No General Descriptions provided.
| Year Range | Wei Kingdom (cn_wei_k) was in: |
|---|
Possible nominal allegiance to China? From the chinese dynastic histories Houhanshu and Weizhi it is known that people from western Japan sent envoys to the Han Dynasty court probably through the Lelang commandery in Korea in 57 and 107 CE. Also, between 238 and 247 BC four envoys were sent from western Japan to Taifang for submitting tribute, which consisted of cloths, jade, pearls, bows and arrows, cinnabar, and slaves. They returned with several gifts from the court: silk, gold, swords, bronze mirrors, read beads.
[1]
.
[1]: Barnes, G. L., 1993. China, Korea and Japan. The Rise of Civilization in East Asia. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 218.
Official contemporary figures for the Kingdom of Wei in 263 CE. However, note the following (from the same source):
"In studying the populations of the North, based on the extant demographic information of which the Chinese sources have preserved a large amount, a word of caution is in order. In most cases, population figures in the sources deal with households rather than individuals, and they do not distinguish between urban and rural populations. Further, the figures are based on the official registries, and include neither those who resided beyond the reach of a state in decline nor the liumin; that is, transients whose numbers could escalate in times of disorder. Thus some rough estimates have to be made.
"Enough demographic records have been preserved to allow a preliminary examination of the population trends in the North during the period in question. These records, however, are not based on surveys of entire popula- tions but of “registered subjects”; that is, taxpayers and their dependents. Consequently, such records seriously undercount actual populations, probably by as much as a quarter to a third, if not more."
[1]
[1]: (Xiong 2019: 323-324) Xiong, V. C. 2019. The Northern Economy. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties 220-589 pp. 309-329. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KZB84M8U/library
"By the end of the Eastern Han the system of universal military service, developed during the Warring States period and maintained into Western Han, had been abandoned, as China’s rulers found smaller, more professional forces to be of greater utility in guarding the steppe frontier and also less of a threat to the central authority (they were, for example, less susceptible to being suborned by local elites). These forces included highly effective cavalry contingents recruited from among steppe peoples, such as the Wuhuan of the Northeast. The trend toward the creation of a long-serving, professional soldiery culminated during the multi-cornered civil wars at the end of the second century and crystallized in the form of new military institutions during the Three Kingdoms period."
[1]
"Another significant financial burden of this period was military service. Under the Cao-Wei, the military consisted mainly of professional soldiers of hereditary military households, and military service had minimal impact on freehold subjects. Under the Western Jin, the practice con- tinued, but for a variety of reasons the sources of troops dried up. Consequently, the government had to conscript and enlist freeholders and to convert bondservants, servile clients (tongke), and criminals to become professional soldiers. Because of the extremely low social status of military households and professional soldiers, the social and financial costs to the individuals involved were extremely high."
[2]
[1]: (Graff 2019: 294) Graff, D. A. 2019. The Art of War. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 275-295. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8I4JZ4PC/library
[2]: (Xiong 2019: 316) Xiong, V. C. 2019. The Northern Economy. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties 220-589 pp. 309-329. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KZB84M8U/library
"Before the entrance of Buddhism, there was nothing in China resembling the monastic institution: celibate communities of like-minded men and women devoted to the performance of ritual, the study and dissemination of religious doctrines, and self-cultivation.20 Patronage from the laity and revenue from monastic services and enterprises were essential for the success of this ideal of dedicated religious professionals living in communities with at least symbolic isolation from secular pursuits." [1]
[1]: (Kieshnick 2019: 539-540) Kieschnick, J. 2019. Buddhism. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 531-552. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KPEUIH7T/library
"By the end of the Eastern Han the system of universal military service, developed during the Warring States period and maintained into Western Han, had been abandoned, as China’s rulers found smaller, more professional forces to be of greater utility in guarding the steppe frontier and also less of a threat to the central authority (they were, for example, less susceptible to being suborned by local elites). These forces included highly effective cavalry contingents recruited from among steppe peoples, such as the Wuhuan of the Northeast. The trend toward the creation of a long-serving, professional soldiery culminated during the multi-cornered civil wars at the end of the second century and crystallized in the form of new military institutions during the Three Kingdoms period." [1]
[1]: (Graff 2019: 294) Graff, D. A. 2019. The Art of War. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 275-295. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8I4JZ4PC/library
Mint.
“From this it is known that the currency had been unified into metals, and the coin money into chien. The same system was followed by the subsequent Han dynasty. For the following two thousand years until the latter years of the Ching dynasty, the Chinese currency saw the chien rated as its standard money.”
[1]
[1]: (Hozumi 1954: 19-20) Hozumi, F. 1954. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORY OF CHINESE MONEY. Kyoto University Economic Review 24(2): 18-38. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BGDN5V7V/library
“Historians tend to believe that the imperial civil service examinations, one of China’s greatest contributions to the world, were a creation of the Sui and Tang dynasties. However, following Han dynasty precedents, civil service examinations were regularly administered and matured during the Six Dynasties period. Hence, the Sui–Tang examination system merely built upon the foundation laid in the early medieval period.” [1]
[1]: (Knapp 2019: 493) Knapp, K. N. 2019. Confucian Learning and Influence. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 483-510. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T27BIUK7/library
“Sima Zhao, father of Emperor Wu, by late summer 264, had a number of his supporters, supervised by Jia Chong (217–282), revise the whole of the Wei code, which had already been modified during the Sima Shi regency. The reason given was that the code, dating back to the Han, was too cumbersome. Certain laws had fallen into disuse, others, notably the collective punishments, were too harsh. ” [1]
[1]: (Chaussende 2019: 86) Chaussende, D. 2019. Western Jin. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 79-95. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JJWI9G9U/library
"Land routes, collectively known as the Silk Road, facilitated trade with distant lands and extended from the Central Plain to Guanzhong, the Hexi corridor, and the Western Regions that lay beyond. There were two routes along the northern and southern edges of the Taklamakan desert. Later, a third route was opened that skirted the northern slopes of the Tianshan mountains. All three routes were operational in Cao-Wei times." [1]
[1]: (Xiong 2019: 322) Xiong, V. C. 2019. The Northern Economy. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties 220-589 pp. 309-329. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KZB84M8U/library
“Even after the advent of coin money, commodity currency consisting mainly of gems and jewels and gold and silver would not be worth special mention, for gold ores, for example, would well be considered to be commodity currency. But, special mention may be warranted of the fact that even cereals and cloths were classed as commodity currency, and, as such, this should be listed as one of the outstanding features of Chinese money. […] In the era of Emperor Wen of Wei dynasty during the turbulent period of Three Kingdoms, it was decreed that the ‘masses should cease to handle money and instead barter in cereals and cloth’.” [1]
[1]: (Hozumi 1954: 21) Hozumi, F. 1954. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORY OF CHINESE MONEY. Kyoto University Economic Review 24(2): 18-38. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BGDN5V7V/library
“From this it is known that the currency had been unified into metals, and the coin money into chien. The same system was followed by the subsequent Han dynasty. For the following two thousand years until the latter years of the Ching dynasty, the Chinese currency saw the chien rated as its standard money.” [1]
[1]: (Hozumi 1954: 19-20) Hozumi, F. 1954. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORY OF CHINESE MONEY. Kyoto University Economic Review 24(2): 18-38. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BGDN5V7V/library
“Even after the advent of coin money, commodity currency consisting mainly of gems and jewels and gold and silver would not be worth special mention, for gold ores, for example, would well be considered to be commodity currency. But, special mention may be warranted of the fact that even cereals and cloths were classed as commodity currency, and, as such, this should be listed as one of the outstanding features of Chinese money. […] In the era of Emperor Wen of Wei dynasty during the turbulent period of Three Kingdoms, it was decreed that the ‘masses should cease to handle money and instead barter in cereals and cloth’.” [1]
[1]: (Hozumi 1954: 21) Hozumi, F. 1954. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORY OF CHINESE MONEY. Kyoto University Economic Review 24(2): 18-38. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/BGDN5V7V/library
"By the end of the Eastern Han the system of universal military service, developed during the Warring States period and maintained into Western Han, had been abandoned, as China’s rulers found smaller, more professional forces to be of greater utility in guarding the steppe frontier and also less of a threat to the central authority (they were, for example, less susceptible to being suborned by local elites). These forces included highly effective cavalry contingents recruited from among steppe peoples, such as the Wuhuan of the Northeast." [1]
[1]: (Graff 2019: 294) Graff, D. A. 2019. The Art of War. In Dien and Knapp (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 pp. 275-295. Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8I4JZ4PC/library