The Sociology of Philosophies

(Wang) #1

as a fragmentation of military power from within. In the north, the tribal
armies usually became organized as allies in the power struggles of the large
estate holders, and their victorious leaders soon became part of the indigenous
structure. Their rulers inherited the problems of supplying and controlling
troops and of taxing the population; their military supporters tended to become
landed magnates in their own right. At times there were reactionary “nativist”
movements among tribal groupings who remained at the borders, but these
were rarely successful against the organized forces of the center. Typically the
northern states attempted to emulate the Han tradition of autocratic direction
of the economy, but with only partial success. Some bureaucracy was reestab-
lished, and Confucianism regained a foothold; intrigues among the palace staff,
royal relatives, and court aristocracy were overlaid by ethnic factionalism; the
predominant trend toward cultural Sinification was complicated by a new
religious pluralism with the growth of Taoist and Buddhist sects.
This was the period in which monasteries appeared, and eventually became
a new base for intellectual production. In the south, Buddhist and Taoist sects
underwent considerable growth, patronized by emperor and aristocracy. Espe-
cially in the northern states, monasteries received massive grants of land, serfs,
and slaves; in effect, the rulers used monasteries as agents in controlling and


Second Period of Division, 250 c.e.


Innovation by Opposition: Ancient China^ •^161
Free download pdf