"An Overview of Chinese History Pre-1949"
Dr. Edward McCord
May 23, 2008
During the first seminar of the 2008 Policymakers lecture series, Dr. McCord gave the participants a tightly compressed overview of the history of China. In order to accomplish this in such a brief time, he focused on specific events and trends throughout Chinese history to explain more current developments and the motivations behind them.
To explain much of China’s early history, Dr. McCord provided the participants with a detailed explanation of two overarching concepts providing a framework for China’s political structure and relationships with foreign powers. The first of these ideals is that of the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. Introduced in the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256BC) and used by later emperors, the Mandate of Heaven was based on the idea that heaven would bless the authority of a just ruler, but heaven would be displeased with an unwise ruler and give the Mandate to someone else. This meant the right to rule was determined by virtue, and gave the Chinese people the justification to act as a mechanism for change through forms of civil disobedience or rebellion if they deemed their ruler no longer virtuous.
The second influential concept was Confucianism, a political philosophy created during the Warring States period. Confucianism sought to create a system of order through morality, which was to be achieved through education. This concept is the root of the Chinese emphasis on education that is still very much evident in current society. In addition, Confucianism defined a series of unequal relationships upon which social interaction was based. This series of relationships complemented the concept of the Mandate of Heaven by justifying the position of the ruler at the top of the social pyramid assuming he was moral and just.
Profile of Dr. McCord
Timeline of Chinese History (PDF)
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