Study On Problems Of The Royal Clan In The Han Dynasty

The Royal Clan is a term whose denotation and connotation differ in ancienttimes. Based on the analysis of the concepts of the family and clan in the HanDynasty, the thesis is intended to probe into such problems as the Royal Clan iswhether used to refer to the Royal ralative，the Royal Clan is whether used torefer to all of the patriarchal clan，the scale of generations of the Royal Clan，the surnames changed and grade difference of the Royal Clan inside so on. Thereforethe Royal Clan should be exclusively defined as the Royal lineage, even if theirfamily members more than the five generations also belong to the clans. The aboveis what Part One involves and what Chapter One includes. Part Two, also ChapterTwo of the thesis relates the titles granting in the Royal Clan. This chapterconcludes that the political influence of the Feudatory King and the Prince Houis declining, but the related ceremonies are more standardized than simplifiedday by day. In the other titles granting aspect, the Royal Clan has no advantageand has no difference in rights related to the titles compared with other socialstrata. Part Three concerns three chapters, discussing the political power of theRoyal Clan. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Feudatory King and the PrinceHou have some political power within their own territory,especially the FeudatoryKing’s political power can not be underestimated, but they enjoy their rightsfor a very short period of time. Since the dividing line--The Rebellion of theSeven Kingdoms, the Royal Clan’s political power brought about by titles grantingare less and less. The other political power of the Royal Clan includesparticipating and discussing of state affairs, coming to the throne, beingofficials,and going to court. But on the whole,there is a slim chance that theRoyal Clan participate in state affairs except that they keep up appearances on some ceremonial occasions. Part Four, Chapter Six in the thesis is devoted to theincome of Shi Yi and rewards granted of the Royal Clan in the Han Dynasty fromthe point of view of economic privileges, pointing out that the economicrestrictions and preventions on the Royal Clan focus not on deprivation of theireconomic privileges but on eliminating the political threat posed possibly bytheir economic privileges. Part Five, that is, Chapter Seven expounds theprivileges of the Royal Clan from aspects of preparing legal actions, arrestmentinvestigating and proceeding of a case and the final punishment,based on the rightof making requests to the Royal before they are accused guilty.Thus it is concludedthat the legal privileges are not fully enjoyed by the Royal Clan. Even if theirclose family members have the right to make requests to the Emperor before madeguilty,they are treated differently in different historical period or even in thesame period because of the nature of the case,the close or distant relationship,thehigh or low of their status.