The Study Of The Interrelation Between Qin People And Rong Clans In The Spring And Autumn Period

In 1980's, the excavation of a number of ruins and burial sites in Mao Jia-ping and Dong Jia_-ping in Gangu County and Tian Shui County respectively, both of which date from the Western Zhou Period to the Warring States Period, aroused in the academia a great interest in the interrelation between Qin people and Rong Clans. Furthermore, the protective excavation of the Ma Jia-yuan burial site by the Gan Su Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Zhang Jia-shang County Museum in 2006 shed new light on this subject.The first chapter covers the different opinions about the origin of the Qin people and analyses the reason why there has been such a disagreement which has existed for nearly a century and has not been settled yet. Concerning the origin of the Qin people, there have been three theories:that the Qin people stemmed from the east; that they originated from the west and the double-origin of them. In the writer's perspective, why there has been such controversy is due to, a), the confusing historic records, and b), different understandings of relevant archaeological findings. Be that may, one thing is certain that the group of Qin that existed in the plain from the east of the present Gansu province to the Central Shaanxi Basin and interacted with the local nomadic Rong clans are not one of the Rong Clans.In the second chapter, the author, having studied the achievements of previous studies and relating historic record, go on to interpret the true meaning of "Rong" and "Western Rong" and elaborates on the geological distribution of Rong Clans surrounding the Qin group. According the writer, "Rong" means "warfares" and "things associated with war", whereas "Xi" means "the west", therefore, "Xi Rong" is the collective name for all the clans located to the west of the Zhou dynasty's hinter land.The third chapter is devoted to the interrelation between Qin people and Rong clans as presented in historic records and archaeological findings. Based upon his own research on this subject, the author holds that rivalries dominated the relationship between Qin people and Rong Clans, with friendly exchange and integration followed. In conclusion, the author holds the view that the interrelation between Qin people and various Rong Clans is, to a large extent, the clashes, interaction and the ensuing fusion between them.