Study On The The Titles System During The Zhou Dynasty

Titles system is an important issue of the hierarchy in Chinese ancient society. Study on the titles system during the Zhou Dynasty, which not only concerns its origin and early evolution, but also concerns the accurate perception towards the later titles system, is a key link of Chinese ancient titles system. Title system plays a very important role in politics and society during Zhou Dynasty. A series of related systems in that period closely interrelates to the titles system, such as official system, military system, manorial system at the political level, and vehicle, utensil, burial ceremony in social ritual system. The research about titles system and related issues during Zhou Dynasty can promote our awareness of political system and ritual system in the Zhou Dynasty.Owing to a shortage of the related literature, the academic circle has acquired great successes about the study on titles system during the Zhou Dynasty at present, but there are three aspects need further discuss: first, there is lack of a integral and systematic monograph; second, the related research is not in-depth enough, such as the relationship between titles system and other political systems, and the social position and role of titles system; third, the overall location of titles system of the Zhou Dynasty is deficient, so few scholars discuss titles system in the context of the hierarchical order.Therefore, taking titles system during the Zhou Dynasty as research perspective, this dissertation gives a general exploration on development of titles system in the pre-Qin days. At the same time, through researching the relationship between titles system and political system, such as official system, military system, geld system and payment system, it tries to reveal the role of titles system in the aristocracy hierarchy. The paper falls into three parts excluding the preface, main body and concluding remarks.The preface consists of three parts. The first thing mainly expounds the research significance and methods of the topic. Next is the literature review of the topic, pointing its research space. The last presents a panorama of the research framework and relevant contents of this topic.The main body includes six chapters. The first five chapters depict the development of titles system during the Zhou Dynasty.The first chapter mainly describes the transition of titles system from utensil to ritual system. This chapter divides into three sections: started with the development of the pattern of character“Jue”(爵), the first section confirms the corresponding relationship between character“Jue”and utensil“Jue”; the second section discusses the evolution and change of utensil“Jue”in the pre-Qin period, and it indicates that“Jue”originated from Xia dynasty, thrived in Shang Dynasty and was gradually dying out in middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty; the third section emphasizes that“Jue”as a kind of system comes from the two implications, one exists in the important role of“Jue”as a utensil during the Shang and Zhou Dynasty, and the other exists in the orders of“Xing Jue”(行爵)on great sacred and ceremonial occasions.The second chapter deals with the start of titles system in the Shang Dynasty. This chapter divides into three sections. The first section reviews the studies on titles system in the Shang Dynasty, which displays different views of the scholars. The second section respectively states the appellations of“Gong (公), Hou (侯), Bo (伯), Zi (子), Nan (男), Tian (田), Fu (帚), Wei (卫), Ya (亚), Wang (王)”the scholars mentioned, from which the author found there were seven titles of“Hou (侯), Bo (伯), Zi (子), Nan (男), Tian (田), Fu (帚), Wei (卫)”during the Shang Dynasty. The last section is concluding remarks, pointing out titles of Shang Dynasty generally comes from the posts dispatched by kings of Shang Dynasty and blood relation or affinity. From the simple granting ceremony of the titles and the vassal submitting to Shang royal court, the titles system has arisen during the Shang Dynasty.The main subject in the third chapter is the formation of titles system in Western Zhou Dynasty. It consists of two sections. The first section presents the gradual development of titles system in Western Zhou Dynasty by thoroughly analyzing related literature: in the early stage, it inherits titles system of the Shang Dynasty and makes some alterations, and turns into a bit confused titles system which contains“Gong (公), Hou (侯), Bo (伯), Zi (子), Nan (男), Dian (甸), Cai (采), Wei (卫)”; during the later period, with the reform of the ritual system, it gradually becomes the systematic“five grading system of five titles”. The second section ranges the appellations of this five titles and analyzes the phenomenon of“titles system having no proper appellations”, which attesting to the existence of“five grading system of five titles”in Western Zhou Dynasty.The fourth chapter discusses the succession and transmutation of Western Zhou Dynasty’s titles system during the Spring and Autumn Period. It divides into two sections. The first one expounds titles system of the Spring and Autumn Period from appellations, appointments and ranks the three aspects, finding that titles system, which inherited from the one shaped during the middle and late period of Western Zhou Dynasty, includes two systems of“Jue-outside”(外爵)and“Jue-inside”(内爵). The second section explores the transmutation of“Jue-outside”and“Jue-inside”in the late Spring and Autumn period. Meanwhile, it points out the transformational trend of titles system: the range of granting titles extends from the nobility to the whole social class included major plebs, and the standard of granting titles changes from blood relationship to contributions and virtues.The fifth chapter studies the formation of a new titles system in the Warring States Period, which divides into two sections. The first section discusses the titles system of kingdoms except the state of Qin, revealing that the new titles system in these kingdoms is established by the supplements and amendments based on the former“Jue-inside”. The second section describes the military-merit-based titles system of the state of Qin from its appellations, origin, procedures and privileges, and giving the conclusions: at the time of Reforms of Shang Yang, the new titles system is created through combination with the old appellations in the state of Qin and other states; the new titles system initially has ten ranks, then gradually develops into the“the system of twenty ranks of nobility”; in terms of granting titles, Qin enacts a set of complete procedures of“achievements, evaluation and granting”; and men with titles possesses the privileges of official qualifications, property,“Qi Shu Zi”(乞庶子), justice, Mu Feng (墓封), and Chuan Shi (传食). In a manner of speaking, the systematization and completion of the new titles system of Qin lay the foundation of its prosperity and conquering the six other states.The sixth chapter discusses the role of titles system in the aristocracy hierarchy during the Zhou Dynasty, citing the relative circumstances during the Spring and Autumn Period as examples. This chapter contains three parts. The first part analyzes the relationship between titles system and official system. Taking the state of Lu for instance, the ranks of noble titles and official positions are corresponding, and the noble titles were superior to official positions in the same rank. The second part displays the link between titles system and military system: the quantity of army troops which states owned must accord with its rank of noble titles. The Qing (卿) commands army troops depending on rank of noble titles and sequence of being granted noble titles, and Dai Fu (大夫) assumes a lower complementary position in the army troops. The third part researches the relation between geld system and payment system: in reference to vassals turning in geld to the kings of Zhou Dynasty, generally the vassals in suburbs of the capital have a lower position but loaded heavier geld, whereas the vassals outside of the capital pay the geld according to the ranks of noble titles, that is to say, the better a vassal’s ranking, the heavier he undertook the geld. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the prestige of King Zhou declines, vassals hand over geld to hegemon by the ranks of noble titles, and the payment of Qing (卿) and Dai Fu (大夫) is in agreement with the ranks of noble titles.The concluding remarks summarize the whole paper. It points out the titles system during the Zhou Dynasty undergoes five stages: the change from utensils to system, the origin of titles system in Shang Dynasty, the formation of the titles system centered around the“five grading system of five titles”during the Zhou Dynasty, the succession and transmutation in the Spring and Autumn Period, its transition to military-merit-based titles system during the Warring States Period. This part also reveals that titles system is closely interrelated with the official system, military system, geld system and payment system during the Zhou Dynasty, constituting the main appearance of the aristocracy hierarchy during the Zhou Dynasty.