HIST 2710 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Good Governance, Yin And Yang, Fan Zhongyan
Document Summary
Confucian revivial and gentry society in song china. Tang imperial power never completed restored from an lushan rebellion. Five dynasties (in succession) and ten kingdoms (in different parts of china) Civil service exams scholar official gentry. From aristocracy to gentry (a long term strategy) Sui-tang strategy accomplished by southern song times (initiated by the tang) Meritocracy versus hereditary status / power (emperor"s felt less threatened by small gentry landowners who couldn"t raise large armies to overpower the emperor) Gentry leading social class in chinese society until 20th century. Song emperors took lessons from chinese history since an lu-shan rebellion, and song"s own. Civilian officials to control / command military (not professional soldiers) Large standing army, weak generals, weak borders as a result. Also known as the strong stem, weak branches policy: emperor as the stem, branches as the military generals, greater centralization of administrative and military authority. Partnership: emperor, scholar-official-gentry (could have civilian and military positions)
