The Study Of The Quotations From Confucianism In The Imperial Decrees Of The Western Han Dynasty

In the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has a great and profound influence on the political affairs. Imperial decrees, as the orders made by the sovereign, are important reference documents for the study of the ancient political history of China. The quotations from Confucius presented in the decrees of the Western Han Dynasty, to some a great extent, indicate the combination of Confucianism and politics in ancient China. The dissertation examines the quotations from Confucianism in the imperial decrees of the Western Han Dynasty. This study is comprised of three sections:the general introduction to the imperial decrees in the Western Han Dynasty; different types of quotations from Confucianism used in the imperial decrees; the origin, rise and fall of the quotation from Confucianism in the imperial decrees and its reasons.The first section introduces the types, the drafting and issuing, and the literary style of the imperial decrees in the Western Han Dynasty. This section aims to provide the background knowledge needed to understand the study and defines some key terms. The introduction of the different types of imperial decrees defines the term "imperial decree" used in this study, and distinguishes the decrees made by the sovereign from other decrees. The procedure of the drafting and issuing of imperial decrees illustrated the influential power of the decrees, and indicates the reason why they were the ideal documents to promote Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty. Moreover, the last part of this section indicate the contributions of Confucianism quotation to the literary style of the imperial decrees.The second section analyses different quotations from Confucianism used in the imperial decrees. According to the motivations of the sovereigns, the quotations can be divided into three types:the mechanical quotations, to motivate political modification and reformation, and to encourage political battles. As the absolute monarch of the country, the sovereigns were spontaneous and voluntary when they make quotations from Confucianism in the decrees, rather than being forced and compelled. Therefore, the analysis is based on the motivations of sovereigns when issuing the decrees. Furthermore, because of the absolute authority of the decree, the sovereign were able to use them to achieve different purposes through the citations from Confucianism.The final section elaborates the impact of the Confucianism quotations on the development of Confucianism and its influence on the political affairs in the Han Dynasty. It discussed the development of Neo-Confucianism in the Han Dynasty, the establishment of the rule of Confucianism, the decline of Confucian classics in current calligraphy, the rise of Confucian classics in classical writing, and the decrease of the influence of Confucianism on political affairs based on the timeline of the development of the use of Confucianism quotation in the imperial decrees. More specifically, it also examines how the sovereigns’ reverence for Confucianism and their study of the Confucian classics promoted the development of Confucianism, the differences between purpose of citing Confucianism ideas and their practical effectiveness, as well as the limitation of the literary style of imperial decrees. Therefore, based on the discussion in the study, it can be concluded that the development of the use of Confucianism quotation in the imperial decrees can indicate of the rise and decline of the idea of the ruling a country by Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. Additionally, its development also corresponds with the development of Confucianism and other changes in the history.