Divination, Mythology and Monarchy in Han China (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, Series Number 48)

Chinese empires were established by force of arms, but sustained by religious rites and intellectual theory. The four centuries from 206 BC to AD 220 witnessed major changes in the state cults and the concepts of monarchy, while various techniques of divination were used to forecast the future or to solve immediate problems. Michael Loewe examines these changes and the links between religion and statecraft. While both mythology and the tradition nurtured by the learned affected the concept and practice of monarchy throughout the period, the political and social weaknesses of the last century of Han rule bring into question the success that was achieved by the imperial ideal. Nevertheless, that ideal and its institutions were of prime importance for the understanding of Han times and for the influence they exercised on China's later dynasties. Cover Abstract Contents List of figures Preface Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction: The history of the early empires 1. Man and beast: The hybrid in early Chinese art and literature 2. Water, earth and fire: the symbols of the Han dynasty 3. The Han view of comets 4. The authority of the emperors of Ch'in and Han 5. The term K'an-yu and the choice of the moment 6. Imperial sovereignty: Tung Chung-shu's contribution and his predecessors 7. The cult of the dragon and the invocation for rain 8. Divination by shells, bones and stalks during the Han period 9. The oracles of the clouds and the winds 10. The Almanacs (Jih-shu) from Shui-hu-ti: a preliminary survey 11. The Chueh-ti games: a re-enactment of the battle between Ch'ih-yu and Hsuan-yuan? 12. The failure of the Confucian ethic in Later Han times 13. The imperial tombs of the Former Han dynasty and their shrines List of Han emperors Glossary Bibliography Index The four centuries of the Han dynasties from 206 BC to AD 220 witnessed major developments in the ideas of sovereignty. Michael Loewe traces these changes along with some of their religious aspects, including the techniques used by emperors and others to forecast the future or to divine the present. Both mythology and the tradition of learning affected the growth of the imperial ideal that, despite its failings, was of major importance both for the Han and China's subsequent dynasties.