For this essay, you will look at one of three Chinese dynasties described in our Chapter 4 embedded, Berger, World History textbook:
- Qin Dynasty,
- Han Dynasty
- Tang Dynasty
You will write your essay from the perspective of an imperial court counselor to the emperor recommending one of the three types of Chinese governing philosophies described in the links about AND in the Chapter 4 readings. In your recommendation keep in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each philosophy but also the goals of your emperor and empire. For example, if you empire is concerned primarily with conquering land and controlling large amounts of territory, then one of the three philosophies does this better than the other two. If the goal of your dynasty is to promote a general peace and to promote kind and wise inspiration from your emperor to his people, then another kind of philosophy works best, and if your dynasty is quite cosmopolitan and is interested in establishing vast trading links and embracing new ideas of governing and religion from the outside world, another philosophy will do that allows the people more freedom of choice.
To help you better understand the philosophies read selections linked above on governing from Confucius’s Analects, the Laozi (“Old Master”, also known as the Dao de jing), and the Han Feizi (Master Han Fei). These are, respectively, Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist texts, and the selections introduce the author or the person to whom the writing is rightly or wrongly attributed.
To write this essay, introduce the historical dynasty (time, place, events) and then move into your role as imperial court counselor. Remember to explain why one philosophy will be better for your emperor to use in ruling over another. Use the sources in the links and Chapter 4 to inform your comparison of the philosophies and which one will work best and when doing so refer to key ideas as comments made by the ancient philosophers themselves.
Writing Guidelines:
- Your completed assignment should be roughly 700-1000 words.
- You must write in complete sentences and paragraphs. Bullet points or lists will not be accepted.
- Using Turabian/Chicago style format only, please cite your sources internally using parenthetical citations or footnotes, and include a complete bibliography at the end of your paper.
- Introducing materials from other sources risks plagiarism and should be avoided and will disqualify your work.
- There are also links to formatting information for Chicago Style, and Turbian in our syllabus.
- Be original – All papers submitted in this class are reviewed via Turnitin.com, a proprietary software database that identifies unoriginal material in papers. Please review the syllabus statement regarding the penalty for plagiarism–a zero for a grade.
- Submit your citations and bibliography within your paper. Everything should be saved and submitted in one document.
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Resources:
- https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-han-china/a/the-philosophers-of-the-warring-states
- http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/confucius_govt.pdf
- http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/laozi_govt.pdf
- http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/hanfei_five_vermin.pdf