What dynasty united the authoritive books of Confucianism in China?
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Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian tradition, themselves a customary abridgment of the "Thirteen Classics". All of these pre-Qin texts were written in classical Chinese. All three canons are collectively known as the classics ( 經 ,  经 , "jīng",  "warp").
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Four Books and Five Classics The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China written before 300 BC.
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I Ching The I Ching ( in Mandarin), also known as Classic of Changes or Book of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics. Possessing a history of more than two and a half millennia of commentary and interpretation, the "I Ching" is an influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, psychoanalysis, business, literature, and art. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000750), over the course of the Warring States period and early imperial period (500200) it was transformed into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings." After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, the "I Ching" was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of Eastern thought.
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Architecture of the Song dynasty The architecture of the Song dynasty (960–1279) was noted for its towering Buddhist pagodas, enormous stone and wooden bridges, lavish tombs, and extravagant palaces. Although literary works on architecture existed beforehand, architectural writing blossomed during the Song dynasty, maturing into a more professional form that described dimensions and working materials in a concise, organized manner. In addition to the examples still standing, depictions in Song artwork, architectural drawings, and illustrations in published books all aid modern historians in understanding the architecture of the period.
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Liu Bowen Liu Ji (July 1, 1311 — 16 May 1375), courtesy name Bowen, better known as Liu Bowen, was a Chinese military strategist, philosopher, statesman and poet who lived in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He was born in Qingtian County (present-day Wencheng County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang). He served as a key advisor to Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor), the founder of the Ming dynasty, in the latter's struggle to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and unify China under his rule. Liu is also known for his prophecies and has been described as the "Divine Chinese Nostradamus". He and Jiao Yu co-edited the military treatise known as the "Huolongjing" ("Fire Dragon Manual").
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Cheng–Zhu school The Cheng–Zhu school (), is one of the major philosophical schools of Neo-Confucianism, based on the ideas of the Neo-Confucian philosophers Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, and Zhu Xi.
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Shizhoupian The Shizhoupian () was an early dictionary of Chinese characters written in the Great Seal script. The work was traditionally dated to the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (827–782 BCE), but many modern scholars assign it to the State of Qin in the Warring States period. It is now known only through fragments.
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History of the Han dynasty The Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang (known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu), was the second imperial dynasty of China. It followed the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), which had unified the Warring States of China by conquest. Interrupted briefly by the Xin dynasty (9–23 CE) of Wang Mang, the Han dynasty is divided into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and the Eastern Han (25–220 CE). These appellations are derived from the locations of the capital cities Chang'an and Luoyang, respectively. The third and final capital of the dynasty was Xuchang, where the court moved in 196 CE during a period of political turmoil and civil war.
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Annals of the Later Han Annals of the Later Han or Hou Hanji (後漢紀) is a Chinese history book of the Eastern Han dynasty. It was written by Yuan Hong (328 - 376) during the Jin dynasty (265–420). Yuan spent eight years to complete his Annals. The annals contain 30 books with some 210 thousand Chinese characters. It covers the period from the farmers' revolts of the later years of Wang Mang to the years when Cao Pi, and Liu Bei became emperors; therefore it covers roughly 200 years. The annals were written 50 years earlier than Fan Ye (historian)'s "Book of the Later Han", and it is one of two surviving history books of Eastern Han dynasty.
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Eight Masters of the Tang and Song The Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song (唐宋八大家) refers to a grouping of prose writers, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, who were renowned for their prose writing, mostly in the essay form. Almost all of the eight masters are also accomplished in other aspects of Chinese politics and culture of their time.
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Liu An Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) "Huainanzi" compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist teachings. Early texts represent Liu An in three ways: the "author-editor of a respected philosophical symposium", the "bumbling rebel who took his life to avoid arrest", and the successful Daoist adept who transformed into a "xian" and "rose into the air to escape prosecution for trumped-up charges of treason and flew to eternal life."
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Liu Song dynasty The Liu Song dynasty (; Wade-Giles: Liu Sung Ch'ao), also known as Former Song (前宋) (420-479 CE), was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China, succeeding the Eastern Jin and followed by the Southern Qi.
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Yao Silian Yao Silian (姚思廉; died 637), courtesy name Jianzhi (簡之), formally Baron Kang of Fengcheng (豐成康男), was an official of the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty and was the lead author of the "Book of Liang" and "Book of Chen", official histories of Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, which his father Yao Cha (姚察), a Chen official, had begun but did not finish.
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Old Book of Tang The Old Book of Tang, or simply the Book of Tang, is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was superseded by the "New Book of Tang" which was compiled in the Song dynasty, but later regained acceptance.
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Later Liang (Five Dynasties) The Later Liang () (June 1, 907–923) was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour (and then murdered him). The Later Liang would last until 923 when it was destroyed by Later Tang.
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Temple of Confucius A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration of the imperial examination in China and Vietnam and often housed schools and other studying facilities.
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Fan Zhongyan Fan Zhongyan (5 September 989 – 19 June 1052) from Wu County of Suzhou (Jiangsu Province, China), courtesy name Xiwen (希文), ratified as the Duke of Wenzheng (文正公) posthumously, and conferred as Duke of Chu (楚國公) posthumously, is one of the most prominent figures in the Chinese history, as a founder of Neo-Confucianism and a great statesman, philosopher, writer, educator, military strategist, and philanthropist. Fan was one of the most eminent figures of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), an era when China possessed the world’s largest economy and population. After serving the central government for several decades, Fan rose to a seat of Chancellor over the entire Chinese empire nearing the zenith of its pre-modern economic, social, and cultural development. Fan's philosophical, educational and political legacy is one that changed the course of the Chinese history, one so powerful that it continues to exert a profound impact on the Chinese civilization today, and his philosophy and writings remain a core component of the Chinese literary canon. While Fan spent the majority of his time governing China, his myriad deeds and teachings, well represented by his well-known saying "Be the first to bear the world's hardship, and the last to enjoy its comfort" (先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂), have served as an inspiration to the Chinese people for a thousand years. Fan is one of the most prominent members of the Fan family and is considered a Saint in China by some, other Saints including the philosophers Confucius and Mencius.
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Syncretism (Chinese philosophy) Syncretism or the Mixed School in Chinese philosophy is an eclectic school of thought that combined elements of Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism. The Syncretist texts include the "Huainanzi", "Lüshi Chunqiu", and the "Shizi". The (c. 330 BCE) "Shizi" is the earliest of the Syncretist texts.
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List of rulers of China The list of rulers of China includes rulers of China with various titles. From the Zhou dynasty to the Qin dynasty, rulers usually held the title "king" (). With the separation of China into different Warring States, this title had become so common that the unifier of China, the first Qin Emperor Qin Shihuang created a new title for himself, that of "emperor" (). The title of emperor of China continued to be used for the remainder of China's imperial history, right down to the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. While many other monarchs existed in and around China throughout its history, this list covers only those with a quasi-legitimate claim to the majority of China, or those who have traditionally been named in king-lists. The following list of Chinese monarchs is in no way comprehensive.
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Duke Xian of Qin (725–704 BC) Duke Xian of Qin (, 725–704 BC) was from 715 to 704 BC the eighth ruler of the Zhou Dynasty Chinese state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (嬴), and Duke Xian was his posthumous title. His title was recorded as Duke Ning of Qin (秦寧公) in the "Records of the Grand Historian" by Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian, but inscriptions on excavated bronzes from the era have proven that "Ning" (寧) was a miscopy of the correct character "Xian" (憲).
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Mei Ze Mei Ze (; fl. 4th century), also known as Mei Yi (梅頤), was a Confucian scholar and government official of the Eastern Jin Dynasty of ancient China. A native of Runan (汝南, present-day Wuchang District, Hubei province), Mei Ze served as governor of Yuzhang Prefecture (豫章, present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi province). After the establishment of the Eastern Jin, he presented a purported copy of Kong Anguo's lost compilation of the Old Text "Shangshu" ("Book of Documents") to the emperor, which became officially recognized as a Confucian classic for over a millennium. However, Mei Ze's version of the "Shangshu" has been proven a forgery.
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Fengjian Fēngjiàn (封建) was a political ideology developed from Confucian and "Legalist" philosophers during the latter part of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, its social structure forming a decentralized system of government based on four occupations, or "four categories of the people." The Zhou kings enfeoffed their fellow warriors and relatives, creating large domains of land. The Fengjian system they created allocated a region or piece of land to an individual, establishing him as the ruler of that region. These eventually rebelled against the Zhou Kings, and developed into their own kingdoms, thus ending the centralized rule of the Zhou dynasty. As a result, Chinese history from the Zhou or Chou dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC) to the Qin dynasty has been termed a feudal period by many Chinese historians, due to the custom of enfeoffment of land similar to that in Europe. But scholarship has suggested that fengjian otherwise lacks some of the fundamental aspects of feudalism.