Research On The Phenomenon Of Guitian Among Feudatory States In The Spring And Autumn Period

Wars for merger constantly arise among feudatory States in the Spring and Autumn Period. But in between these wars comes with a seemingly peaceful phenomenon–"Guitian"which literally means to return the land that one takes from others. The feudatory States return the land they invaded either voluntarily or passively. Against the prevailing backdrop of fighting against each other, such phenomenon as"Guitian"in the Spring and Autumn Period features in its frequency and diversity.The first chapter first defines the meaning of"Guitian". It literally means that these lord state return the land they invade to their original owners in a variety of ways. In addition to this, the first chapter also introduces related studies and previous accomplishments. Some scholars have made detailed studies on this topic and achieved great results. This thesis is just based on previous studies.The second chapter will analyze and introduce the geographical location and process of"Guitian"."Guitian"is a very common phenomenon in the Spring and Autumn Period. For the sake of convenience, the land returned will be put into three groups. And corre Spring and Autumn Period spondingly the chapter will also be divided into three sections. The first section introduces the geographical location of Bribe field; the second section goes on to introduce that of rivalry field, and the last section introduce that of invasion field including ten cases.The third chapter deals with the reason for"Guitian". Due to the complicated relationship between feudatory States in the Spring and Autumn Period, the reason various with different subjects and times. And some of them are caused by more than one reason. Here the author summarizes three major reasons for"Guitian". The first type is for the reason of marriage; the second type is due to internal affairs which include six cases. And the third type is to bribe the other states which is also demonstrated by six examples.In chapter four, the essence of"Guitian"between feudatory States in the Spring and Autumn Period is analyzed. Taking an overview of all the"Guitian"phenomena, one will find that there are altogether three kinds of states involved– chief of the alliance, state try to become the chief of alliance, and small countries. Actually the three types of states interact with each other. Big states often invade small states and when they want to fight the other large states, they will try to draw small states and adopt the policy of returning land. As for those hegemony state will also use the same policy in order to consolidate their status.The fifth chapter is a summary of the whole thesis. Combining the two major trends of alliance and merger, this chapter concludes that"Guitian"is only a temporary policy in order to keep peace. It will change as times and situations alter. As wars become more and more often,"Guitian"and the temporary peace it brings will disappeared soon.