History of Chinese Thought Development

Author: He Zhaowu / et al
Editor-in-Chief: Yang Guofu
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 1998-01-01
Features:
Segment: INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIETY AND IDEOLOGY OF THE PRE-QIN PERIOD
When the pre-Qin period is referred to, it generally means the historical period before the unification of the six states by the Qin Dynasty. It was composed of the following eras: the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties, and the Warring States Period. It marked the beginning of the development of Chinese civilization and ideology. Even in the primitive era before the establishment of the earliest Xia Dynasty, our ancestors, through their age-long labor, had not only formed societies but also had developed their thinking powers, thus bringing to life the earliest elements of human thought. Later, with the growth of social productivity, it became possible for people to enjoy surplus products, and with this, the idea of private property began. Then classes and states came into being. According to legends, this transition took place with the founding of the Xia Dynasty (about 21st-16th century B.C.). The Xia Dynasty was followed by the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.). By that time, reliable written records had appeared. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty came the Zhou Dynasty (11th-8th century B.C.), which marked the stage of the development of slavery. As an economic institution, land ownership began according to the "nine-squares" system (i.e., one square of land divided into nine smaller ones, the outer eight being allocated to slaves, who had to cultivate the central one for their lord) and enfeoffment (i.e., investing the nobility with hereditary titles, domains, and slaves). In political institutions, the Zhou differed from the Shang mainly in its adoption of primogeniture upon which the patriarchal clan system was formed. On this basis, Duke Zhou (named Dan), the leading statesman of the early Zhou, "instituted the rites," and then a rather complete superstructure based on slavery was established.
PART I: IDEOLOGY OF THE PRE-QIN PERIOD
In the sphere of ideology, the religious superstitions inherited from the primitive societies further developed. This was because of the low social productivity and because people were unable to resist natural disasters or find out a rational explanation for them, which led to the worship of supernatural powers. Also, it was because people were being brought into a class society and suffering from both natural and even more severe social forces. Under these double pressures, people mistakenly saw their destinies being dominated by a superhuman power. Thus began a growing superstition in gods and heavenly beings. With the collapse of the primitive communes and the growth of the slave state, the religious worship of natural objects (polytheism) was gradually turned into the worship of one supreme God, called Di Shangdi (monotheism). This God was regarded as the supreme mediator of both heaven and the human world; and all natural phenomena and human affairs were thought to be under the control of his will. Such a belief was the reflection of the ruling power of the earthly majesty in human minds, once it was established and strengthened on earth. Thereupon, the ideological content of religious superstition was no longer merely the worship of supernatural powers in the primitive society but was replaced by the content of class suppression. The ruling class of the Shang slave society thus depended on the authority of God to maintain dominance over the human world. Therefore, offering sacrifices to God was a matter of cardinal importance in the political life of the state, with all major human activities needing the soothsayers for omens or prayers to heaven for help.