Cosmology and Political Culture

This work examines the transformation of Chinese cosmology between two political ages – from the hegemonic states of the Bronze Age (Shang and Western Zhou, ca. 1700–771 B.C.) to the unified empires of the Iron Age (Qin and Han, 221 B.C.–220 A.D.) This historical transition produced two enduring traditions of Chinese civilization: the cultural heritage of a cosmology that has been seen as a “primordial and quintessential expression of the ‘Chinese Mind’” or the “Chinese ‘structure of thought’”; and the political heritage of a unified empire that has been considered the ideal model of Chinese government ever since. The task of this book is to unveil the interrelations and mutual production of these two heritages — the cultural and the political – in the historical process.

The role of cosmology in the formation of China's early empires is a crucial question in Chinese history, one with great relevance to defining “Chineseness” today. This is because cosmology and the unified empire have been seen as the two most enduring structures of Chinese civilization. Two thousand years of official histories have repeatedly told the story of their eternal validity, transcending time and events, so that this unchanging order has become an unquestionable truth.