Analysis On Dadu Ouguo Phenomenon During The Spring And Autumn Period

The purpose of this thesis is to disclose the significant historical upheaval in the state of Jin and even during the whole Spring and Autumn period. Then, the track of a nation's development and some important phenomena like edge rise will be displayed and discussed. Generally speaking, this thesis is composed of altogether seven sections.The first section is introduction part, which presents the significance of conducting research on the political phenomena of Dadu Ouguo in the state of Jin in Spring and Autumn period. Based on this mainline, with the profound social and historical change, the inner reasons are also discussed about the shift of Jin from a small country to the top powerful one in the Central Plain. The previous researches on Dadu Ouguo phenomenon are just disconnected and isolated while this thesis will have a systematic and complete research on this phenomenon. Historical materialism is the guideline of the thesis.The second section is about the definition of Du and state. Du refers to the principality a grandee rules or lives in. The concept of state experienced great changes. Indeed, state and Du share the same meaning at the beginning. During the Spring and Autumn period, state refers to the place a duke rules. With the expansion of duke's territory, state begins to mean a territorial country at the end of Spring and Autumn period. The inner structure of Du is actually a copy of dukedom. A grandee serves in the court and his title can be handed down by his family, while in his Du, he is the governor. In a Du, there is ancestral temple, the God of Earth and the God of Harvests. Moreover, there are also courtiers and armed forces. At the beginning, the purpose of establishing Du is to protect duke and dukedom and a way for an emperor to rule the local officials. However, when the grandees' power expands even beyond the emperor's, Du becomes the center of rebelling against the emperor. Then, the phenomenon of Dadu Ouguo comes into being. The third section lays much emphasis on the process and main features of Dadu Ouguo phenomenon in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period. Generally speaking, this phenomenon appears at the beginning and end of Jin state. The early case points to Daiyi in Quwo. In 745 BC, duke Zhao granted his uncle Chenshi the principality of Quwo. Quwo actually was larger than its capital Yi, which was the first time the Dadu Ougou phenomenon appeared in Jin state. In the following sixty or seventy years, Chenshi and his offspring committed aggression against capital Yi continuously and killed five kings altogether. In 678 BC., The King of Zhou state accredited Grandee Wugong in Quwo as duke of Jin State. As a result, Quwo finally won the battle. Daiyi is a particularly special phenomenon of Dadu Ouguo in the early of Spring and Autumn period. Almost at the same time, the similar situation appears in Zheng state. However, the results in two nations are just opposite. Prince Zhuang of Zheng state defeated the Gong Shuduan, who rebelled against Zheng state. The Central Plain culture played a minor role in Jin state because Jin kept communicating with those minorities like Rong and Di while the state of Zheng was located in the central area and was greatly influenced by Zhou's comity culture. Consequently, the Dadu Ouguo in Jin succeeded while in Zheng it failed. After Daiyi, similar phenomena appeared again like Luanying. In the middle and late Jin state, many dukes captured quite a few cities and reached a delicate balance among them. Later, grandee Zhao defeated grandee Fan and grandee Zhongxing and grandee Zhao, Wei, Han conquered grandee Zhi. As a result, grandee Zhao captured Jinyang area; grandee Wei Anyi area; grandee Han Pingyang area. The goal to replace state by grandees was generally achieved.In section four, the thesis makes a comparison of Dadu Ouguo phenomenon in the states Jin, Qi and Lu, Zheng, Song and Wei. At the end of Spring and Autumn, the phenomenon of Dadu Ouguo came into being in almost all the major principalities. In Jin, grandee Zhao, Wei and Han succeeded in defeating their dukes. In the state of Qi, grandee Chen seized the power while in the state of Lu, Zheng and Wei, the grandees failed to wrest the power. Prince of Song succeeded in usurping the power. However, it contributed little to the social revolution. As to the different results in those states, the major cause is the different degree they are influenced by the Zhou comity culture.The fifth section illustrates the causes of Dadu Ouguo phenomenon. First, it is the inevitable result of feoff system. Second, it is the logical consequence of nobles' polarization in wealth. Moreover, the expansion of states leads to such a result. What's more, there are still some particular reasons in the state of Jin.In the sixth section, the thesis displays the influence of Dadu Ouguo phenomenon upon the politics in Spring and Autumn period, exactly speaking, in the institute of county, military system, the farmland system, bureaucrat system, legislative system, etc.The last section is the conclusion part in which the thesis illustrates the importance, function of Dadu Ouguo phenomenon and proposes the visions about the relevant researches.