Xiasi Xiasi is an important cemetery of the chu state of Henan province, China, which dates to the period between about 575 and 490 b. c.e. The excavations have revealed many important aspects of Chu political and social organization during the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B. C.E.). For example, the principal graves, set out in a linear disposition and in a chronological sequence, contained the remains of high-ranking members of the Yuan lineage. The members of this line were of sufficiently high status to marry into the ruling families of dependent states of Chu. They referred to themselves as Chu Shuzhisun, meaning the descendants of a junior line of the Chu royal family. While some of the nine major tombs have been damaged by looting, sufficient remains to identify in Tomb 2 the burial of Yuan Zi Feng, who acted in the capacity of chief minister to the king of Chu in 552-548 b. c.e. His tomb furniture stands out because of the quantity and quality of offerings. It contains a lost-wax casting of an altar unique to this period both in the technique of manufacture and in the ornate nature of the ornamentation. A second innovation in BRONZE CASTING is seen in the use of metal inlay This tomb incorporated 26 bells of graded sizes, suspended by lead ropes to their frame. It is a set of extraordinary musical sophistication that sounded more than five octaves. The bells were made for Wangsun Gao, the grandson of the Chu king, and their inscription described his dedication to the then king and extolled his many virtues. The bells were described as “long-vibrating and sonorous, with a fine loud sound.” They can still be played.
The ritual and sumptuary bronzes were also of a higher quality than those of the remainder of the burials and probably originated as gifts from the court during his period of royal service. His burial is surrounded by 15 graves containing the remains of sacrificial victims and three other tombs designated for his consorts. A further pit contained his chariots and horses.
See also chariots and chariot burials.
Xibeigang Xibeigang, on the northern bank of the Huan River, is the site of the shang state (1766-1045 B. C.E.) royal graves of anyang. There are two sections, an eastern and a western. Excavation that began in 1933 uncovered seven graves in the western section, each equipped with four entrance ramps, and one square unfinished tomb. One hundred thirty meters (429 ft.) to the east lay five further tombs, one with four entrance ramps, three with two ramps, and a single grave with one ramp. While all the graves have been long since looted, some corners that escaped destruction reveal the wealth that they would once have contained. A cache in Tomb 1004 incorporated 360 spear points and 141 bronze helmets.
Xin dynasty In 9 c. e., wang mang, formerly regent of the Western HAN dynasty and marquis of Xindu, pronounced himself emperor of China and first ruler of the Xin dynasty (New dynasty). Wang Mang was related to the Han royal line in that his father was the brother-inlaw of the emperor yuandi (49-33 b. c.e.). The dynastic name has not been recognized by subsequent historians, and indeed the period up to the death of Wang Mang in 23 C. E. is usually described as the interregnum between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties. Nevertheless, Wang Mang attempted serious reforms, particularly in the area of land tenure, by nationalizing land ownership and abolishing slavery. This policy was designed to reduce the power of the great landowning families and reinstate the old well-field system, in which peasants owned a block of land and paid a proportion of their produce to the state. He also adopted strict control over expenditure, thus accumulating a reputed 140,000 kilograms (308,000 lbs.) of gold, a policy that had a wide impact, even as far west as the Roman Empire. However, his reforms created many powerful enemies, and when he was murdered in 23 C. E., the Xin dynasty came to an end.
Xin’gan Xin’gan is a remarkable archaeological site located on the east side of the Gan River in Jiangxi province, China. This river flows north and empties into Lake poyang. The discovery there in 1989 of an exceedingly rich and intact tomb dated to the same period as the SHANG capital at anyang (1200-1045 b. c.e.) has caused a radical reconsideration of the distribution of early Chinese states. The grave, which measured 10.6 by 3.6 meters (35 by 12 ft.), is slightly earlier than that of FU HAO at Anyang and is second only to that royal tomb in terms of the quantity and wealth of its mortuary offerings, including bronze vessels that show local features in form and decoration. The discovery of the Xin’gan tomb has revealed a powerful early polity south of the Chang (Yangtze) River that indicates that parallel developments toward early states took place in different parts of China and redresses the dominance long held by the central plains. The Shang looked south for the supplies of turtle plastrons to be used in oracle-bone divinations. The rich resources of copper ore locally available here could well have underwritten the wealth evidenced at this site.
The grave shaft was stepped inward to provide space to house funerary offerings and contained hints of the existence of two lacquered coffins. No bones remained, but a jade necklace indicated where the body would probably have lain. It contains hundreds of ceramic vessels, 150 jades apart from the jade beads, and 475 bronzes. Of these, about half were weapons, while there were also 50 vessels and four bells. Three of these, the nao form, typify this southern region and add distinctiveness to its early bronze repertoire. The bronzes do not slavishly follow Shang forms but reveal distinctive local features, such as the casting of tigers onto the handles of bronze vessels. Tigers were popular features of this BRONZE-CASTING tradition. One bronze tiger, with open mouth and impressive canine teeth, stands to a height of 25 centimeters (9.6 in.), and was accompanied by a bird perched on its back. A horned bronze mask 53 centimeters (21.2 in.) high is not readily matched in northern contexts. In addition to their designs and decorative elements different from those of the Shang repertoire, the forms of the RITUAL BRONZE VESSELS present intriguing differences, with an emphasis on serving food rather than pouring wine. Some vessels reached impressive sizes, the tallest, a yan steamer, standing a little more than one meter in height. It differs from northern equivalents in having four legs rather than three, and its handles were embellished with male animals. The grave was equipped with a large assemblage of bronze weaponry, made up of spears, dagger-axes, knives, arrowheads, and a single heavy bronze helmet embellished with a raised mask. A small circular projection above would probably have held a plume of some sort.
The weight of research on the early dynasties of Chinese civilization has been in the central plains, with particular reference to the XIA and Shang states documented in early histories such as the SHIJI, and archaeologically verified by the discoveries at ERLITOU, ZHENGZHOU, and ANYANG. Any bronzes found beyond this core region have been considered Shang exports or peripheral settlements. At SANXINGDUI a large city containing sacrificial pits has documented a second early state center, characterized by bronzes and jades of local distinctiveness. The discovery of a city site at wucheng, about 20 kilometers (12 mi.) west of Xin’gan, in 1973 revealed a major center contemporary with the late Shang state. Xin’gan is in all probability the royal necropolis of this early state. In conjunction the two sites confirm the development of civilization south of the Chang (Yangtze) River.
Xintian Xintian is a huge urban complex located at the confluence of the Kuai and Fen Rivers in Shanxi province, China. It was founded by Duke Jinggong of the state of JIN in 585 b. c.e. and remained the capital until 369 B. C.E., when Duke Huangong was forcibly evicted by the forces of the states of Han and Zhou. The site, documented in early historic accounts, was discovered in 1956. It has been the object of major excavations over a lengthy period. Xintian includes a core of walled cities together with specialist industrial areas, extramural cemeteries, and ritual pits. The major walled area, known as Pingwang, formed a nearly square area covering about 100 hectares (250 acres). Raised HANGTU (stamped-earth) foundations within were probably the foundations for palace and temple structures, a feature of which was the trend toward raising the palace to provide a visible profile symbolizing the power of the overlord. One of the distinctive features of Xintian was the existence of such craft centers. Several were dedicated to BRONZE CASTING, and the clay molds for casting a wide range of ritual bronze VESSELS have been recovered. Many molds indicate the casting of swords and arrowheads, while chariot fittings were locally manufactured. One mold set had been made to cast a bronze axle. The concentration of mold fragments dedicated to one form of artifact shows that even in these workshops specialization prevailed: One area was concerned with casting of coins, another with belt buckles. The demand for copper, lead, and tin must have been considerable, and the output was a measure of the power and reach of the Jin rulers. The expertise of their specialists can be seen in such vessels as the zheng that was cast to commemorate the marriage of the daughter of Duke Pinggong in 537 b. c.e. Not only a fine bronze in its own right, it was further embellished with gold inlay. There were also specific areas for the manufacture of bone artifacts and ceramic vessels.
AREAS OUTSIDE THE MAJOR AREA
Taishen and Niacun are two further and slightly larger enclosures lying just to the south of Pingwang, thought to have been added to accommodate lesser families of the ruling group, and still more walled areas containing stamped-earth foundations were designated for members of ministerial families. The majority of the populace lived outside these reserved areas, and many of them would have been engaged in specialist workshops. At the Beiwu settlement, three vast granaries have been uncovered, as well as many foundations of domestic structures that incorporated ovens, drainage facilities, and underground storage pits.
CEMETERY AND SACRIFICIAL PITS
The cemetery of Shangmacun at Xintian has also been examined through archaeology and found to contain a wide range of burials in terms of wealth. One of the richest took the form of a deep pit containing a wooden chamber. Within lay the human remains in a lacquered coffin, together with 180 bronze vessels, jades, ceramic vessels, and bronze bells. The spears and halberds suggest that this interment, which dates to the late Spring and Autumn period, contained the remains of a man. Ritual practices associated with a massive temple building dedicated to the Jin ancestors included sacrificial pits containing the remains of horses, cattle, sheep, and, occasionally, humans. A further area was dedicated to the excavation of pits to incorporate animals sacrificed as part of a ceremony known as zaishu. This, according to surviving literary sources, involved sacrificing animals during the swearing of oaths of allegiance. Cattle, horses, sheep, and chickens were placed in pits up to six meters (19.8 ft.) deep, and the text of the oath, inscribed or painted on jade, was placed over them. The texts themselves provide an insight into historical events such as a dispute within the Zhao family that erupted in 497 b. c.e. Loyalty to the leader entailed an oath promising not to indulge in magic rites or communion with the rival group for fear of divine retribution. The research undertaken at Xintian has illuminated the size and grandeur of the capital of Jin during the eastern zhou dynasty (770-221 B. C.E.), before it was abandoned during the rule of Duke Huangong in 369 b. c.e.
Xinzheng Xinzheng was a major center of the state of ZHAO in China; after its defeat at the hands of the HAN DYNASTY in 375 B. C.E., it became the capital of the Han state. As is often the case with cities of the Western and Eastern Zhou, it lay between two rivers. It is a substantial city with two walled precincts. Stamped-earth walls survive up to a height of 18 meters (59.4 ft.). The old city, which lies to the west of the complex, incorporated a substantial palace and many house foundations. The later eastern addition was probably walled to afford protection to the specialist bronze, iron, ceramic, bone, and jade workshops that had formerly lain beyond the city walls. One part of the wall, for example, loops round a massive bronze foundry that covered 10 hectares (25 acres). It had been used to cast production tools. The warring states PERIOD ironworks, also found in the western area, covered almost half that area and had been used not only for production tools, but also for manufacture of iron swords and halberds.
See also eastern zhou dynasty; western zhou
DYNASTY.
Xiongnu The Xiongnu were a tribal confederation of pastoralists who occupied the Mongolian grasslands to the northwest of the great wall of China. The name is Chinese and, pejoratively, means “fierce slave.” Much information about them is from Chinese histories and archaeological discoveries. As long as they were divided into 24 competing tribes, the Xiongnu did not present a major threat to China. But toward the end of the third century b. c.e. the leader Touman began to form a confederacy, a trend consolidated by his son, maodun, who became the shanyu (great leader), in 209 b. c.e., after killing his father with a bow and arrow. Much has been learned about the Xiongnu through archaeological research. The graves reveal the wealth of the Xiongnu through the imported and local grave offerings. These include Chinese lacquer; beads of malachite, amber, and glass; tiny pyrite crystals pierced for attachment to clothing; and fine bronze vessels.
ANCESTORS OF XIONGNU
The ancestors of the Xiongnu described in the HAN DYNASTY Chinese histories are archaeologically documented through the slab graves of Mongolia. These burials are so called because the dead were interred, usually with the head pointing to the rising Sun, within a wall of upright stone slabs. Sometimes a stone column decorated with animal motifs was also set on the grave. The graves, dating to the period 700-300 b. c.e., included many artifacts that reveal far-flung trade, including cowry shells and jades of Chinese origin. Ceramic vessels were also placed into graves, as well as animal bones that indicate the maintenance of domestic horses, cattle, and sheep. These people were essentially nomadic pastoralists who also cast fine bronzes and forged iron weapons.
XIONGNU CONSOLIDATION
The Xiongnu began to pose an immediate problem for the Chinese after the rise of Maodun, which led to the construction of the Great Wall of China under Emperor QIN SHIHUANGDI. In 214 B. C.E. this emperor also sent a large military force, said to number 100,000, against the Xiongnu under General Meng Tian. As with all later campaigns, the soldiers had to face vast distances, cold, problems of supply, and a mobile, well-organized enemy. The Xiongnu had developed their cavalry to a fine pitch of skill. They had hardy steppe horses from which they wielded large composite bows.
EXCAVATIONS OF BURIALS AND SETTLEMENTS
Four major cemeteries have been excavated, and hundreds of graves opened at Khunui-gol in the upper reaches of the Orchon River in central Mongolia near Cecerleg, at Noin-ula, north of ulaan baatar, and at Sudzhinsk and Derestui, south of Lake Baikal. The burial ground at Khunui-gol is thought to contain the grave of Maodun himself. One of the most important individual burials from Noin-Ula was excavated in 1924. It is very large, measuring 24.5 meters (80 ft.) on each side, and the wooden coffins, preserved in the dry and cold conditions, were decorated with painted lacquer. These had been placed on a fine felt carpet decorated with animal designs. This was the tomb of the shanyu Wuzhu lu, who died in the early first century C. E. One grave contained a bronze crown depicting the head of a wolf. There are felt carpets with fine animal and abstract designs, Chinese silks, and Western fabric showing the influence of Gand-haran art. Archaeology has also shown how the development of a powerful steppe empire influenced settlement patterns, for several large fortified settlements have been found, as at Gua-Dov and Ivolgnisk east of Lake Baikal. Under the shanyu Zhi-zhi, a fort was built at Talas that is said to have been influenced by Roman mercenaries who had gravitated east after their defeat at Carrhae in 53 B. C.E. The Xiongnu also developed their own legal system and a script.
SIMA QIAN’S DESCRIPTION OF XIONGNU
It was natural that the Grand Han historian sima qian should devote a chapter of his history to these people who exercised such a profound influence on Han foreign policy. He described their nomadic way of life, in which they herded their cows and sheep and hunted with bows and arrows from horseback. He was struck by the way in which young boys learned to fire bows and arrows at hares and birds from a tender age, developing hunting and fighting skills as they grew up. After describing the long and difficult relations between the Chinese and the Xiongnu since the days of the remote xia dynasty, he concentrated on the rise to power of the great leader Maodun, a shanyu who was to play a prominent part in the foreign relations of the early Han dynasty Maodun’s father, Touman, favoring his younger son for the succession, had sent Maodun as a hostage to the Yuezhi. Touman then attacked the Yuezhi, anticipating that they would murder Maodun in retribution. Maodun escaped and was placed in charge of 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry in recognition of his bravery. He developed a whistling arrow and trained his men to fire their own arrows at all his chosen targets on pain of death if they disobeyed. Many were killed when they hesitated to fire after Mao-dun first shot his arrow at a favorite horse and then at his major wife. Having trained the remainder in implicit obedience, he fired at and killed his father and then murdered the court nobility. it was this fiery spirit that the first Han emperor, gaozu, had to contend with.
According to sima Qian, just as Gaozu, the founder and first emperor of the Western Han dynasty, established himself after a period of upheaval, Maodun became the shanyu of the Xiongnu. The military expertise and unified following forged by Maodun created an immediate threat to the security of the Han empire, and a confrontation was inevitable. In 200 B. C.E. Gaozu led his army in person, and he was surrounded and defeated at the Battle of Pingcheng. The emperor managed to escape capture but thereafter changed his policy toward to the Xiongnu to one of diplomacy. A treaty was signed with four major provisions. The first was that a royal Han princess should be sent to the Xiongnu in a marriage alliance. she should be accompanied by expensive gifts of silk and food, and the two states should be recognized as equals. Finally it was agreed that their mutual border should be the Great Wall of China. This treaty, which in effect was a means of reducing the Xiongnu threat through gifts and bribery, was renewed on many occasions, always entailing an increased quantity of gifts from the Han, including pieces of gold. Maodun died in 174 B. C.E. and was succeeded by his son, Ji Zhu, who ruled until 160 B. C.E., and then by Jun Chen (r. 160-126 B. C.E.).
Until 134 B. C.E. the Xiongnu both accepted the gifts of the Han emperor and sent raids south of the Great Wall with relative impunity. However, the forceful emperor WUDI in 134 B. C.E. reversed this policy and sent his armies against the Xiongnu. successful campaigns in 127, 121, and 119 B. C.E. saw the Han throw back the Xiongnu and establish new commanderies in the western regions. In the period between these setbacks and 52 B. C.E., military defeats were exacerbated by internal dissension. The Xiongnu splintered into rival groups, and at one stage there were as many as five claiming the title shanyu. At the same time, the magnificent and valued gifts from the Han court dried up, and there were problems with the Han succession, for under the system of primogeniture it was possible for very young boys to succeed. This might be possible under the Han court system with its entrenched regencies, but it was not adaptive for relations with the steppes. Many attempts to renew the marriage alliance system were rebuffed by the Han, because they insisted that the shanyu pay homage to the emperor and accept the status of a client state. However, the situation was reversed in 52-51 B. C.E. when the shanyu Huhanye decided to accept Chinese terms and traveled personally to Xi’an.
The terms involved sending Huhanye’s son to the Han court as a hostage and paying homage to the emperor. He was treated with considerable respect and was not required to prostrate himself. on the contrary, he returned home laden with gifts, including five kilograms (11 lbs.) of gold, 77 suits of clothes, 8,000 bales of silk cloth, and 1,500 kilograms of silk floss. Attracted by such expensive gifts, he expressed a wish to repeat the ceremony two years later and was given even more in return. on each such occasion until the end of the dynasty, the gifts increased in quantity until in 1 B. C.E., 30,000 bales of silk cloth changed hands. These gifts, a serious drain on Han resources, served to maintain peace on the northwest frontier and enhance trade along the silk road. The situation changed dramatically for the Xiongnu with the WANG MANG interregnum and the political turmoil in China during the civil wars that preceded the establishment of the Eastern Han dynasty From 18 to 48 C. E., Yu became the shanyu and not only spurned the new dynasty’s attempts to revert to the client relationship, but had an alleged descendant of Emperor wuDi declared emperor in the northern region of China so that the puppet ruler could pay him homage. This episode was short lived, however. The Xiongnu were now divided into southern and northern groups.
In 50 C. E. the shanyu Bi, leader of the southern group, again paid homage to the Han emperor. The act of prostration was well rewarded, for he returned home with 36,000 cattle, 10,000 bales of silk cloth, rice, and an official gold SEAL. Thereafter, annual payments to the southern Xiongnu were regularized, reaching in 91 C. E. the sum of 100 million cash, according to the administrator
Yuan An. The nomads were also brought in to settle south of the Great Wall, alongside Chinese communities, in an attempt at assimilation. The Northern Xiongnu, however, were not recognized and were treated as a potential enemy.
Further reading: Loewe, M., and E. L. Shaugnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999; Psarras, S.-K. “Xiongnu Culture: Identification and Dating,” Central European Journal 39 (1995): 102-136.
Xuandi (Liu Bingyi; Proclaimed Emperor) (74-49 b. c.e.) Xuandi was a grandson of the Han dynasty emperor Wudi, who succeeded Zhaodi as emperor in 74 b. c.e.
In the aftermath of the expansionary policy of WUDI, Xuandi’s reign was marked by retrenchment and remission of taxation. Thus the office in charge of music, founded under Wudi, was first reduced in scope in 70 B. C.E. The reins of power were in the hands of the minister Huo Gang and his family. Intent on maintaining its position, the family arranged that the pregnant empress be poisoned and replaced by one of its own. After the death of Huo Gang, knowledge of the plot to poison the empress leaked out, and the Huo family, formerly allpowerful, was virtually eliminated when it was discovered that it had planned treason.
The History of the Former Han (hanshu) is a major source of information on this reign. It describes discussions on policy after the huge expansion under Wudi. It was resolved to maintain a hold on the new northwestern territories through agricultural settlement rather than military expeditions, and there was even a partial withdrawal from Korea. More old kingdoms were replaced by new commanderies or subdivided into small realms so that the political map now showed scattered islands of kingdoms in a broad sea of commanderies. These new policies, labeled “reformist,” characterized the reign of Xuandi.
Xuanzang (602-664 c. e.) Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled as a pilgrim to the holy places of India and Central Asia and translated the Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese.
While living in Sichuan as a recent convert to buddhism, he was concerned by contradictions in the texts available to him and decided to leave China in 629 c. e. to visit the major Indian monasteries. His route, devious because of the lack of a permit, took him along the silk road to Samarqand, then south to bactria and northwest India. He took a boat to travel down the Ganges (Ganga) and visited mathura. His travels in India were extensive, but he spent most time at the Buddhist university center of NALANDA. He returned to the Chinese capital after an absence of 16 years accompanied by a large collection of manuscripts central to Buddhist thought and spent the balance of his life engaged in their translation. He also wrote an account of his travels, describing the countries, peoples, and customs of the places he visited, a vital source of information to this day.
XUANZANG’S EXPERIENCES
At Tokmak he had been the guest of the great khan of the Western Turks. He was treated as an honored guest, and after a banquet attended by 200 of the khan’s bodyguards dressed in fine embroidered silks, he spoke to the assembled guests on Buddhist doctrine. In Tokharistan he described the Hephthalite script as being written from left to right, a reference to a script ultimately rooted in the BACTRIAN GREEK system of 500 years earlier. Of the Heph-thalites themselves he noted that they controlled a considerable area, including walled cities, but that some also lived in felt tents and moved from place to place.
It is remarkable to have an eyewitness account of BALKH, one of the major centers of the Hephthalite empire, which he described as being strongly fortified, but with a low population. There were about 100 monasteries there and more than 3,000 Buddhist monks. At BAMIYAN he wondered at the colossal statues of the Buddha carved into the mountainside, now destroyed after the Taliban dynamited them, and noted 10 monasteries there supporting 1,000 monks. Of Kapisa he wrote: “It produces cereals of all sorts, and many kinds of fruit trees.” There was a flourishing trade, for which the Kapisans used gold, silver, and copper coins. At Kuga he described the royal palace as shining in its decoration of gold and jade.
Some of his most interesting comments involved visits to particularly revered places, and his descriptions of ruined or deserted cities make him virtually the first person to engage in field archaeology in India. He found PATALIPUTRA, the old capital of the maurya empire, in a ruined condition with only the foundations of the former monasteries visible. He also made a pilgrimage to the site of the bodhi tree where the Buddha had found enlightenment. The brick walls surrounding the location were high and 500 paces in circumference, he said. There were a large monastery beyond the northern gate and a flower pool beside the southern entrance. The tree itself was still there but had suffered damage and was not as high as it had once been. Each year, on the anniversary of the enlightenment, kings and monks and a multitude of people irrigated the tree with perfumed water and made offerings.
On his return to China after an absence of 16 years, he had hundreds of precious documents and relics of the Buddha. A notable mural from mogao dating to the Tang dynasty shows him on his return journey, accompanied by a highly auspicious white elephant. officially welcomed at DUNHUANG, he visited the Mogao caves and then carried on to the capital, chang’an. For the remaining two decades of his life, he translated the texts he had returned with into Chinese, and these have become classics of Buddhist literature.
Further reading: Bernstein, R. Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment. New York: Knopf, 2001; Devahuti, D., ed. The Unknown Hsuan-Tsang. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001; Wriggins, S. H. Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998.
Xue Xue was a small state located south of the state of Lu in Shandong, China. As virtually all the less powerful states of the eastern zhou dynasty (770-221 b. c.e.) were, it was subject to predatory attacks from larger neighbors, and Xue fell during the warring states PERIOD (475-221 b. c.e.) to qi. Intensive archaeological investigations have allowed a reconstruction of its capital city of Xue. These show that it was initially a longshan CULTURE (c. 2500-1800 b. c.e.) settlement that was greatly expanded during the western zhou dynasty (1045-771 b. c.e.). The city walls at this phase covered an area of 900 by 700 meters (990 by 770 yds.). A still larger city was then built during the Warring states period, which covered 1,750 hectares (4,375 acres), almost 30 times as large as its Western zhou predecessor. This is a rare indication of the increase in the size of cities over time that culminated in the Warring states period, as the nature of the city moved from a palace-administrative center to one that incorporated industry and trade. With the rebuilding, the former Western zhou center became a second inner precinct of the new foundation. Archaeological research has also unearthed a number of rich tombs within this city that cover the spring and Autumn and Warring states periods of Eastern zhou. The former were notable for their burial chambers and nested coffins, as well as the presence of sacrificial victims. Fortunately, some have survived unlooted and provide many fine jade ornaments and bronze vessels. The inscriptions on the bronzes reveal that the tombs belonged to members of the ruling elite lineage of Xue.
Xunzi (c. 310-215 b. c.e.) Xunzi is the name given to the Chinese philosopher Xun Qing.
Through a long life, he witnessed the final decades of the WARRING STATES PERIOD and ultimately the triumph of the kingdom of qin. He spent much of his life as a teacher and member of the Jixia Academy in the state of QI but also traveled widely to CHU and Qin and witnessed in the latter a single-minded drive to military success that involved long and bloody battles. Such experiences probably influenced him toward a less optimistic view of the human condition than that of Mencius, and his ideas are discussed in a series of long essays. His philosophy was rooted in the belief that human beings are basically evil and that strict laws are required to tutor and control their behavior. He was a contributor to the legalist school so popular with the first emperor, qin shihuangdi. During his later life, he lived and taught in shandong province, and his legacy beyond his writings is seen in the long list of his pupils who lived through the brief life of the Qin dynasty and into the Western HAN dynasty.
Yakushi-ji The Yakushi-ji was a Buddhist temple that was first constructed at the city of fujiwara on the Nara Plain in Japan in 698 c. e. Fujiwara was a short-lived capi-
The Yakushi-ji at Heijo-kyo in Japan was one of the major temples of that city. This image of the healing Buddha dates to the 19th century. (Scala/Art Resource, NY) tal of the late yamato state, and soon after the consecration of the temple a new city was constructed 20 kilometers (12 mi.) to the north at heijo-kyo. A new temple with the same name was begun at Heijo in 718 c. e. and occupied a prominent position in the southwestern quarter of the city The complex had an outer cloistered corridor with a square plan that enclosed the central kendo, or shrine hall, and two tall impressive pagodas. on the northern cloister, there was a lecture hall beyond which lay the monks’ quarters, a refectory, bell tower, and library for storing sacred Buddhist texts.
Yamatai The Chinese text known as the WEIZHI (History of the Kingdom of Wei) was compiled in the late third century C. E. by Chen Shou (233-297 C. E.). He became the official historian of the jin dynasty In 280 c. e. Jin reunited China after the Three Kingdoms period (beginning in 220 C. E., with the fall of Eastern Han), and Chen Shou began work on his History of the Three Kingdoms that had arisen from the HAN dynasty: wei, wu, and SHU. One section of this highly regarded document, devoted to wei, included a section on foreign peoples, including the kingdom of KOGURYO in Korea and the people of Wa in Japan. The section on the wa described a journey from the vicinity of modern Seoul, Korea, to a place in Japan named Yamatai. There were eight stops en route, five of which have been identified with a reasonable degree of certainty; the last three, particularly the location of Yamatai, remain highly controversial. Archaeologists have, however, identified in Japan the late period of the yayoi culture (late third century c. e.) as that corresponding to Yamatai. The relevant passage describes Yamatai as being ruled by a female shaman called Himiko, who lived secluded in a palace.
She sent embassies to the Chinese court and received in return gifts of swords, mirrors, and a gold seal with a purple sash. Yamatai had officials, markets, a taxation system, and much conflict. The lower orders bowed before highly ranked people. The latter were accorded fine tombs. All these aspects of Yamatai indicate that a complex society existed, perhaps even Japan’s first state.
The Weizhi raises the question of whether any sites are sufficiently complex to correspond to the palaces, tombs, and markets described in the history. This question has not been conclusively answered, although some Late Yayoi sites, such as Yoshinogari on Kyushu Islands, attained a large area (up to 25 hectares [62.5 acres]) and were defended by a ditch and watchtowers. A large mounded tomb could well have been constructed for receiving elite members of this rice-farming community.
Yamato The kingdom of Yamato, centered in western Honshu in Japan, developed from the late yayoi culture in the third century C. E. The Yamato state, over a period of four centuries, saw the development of an increasingly powerful civilization that grew in tandem with the three KINGDOMS of Korea and, finally, with Tang China. It received much influence in terms of ideas and goods from the continent but throughout displayed a specific Japanese ideology Thus, although buddhism was accepted, the local KAMI spirits continued in importance, as they do to this day. The rulers developed increasingly efficient forms of rice cultivation, the basic prop of the court centers, and disposed of sufficient wealth to deploy a naval fleet and armed force across the Tsushima Strait in support of their ally paekche in Korea. Huge royal and elite tombs, among the largest ever known, were constructed and filled with opulent grave goods. Heavily armed cavalry, another Korean import, were maintained. Large cities, palaces, and temples, again on continental models, were built. Writing was adopted from the Chinese script, and records of tax payments written on wood have survived. Japanese civilization can look back at Yamato as its seminal period of development that led directly to the NARA STATE, when the capital city on the model of Tang chang’an was built at heijo-kyo.
Yamato was ruled by okimi, or great kings, whose tombs under large burial mounds were known as kofun. Hence Yamato is also known as the kofun period of Japanese history. The Yamato kingdom was rapidly forming by about 300 C. E., dated on the basis of imported Chinese mirrors from burial mounds, and lasted for about four centuries. Knowledge about the Yamato state has relied on three main sources. The first are two early historic accounts compiled by royal order in the early eighth century C. E. and known as the NIHONGI and KOJIKI. Next are INSCRIPTIONS, for example, on swords recovered from elite tombs, and finally there is the evidence of archaeology.
ORIGINS OF YAMATO
During the late Yayoi culture, population densities had grown as rice agriculture became more efficient. The remains of extensive irrigation works have been identified during this period, and iron technology became more widespread, with applications in both agriculture and warfare. Within a broader frame, complex societies were evolving during this period both in Korea and in Japan. This trend was given stimulus by the previous foundation of Chinese provinces in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, but with their demise, the development of the states of KOGURYO, Paekche, and shilla occurred. Yamato can be seen as a component of the same process.
EARLY YAMATO ROYAL BURIALS
Kofun burial mounds are widely found around the shores of the Inland Sea of Japan and match in many respects similar large and ostentatious burial mounds in Korea of the period. Perhaps by historical accident, particular stress in Japan has been given the huge mounded tombs found in the Nara Basin as representing the earliest phase of Yam-ato. This reflects the later political domination of this region during the compilation of the Kojiki and Nihongi historical texts in the early eighth century. In this interpretation, the then rulers sought local origins for their royal ancestry. The names of the early Yamato kings are thus recorded, and attempts have been made to match them with particular burials. In general, this early phase of Yam-ato was characterized by large tumuli in which the dead leaders were interred in wooden coffins sunk into the tops of the mounds. The elite were associated in death with exotic high-prestige goods, such as jasper and tuff jewelry, bronze mirrors, and iron weaponry, including body armor. The earliest dynasty, named after the alleged founder, Sujin, included five kings. Sujin himself is said to have reigned from 219 to 249 C. E., followed by Suinin, Keiko, Seimu, and Chuai, the last reigning from 343 to 346. Sujin, described as “he who ruled first,” was closely involved in the worship of the kami of Mount Miwa in the southeastern flank of the Nara Plain and thereby sought sacred powers of legitimacy. Here at the foot of Mount Miwa six colossal kofun have been found and sequenced. The earliest is known as Hashihaka, followed by Nishitonozuka, Tobi Chausu-yama, Mesuri-yama, the Sujin tomb, and, finally, the Keiko tomb. They vary in length from 207 to 310 meters (683 to 1,023 ft.). Sujin is also described as a military leader who sent out princes to fight his enemies and took captives. This implies that there were rival polities around the Inland Sea and into Kyushu and that the period was one of competition and militarism documented in the widespread placement of iron weapons and armor in elite tombs.
SECOND DYNASTY OF YAMATO
The second dynasty of Yamato is named after its founder, Ojin, whose reign dates traditionally fall between 346 and 395. During his reign there is clear evidence for the introduction of literacy into Japan through the aegis of Korean tutors. The political center initially moved north in the Nara Basin to Saki, where a group of very large kofun mounded tombs are located. However, by 400 C. E., the power base had moved west, out of the Nara Basin and onto the Osaka Plains near the store of the Inland Sea. Six subsequent rulers are named in the early historical accounts, ending with Yuryaku, who reigned from 457 to 479. If these dates are accurate, Ojin would have been the ruler to whom the SHICHISHITO sword was presented by the ruler of the Korean kingdom of Paekche in 369. This gold inlaid ceremonial weapon, which is still kept in the Isonokami shrine in the Nara Basin, reflects the strong relations that existed between Paekche and Yamato, a relationship that drew much valued iron to Japan. The elite burials of this phase contained considerable quantities of iron weaponry and armor as well as tools. From 450, gold and silver ornaments of Korean inspiration were also found in elite burials.
The tombs were now surrounded by moats, and clay HANIWA, representations of houses, people, and animals, increased in numbers and complexity as part of the mortuary ritual. Tomb chambers were now lined in massive stones and coated with clay to counter dampness. Charcoal and pebble-based drains were also used for the same purpose.
The changes from tomb offerings that stressed ritual, such as bronze mirrors, to increasing quantities of weaponry and armor have been cited as evidence for an actual invasion by foreigners who introduced cavalry into warfare. This “horse-riding” invasion theory has been the object of considerable debate but has not been sustained by archaeological evidence. The alternative and more likely hypothesis is that the second dynasty developed from the first with a change in its political center, perhaps to take advantage of the power of local clans, in a context of increasing political contact with Korean counterparts. This trend involved territorial gains against former rivals to the west by the Yamato rulers, intent no doubt on securing maritime access to the Tsushima Strait and therefore to Korea. While it is clear that the Yamato kings of the fifth century commanded considerable military power and engaged in political relations with contemporary Korean states, little is known of the actual mechanisms whereby they conducted their administration. They must, for example, have been able to control a large force of labor to construct their massive tombs and excavate extensive irrigation works. Chronicles refer to a number of court positions, such as guards and sword and quiver bearers, and the close relations with Korea drew immigrant scribes. There were also specialist craft workers. The rulers, according to the early historical accounts of the period, were less concerned with rituals and spent more of their time in organizing secular activities: provision of irrigation works and suppression of regional dissent.
World History
