this is an unfinished value, open to the future. The whole outlook of the Chinese is, in fact, traditional.

The impressive impact of Chinese culture on those who want to touch it and learn at least its basics lies, according to its deep connoisseur V.V. Malyavin, that the root of this culture is “in impeccable trust in the power of life itself, at the same time childishly naive and infinitely wise. Instinct, enlightened by consciousness, and consciousness reconciled with instinct - this is the alpha and omega of Chinese wisdom, the secret of the extraordinary vitality of China's heritage even today.

Chinese civilization, often referred to as Confucian, is autochthonous, i.e. arose autonomously and independently of external borrowings, in the fifth - second millennium BC. The established tradition has never been interrupted, despite many centuries of foreign dominions, when conquerors sat on the throne. China as a dominant country has created a whole center of culture in the region Far East: in Japan, Korea, countries of the South Seas (SEA). Hieroglyphic writing, Confucianism, Taoism spread here. A specific Chan Buddhism emerged from China. The imperial regime - as a component of China's political culture - was accepted here and lasted for many centuries. Chinese ethics, aesthetics, many types of art have become the subject of imitation and borrowing.

Japanese culture has been developing for one and a half millennia under the strong influence of Chinese culture, but in the process of borrowing foreign teachings and traditions, the Japanese gradually created their own, unique and original cultural tradition, which gave grounds to some researchers to speak of a separate “Japanese civilization”. The originality of Japanese culture and the beginning of alienation from everything Chinese began to noticeably manifest itself in the period of modern history, by the middle of the 18th century.

The term "traditional society", "traditional China" refers to China from the third century to 1912 (the height of the Xinhai Revolution, the end of the monarchical system of government and the establishment of the republic), when all the traditions in the socio-economic, political, cultural fields were clearly identified and their succession has assumed a stable character. In Japan, a traditional society existed until the middle of the 19th century, before the “discovery” of Japan for the Western world by the Americans.

^ I. TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF CHINA
^ Traditional Chinese cosmological system

The traditional cosmological theory makes it possible to get an idea of the "Chinese" picture of the World. We cannot judge culture without having an idea of the traditional model of the world that underlies it and which is present in any kind of human activity. Cosmogenesis, according to Chinese ideas, went through the following stages: the initial chaos was divided into yin-qi and yang-qi. Yin is raw, dark, heavy, feminine. Yang is a solid, light, light, masculine principle. The heavy and cloudy yin pneuma descended and formed the Earth, while the light and pure yang pneuma rose up and formed the Sky. The circulation of yang and yin began, the exchange of pneuma, which, in various combinations with each other, formed everything that exists in the world - “ten thousand things”. The Chinese saw the interaction of yin and yang in all phenomena and events of the world. The ideal harmonious state of these two principles of the universe is imprinted on the famous emblem of the Great Limit - the main scheme-formula of the Universe. Yin and yang were considered as equally necessary and complementary beginnings: "The movement, then the rest - they are rooted in each other", "Peace reaches the limit, and movement appears, Movement reaches the limit, and peace appears." There can be no excess of yang and yin, since the Whole is not destroyed, there is a Great Limit. “In the extreme Limit, cold freezes, heat burns. It is necessary to turn back in time in order to act in unison with Nature, not to go against her. From this arose the law of the Middle, of balance. Yin - yang are not independent substances, they are a form of existence, or state, of qi substance. Qi is life energy, or the life force that comes from the cosmos. The world is physically filled with it, and it energetically charges all things and beings, thus granting them the fact of being. Among the "beings and things" a man appears. Heaven and Earth are considered the parents of Man. A triad arises: Heaven (space) - Earth - Man.

A person is considered as a being that has absorbed the purest and most perfect essence of yin and yang in their complete harmony, as if he unites Heaven and Earth in himself. Each person is a small world, a microcosm, therefore, in the Chinese cultural tradition, he is considered a cosmic principle, equally powerful and equivalent to Heaven and Earth. The person in the triad occupies a central place. This is the spiritual element of the cosmological system. Xunzi wrote in the third century BC: “Fire and water have qi, but not life. Trees and herbs have life, but not knowledge. Consciousness is inherent in birds and animals, but Duty-Justice is not inherent. Qi, life, consciousness, and, moreover, Duty-Justice are inherent in man, which is why he is the most precious thing in the Middle Kingdom. A person, in accordance with this system, carries out a heavenly plan on Earth: through him, qi is purified, all the connections of the world intersect in him. Heaven and Earth were of interest to the Chinese not in their own right, but only in their relation to Man (here keyword- relation). Man's mission was to protect the Integrity of the World, the boundless, endless mosaic of being, he must allow all things to be what they are, not to disturb the rhythm of the Universe, the Whole, a single biosocial organism. A person should treat Heaven and Earth as parents - harmonize relations with them, forgetting about his "I".

The highest principle of the world - Tao (the Way) was understood as an all-generating, endless Transformation of the world, without beginning or end, an invisible "spring", breathing, the rhythm of the Universe, an unknown partner in the dialogue between Man and Cosmos. This is the beginning of all beginnings, the basis of all things. Everything is born from the Tao and everything goes into the Tao. But this is not a god, not a supernatural force, since the Tao is natural, although incomprehensible. "Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows Tao, and Tao follows itself." There is a Heavenly Tao, there is a human Tao. A Tao-man is a synonym for a sage who managed to embark on the Path, catch the rhythm of the Universe and live in harmony with the cosmos.

A person received from the cosmos the good, bright energy "de", which was interpreted as a life-giving force. It was the de of a ruler, the de of a noble husband, the de of an ordinary person. The amount of this energy is different for different people, it can increase or decrease, the vitality and stamina of a person depends on this: “even a commoner can be an emperor if he has a lot of de”.

Special mention should be made of the relationship between Heaven and man. The Chinese formulated them like this: "The sky is high, but hears the voice of a small person." A person can win over Heaven by observing ethical standards, virtuous behavior, but he can also anger Heaven, which is able to punish unrighteous behavior: will make you wait. And now the winds and rains do not begin at the right time, the sweet rain does not irrigate the earth, the hoarfrost and snow are out of season. Cold and hot not when it should, Yin and yang out of order, four seasons out of time replace each other. There is a decline in morals. Hearts harden like those of animals, the thirst for profit grows, and this causes even greater signs. There is only one way out for a person in such times: “doing good deeds with bad omens - there will be no misfortune.”

Society was considered part of nature, the cosmos, it was not seen as existing on its own. A single system - Man - World - Nature - is subject to the same laws of evolution. An individual, and together with him the whole society, ideally should have tried to achieve complete unity with the cosmic principles, complete "one-bodyness" with the universe. “There is me and the world. What should I do in this world and how to relate to it” - that is the main question that the Chinese had to answer.

^ Personality in Chinese tradition

Domestic sinologists, exploring the role, place, functions of the individual in society, rely mainly on the most important early texts "Lunyu" ("Conversations and Judgments") - according to legend, the recording of Confucius's statements by his students, as well as the Taoist text "Daodejing" ("Book about Tao and Te").

Confucius said that there are no well-trodden paths on the Great Path, the walker is lonely and in danger. At the same time, he argued, "it is not the path that can expand a person, but a person can expand the path." He highly valued Man and his potential for self-improvement. It is not enough to be born a man, you must also give birth to a man in yourself. Confucianism is a doctrine, first of all, about the science of governing the state. The teachings of Confucius largely determined the formation of thinking and national character Chinese. Chinese thought has never asked the question: what is a man? She was only interested in what is the relation of a person to the world and how his talents can be used. Most of all, Confucius was worried and occupied with the question - who, what people should govern the state. The personality of the ruler and the human qualities of the people around him, from the point of view of Confucianism, should be in the spotlight. Let us dwell on this in more detail, since it touches upon the problem of the political culture of traditional China.

^ Personality of the ruler in Chinese tradition

The ruler, according to the Confucian tradition, was personally responsible for the preservation and optimal functioning of the entire society. He was called the "son of Heaven", "the father of the people." The figure of the monarch was considered by traditional Chinese culture as a very essential element of the universe. The monarch was a human intermediary between Heaven and Earth. Te of the ruler could accumulate in the dynasty, from generation to generation, because the whole clan "worked" for him. Te could dry up with a negligent attitude to their duties, and this led to the fall of the dynasty. Therefore, the ruler's task was to rigorously accumulate and preserve de. To do this, he had to be able to "read letters from heaven", i.e. understand the will of Heaven. The emperor receives a mandate from Heaven to take the throne, and in case of poor governance, the people have the right to depose him. Mozi, a Chinese philosopher who lived at the turn of the 5th - 4th centuries, an ardent opponent of Confucianism, attacked Confucius for his desire to limit the power of the ruler. The idea of Confucius about the right of the people to depose the ruler was developed by his follower Mengzi, who believed that rulers who were hardened in their vices should be expelled and even killed, and the people had the right to revolt against an unvirtuous ruler. In practice, this method of overthrowing the ruler was adopted by the Chinese bureaucracy. Since the will of Heaven, expressed through various natural phenomena, could comprehend and explain to the people only Confucian-educated officials, their role in political life countries has grown significantly. In fact, the ruler fell under the control of his dignitaries. When determining the role of Confucianism in the formation of China's political culture, it should be taken into account that it has gone through several stages in its development, absorbing new ideas and new practices.

In the IV - III centuries BC. legalism had a strong influence on the development of Chinese statehood and the evolution of Confucianism. Two different models of government - Confucius and Shang Yang (the founder of Legalism) - appeared almost simultaneously: government through rules (li) and government through laws (fa), more precisely - through law. Legists absolutized the power of the ruler and advocated the creation of a powerful state that dominates its neighbors. They are characterized by the priority of pragmatism in politics, and the Chinese bureaucracy adopted pragmatism, turning it into one of the components of political culture. Shang Yang borrowed the principle of equal opportunities from Mozi, proposing to allow people from any class, regardless of knowledge, to administrative positions (compare with the principle of Confucius - to allow only educated people to power). The only criterion for officials was loyalty to the ruler. Unlike Confucius and Mengzi, who preached humane methods of government based on moral impact, the Legalists insisted on the use of violence, the method of rewards and punishments, on the concentration of all levers of economic power in the hands of the state. The ruler should strive for unlimited power. Politics, from the point of view of legalists, is incompatible with morality. In this field of activity, treachery, deceit and strength have always been placed above philanthropy, mercy and duty.

Legist concepts had a significant impact on the formation of orthodox Confucianism and the bureaucratic system of government, which functioned in China without any significant changes from the end of the 1st millennium BC. up to the beginning of the twentieth century. L.S. Perelomov, a deep connoisseur of Confucianism, notes: “Mengzi and legalists, Mozi, Laozi were quoted, but Confucius always remained at the center of all antiquity, because his judgments were always perceived as the truth” (L.S. Perelomov. Confucianism and legalism in the political history of China. M., 1981. S. 218).

The main principle of government was considered the Taoist principle of "non-action" (wuwei), the meaning of which was not to interfere, not to oppose the laws of Nature, to catch the rhythm of the breath of Tao: "Heaven and Earth are inactive and do everything." In practice, it looked like this: “If I do not act, the people will be in self-change. If I am calm, the people will correct themselves. If I remain inactive, the people become rich.” Laozi said: “The best ruler is the one about whom the people know only that he exists. Somewhat worse is the ruler who requires the people to love and exalt him. Even worse is the ruler whom the people fear, and worse than all those rulers whom the people despise. The management of the state was equated in the Chinese tradition with the management of the water flow: no effort is needed to make the water flow where the river itself tends. Woe to anyone who tries to block her path. To follow Nature does not mean to infringe on one's freedom, but, on the contrary, means to become free. The one who is calm and silent rules. The highest wisdom is to follow the circumstances, to be capable of non-action, non-accomplishment, which meant right activity. In other words, everything will be done by itself, as a result natural course lawful events.

This principle is not only Taoist, it was also guided by the legalists, meaning by non-action the desire for a high quality of management, in the sense of facilitating management. The principle of wuwei in the Taoist interpretation had nothing to do with the Legist demands for a centralized bureaucratic government, an exemplary administration. It was a repudiation of the Legalist cult of administration and law, of Confucian ethics and politics. “And it was precisely this denial of administration, the denial of power, the call for a practical escape from the hated social fetters that fettered a free person subsequently had a huge impact on the ideological principles of the Taoist sects, which led peasant uprisings more than once throughout the long Chinese history” (L.S. Vasiliev. Cults, Religions, Traditions in China, Moscow, 2001, p. 230).

The ruler and his associates must share both good and bad with the people: “If the people are in abundance, how can the ruler be lacking? If the people do not have enough, then how can the ruler have enough? The main tasks of the ruler were: to provide the people with food, maintain the army and - to win the trust of the people. You can give up, as Confucius said, weapons, even food, but without trust there is no foundation for the state. To gain the trust of the people, the ruler should improve himself, correct his shortcomings. If he "is not able to improve himself, then how can he correct the behavior of others?"

The canonical book "Daodejing" contains a lot of recommendations to the ruler, here are some of them. “Punishments and fines are not enough to change morals, executions and murders cannot stop evil, Only where the transformation of the spirit is honored, perfect particles of jing become spirit. After all, the cry is not heard further than 100 steps, while the will is able to spread to 1000 li. On how to learn the art of ruling: “Those who wanted to convey the bright de of the ancient Celestial Empire, first learned to rule their country. Those who wanted to rule their country, first established order in their families. Those who wanted to establish order in their families first learned to manage themselves. Those who wanted to control themselves had first corrected their hearts. He who corrected his heart, first made his thoughts sincere. He who wanted to make his thoughts sincere, first developed his mind. The development of the mind depends on the comprehension of things.

^ Junzi, xiaozhen, zhen

In the minds of the Chinese, the essence of man could not be separated from his social nature. Personality in Chinese culture- this is not an individual, it is what it is for others, social ties and relationships are an integral part of its being.

The Confucian tradition divided people into several categories: junzi or noble men, xiaozhen or low people, i.e. small people and zhen (literally a person). Ren is a mass of people, which morally and culturally stands between junzi and xiaozhen, i.e. These are ordinary, average people. The division between junzi and xiaoren was especially emphasized in order to show the radical differences between these categories of the population. The watershed was not so much along the social as along the moral line. “Junzi thinks about the truth, xiaozhen thinks about his own good. Junzi thinks about how not to break the path, and xiaozhen thinks about how to benefit. Junzi makes demands on himself, a low person - on others. Small people like to unite - for their own benefit. Junzi does not ally with anyone, but serves the common good. It is not collective, but universal. Small - collective, but not universal. Junzi keeps himself strict, does not enter into disputes, lives in harmony with everyone, but does not collude, does not follow others. Junzi follows the Middle, but Xiaozhen violates it.”

Xiaozhen are people who are unable to learn, unwilling to learn. They do not shine with virtues, they are vulgar and selfish. Due to their ignorance, they constantly violate the correct rhythm of yang and yin, thereby violating the harmony of the World. Because of this, all sorts of troubles begin. Xiaozhen create an artificial world of human society, which loses its natural rhythm, and this is fraught with great trouble for the human race. But this is the majority of the population, these are commoners, ordinary people, real people, they are the bulk of the population, which produces everything, works day and night. That is why the tops should take care of them, and the mission of junzi is to purify the biosphere with noble deeds, enrich human society with qi energy particles, and encourage people to self-improvement. A small person is unrestrained, arrogant, easily arrogant, unable to live in harmony with other people, he is a coward.

A true person is a junzi and almost everyone can become one: “Only the smartest and most stupid cannot change”, the rest - “from the Son of Heaven to a commoner” could try to change and become noble people. To become junzi, one had to dedicate one's life to getting on the Way (Dao) and cultivating oneself throughout one's life. To comprehend the Tao means to embark on the Path of knowing the truth. Somewhere at the end of a difficult journey called life, the truth may be revealed to a person. “The teacher said: “If you learn the Tao at dawn, then you can die at sunset.”

According to Confucius, the ruler had to gather "noble men" around him. Junzi should have offered his services to the ruler. He was supposed to be an intermediary between the ruler and the people, prompting the ruler to properly take care of the welfare of the state and subjects. “When the movement of the forces of the universe is at the stage of ascent, absolutely wise and enlightened sovereigns will certainly appear. When they appear, wise and faithful dignitaries will certainly appear. They converge without looking for each other. They become close without knowing each other."

Confucius' mandate was: a great dignitary is one who serves with the help of his Tao way and stops serving when it becomes impossible. Leaving the service was considered synonymous with integrity and inner purity. The poet Tao Yuanming (4th-5th centuries) wrote:

"I'll tear off this hat

And I will return to my native villages

You can't wrap me around

Fetters of profitable places and ranks!

I will grow the truth in my heart

Under thatched roof

And I can myself

To be called a man worthy"

Junzi did not aspire and even resisted becoming a functional bureaucrat, he tried to keep a distance between himself and the state machine, he wanted to be not only and not so much an official, but a philosopher and writer, a free artist, a bearer of Confucian ethics. In the foreground for him was the task of remaining a morally perfect person. He did not want and could not turn into a soulless bureaucrat, he tried to maintain his spiritual world. Ethical and political functions were combined with labor, very rarely a sage and a politician merged into one. The dilemma of "getting into power" or "getting out of power" in its dramatic nature can be equated to the Hamletian question "to be or not to be."

Confucius' order to noble men is curious: “Do not go where there are riots. Do not live where there is confusion. If the Celestial Empire follows the Tao, be in sight; if not, hide. If a country follows the Tao, it is a shame to be poor and not in honor. If a country does not follow the Tao, it is a shame to be rich and honored.” Junzi, according to Confucius, should not be upset that he is not used in the service of troubled times, he'd better retire to fulfill his main function- “order the Celestial Empire”, do good deeds. Leaving the service was for junzi a return to himself, to nature, to space, to the ideal, to doing what he loved.

Junzi's ideal was to be a hermit and practice his favorite art form. All his life he lived in search of ways of self-realization. Man in the Chinese tradition, according to V.V. Malyavin, eternally flowing, in constant search.

Junzi, as an ideal and real person at the same time, differed from the rest of the masses by a number of properties. Let's take a closer look at it.

^ Junzi is a man of knowledge

Confucius believed that a noble man, deprived of ren and wen, is no longer junzi. Ren and wen, according to a deep connoisseur of Confucianism, Professor L.S. Perelomov, these are the two most important concepts of the teachings of Confucius. The term jen is translated in different ways: benevolence, virtue, philanthropy, the human principle in a person, humanity. Junzi had to meet all the requirements of a ren wearer. He had to be philanthropic, sincere, honest, devoted to state affairs, i.e. ruler. And he had to have wen. The term wen meant spiritual culture. In Lunyuye, wen is what a person acquires in the process of learning, and each person should strive to master the spiritual culture of their ancestors. At the same time, Confucius warned about the danger of excessive enthusiasm for wen: “When zhi (properties of nature itself, natural instincts) prevails in a person, savagery is obtained, but when wen (education) prevails, only learning is obtained”, i. one becomes a scribe. A person, therefore, must be able to combine natural properties and acquired knowledge: "That's when both the natural properties of human nature and acquired culture in a person are combined, it turns out junzi."

A noble husband had to be, first of all, an educated person. Education in traditional Chinese society was only humanitarian and was based on the study and memorization of the classical texts of canonical books: Shijing (Book of Songs), Yijing (Book of Changes), Lunyu, Daodejing and others. The Chinese did not receive special knowledge. The main science was the transformation ordinary person into a perfect husband, and self-knowledge was considered the main process of cognition: “A perfect husband, without going beyond the threshold, can contain all “10,000 things” in his consciousness and, knowing himself, cognize Heaven.” People may have different attitudes to the need to know the Tao: “A person of the highest learning, having learned about the Tao, strives for its realization. A person of average learning, having learned about the Tao, either observes it, or violates it. A man of inferior learning makes him laugh. Therefore, there is a saying… who is at the height of the Tao is like a deluded one, a person of the highest virtue is like a simple person, a great enlightened one is like a despised one, boundless virtue is like its lack, the spread of virtue is like its plundering, the true truth is like its absence.”

Confucius said: “Knowing is good. It is better to love knowledge. The best thing is to get the joy of recognition. Junzi must "silently absorb and accumulate knowledge, tirelessly study, and tirelessly teach others, passing on the accumulated knowledge to them." The following statements of Confucius also made us think: “Teaching without reflection is in vain, but reflection without teaching is dangerous”, “It is harmful to get involved in extremes”. Only the person himself can change himself, moving towards the perfection and harmony of the World. The good of man is the greatest value and purpose of education.

A person should cultivate himself in order to avoid extremes in behavior: “He who stands on tiptoe will not stand. Those who spread their legs wide apart cannot walk. Whoever exalts himself does not inspire confidence. He who exposes himself to the light does not shine. Those who boast of skill do not achieve success. He who exalts himself is not recognized. For one who abides in the Tao, all this is an empty chore. These are the ones that everyone hates. Therefore, he who has embarked on the Path does not do this.”

The science of self-improvement was passed on from teacher to student, while observing the rule: "The perfect sage adheres to non-action and teaches without words." In the process of learning, it was impossible to push, force the student, prevent him from understanding everything himself and correctly embarking on the Path. Everyone follows their own Tao, lives their own life and must naturally, independently come to the correct understanding of their own path of self-improvement, without any violence.

^ Junzi is a man of morality

In Chinese traditional society panmoralism dominated, i.e. moral norms replaced the norms of law. To observe LI meant to observe three thousand rules of conduct and three hundred kinds of ceremonies. The ritual was observed by all subjects, regardless of their class affiliation.

The Junzi were called not only to be exemplary bearers of morality, but also to observe special norms as the elite of society. They were supposed to put public interests above personal ones: “A noble husband first suffers from the troubles of the Celestial Empire, and then rejoices in her joys.” He had to take care not to "lose face". To do this, it was necessary to observe two rules: do not speak badly about others and take everything bad at your own expense. Laozi used to say: “Who knows the measure, knows no shame. Whoever knows how to stop in time will not be in danger.” The face is an expression of social status, and it could be lost against one's will. It was the fear of losing face that gave rise in the Chinese to that petty scrupulousness in matters of etiquette, which Europeans have always been surprised at. It was impossible to allow ridicule at oneself, especially in the presence of witnesses. Therefore, junzi never entered into conflicts, avoided disputes and showdowns, and kept his distance. Noble men helped each other to "keep face" and avoid getting into dubious situations. If someone did "lose face", he had the right to take revenge on the offender after some time by killing his child or wife - and there was no punishment for this.

^ Junzi - Man of Duty

Without cultivating a sense of Duty, a noble husband could become dangerous to society. “Junzi, who has courage but lacks a sense of duty, becomes a rebel. A low man, possessing courage, but devoid of a sense of duty, becomes a robber. Thus, the stability of society, its more or less harmonious state, depended on the education of a sense of duty. Any person in traditional China paid off his debts to his parents, family, state all his life. With junzi, as a standard for the rest, this feeling should have been expressed especially emphasized.

^ Junzi relationship to wealth

“Wealth and nobility is what all people love. If they are received in the wrong way, then junzi does not accept them. Poverty and ignorance is what all people hate. If it is not possible to get rid of them in the right way, then the junzi are not freed from them.”

“Correct” was wealth that was inherited from parents, or that came to a person without deceit and fraud (recall that the estate of merchants occupied the last, fourth step of the social hierarchy and was despised from the bottom of the heart by the majority of the population). In the Chinese tradition, as L.S. Vasiliev, from time to time there were persecutions of those who got too rich, and in official texts there are incessant complaints about the fact that the rich have bred too much, and the poor do not have land to stick an awl.

Junzi had to renounce low material interests: "Junzi does not eat for satiety and does not live for peace." Junzi was supposed to be silverless. Overcoming selfishness with the help of the will gave noble men indestructible stamina: “A great man is one who does not indulge in excesses in wealth and nobility, who does not change his principles in poverty and ignorance and cannot be bent by threats and military force". The attitude of junzi to xiaozhen is characteristic, for whom wealth and nobility were the formula of happiness: they called them "small stinking rats."

The classic standard for Confucius was his favorite student Yan Hui - who had little, little about

The territory of China was divided into two parts: the western mountainous and the flat eastern, which was called the Great Plain of China. This determined the features of the development of these regions. In ancient China, there were no autonomous city-states and civil-temple communities, which was the difference between the economies of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.

The socio-economic life of China was completely controlled by the state apparatus. It developed under the influence of original ideological systems, was mobile, since it was built on a clan basis There were no insurmountable social obstacles between the clans, the transition from one social group to another was carried out automatically. The socio-political activity of the population, brought up on the Confucian idea, according to which everyone is the blacksmith of his own happiness, was very high.

The mountains of Tibet, the vast dead desert of the Gobi and the countless nomadic peoples and tribes that surrounded China in a wide strip, reliably isolated the ancient Chinese from the rest of the civilized world. The Chinese managed to break out of this encirclement only at the end of their ancient history.

The first state formation in the territory of ancient China was the state Shap-Yin (XVIII century to AD). In Shan-Ying China, communal landownership with a system of mutual assistance dominated, and communal lands were provided for individual use by individual families. Public fields were cultivated collectively with state implements by all community members (in the form of state duty) or peasants assigned to this land. During this period, property and social stratification occurs in society, rich and noble families stand out. Shan-ing van (possessor) already separated himself from the people, although his power was still nominal.

The inhabitants of Shan-Yinu settled in the floodplains, and the basis of the economy was agriculture, which was based on natural irrigation of land. The Shan Yingqi learned to divert excess water from the fields, grew millet, chumiza, and various horticultural crops. Irrigated agriculture appeared much later. The achievements of Shan Yin include the famous Chinese sericulture, bronze metallurgy, pottery, woodworking, construction, bone and stone carving.

Developed and trade mainly exchange. Grain, leather, silk, bronze items served as trade equivalents.

After the decline of Shan-Yin, in its place in the XII century. to n.e. a new public entity emerged Zhou Li, which in its history had two stages - Western Zhou (XII-VIII centuries BC), and Eastern Zhou (VIII-III centuries AD) The name of Western or Eastern Zhou depended on where the capital moved States - to the east or to the west.

The social structure of the Chinese state of Zhou was characterized by system of hereditary ranks, which finally took shape in the X-IX centuries. to n.e. there were five:

King (van);

aristocratic princes;

clan chiefs;

petty know;

Commoners (ordinary members of a patriarchal family).

It was the last rank that kept the Zhou society through its work. The rank structure became the basis for the hierarchical nature of land ownership. The tsar granted estates to the aristocratic princes in hereditary possession. Those, in turn, provided land to the chiefs of the clans, the petty nobility. So, the land in China did not belong to one person, the ownership of it was divided between different social strata, the system of land use was based on conditional land use.

Chinese ranks were quite mobile, the transition from one to another was carried out automatically thanks to the original system of rank inheritance. In China, only the eldest sons inherited the parental rank, other children should be of a lower rank.

Compared with Shan-Yin, the government apparatus was more clearly formed in Zhou. At the head of the government was an assistant to the king, to whom the officials who headed the main

departments:

1) supervision of the economic life of the country;

2) leadership of troops;

3) management of the entire land fund and irrigation system of the country.

4) management of courts;

5) management of the royal palace and estates;

6) organization of a religious cult

Period V-IV. Art. to n.e. (day Eastern Zhou) was characterized by important socio-economic reforms. He began reforms at the turn of the IV century. to n.e. King (Wang) Shang Yang, and continued by his followers Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Ancient China, and others. The reforms carried out led to significant shifts in the development of Ancient China.

Thanks to the reforms of Shang Yang, the objective process of the destruction of the agricultural community accelerated and there was legalization of private ownership of land. The system of hereditary ranks was abolished, family property was distributed among all children. Further ranks granted by the king for services to the state. By dividing the kingdom into counties, which were led by royal officials, and the counties into fives and dozens, bound by mutual responsibility, Shang Yang destroyed the system of hereditary possessions. This strengthened the power of the king and significantly strengthened the state. The replacement of the crop tax with the land tax ensured sustainable profits for the state.

Qin Shi Huang divided the empire into 36 districts, and the districts themselves into counties, parishes and mud(before mud there were about 10 families). From all over the country, 120,000 aristocratic families were resettled in the capital (Sanyan metropolitan area), with their replacement on the ground by the emperor's officials, who were endowed with administrative, fiscal, judicial and police functions. Officials significantly limited communal self-government, although the community itself, as a tax unit, was preserved and controlled each other. The state currency was unified, a unified system of measures and weights was proposed, a system of standards was developed, and a unified Chinese letter was developed.

It was drawn up land Registry and forcibly resettled tens of thousands of peasant families to raise the virgin lands. The emperor became the supreme owner of the land and the distributor of water for irrigating the fields. He also monopolized the production and marketing of salt and iron, and controlled grain prices. It was during this period that the Great Wall of China was built. its length was 3400 km, the width of the wall was 5 m, and the height was up to 12 m. 25 thousand towers were built into the wall.

As a result of this agrarian policy (hereditary property, the transfer of ownership of virgin land, the introduction of a land tax), the property and social stratification of the peasantry accelerated. However, taxation did not lead to the transformation of the communal land fund into royal property, and the peasants into royal slaves. The rural community with its organs of self-government defended its autonomous prana.

Thus, the Zhou reforms significantly strengthened the centralized state power, and made the power of the emperor almost unlimited.

The traditional basis of the Zhou economy was agriculture, moreover, the population has already mastered the crop rotation, the system of spring and winter crops. The inhabitants of Zhou were also engaged in horticulture, and from industrial crops they grew hemp, mulberry, and chestnuts. They paid a lot of attention to animal husbandry, especially horse breeding. Over time, the nature of Chinese animal husbandry changed, animals were no longer bred for sacrifice in temples, but as draft power and for food. Dairy farming in China almost did not develop.

During the Eastern Zhou period, large forest areas were cleared for arable land and a transition was made to Irrigated agriculture. In III Art. to n.e. built three large irrigation systems, so perfect that they serve the Chinese to this day. Thanks to irrigation, as well as the emergence of private ownership of land and the land tax, the productivity of Chinese agriculture greatly increased, which contributed to the general economic prosperity of the country.

Significant development has been achieved mining and crafts. Among crafts metallurgy flourished. Ore mining and coal mining, which was used in workshops and forges, enjoyed great success. It was widely practiced to boil salt in special boilers and extract it from sea water. The Chinese were the first to use natural gas as a fuel for evaporating salt. It was also used for heating, delivered by bamboo pipelines over a fairly long distance.

The invention of silk thread technology in China gave impetus to a sharp increase in the level of Zhou weaving. Chinese craftsmen invented a loom that worked with a water wheel and could weave 32 threads at the same time. Over time, China became the world's silk monopoly, as it kept secret the technology for the production of silk threads and weaving. Only in the Middle Ages was it possible to smuggle caterpillars to Byzantium silkworm. The Chinese were also the first to make fabric from asbestos that did not burn in flames. it was used to make wicks before lamps.

Played an important role trade which was controlled by the state.

At the same time, the socio-economic situation in the Zhou country remained difficult. Taxes grew (for the period of Qin Shi Huang - 20-30 times), the bulk of the peasants were in poverty and left their land allotments, which went to the rural elite. Increased hard labor duties on the state. A significant part of the peasants, not wanting to pay high taxes (sometimes they reached 2/3 of the harvest), Went into a more profitable trade. The proportion of slave labor in social production increased. Debt slavery in China was condemned by the then morality. That's why slaves - they are mostly prisoners of war and criminals. Slaves were also bought and traded.

In II Art. to n.e. Zhou was replaced by a new state formation - Han (Western and Eastern), which lasted until the middle of the 3rd century. not. Per day Western Han the state course changed dramatically, becoming more democratic and liberal. The emperor granted freedom to those who sold themselves into slavery, reduced the size of the land tax by 20 times, presented the people with protected forests, parks and reservoirs of the Pinsk house. The bloody tsinsk legislation was abolished. It was during the era of the Han Dynasty that an attempt was first made to replace metal money with treasury notes. During the period of devastation of the treasury as a result of wars, the emperor oude began to produce banknotes from the skin of a rare white deer, which essentially meant the issue of paper money.

To weaken the power of officials and corruption, a competitive examination for a bureaucratic position was introduced. For this, the first Chinese educational institutions were opened.

It is the army of the emperor oude in 104 AD was laid the first corridor in the history of ancient China in distant Western countries, which was called the Great Silk Road. As a result, there has been a significant increase in trade. Chinese caravans delivered goods to Central Asia, from here to Syria and the Roman Empire. In the East, the Chinese traded with Korea, the states of the Indochinese Peninsula. The Chinese delivered silk, iron, nickel, precious metals, handicrafts to other countries. Precious metals and gems, carpets, horses, camels, copper, corals, woolen products, glass and the like were imported to China. Thanks to the Great Silk Road, alfalfa, grapes, pomegranate, saffron, and walnut appeared in China. VI Art. to n.e. China began to grow tea. At first, tea leaves were used as medicine. Later, it became the most popular drink on all continents, bringing large incomes to the Chinese treasury.

Foreign trade was an important source income the state treasury, and the developed layer of the merchant class.

Every Chinese city has markets, strictly divided into quarters by type of goods. The state regulated the quality and prices goods. Special officials were responsible for the organization and control of the work of the markets. Market trade succumbed government fees.

continued to develop crafts. At the beginning of our era, the Chinese had already begun to use bellows, which were powered by water engines, to produce iron. Craftsmen made clay molds for metal casting. The Chinese also skillfully made lacquerware made of wood and silk, which were considered luxury items.

Ancient China eras Zhou Han made a revolution in the laying of communications. Not a single state knew such a scale of construction of roads, canals and dams ancient world. If at the end of III century. to n.e. the total length of state roads was approximately 6500 km, then by 200 AD. it has grown to 32 thousand km. Irrigation facilities were also built at a rapid pace, which were erected not only for irrigation and flood protection, but also as transport routes. Back in the 5th century. to n.e. The Huang He and Yangtze rivers were connected by a 400 km long canal. In III Art. to n.e. a 200-kilometer canal was dug through a mountain barrier, which connected the north and south of the country. It became the beginning of a continuous waterway with a length of 2 thousand km. In 70 AD construction of the Grand Canal began. It encircled the entire East China, and its length exceeded 1,700 km with a width of up to 30 m and a depth of up to 9 m.

In ancient China, a significant level reached natural science knowledge. At the beginning of our era, a compass was invented in China, the first globe was designed that reproduced the movement celestial bodies, as well as the world's oldest prototype seismograph. The ancient Chinese used the water clock, invented gunpowder, much earlier than the Europeans learned how to force air into a smelting furnace for steel production, invented a wheelbarrow on a wheel, a winnowing machine for grain, a chain pump with shovels or ladles for raising earth or water, a rudder for a ship, and the like. Significant achievements were medicine, astronomy and other sciences.

In recent decades, socio-economic development Eastern Han slowed down. Peasant lands were forcibly transferred to the wealthy nobility, and the peasants themselves fell into feudal dependence. The capital acquired by speculation and usury was not invested in the sphere of production, but in competition in wastefulness with the royal house. The economy began to decline Anti-market sentiments grew in society, the government was sought to curtail, even liquidate, monetary circulation, which he did at the beginning of the PI century, "abolishing" the coin. The state treasury was impoverished. In 220, China broke up into three independent kingdoms: Wei(in the north), YU(in the west) and B (in the southeast and east). The country entered the Middle Ages disunited and abandoned.

CHINA: TRADITIONAL CHINESE SOCIETY

Back to article CHINA

class structure. Like other Oriental societies, traditional China has had a political structure endowed with extraordinary power. The only source of power was the emperor, who exercised his rule according to the will of heaven. Gradually, however, institutions developed to ensure the smooth functioning of the state apparatus and to prevent the development of forces that could oppose imperial power.

The mechanisms of formation of the apparatus of officials played a primary role. The skill level of officials was tested through a series of different examinations. Holders of academic degrees and officials elected from among them occupied prestigious positions in society. In addition to scholar-officials, or shenshi, in accordance with Chinese social theory, three more classes were distinguished: peasants, artisans, and merchants. Generally speaking, representatives of all these classes were called commoners. Below these classes on the hierarchical ladder were "mean people". This category included persons who performed duties despised by society. Children and descendants of these people were not allowed to take state exams. Slavery also existed in China, but rarely played a prominent role.

Centers for social integration. Family and clan. Big family and the family clan included wide range relatives, some of whom might even belong to other classes. In the ideal case, and sometimes it happened in real life, the clan was a solid community that cared for its members, including even the most distant relatives, and making sure that the most gifted children of clan members received an education. The clan was held together by observance of the obligatory ceremonies of honoring the ancestors and a sense of pride in their ancestry. The family often held together due to the common ownership of the land and the presence of ancestral temples on this land, in which memorial tablets were kept that praised the dead and served as an object of worship for relatives.

The problem of marriage was solved in the family circle. The marriage union was arranged with the help of matchmakers. Traditionally, the consent of the children was not asked, and marriage was almost mandatory for everyone. Only Buddhist monks, some Taoist priests, and a few extremely poor men remained single.

Village and city. The village community represented the lowest form of social integration. The cities where the administration was located were usually the site of trade bazaars and fairs that united the population of the area for both social and economic purposes. The city's entertainment establishments, including restaurants, tea houses, and liquor stores, also served as centers of social life. Tea shop owners often hired professional storytellers to attract customers. The theater was very popular, as well as a variety of gambling.

Associations and associations. The guilds played the most important role, since until 1911 they organized and regulated all entrepreneurial activity in the field of industry and trade. They were divided into two types: by crafts and by provinces. The former regulated the teaching of crafts, set standards and quality levels, and determined prices. The provincial guilds represented merchants from one province or one city doing their business in another province or city. There were also many secret societies. Some of them were formed for mutual assistance, others pursued political goals.

religious beliefs. Folk religion included elements of animism and polytheism. People believed that the world was inhabited by many spirits. So, the spirits of evil - "gui" - were considered to bring illness and disaster. These evil spirits could be protected or driven away different ways, including spells and special ceremonies. The universe was considered a combination of two elements - "yin" and "yang". "Yin" meant darkness, evil, feminine. The embodiment of these qualities was evil spirit"gui". "Yan" meant warmth, light, goodness, masculinity; things that embodied these qualities could be used to protect against "gui". In general, in the view of the Chinese, the world of spirits and gods was a copy of the world of people and the state with the same hierarchy of authority and power. Each city had its own god, to some extent corresponding to the local magistrate. Above the whole universe towered "tian" - "heaven", corresponding to the emperor on earth.

In addition to this widespread religion with its spirits and numerous gods, there were five major religious doctrines: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Confucianism, which was more of an ethical and political doctrine than a religion, for a long time - starting from the end of the 3rd century. BC. and before the formation of the republic in 1912 - enjoyed the support of the state. Confucian philosophy contained the main provisions of the family and moral code. Rejected after the formation of the republic, in the 20th century. Confucianism came to its end. Classical Confucian works in the list of required literature for schools were moved from first to second or third place. Taoism as a religion had Chinese roots, but was influenced by Buddhism. Some of the Taoist writings, written with a philosophical bent, are of great intellectual significance. Taoism also has its temples, its pantheon of gods, and its doctrine of a future life with rewards and punishments for the past. Buddhism came from India and became widespread in China; hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries with thousands of monks were built here. Muslims live everywhere in China, especially in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Christianity, introduced to the Chinese by missionaries from Europe and America, became widespread in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the number of Christian believers is only 1% of the country's population.

Collier. Collier's Dictionary. 2012

The social structure of Chinese society

Of course, since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there have been many changes in the social structure of Chinese society. Initially, the social structure of China had a pyramidal shape. The basis was a large number of the peasant population, and the rest of the classes together made up only 12% of the population. This social structure points to the fact that the People's Republic of China has a rather weak development in its national industry, and at the same time, small-scale peasant farming dominates.

But in the period from 1985 to 1991 in China, the pyramidal model of social structure was replaced by a new stratification structure. Now completely new social strata are emerging in society, there is a gap in the level of income between them. A fairly large social shift occurred after some changes were made by the state. For example, a change in the administrative system and the subsequent life registration to the place of residence. There is also a new law on the labor contract, which has changed the position of the management of enterprises and workers. Now managers have received much more rights and powers than before, and workers have become hired, receiving wages for their labor activity.

As a result of many years of changes in Chinese society, as many as ten social strata have developed, differing in specific characteristics and having their own unique features. This includes the following strata:

Public leaders and civil servants in leadership positions;
Managerial employees who have certain powers, power, but at the same time they themselves are subordinate to higher authorities and leaders;
Private entrepreneurs who are engaged in certain activities for the production and further distribution of goods and services;
Professionals and technical staff involved in information technology and close to this field of activity;
Office workers, office workers, the so-called "collars";
Individual manufacturers and traders who produce goods and services for their own production and sale to the wider population;
Trade and service workers (cashiers, sellers, waiters and others);
Production workers in the manufacturing sector;
Agricultural workers (peasants, who make up almost 90% of the total population);
Unemployed, unemployed or semi-unemployed citizens who live in villages and cities.

Features of the modern stratification of China

Remark 2

As we have already noted, the modern population of China is divided into ten key strata. Slightly more than 40% are agricultural workers, as well as peasants, who are the descendants of the peasants who made up the bulk of the entire population of the country.

But the composition of other strata, whose number is much less than the peasant one, is also interesting. The first stratum includes government leaders, party organizers and workers. In their hands remains all the power that they use to achieve certain goals, as well as to improve the lives of the population. Social policy in China defines this stratum as the highest in the entire structure, as the basis of market relations and social economy.

The remaining strata are formed thanks to top and middle managers who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities, and are also employed in the industrial sector. These may include former government employees, as well as founders or former owners of the largest corporations and organizations that operate in China and beyond. Private entrepreneurs occupy another stratum in social system. They receive the main profit from investments, due to which they can exist and carry out their activities. It is very important that their activities are supported by the state, thereby receiving additional funding.

As we can note, leadership positions play an important role in the stratification structure, since it is on them and their decisions that activities in other areas of the social, political, economic and cultural life of the Chinese people depend. An important role is also played by representatives of the middle stratum, employees of state-owned enterprises.

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The social structure of Chinese society in modern times. Meaning China: Traditional Chinese Society in the Collier Dictionary

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