CGS SS 201 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Marxism, Agriculture, Steel

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CGS SS 201
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
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China The Middle Kingdom: Tradition, Western Invasion, and Internal Decay
Lecture #1, October 25, 2011
I. The Chinese Civilization
Mao Zedong; long time dictator of Communist China; he will make Stalin look
like a fairly nice guy.
China is the middle kingdom; the center of the world. 3rd largest country in the
world; everything climate wise, huge mountains, part of the Himalaya’s.
We date this civilization back 5,000 years; heart of
A. The Yellow and Yangzi Rivers
Yellow river flows through much of Northern China; looks yellow, it is an
incredibly rich river. It wanders its way through the landscape, picks up tons of
rock, picking up sediment and depositing; the soil is very rich. Great area to grow;
however, not enough rainfall. (Growing wheat and millet)
At some point, Chinese civilization developed into the Yangzi River Valley; this
is where the rice is grown, wonderful for growing this.
China develops so early on because there is food; give up hunting and gathering
and settle down.
o The 2 massive rivers; the soil is very fertile near these rivers, however,
they flood. Huge amounts of water; flooding can be destructive of
everything; they must find a way to control these rivers.
o Must have a society that can work together to control these rivers; build
huge dykes, huge retaining walls, etc. In other words, agriculture requires
TREMENDOUS GROUP WORK. This is very different from farming in
Western Europe, which can be very individual. In China, it cannot be;
everything is group.
o No machines can do the rice growing; it has to be hand done.
B. Agriculture, Water and the Family: The Necessity of social order
This society is about the group, not the individual; it can’t be. The need to always
be working together on these rivers make it necessary to have a very structured
society; everyone has to know their place; very hierarchal.
o Social order is extremely important; everyone MUST know their place.
This social order begins with the family…
1. Father-Son; Husband-Wife; Mother-in-law-Daughter-in-law;
Older Brother-Younger Brother; Friends; Emperor-Subject
The son is subservient to the father; he cannot question the father, he must do
exactly what he is told to do. You cannot raise hand against your father or the son
will be killed.
Husband-Wife: women have absolutely no rights when it comes to men; the man
can do what he wants. This is all in the name of “social order”; a man can divorce
a woman, not vice versa; men have multiple wives but if women are caught
cheating they are killed.
o Women are totally subservient to men.
Mother-in-law-Daughter-in-law: when a man gets married, his new wife comes to
live with him. The new wife is totally subservient to her mother-in-law now; she
can tell her to do anything. Mother-in-law over the daughter-in-law.
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Older brother-Younger Brother: younger brother is totally subservient to the older
brother. The same goes for sisters; the one who is the lesser must do what they are
told to do.
o There is an assumption that this will not be an abusive relationship; there
is a morality to this.
The only time there are equals is with FRIENDS; there is the potential for them to
be equal. This is not true all of the time though; usually the one who is higher
ranked will get treated differently.
Emperor-subject: political system mirrors this; there is an all-powerful emperor.
The emperors are the most powerful people in the world; they are Gods, they are
worshipped.
II. Confucius (551-479 B.C.), the Confucian System, and social order
China periodically goes through chaos; new dynasties come in and can fall apart;
this leads to confusion in society. During one of these periods of warfare, a lot of
people are dying, suffering, etc., Confucius comes along and wants to restore
order.
Confucius looks at traditional Chinese society and draws upon the “order” system
and creates a system to live by; a system for organizing society. How do we
organize society? This is all about creating a structured, orderly society. He is
trying to sell this idea to someone.
A. Li: “Proper Conduct According to Status”
This is central to Confucianism; each person has to know his or her proper
position in society (wife, husband, etc.); you must know how to act in every
situation. From the emperor on down, he says you must know your place and how
to act.
He points out the social hierarchy, stratification of society; we begin with the
emperor on top; he is the God. Then, there are the different orders…
B. The Emperor and the Four Orders
1. The Gentry and Scholar-Officials; Peasants; Artisans; Merchants
This is your first order; can be broken into 2 parts; scholar-officals are the ones
who run China; most educated, passed certain exams. They are the ones who
report directly to the emperor. The gentry is the nobility; the big land-owners in
China; they are the highest.
Second rank: PEASANTS. These are the ones who are growing the food by the
rivers; they are controlled by the gentry; they are not slaves. They don’t have
many rights and don’t live a great life.
Third rank: ARTISANS. These are the ones who make things; pottery, china,
porcelains, etc. They make chairs, utensils, etc. and houses as well.
Fourth rank/order: MERCHANTS. These are the ones who buy and sell but don’t
actually make anything.
o Why does it matter that merchants are last? This is a society that does not
respect making money. Merchants are the ones who make money and they
do not support or respect that. In other words, this is a society that will not
follow the Western model.
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Document Summary

China the middle kingdom: tradition, western invasion, and internal decay. The chinese civilization: mao zedong; long time dictator of communist china; he will make stalin look like a fairly nice guy, china is the middle kingdom; the center of the world. It wanders its way through the landscape, picks up tons of rock, picking up sediment and depositing; the soil is very rich. Huge amounts of water; flooding can be destructive of everything; they must find a way to control these rivers: must have a society that can work together to control these rivers; build huge dykes, huge retaining walls, etc. Older brother-younger brother; friends; emperor-subject: the son is subservient to the father; he cannot question the father, he must do exactly what he is told to do. You cannot raise hand against your father or the son will be killed: husband-wife: women have absolutely no rights when it comes to men; the man can do what he wants.

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