fundamental Chinese ideas and institutions.
China’s four greatest novels were produced in the Ming–Qing period, and continue to be part of everyday life in contemporary China. What sets them apart is (1) the authors portray a vast cast of characters in detail on a broad canvas; (2) they were exquisitely written in a classical‐vernacular vocabulary that any Chinese with a rudimentary education can understand and pass on orally; (3) they all defy traditional orthodoxy to some degree; and (4) they are inexhaustible resources tapped by Chinese literature, drama, film, art, and traditional operas.
1 The Water Margin by Shi Nai’an (1296–1372) is about the legendary exploits of 108 hero‐outlaws in the Song Dynasty. The men and women characters run the gamut of society: everyday fishermen, innkeepers, petty civil and military officials, petty thugs, thieves and bandits, and rich and powerful landowners. They share one common experience—they are all forced to join the outlaw community by government corruption and oppression. The novel advocates a loyal code of brotherhood in rebellion against the government.
2 Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong (1330?–1400?) is a historical novel based on the figures and events in the period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The characters of various hues, moving through intricate plots, demonstrate ancient wisdom in statecraft and military strategy. The novel has been viewed as a textbook of politics, diplomacy, and military art; and those historical figures have become household names. It cast a spell on the Chinese national consciousness. It is also very popular in Japan and Korea. Two of its characters stand out in bold relief. One is Cao Cao (155–220), a central figure in the novel who continues to ignite intense debate even today on whether he is a “good guy” or “bad guy” in accordance with his achievements as well as the treacherous and ruthless means he employed to achieve his ends. The Chinese hesitate to love him, but nevertheless can’t help admiring him. The other is Guan Yu, a general of military prowess and personal loyalty who is widely revered as a folk god.
3 Westward Journey by Wu Cheng’en (1501–1582) is a hilariously humorous fantasy tale. Its central character Tang Sen is very loosely based on Buddhist monk Xuan Zang (602–664) in the Tang Dynasty and his 16‐year pilgrimage from China to India. He has three disciple‐assistants: the Monkey King, the Pig, and the River Monster; and his mount is the Dragon Prince in the form of a white horse. The pages are populated with good and evil humans, immortals and gods, as well as wild beasts, demons, monsters, and witches living in strange and distant lands. They throw obstacles one by one in their way, but eventually, the pilgrims overcome them all, acquire Buddhist scriptures, and return to the Tang capital.The novelist drew heavily on Chinese mythology, religions, and Taoist and Buddhist stories. What meets the eye immediately are hair‐raising adventures and side‐splitting humor created by the most uninhibited imagination. It clearly extols human goodness and radiates with optimism that evil can never prevail over good. Monkey King, who is unafraid of evil and embodies goodness, wit, and courage, amuses readers with his mischievousness and human frailties. He is a universal favorite.
4 Dream of the Red Mansion is the pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction. It is believed to be an autobiography. Its author Cao Xueqin (1715–1764) was born into the family of a wealthy and powerful Manchu official, but in the end, he died alone in destitution and despair after his family was destroyed in imperial purges. Most of what happens in the novel takes place behind the high walls of the family compound with its magnificent mansions, spacious courtyards, and manicured gardens, where the masters and their big families live in luxury, surrounded by servants, maids, and slave‐girls in large numbers. However, the author cleverly makes it a panoramic miniature of the colorful life from top to the very bottom in the outside world.
The novel is an encyclopedia of all aspects of Chinese society and life in the mid‐eighteenth century as the Qing Dynasty went from prosperity to decline. It has given birth to a brand‐new academic discipline—Red‐ology.
Suggested Readings and Viewings
1 Timothy Brook, The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013).
2 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001), dir. by Ang Lee.
3 John W. Dardess, Ming China, 1368–1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire (Boulder, CO: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011).
4 Mark C. Elliott, The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001).
5 Mark C. Elliott, Emperor Qianlong: Son of Heaven, Man of the World (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Longman, 2009).
6 Louise Levanthes, When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
7 Peter C. Perdue, China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010).
8 Richard J. Smith, The Qing Dynasty and Traditional Chinese Culture (Boulder, CO: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015).
9 Jonathan D. Spence, Emperor of China: Self‐Portrait of Kang Hsi (New York: Knopf, 1974).
7 Premodern Japan and Korea
Premodern Japan
The Imperial Court is the forbidden precinct. Happily, the line descended from Amaterasu has possessed hereditary authority for the countless generations. Accordingly, even though a military general [the Tokugawa Shogun] has grasped the power and directs government and letters within the four seas, this is nevertheless for the reason that he has been commanded to oversee all state affairs on behalf of the Imperial Court, and his serving of the Imperial Court diligently, without the slightest negligence, is in accordance with the great propriety obtaining between lord and subject. 1
—Yamago Sogo, explaining why the Shogun rules
Ancient Japan: The Land and the People (to the Seventh Century)
Japan is an island country consisting of four main islands and many smaller islands. Its four home islands stretch from Hokkaido in the far north to Kyushu near the equator, placing most of the country in the temperate zone. Its main island Honshu has a mountain range stretching down its middle and reaching out to the coasts. On its eastern coast are two major plains: the Yamato Plain where Kyoto is located, and the Kanto Plain where Tokyo (Edo) is located. Most of its farmland is scattered along the coast on tiny plains. The soil is generally poor, and only 17% of its land area is under cultivation, but the warm and moist maritime climate allows crops to thrive. The scattered and isolated distribution of its arable land delayed the unification of the country for a long time.
Japan is often thought of as “small,” but its territory is actually larger than Great Britain, although smaller than either France or California. It is also often thought of as “isolated,” but it actually is separated from the Asian continent by no more than 120 miles at its closest point to Korea. This was a considerable distance by the standards of ancient times, and posed a formidable barrier to the ambitions of its stronger neighbors. But it was not an insurmountable obstacle to the Japanese, who were determined to borrow from the more advanced cultures of their neighbors. Stone Age cultures were widely scattered across the islands of Japan by 40,000 BCE, and the Jomon culture was one of them. These typically constituted hunting, gathering, and fishing people who lived in sunken pit shelters. They were likely the Ainu people, whose physical appearance was more like Caucasians than modern Japanese.
Premodern Japan to circa 1868
| ca. 40,000 BCE | Old Stone Age: Hunting and gathering |
| ca. 14,000–300 BCE |
|