History 102-03

First Short Paper:

Charlemagne to Dante
-
Hung Wu to Wan Li

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND LATER DECLINE

OF TWO EMPIRES: EAST VS. WEST

By

Melinda S. Wrocklage

University of Louisville

February 9, 2004

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 1 of 11 7/23/2009

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND LATER DECLINE OF TWO EMPIRES:
EAST VS. WEST

Introduction:

This paper essentially tells the story of the establishment of two empires,
the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne in the West and the Ming Dynasty by
the Hung Wu Emperor in the East. Each part tells the stories of the changes
over time in both empires, how each shifted towards individualism with the
resulting gradual political breakdown that occurred. Each concludes with the
stories of two individuals who lived through this shift, how they experienced it
for themselves, Dante in the West and the Wan Li Emperor in the East. It is my
hope, with the background information given in each region before their
respective Empires were formed, that you will have a clear, well-rounded idea
about the circumstances leading up to their formation, instead of concentrating
just on the conditions that led to their eventual demise.

Part 1: The East

Towards the end of the Roman Empire, Germanic Tribes settled down
into small self-governing villages comprised of families where trust reigned.
These self-reliant tribes were very loyal in nature but only among their own
people with their self-chosen leaders; they had no such loyalty to an outside
governing body. Agriculture became the main source of income as trade had
became obsolete, in part due to these tribes taking over European land and in
part due to Muslim control of the Mediterranean with their superior ships.
Charlemagne set up the Feudal System; founded on this trust and loyalty, this
“intricate and diverse”1 system, was the epitome of cooperation. With the
reestablishment of Serfdom, the Feudal System became a significant means to
maintain this emphasis on agriculture. The Roman Empire had been a very
eclectic society, able to absorb the many traditions brought in by the newly
conquered populations while still able to maintain its homogeneity. This sense
of integration allowed Charlemagne the freedom to accommodate the ideas of
these other Germanic Tribes. For example, he combined their sense of a
Germanic Democracy with his vertical hierarchy of authority using the
Personality Principle, where he allowed tribes to locally govern themselves on
smaller issues whilst he still retained ultimate control over them.

Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, had been betrayed and
assassinated by Justinian. Charlemagne felt a bond with Theodoric which he
symbolized by taking a plan of Theodoric’s church and recreating it in the
Frankish capital of Aachen. Because of this betrayal, he felt no ties with the
Byzantine Empire of the East. Charlemagne's father, Pepin III had received
permission from Pope Zachary to take the Frankish Crown from King Childeric
III, the last Merovingian King; thus becoming the first Caroliginian king of the
Franks, setting up the Caroliginian Dynasty. Following his father’s lead,
Charlemagne continued this revolutionary altering of the Right Order, effectively
leading a revival of all of Europe. This, as well as feeling no ties with Byzantine,

1
Palmer, “A History,” p. 28.

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 2 of 11 7/23/2009

led to his decision to consent with Pope Leo III’s request for him to establish the
Holy Roman Empire, to become the first Holy Roman Emperor, and to go
against Irene, Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne with these words: “To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great
and peaceful [Roman] Emperor, life and victory!”2 Even while sanctifying
Charlemagne as Emperor, he at no time relinquished his own control over the
Church; the Catholic Church maintained its independence, with these two
leaders coexisting in a mutually advantageous arrangement. “This
interdependent dualism of spiritual and political authority, of Church and
State, was to distinguish the West from both the Orthodox East and the Islamic
South.”3

The Franks continued many traditions from the Roman Empire, such as
following Roman Law while deriving an Administrative Government,
consequently setting up a model Roman Empire in the Frankish territories.
Following Clovis’ conversion to the Roman Catholic Christian religion, an
arrangement developed between the Franks and the Pope, the Franks provided
the Pope with protection and the Pope provided the Franks with papal support.
Charlemagne continued with many of these Roman traditions, as well as
continuing the arrangement with the Church, spreading Catholicism
throughout the region while allocating a portion of land, and consequently
serfs, from each county to the Roman Catholic Church. He also incorporated
other ideas from the Roman Empire, such as placing an emphasis on
education, thus building many libraries and monasteries, and reinstating
Serfdom, which tied the people to the land to sustain agriculture.
“[Charlemagne] used his authority to revive the all but forgotten ancient
learning and to spread education at least among the clergy.”4 As copies were
made of the old manuscripts, a faster script developed and lower-case letters
were first seen. “This interest in preserving the classics was part of an
ambitious attempt to restore ancient Roman civilization, along with the imperial
title.”5

With the creation of the superior Longboat, the Normans were able to
conquer the Muslim ships and take control of the Mediterranean all the way to
Greece. The opportunity for trade opened throughout the region; emphasis was
shifted from agriculture back to commerce. Even Dante’s own family had
vineyards as their business. Serfs escaped from their overpopulated manors,
lured by dreams of joining the suddenly wealthy Southern Italian merchants,
bringing sought-after craft-skills to the cities. The Law of “Free City” was
eventually created, entitling them and their descendents to freedom after they
had lived and worked in a city for a year and a day. “In many respects…
western Europe between 1050 and 1200 became a great deal more ‘Roman-
esque’ than it had been since the sixth century, recapturing some of the
international trade patterns, the urban quality, and the military strength of

2
Shelter, “Imperium,” http://www.ghg.net/shetler/oldimp/212.html.
3
Janson, “History of Art,” p. 184.
4
Palmer, “A History,” p. 25.
5
Janson, “History of Art,” p. 198.

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 3 of 11 7/23/2009

ancient imperial times.”6 This sudden reemergence of Roman ideals might have
been the grounds behind the birth of the Italian humanists, a group of writers
bent on continuing classical literature while expressing their ideas with writing
as an art-form, asking and answering the pertinent questions of their day. I
can imagine how Dante’s own style of writing might have developed; how he was
able to stride away from the confining and superficial, though light-hearted,
court writings to the more liberating, though deeper and thought-provokingly
profound, humanistic writings.

After Charlemagne’s death, his Empire was eventually split between his
three grandsons by the Treaty of Verdun. Their constant warfare and the
creation of many separate German Principalities, forever damaged the political
unity of the Holy Roman Empire. Within these newly-formed Italian cities, new
laws were being fashioned, based entirely on the aspects of business and
contracts. They no longer felt the desire or need to be a part of the Feudal
System; they wished to be independent self-governing units. Eventually, they
formed The Lombard League and warred with the Holy Roman Emperor,
Frederick Barbarossa, for a Republic (based on the Roman Republic which
existed before the Roman Empire was established) giving property holders the
right to join in legislature. This war resulted in the treaty, Peace of Constance,
establishing the Italian Republic; the Holy Roman Empire forever lost control
over these Republican cities. Dante's grandparents were involved with this
movement to gain the Italian Republic, helping to win the War of the Lombard
League. Consequently, they became quite prominent in Florence, becoming
members of the Ghibelline social class, which had very close ties to the
aristocrats, intermarrying among them (a profitable deal which gave land to the
wealthy Ghibellines and money to the landed aristocrat). With these familial
ties, Dante had experience with aristocratic traditions; for example, he was
arranged to marry Gemma Donati; he still followed tradition and married her
even thought this idea was repugnant for him. He also wrote his first play,
about the 50 most beautiful women in Florence, a year before he married,
following the aristocratic tradition of court minstrels who wrote about the
women of their society as symbols of beauty and culture.

The Guelph Class were considered beneath the Ghibelline Class, being
much poorer and without those aristocratic ties; added to this, only Ghibellines
were granted citizenship. This class distinction wasn't necessarily permanent;
however, tensions arose between the two classes, resulting in an inter-class
war. The Guelphs won and took citizenship away from the Ghibillines. Since
Dante's family supported the Guelph Class during this war, they were spared
along with other supporters. Individualism was developing, stressing
independence from family; for example, boys were sent away from their families
for their apprenticeship by skillful masters. Church leaders looked at this
individualism in relation to church dogma; Thomas Aquinas, for example, wrote
about the difference in practical intelligence and theoretical intelligence,
stressing singularity and personal responsibility in terms of God’s plan. The
Popes censured this type of writing, since it broke the tradition of communal
uniformity leftover from serfdom. An example of this type of personal

6
Janson, “History of Art,” p. 208.

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responsibility, at the same time of Dante, is Marco Polo; he and his family
traveled all the way to China at the request of Kublai Khan. Dante continued
this sense of individualism; just a year after his marriage he strayed from
tradition, writing a completely different poem titled La Vita Nuova or "A New
Life”, in which he described his special bond with a woman named Beatrice
Portinari, labeling her as his soul inspiration. The same “amor amicitiae defined
by St. Thomas Aquinas: ‘That which is loved in love of friendship is loved simply
and for its own sake’.7 By recognizing her as his ‘soul mate,’ he essentially
ignored his wife's position, causing problems between him and the Donati
family, which led to his exile described later.

As the result of that class war, a Popular Commune was founded; which
applied a landed-persons' democracy, giving the people more self-governing
freedoms. Social Sciences were developing; with Bruno Latini writing the first
social science book, as a guide on the education of the Pedesta. Roman Laws
were changing to meet with the shifting needs of the people; for example, the
head of the family could now take control of the property from lesser family
members, and cities could develop laws to protect themselves from
businessmen. Law schools were opened and Italian society became known as a
litigious society, in which law suits were a way to win rights. For example,
Dante's family sued the Catholic Church for the land that touched their land…
eventually losing. Twelve mayors were elected every three months. Dante took
his turn as mayor, discovering that such a system was too ineffective to make
positive changes (too many mayors and too short of a time-span); and later
writing a poem titled De Monarchia in which he described the cities fighting
amongst themselves and how that would prevent them from forming a nation.
In the poem, Dante was essentially being sympathetic to the Emperor, showing
himself as a White Guelph; which opened the door for his brother-in-law, who
had a stronger political voice, being sympathetic with the Pope as a Black
Guelph, had Dante exiled. While in exile, Dante wrote Divina Commedia or “The
Divine Comedy”, describing the feeling of living without a home and being
separated from his home politics: “O'ercome the cruelty that bars me out /
From the fair sheepfold, where a lamb I slumbered, / An enemy to the wolves
that war upon it”8. Written in Italian, it was an in-depth, realistic story with
clear ideas and visions. In it, he told of a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and
Heaven. His guide through Hell and Purgatory was the Roman poet Virgil,
being a non-Christian his involvement opens tolerance for non-Christians in a
purely Christian society, which was facilitated by trade with their Eastern
neighbors.

Part 2: The West

Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes and began conquering a wide-
range of territory, including China. His opinion that “the greatest joy that a
man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him, to ride
their horses and deprive them of their possessions, to make their beloved weep,

7
Knight, “New Advent,” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04628a.htm
8
Dante, “Divine Comedy,” Paradiso: Canto XXV, lines 4-6.

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 5 of 11 7/23/2009

and to embrace their wives and daughters,”9 indicates the extent of the
harshness endured by the Chinese. Because of the fact that the Mongols
mistrusted the Chinese, they kept them outside of the Mongol vertical authority
based government; while also using the notion of the extended family, they
simply did not include the Chinese in that family. Emphasis shifted from
agriculture to commerce, as the Mongols adopted the suddenly flourishing
capitalism from Europe. Buddhism, originating in India, grew in China during
the Mongol rule. It basically taught that everything bad passed eventually, with
Karma playing a large role. The religion promised the suffering Chinese some
relief, where even some level of tranquility was available in the Buddhist
Monastery. Buddhists believed that each individual had a destiny to fulfill to
avoid being reborn; as life is filled with trials and tribulations, being reborn was
considered something to avoid. Zhu Yuan-zhang was the son of a landless farm
worker who joined a Buddhist Monastery in order to have a better life. He
believed that it was his destiny to defeat the Mongols, to avoid rebirth; he
eventually accomplished that goal, establishing himself as the Hung Wu, or
“great military power”, Emperor and head of the Ming, or “brilliant”, Imperial
Dynasty.

After establishing himself as the first Ming Emperor, the Hung Wu

Emperor decided to change everything back to Chinese ways of life while
stopping the Mongol trend. He returned China to the pre-Mongol lateral
governmental system, which was very similar to Charlemagne’s Personality
Principle, in which each county was self-governing and administrators were
only sent when needed. He reinstated Confucian ideas, switching the emphasis
from business back to agriculture; implementing many measures to help in
this, such as rebuilding canals, improving irrigation, planting trees, even
closing pawn shops, easing peasants’ tax burden, and setting up a loan system
were done to help boost crops. The Hung Wu Emperor “had seen to it that
every aspect of his establishment accentuated the rustic simplicity of an
agrarian society”10. He brought back the Censorate, an administrative
institution where at all levels, censors were sent to take memorials (testimonies,
petitions and recommendations to the throne) looking for every possible
misconduct. He reestablished the merit system, in which civil service
examinations guaranteed that the most deserving and loyal people held the top
posts. Bent on micromanagement, he set up 185 daily meetings to be informed
of everything going on in China as a way of controlling every facet of the
Empire.

The Hung Wu Emperor, on seeing the damage caused by the court

eunuchs during the Sung Dynasty, decided to handle the potential problem
they represented from the very beginning; he eradicated many of them from the
palace, especially those involved in state affairs, and banned the remaining
from learning to read, or even touch, court papers. He declared that "eunuchs
must have nothing to do with the administration";11 after his reign, however,
they began to slink back into prominence. Between his and the Wan Li
9
Morton, “China,” p. 115.
10
Huang, “1587,” p. 142.
11
“Wikipedia,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hung-wu

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 6 of 11 7/23/2009

Emperor’s reigns, the Ming Empire prospered steadily, calmly continuing to
develop innovations in agricultural; but state administration began to suffer
from corrupt, manipulative court eunuchs, with ministers and imperial
eunuchs battling for political control, as well as, simple access to the emperor.

From the early beginnings, Chinese religion has revolved around the
worship of both ancestors and nature; a very basic understanding of nature
was the norm among the Chinese, who began a written history with the
divination book, I Ching or "Book of Changes", in which 64 changes in nature
and in human nature were described and compared. Agriculture was stressed
over every other type of economic means; which resulted in farmers being more
respected than businessmen, given their close ties to nature. This respect
towards nature even affected the development of the Chinese language, which is
a pictographic language involving images of their natural reality. Confucius
was the first great thinker of China. Born during the Eastern Chou Dynasty,
his political/economical views respected the idea of the extended family. He
had a great impact on China, much admired for believing and practicing “the
highest standards of morality…in the spirit of moderation and harmony”12.
Taoism looked at these 64 changes in nature from the I Ching in an
individualistic way; it looked at how these changes affect each individual.
Using meditation and introspection, the Taoist believes he can learn all things:
“Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under
the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The
farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. / Therefore the
sages got their knowledge without traveling; gave their (right) names to things
without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of
doing so.”13

After the Hung Wu Emperor's time, aristocrats began to tire of the

collectiveness of Chinese society, wanting a degree of independence; there was a
gradual movement towards individuality although some degree of collectiveness
remained constant. An example of this movement can be found with the Wan
Li Emperor's Great-uncle, the Cheng Te Emperor, who was an adventure-loving
reprobate; having tired of the micromanagement set up by the Hung Wu
Emperor, he began to disregard the many state meetings, tempted away by the
pleasures of hunting and traveling. By the time the Wan Li Emperor took the
throne, only 8 daily meetings remained. Taoism became greater during the late
Ming Dynasty mainly because the people wanted more personal responsibility,
more individuality; the Wan Li Emperor even used Taoism as a way to justify
his turning away from regular traditions. This move towards individualism can
be seen in Chinese paintings; straying from the more traditional portraits that
were predominate throughout the Ming Dynasty, gentlemen landscape painters
emerged, bent on the idea of individualistic self-expression, much like what was
seen during the Tang Dynasty.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, an aristocratic hierarchy, similar to the

ones in the Holy Roman Empire, prevailed in China. Based on a familial

12
Morton, “China,” p. 33.
13
Lao-Tzu, “Tao Te Ching,” Part II: Te “Virtue”, Ch. 47

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 7 of 11 7/23/2009

structure, in which authority was given to an individual to lead as head of the
family, the population looked to the Emperor as a father-figure; and he, in turn,
carried all of the responsibilities of fatherhood. But even the Emperor was held
accountable; as an example of this, when the Wan Li Emperor displeased his
mother, Dowager Empress Yz’u-sheng, she would require him to kneel for long
periods of time or even threaten to dispose him as emperor. Just as all other
children obeyed their parents even after they were no longer under their control,
he must also obey his mother; this was stressed during the time of the heir-
controversy when he was not allowed to follow his own desires in regards to
Lady Cheng and their son, Ch’ang-hsün, whom he loved; he instead had to
follow tradition in naming his first-born son, Ch’ang-lo, as his heir-designate.
As a civil servant, the Emperor was viewed as answerable to his people;
memorials could also reprimand his actions and conduct, although not without
possible retribution. Students of the Han-lin Academy were especially aware of
their duty in making sure the Emperor always acted righteously, believing that
the Emperor should be a model for his people, “to induce the younger
generation to venerate the old, the women to obey their menfolk, and the
illiterate to follow the examples set by the learned.”14 Ministers continued to be
chosen to help guide the Emperor.

The importance of these ministers greatly increased when Ming Shen-

tsung first became emperor; just nine years old, the Wan Li Emperor needing a
regent to help him govern; Chang Chü-cheng took the position from Kao Kung,
as First Grand Secretary after he had apparently “secured the throne”.15
Chinese agricultural prosperity, initiated by the changes made during the Hung
Wu Emperor’s reign, tempted a new wave of marauders to appear; invoking
Japanese/Chinese and isolated Mongol tribal attacks along the boarders and
shores. Chang Chü-cheng saw the need for a more vertical authority of
government to control these attacks; these governmental policy changes, along
with the innovations from the general Ch'i Chi-kuang, enabled China to re-
establish an efficient military. Chang Chü-cheng, needing more income
brought in from taxes to cover the added military expenses, tried to reform the
tax system including an ambitious attempt to carry out a national land survey.
After Chang Chü-cheng’s death, under the guidance of Chang Ssu-wei, public
opinion demanded a reversal of his changes; his supporters were removed; his
enemies were praised. After Change Ssu-wei’s short term, Shen Shi-Hsing
became First Grand Secretary. Seeing that the vertical authority established by
Chang Chü-cheng was too much like the time under Mongol rule, Shen Shi-
Hsing changed back to the lateral authority that was more in keeping with
Chinese tradition, which severely weakened China’s military and its defenses.
Although criticized for being too temperate, Shen Shi-Hsing was adept at using
diplomacy to avoid upheavals.

In the early days of his reign, the Wan Li Emperor did not have full
knowledge of everything that was happening in his empire; much was kept from
him by Chang Chü-cheng, among others; more often than not, decisions were
solely influenced by what the Wan Li Emperor was told by him. After Chang

14
Huang, “1587,” p. 22.
15
Huang, “1587,” p. 10.

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 8 of 11 7/23/2009

Chü-cheng’s death, he tried “to be diligent and attentive to his office, making a
string of important decisions himself, especially high-level appointments.”16 But
once he became aware of the extent of his ignorance and the hidden agendas
among courtiers, he lost confidence in his own dynastic policies, perhaps
worsened by the fact that he could not even follow his own heart in most
personally-significant matters like in the heir-controversy. Lady Cheng
probably was the only person in his life who made him aware of himself as an
individual, separated from the emperor; “even his own mother was determined
to run him like an institution;”17 he must have felt such sadness at the fact that
because of tradition he had to send their son away. Gradually he gave more
and more of his responsibilities to his staff, sometimes “refusing to grant
audiences to his chief ministers or to transact any business at all for long
periods at a time.”18 During the Wan Li Emperor’s reign, European Roman
Catholic Monks came to China to spread Christianity. The pope sent the Jesuit
minister, Matteo Ricci, who spread Christianity throughout Japan and China;
he had an easier reception in China since the Wan Li Emperor felt a connection
to Christ; seeing himself and Christ as two men following their hearts and living
good lives, both mistreated by society.

Conclusion:

The prominent men mentioned in this paper have left a significant mark
on history. I say ‘men’ but I have noticed that in both Dante and the Wan Li
Emperor’s life, the women in their lives, in a large way, influenced their most
noted actions. Dante’s connection with Beatrice led him to write La Vita Nuova,
in which he slighted Gemma, which led to his eventual exile, where he wrote
The Divine Comedy. The love Wan Li felt towards Lady Cheng led his longing for
Ch’ang-hsün to be his heir designate, but the control that Yz’u-sheng had over
him kept him from following his heart, which led to his ultimate withdrawal
from duty. But do not let me leave out our esteemed empire-builders; they may
not have been influenced by the women in their lives, but they were certainly
influenced by the distant past. Charlemagne looked towards the Roman
Empire in many of his choices, wishing to bring the glory from those long lost
days back to life. Hung Wu looked towards Chinese traditions, not necessarily
looking for glory, but longing to bring back the peace and tranquility that go
along with the close ties to nature that had preserved for so long. All of these
men were influenced by the events, past and present, and all ended up
influencing the events of the future.

16
Huang, “1587,” p. 32.
17
Huang, “1587,” p. 31.
18
Morton, “China,” p. 134.

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 9 of 11 7/23/2009

 Bibliography

Alighieri, Dante. The Devine Comedy. Translated by Longfellow, Henry

Wadsworth; as found on http://www.gutenberg.net/etext97/0ddcl10.txt

Huang, Ray. 1587: A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline. New
Haven & London, 1981.

Janson, H. W. History of Art. New York, 1962.

Knight, K. New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/

Lao-Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Translated by Legge, James; as found on

http://members.surfbest.net/jparsons@surfbest.net/art-of-virtue/

Morton, W. Scott. China: Its History and Culture. New York, 1980.

Palmer, R. R., Colton, Joel, and Kramer, Lloyd. A History of the Modern World.
New York, 1950.

Shetler, Joe, Imperium. http://www.ghg.net/shetler/oldimp/

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Melinda S. Wrocklage Page 10 of 11 7/23/2009

The Professor’s Grade and Notes:

A 96

A balanced, detailed, thought-through essay that was refreshing and

interesting.

It will be a pleasure to read your essays. But, why do you neglect the
economic? It is missing in Dante entirely. It is the weakest aspect of China
section.

Reflect on the significance of economic in societal contexts with future essays.

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