Themiclesian Antiquity

Themiclesian Antiquity (古代, ka′-legh) was a period in Themiclesian history following the Dark Ages and followed by the Tsjinh period, precise dates bound by the opening of the Springs and Autumns of Six States in 385 BCE and the establishment of Tsjinh hegemony in 256 CE. This era saw the earliest centralization of political power in Themiclesia, and, borrowing extensively from Menghe, the introduction of many later institutions; it is often thought of as an experimental and formative period of Themiclesian politics. Internally, it is subdivided into the Archaic and Classical periods; the latter starting with the Stories of States around 107 CE.

Etymology

In medieval writings, Antiquity was frequently called the Hexarchy (六邦之治, rjuk-prong-tje-lrjegh) because the chronology of the period was formulated on those of six states in the Springs and Autumns of Six States. However, since the late 18th century, that term has been falling out of favour, since there were far more than six states in Themiclesia, and the name was regarded as somewhat meaningless. The term "antiquity" in Shinasthana literally means the "ancient generation", with "generation" being the term assigned to the successive hegemonic powers or dynasties that dominated Themiclesia-proper; as there was no hegemonic power during Antiquity, it was named the "ancient generation" that came before all others.

History

The Antiquities of Themiclesia provides a narrative that Tsjinh was a powerful city that exercised suzerainty over virtually all other cities, complete with a standing army of considerable size. The Archaic Period, up to the war against Kem in 101, was described as peaceful, prosperous, and politically unified for all classes of peoples. Most scholars consider this narrative basically fictional since the start of the 19th century. Instead, the beginning of the Archaic Period was characterized by a strong conservation of Dark Ages forms of kinship-based political organization; few ruling princes existed, and a distinct royalty was archaeologically difficult to discern from the wealthy. This description is based on the Book of Charges and the decentralized rule that it implied.

The city of Sjin was the first to enter the historical record in 385 BCE; it was joined by Pjang in 372, N′arh in 353, Tsjinh in 302, Ngak in 257, and Kem in 122. During the entire Archaic Period, 92 settlements are known from the Six States, and a further 70 have been identified archaeologically. The cryptic nature of Six States can perhaps be glimpsed from this statistic: Sjin received 129 and sent 110 envoys between 385 and 47 BCE, but the purposes of their missions are all but lost; over the same period, people from Sjin founded at least 15 settlements.

The Book of Documents provides that several peoples arrived "from the east" and received lands or protection from rulers, leading some scholars to argue that these are clans that have migrated from Menghe; however, others believe the evidence does not support such a characterization. The Book of Documents is a collection of short texts of uncertain date, though linguistic evidence assign it to the middle Archaic (c. 2nd c. BCE).

In 295, P.rjang the Sixth came to power after a dispute of some kind. P.rjang is one of the most influential figures in his time period, as he apparently reformed the succession laws in Tsjinh, transforming the city from an oligarchy organized into six aristocratic tribes to something more similar to a monarchy. Documents appear to be critical of this change, accusing P.rjang of abandoning "the accustomed ways", though Antiquities makes no similar comment. P.rjang sent out colonists to found new settlements, acts that appear to be represented in the Book of Charges. After P.rjang died around 265, politics in Tsjinh once again fell into disarray, with stability not restored until 240; the lack of a recognized ruler once again created chaos between 221 and 191.

During this period, colonists were frequently called upon to relieve the metropole in both foreign and civil war scenarios; historians believe that the colonial system created a more distinct ruling class over the wealthy.

Sources

Archaic Period

The beginning of Antiquity is defined by the opening of the Springs and Autumns of Six States in 385 BCE, which was a list of cultic sacrifices preserved on oracular inscription collated in between 260 and 280 CE. This is a somewhat arbitrary definition as it does not correspond to any significant political or social change in Themiclesia, and many features of the Dark Ages persist through the Archaic Period. In particular, only the oracular records of one state—Sjin—extend to 385 BCE; other major states remained "dark" until as late as 122 BCE. Some scholars argue that the Dark Ages should be extended to end at 295 BCE, or the ascension of P.rjang the Sixth in Tsjinh, which signified the beginning of a period of colonization, interstate warfare, and roughly co-incided with the appearance of iron metallurgy; however, others believe that because the Six States provide credible records up to 385, that should be the end of the "dark" ages.

Compared to the later Classical Period, relatively little is known about the Archaic Period. The contemporary sources of information about the period, other than the Six States, are the Book of Charges (命, m.ringh) and the Book of Documents (書). In later works, mythical or heroic figures frequently appear with the Archaic backdrop, though most authorities consider these stories unreliable as history. In addition to these, bronze epigraphy became more common and elaborate, recording some political and military events. The abundance of ostraca, which appeared during the Dark Ages, appears to suggest that literacy had spread beyond a priestly or mercantile caste. However, on the whole, there are few historical documents per se, and the sources available provide only a microscopic view of Archaic history, which is only subject to rigorous reconstruction after the Historical Revolution of the late 18th century.

The Archaic Period was described as an "age of heroes" by the 17th-century historian Lord Prjêng, characterized by interactions between heroes, legendary kings, and "glorious fighting". However, Prjêng also notes that these stories were written down centuries after they were purported to have happened, and many tales were contradictory or illogical when compared to each other. In the 1700s, the Archaic Hero was often dismissed as figments of later writers' imagination. In the 19th century, the archetype of the Archaic Hero was identified as leaders of colonial parties that founded new settlements, often in hostile regions, recorded in the Book of Charges. In such new settlements, warriors providing protection were sometimes mythologized in later generations as heroes. After identification with the archaeologically-attested Colonial movement, which began in earnest after the introduction of iron around the turn of the 3rd c. BCE, the Archaic Hero was resurrected from imaginary figures to heavily mythologized but semi-historical figures based on unrecorded real events. The 20th-century historian A. Gro said that the heroic age, while only some 400 years apart from the end of the Classical period, was already considered the "distant antiquity", attesting to the poverty of written history from this era; he makes the conclusion that Themiclesian history "begins around 100 CE".

Classical Period

In fashion somewhat similar to the Archaic Period, the Classical Period begins at 107 CE, which is the opening year of the The States (徹邦), written in 295 CE.  The States is concerned about the interactions between states in the Classical Period, but it also discussed the roles of individuals and their actions. Ancient commentators have observed that states are sometimes portrayed as actors in The States, apart from their nobles, officials, and subjects; this practice contrasts with older works that usually portray actions exclusively as the result of individuals, while the names of states only function as the names of places. While the work is chronological, its narratives are much longer and complicated than the older, annalistic form of writing. More often than not, stories extend beyond a single year. The author sometimes distributes events and their consequences into different calendar years' headings, or chooses to describe them together, under a single year's heading, even though the events being described are not in that year. Historiographically, scholars have interpreted this phenomenon to evidence the developing art of historical writing and a struggle between the traditional, annalistic form and the demands of historical narration.

Another important work describing the Classical Period is the Stories of Tsjinh (晉故事), which gives the history of Tsjinh from 129 to 256.  Stories postdates The States by around 50 years but is nearly 10 times its length. The work seeks to account for Tsjinh's rise to hegemonic power and considers the history of the Classical Period as a "grand arena or game" in which all states compete for dominance and attempt to subjugate each other. Little attention is given to facts not related to Tsjinh's rise as regional hegemon. It opens with the phrase "In 89, Tsjinh reaped the south and first became powerful" (晉獲南茲始彊). Medieval historians sometimes held Stories of Tsjinh in lower regard due to its lack of character details. The author of Stories contrasts an early contrast of predestination and free will in his work, sometimes attributing Tsjinh's rise and Kem's fall to factors he attributed to these states, including geography, religion, and ethics and at others attributing outcomes to individual policies; however, he also frequently entertains stereotypes to justify his conclusions, castigating Kem as violent and capricious and praising Tsjinh leaders as moderate and logical.

The Antiquities of Themiclesia, the first state-sponsored history compiled in 432 for the Sungh court, primarily relies on Stories of Tsjinh but mixes with it other stories.

See also

• Themiclesia