A Study On The Clan-vassal Of The Han Dynasty

The clan-vassal of the Han Dynasty whereby the central goverment allocated places to the feudal lords with the same surname refers to a feudal society connected by blood relations. Even though a lot of research has been done on the clan-vassal, the study of it with taking the ruling class as a unique upper level from a micro and bottom-up perspective is relatively weak. This paper, with the comprehensive usage of literature and archaeological materials, will do an in-depth study of the historical origin of the clan-vassal and an analysis of its political function during the two periods of Han Dynasty.Firstly, this paper defines the concept of the clan-vassal, and argues that this concept fully reflects that the essence of same surname feudal lords of the Han Dynasty is the power of the consanguineous clan of the Han loyalty, and its focus is the solidity and eternity of such consanguineous relations. Secondly, this paper makes a concrete analysis of the reasons for the restoration of the clan-vassal state relationship by the Han First Emperor (Han Gaozu) that:the political situation whereby the Emperor and his officials shared power in early Han dynasty, and the infatuation for consanguinity clan relationship by the Han First Emperor Liu Bang himself. Before and after the wars between Chu and Han, Liu Bang allocated a number of feudal lords of different surnames. In order to maintain the Liu family’s rule, a number of feudal lords of the same surnames (the clan-vassal) were appointed. This had once stabilized the political situation, protected the political power of the Han administration, strengthened the central government’s control over the states, determined the ruling system as well as ensured the victory of exterminating the different surnames vassals. The clan-vassal played an important role in the eradication of the Lu family and the suppression of the rebellion by the Seven states, consolidating the rule of the Liu Dynasty. At the same time, having some of these same surname feudal lords succeed the throne had also once served the effect of stabilizing the political situation during the two Han periods. With the stabilization of the political rule of the Western Han and the recovery and development of the society and economy, the power of the feudal lords increased gradually and became a threat to the central power. While the imperial court severely suppressed feudal rebellions, and a series of policies was made to strengthen the central forces and weaken the local ones. The political and economic privileges of the clan-vassal were retracted, new rules such as Zuo Guan Lu(左官律)and Fu Yi Fa(附益法)were imposed, supplemented with Tui En Ling(推恩令)to make a gentler approach, eliminating the threat of the clan-vassal towards the central power. Thirdly, this paper explores the social life, family life, social psychology, suicides and other issues revolving around the vassal states. The value orientation, their living condition and social psychology of the clan-vassal as a social class changed along with the political changes. The suicides of the clan-vassal were a prominent social phenomenon of the Han Dynasty, and this paper makes a further research on their causes and methods. Finally, the paper researches on the group image of the clan-vassal of Han Dynasty’s feudal lords, which reveals both commonalities and differences. And the relationship between the clan-vassal and their guests in particular catches one’s attention. The imperial court during the two Han periods carried out harsh crackdown and repressions against this, slashing out heavy penalties and bans without hesitation as methods to prevent the clan-vassal from joining powers with other social powers.