Ancient Chinese Warfare (71 page)

40
The rate of 0.5 cubic meter/day has been employed to estimate a construction time of fourteen days for the ditch at Pa-shih-tang, assuming that 700 cubic meters had to be excavated and the work was undertaken by 100 people. (See P’ei An-p’ing, KK 2004:11, 63-76.) On an unstated basis Fang Yen-ming (KK 2006:9, 22-23) estimates that 1,000 sturdy men working eight hours per day would have taken fourteen months to construct the fortifications at Wangch’eng-kang, with additional personnel having been required for planning and supervisory tasks. He further asserts that this is far more than the site could provide, clear evidence that central authority was capable of coercing the surrounding twenty or so villages to furnish perhaps 100 men each. However, though Wang-ch’eng-kang clearly attests to the growth of centralized authority and coercive power, based on the average living area of 150 square meters per family, a site of 300,000 square meters could have had 2,000 families of five, a number easily capable of diverting 1,000 males from farming and other tasks even if the work were continuously undertaken.

41
For example, a village dated to roughly 2700 BCE located at Yung-lang on the eastern side of the Pearl River near Hong Kong was able to exploit the surrounding hills for protection. It therefore merely added a moat for protection, thus showing regional variation in an already typical pattern of combining walls and moats. (For the site report see Hsiang-kang Ku-wu Ku-chi Pan-shih-ch’u, KK 1997:6, 35-53.)

1
For a discussion of Hsia writing see Ts’ao Ting-yün, KK 2004:12, pp. 76-83; Li Ch’iao, HCCHS 1992:5, 21-26; and Ch’ang Yao-hua, HYCLC, 1996, 252-265. For writing’s inception in China see Feng Shih, KK 1994:1, 37-54; Wang Heng-chieh, KK 1991:12, 1119-1120, 1108; or Wang En-t’ien et al., “Chuan-chia P’i-t’an Ting-kung Yi-chih Ch’u-t’u T’ao-wen,” KK 1993:4, 344-354, 375. Feng Shih (KKHP 2008:3, 273-290) has recently argued that the two characters on a pottery shard recovered from T’ao-ssu at Hsiang-fen should be interpreted as “
wen yi
” and therefore evidence for the Hsia capital and proof of the Hsia’s existence. Chao Kuang-hsien (HYCLC, 1996, 122-123), among others, sees sufficient proof of the Hsia’s existence in early texts.

2
Ch’en Ch’un and Kung Hsin, HCCHS 2004:6, 3-12. See also Ch’en Chih, CKSYC 2004:1, 3-22.

3
For example, see Ho Chien-an, HCCHS 1987:1, 33-46; Chang T’ien-en, KKWW 2000:3, 44-50, 84; Li Wei-ming, HCCHS 2005:5, 40-45; and Chang Te-shui, HYCLC, 1996, 170-175.

4
Tu Cheng-sheng, KK 1991:1, 43-56; Chang Te-shui, HYCLC, 1996, 170-175.

5
For typical expressions see Shen Ch’ang-yün, HCCHS 2005:5, 8-15, or Tu Yung, HCCHS 2006:6, 3-7; for a brief summary of the conflicting viewpoints, see Wang Hsüeh-jung and Hsü Hung, KK 2006:9, 83-90; for Hsin-chai see, for example, Fang Yu-sheng, HCCHS 2003:1, 35- 39, or Yao Cheng-ch’üan et al., KK 2007:3, 90-96; and for a concise overview of later literary materials referring to the Hsia, see Chao Kuang-hsien, HYCLC, 1996, 122-123.

6
For a convenient summary of the Warring States textual records, see Ch’en Ku-ying, HCCHS 1985:7, 10-13. Although it subsequently received great impetus from Confucian thinkers and Mo-tzu, the myth of yielding first appeared in the early Western Chou, roughly four hundred years before Confucius. (For the latter see Yu Shen, HCCHS 2006:3, 39-44, and for a general analysis Chiang Ch’ung-yao, HCCHS 2007:1, 41-46, or Ch’ien Yao-p’eng, HCCHS 2001:1, 32-42.)

7
Mencius’s discussion in “Wang-chang” may be taken as definitive, but see also Fang Chieh, HHYC 11:1 (1993): 15-28. There is no evidence that Heaven was ever conceived of as an active entity in Yü’s time.

8
This was the essential premise of Wittfogel’s well-known but now (perhaps too thoroughly) rejected work,
Oriental Despotism: A Comparative Study of Total Power
. (The need to coerce people into building embankments and organize them for the work must have stimulated bureaucratic growth to at least some extent.) For recent discussions of the “hydraulic thesis”—primarily rejections—see Chang Kung, CKKTS 1994:2, 4-18; Chou Tzu-ch’iang, CKKTS 1994:2, 19-30; Liu Hsiu-ming, CKSYC, 1994:2, 10-18; and Yü Shu-sheng, CKSYC, 1994:2, 3-9. Nevertheless, water management is seen as a decidedly important Hsia accomplishment. (See, for example, Li Hsien-teng, HYCLC, 1996, 27-34.)

9
For further discussions see Joseph Needham,
Civil Engineering and Nautics
, 247ff, or the more traditional account in Meng Shih-k’ai,
Hsia Shang Shih-hua
, 149-154. In two different passages (IIIB9 and VIB11), Mencius clearly asserts that Yü accorded with water’s natural patterns and removed obstacles to its flow.

10
Mencius
, IIIA4, “T’eng-wen Kung, Hsia.” (Since it recurs while describing other sages in IVB29, “passing one’s gate three times” apparently represents Mencius’s ideal of self-denial.) The legend of Yü taming the waters dates to the middle of the Western Chou. (See Li Hsüehch’in, HCCHS 2005:5, 6; Tuan Yü, HCCHS 2005:1, 110-116; and Anne Birrell, TP 83 [1997]: 213-259.) Water played an important role in early China’s contemplative tradition, including as a focal element in the
Tao Te Ching
and as an image for irrepressible power in the military writings.

11
“Yüan Tao.”

12
Variants of this perspective are preserved in military writings as the
Ssu-ma Fa
,
Six Secret Teachings
, and
Three Strategies of Huang Shih-kung
. (For further discussion, see Sawyer,
Tao of War
, or
T’ai Kung Liu-t’ao
[
Six Secret Teachings
].)

13
Apart from the problems invariably posed by seasonal rains, there was a period of maximum flooding from 4000 to 3000 BCE due to increased moisture levels that effectively sundered Hebei. (See Han Chia-ku, KK 2000:5, 57-67.) Miao Ya-chüan (HCCHS 2004:3, 13-19, 26) has even asserted that flooding caused the demise of the Lungshan culture and facilitated the Hsia’s rise because their leaders combined warfare with expertise in curbing water’s destructive effects.

14
“Hsia Pen-chi,”
Shih Chi.
However, see
Hsia Shih Shih-hua
, 149-164, for a more extensive examination of the relevant accounts.

15
Just as in the
Shang Shu
(upon which the
Shih Chi
account is probably based), the chapter continues with a lengthy description of Yü’s accomplishments and enumerates the chief characteristics of the Nine Provinces he demarked. These descriptions represent early attempts to compile topographical knowledge for administrative and military purposes.

16
Every conceivable intellectual discipline has been employed to demythologize tales about the ancient sages. (See, for example, Yi Mou-yüan, HCCHS 1991:2, 4-12; Huang Hsin-chia, HCCHS 1993:11, 25-32; and Feng T’ien-yü, HCCHS 1984:11, 5-14.)

17
Yen Wen-ming, WW 1992:1, 25, 40-49.

18
Yen Wen-ming, WW 1992:1, 25, 40-49.

19
See, for example, Hu Chia-ts’ung, HCCHS 1991:1, 19-26; Li Hsüeh-ch’in, HCCHS 2005:5, 5; and Wang Hui, KKHP 2007:1, 1-28. More compressed dates have also been suggested for the semilegendary Sages, such as 2400 to 2000 BCE. (For example, T’ien Chi-chou, HCCHS 1985:9, 25-32.)

20
See, among many, Ch’eng P’ing-shan, HCCHS 2004:5, 10-21, and P’an Chi-an, KKWW 2007:1, 55-61. (P’an believes that T’ao-ssu, which has been suggested as Yao’s capital of P’ing-yang, served as the Yellow Emperor’s capital.)

21
These are the dates suggested by Chao En-yü, HCCHS 1985:11, 17-19, who opts for eras rather than realistic life spans. Based on astronomical data, he also claims that Yü’s reign had to commence in either 2221 or 2161 BCE and that it lasted for thirty-three years. (However, Chao contradicts his own astronomical dating in concluding that Yü ascended the throne in 2227 and ruled for thirty-nine years.)

22
Stimulated by David Nivison, a series of articles by David Pankenier, Edward Shaughnessy, Kevin Pang, and others two decades ago argued whether the data found in traditional accounts are original or the result of later accretions and reconstructions; whether the phenomena would have been observable or were just extrapolated from other observations; the resolution of various discrepancies; and which records might be deemed authoritative. Based on a passage in the
Mo-tzu
and a five-planet conjunction, David Pankenier, concluded that Shun’s fourteenth year—1953 BCE—was Yü the Great’s first de jure year as the Hsia’s progenitor (EC 9-10 [1983- 1985] : 175-183, and EC 7 [1981-1982]: 2-37). Other critical articles, some of which focus on the broader issue of the reliability of the old and new text versions of the
Bamboo Annals
, include E. L. Shaughnessy, HJAS 46, no. 1 (1986): 149-180, also reprinted in
Before Confucius
, and his important article in EC 11-12 (1985-1987): 33-60; and David S. Nivison and Kevin D. Pang, EC 15 (1990): 86-95, with additional discussion and responses, 97-196. (For useful discussions of the Old Text/New Text controversy, see Michael Nylan, TP 80:1-3 [1994], 83-145 and TP 81:1-3 [1995], 22-50, and Hans Van Ess, TP 80:1-3 [1994]: 149-170.)

23
For example, see Chao Chih-ch’üan, KKWW 1999:2, 23-29.

24
The late K. C. Chang is most prominently associated with this debate, but for concise versions of single origination see Cheng Kuang, KKWW 2000:3, 33-43; T’ien Chi-chou, HCCHS 1985:9, 25-32; and Yü Feng-ch’un (who examines the
Shih Chi
’s depiction), 2007:2, 21-34.

25
Ho Chien-an, HCCHS 1986:6, 33-46; T’ien Chi-chou, HCCHS 1985:9, 25-32; Li Min, HCCHS 2005:3, 6-8, 13; and Hsü Shun-chan, HYCLC, 1996, 128-135.

26
His failure to yield, a topic of heated argument over the centuries, continues to be an issue. (For a recent example, see Fang Chieh, HHYC 11:1 [1993], 15-28.)

27
For an expression of this view see T’ien Chi-chou, HCCHS 1985:9, 25-32.

28
For an overview that charts the period of greatest eastern influence see Luan Feng-shih, KK 1996:4, 45-58.

29
For example, see Tsou Heng, KKWW 1999:5, 50-54.

30
For one formulation of the amalgamated view, see Wang Hsün, KKWW 1997:3, 61-68. For a useful discussion of Yüeh-shih culture, see Tsou Heng, HSCLWC, 64-83. (Note that Tsou cites dates of 1765 to 1490 BCE, far too late to have contributed to the predynastic Hsia.)

31
Among many, see Tu Cheng-sheng, KK 1991:1, 43-56.

32
For example, see Wang Ch’ing, CKSYC 1996:2, 125-132.

33
Fang Yu-sheng, HCCHS 1996:6, 33-39, and Shen Ch’eng-yün, CKSYC 1994:3, 113-122.

34
Wu Ju-tso, CKKTS 1995:8, 12-20.

35
For expressions of this thesis, see An Chin-huai, KKWW 1997:3, 54-60; Chu Kuang-hua, KKWW 2002:4, 19-26; and Wei Ch’ung-wen, HCCHS 1991:6, 29-31. However, Ho Chien-an, HCCHS 1986:6, 33-34, believes that the Lungshan Wang-wan manifestation found there and in the eastern part of Yü-hsi around the Loyang plains and in the Yü-hsien to Cheng-chou
corridor would have had to pass through the Mei-shan stage before possibly expanding to transform to Erh-li-t’ou culture.

36
For example, Wei Ch’ung-wen, HCCHS 1991:6, 29-31, believes T’ao-ssu was probably the focal location for Yao, Shun, and Yü, while Feng Shih, KKHP 2008:3, 273-290, has concluded that the Hsia should be identified with T’ao-ssu culture.

37
Just like bronze in the Shang, jade was the material of privileged artifacts in the Hsia (Wen Hui-fang, HCCHS 2001:5, 61-68).

38
Ch’en Sheng-yung, HCCHS 1991:5, 15-36. These assertions raise more questions than they answer—did the Hsia prevail through warfare, cultural power, or some other factor that allowed them to absorb the Liang-chu manifestation ? (Some historians have suggested that Liang-chu culture was essentially contemporaneous.)

39
Li Liu and Hung Xu,
Antiquity
81 (2007): 893-894, and WW 2008:1, 43-52, claim that the Hsia (in its Erh-li-t’ou manifestation) was populated by multiple groups rather than a single clan that emigrated into the area and that it had precursors in Yangshao and Lungshan cultures.

40
Various dates (such as 3200 BCE) have been suggested for the inception of the simple chiefdoms that mark a transition from (Marxist-postulated) matriarchical societies to patriarchical ones. (For example, see Chang Chung-p’ei, HCCHS 2000:4, 2-24.) The power to sacrifice or punitively slay others clearly existed in the Hsia and apparently the late Lungshan as well, though decapitated and contorted bodies pose the different problem of distinguishing sacrificial and battle victims. (An example would be the three recovered at Shaanxi Ch’ang-an K’o-shengchuang, for which see Chang Chih-heng, HYCLC, 1996, 109-112.)

41
Wei Chi-yin, KKWW 2007:6, 44-50.

42
Wang Wei, KK 2004:1, 67-77.

43
Suspicion has often been inappropriately cast on these and other efforts because they are largely being pursued under a cultural manifest from the central government and are thus viewed simply as another nationalistic manifestation.

44
Chang Chih-heng, 109-112; Chang Li-tung, 113-118; Yü T’ai-shan, 176-196; and Fang Hsiao-lien, 266-273, all in HYCLC, 1996.

45
Chang Li-tung, HYCLC, 1996, 113-118.

46
One of the sites tenuously identified with Yao and pre-Hsia culture is P’ing-yang, noted in traditional historical accounts as Yao’s capital. Neolithic tools and weapons (including jade axes and stone and bone arrowheads) have been recovered from this former T’ao-ssu settlement that apparently was occupied in 2600-2000 BCE, Yao’s reign being projected as 2600-2400. (See Shan-hsi-sheng Lin-fen Hsing-shu Wen-hua-chü, KKHP 1999:4, 459-486.) Just like Wang-ch’engkang, it has also been termed the first Chinese city (Ma Shih-chih, HYCLC, 1996, 103-108).