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Xia, Jiang Hu, and Society
Enticing from without; awesome from within.
Once members of the ruling elite, xia were
considered outsiders, who do not follow the rules of conventional society
because of their use of force to resolve conflict. The illegitimate use
of force was frowned upon by Chinese society. Their wandering lifestyle,
and rootless existence has been seen as a rejection of family. And in a
society which valued education over physical abilities, the xia
was seen as an anachronism, and a representation of the Chinese counterculture.
The division between wu-shi and wen-shi became particularly
large during Han times. Yet the perceived clash between values is largely
cosmetic, and gong-an literature shows that the two can co-exist. Relegated
to the lower ranks of society, and with many of the options for advancement
closed to him, the xia was not held in very high regard by the elite.
To the masses of common people however, the xia was frequently a
person to look up to. He was a mythic character who opposed the oppressive
landlords and corrupt officials. However, despite these differences all
xia
values can find their roots in Confucian values.
This is of no great surprise,
given the fact that they trace their tradition to the
xia of the
Zhou dynasty, whose values were almost entirely based on Confucian traditions.
The heroic xia is the Confucian junzi, who maintains the
martial spirit of the shi, rather than that of the scholarly ru.
Their parallel code of ethics and behavior represent the flip side of the
Chinese establishment, and rather than being antagonistic to tradition,
xia
behavior is complementary -- yin to yang. This duality of nature is reflected
in the juxtaposition of xia and scholars. The xia respected in times
of chaos, while the scholar is highly regarded during times of stability.
Thus the xia in his youth, frequently becomes a scholar as he matures
and gains wisdom, and the magistrate who uses his wits to maintain order
also employs
xia when physical force is required. This relationship
was popularized in the gongan (case histories) of the Qing dynasty
describing the alliance between martial heroes and righteous officials
to redress the grievances of innocent citizens, but certainly was based
on similar relationships between xia and officials during the Tang
and Song dynasties.
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