CHINESE  HISTORY:  FIRST  PERIOD

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to  Duke,  Marquis,  Count,  Earl,  and  Baron.  In  course  of
time  these  subordinate  rulers  became  powerful  feudatory
princes,  and  assumed  the  rank  of  Kings.  Throughout  the
whole  of  this  period  the  vassal  chieftains  encroached  upon
the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  chief  ruler,  and  we  have
a  condition  of  affairs  corresponding  to  that  which  existed
in  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.
During  the  Chow  Dynasty  lived  the  three  famous
teachers,  Laotze,  Confucius,  and  Mencius,  their  appearance
synchronising  fairly  closely  with  that  of  Socrates,  Plato,
and  Aristotle  in  the  West.
Laotze  was  the  first  in  point  of  time,  being  born  about
B.c.  604  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  modern  province  of  Honan.
His  name  literally  means  “  the  old  teacher,”  and  is  derived
from  the  fact  that,  according  to  tradition,  he  had  the  appearance ­
  of  an  old  man  at  his  birth.  His  system  of  philosophy  is
mystical  in  nature,  his  aim  being  to  lead  men  to  live  in  harmony ­
  with  “  Tao,”  the  great  absolute,  impersonal  principle
which  is  the  source  of  all  things  and  immanent  in  all  things.
The  authorship  of  the  philosophical  treatise  known  as  the
“  Tao-te-king  ”  is  generally  ascribed  to  him,  and  one  of  the
religious  cults  in  China,  Taoism,  claims  him  as  its  founder.
Confucius,  the  greatest  of  the  three,  was  born  b.c.  551,
in  the  feudal  state  of  Lu,  situated  in  the  southern  part  of
the  modern  province  of  Shantung.  He  was  employed  in
various  capacities  in  the  government  by  the  Duke  of  Lu,
but  spent  a  large  part  of  his  time  in  collecting  and  editing
the  writings  of  the  ancients,  and  in  imparting  a  knowledge
of  them  to  his  pupils.  We  really  owe  to  his  labors  all  we
know  about  the  ancient  history  of  China.
Because  the  Duke  of  Lu  would  not  put  his  precepts  into
practice,  he  left  his  native  state  and  wandered  about  for  a
long  period,  visiting  the  courts  of  the  various  feudal  rulers,
seeking  some  one  who  would  follow  his  teaching,  which  he
believed  could  alone  lead  a  kingdom  to  prosperity.  He
died  b.c.  479,  and  about  two  centuries  afterwards  became
recognised  as  the  great  sage  of  China.  The  books  edited
by  him  became  the  text-books  used  in  all  the  schools,  and