| Among all the systems of monarch succession,the system from brother to brother was one of the earliest.It appeared in the matriarchal society,and had been an important principle ever since.In the Shang(?)and Zhou(?)Dynasties,the principle of patrilineal male primogeniture had gradually established.The succession system from brother to brother became the major complement.In the historical records,there were a large number of examples which the brother succeeded an emperor who died leaving no son.These examples became historical basis of non-lineal successions.In the following dynasties,emperors who got to the throne as brothers,cousins,uncles,nephews or even grandsons usually used these examples to make special systems of mourning and rites in ancestral shrines in order to honor their parents.The Three Rituals(“??”)and The Three Commentaries of the Spring and Autumn(??????)also became the theoretical tools of the ritual debates between the emperor and the courtiers by explanation,interpretation and also misinterpretation.Based on the historical examples and the texts of the classics,this paper mainly studied famous successions from brother to brother in different dynasties,including four parts.In Chapter One,the key texts of the Confucian classics on the theme of the succession system from brother to brother were introduced,as well as the most cited core ritual principles.By the study of successions from brother to brother in Shang and Zhou dynasties and the State of Lu,it could be proved that the cause of this system was usually one of these:early death of the king,no son,or war.This system was just a main complement of the succession principle of patrilineal male primogeniture.What mainly influence the ways of succession was political conflict.As summarized,most of the ritual principles used in the debates on the issue of the successions from brother to brother throughout the history had three common sources.The first one was that the tablet of Duke Xi(??)being advanced to the place of that of Duke Min(??)at the great sacrifice in Duke Wen's(??)second yearn This was the source of discussing the issues of Zhao(?)and Mu(?).The second one was that Zhongyingqi(???)being considered his elder brother's son in Gongyangzhuan(???)in Duke Cheng's(??)period.This was the source of discussing the difference between being someone's successor and being someone's son.Gongyangzhuan's words was for Zhongyingqi's particular issue,but was over explained by the scholars afterwards.The last were the texts from Yili(??)and Liji(??).These texts were the source of discussing the issues of the mourning system and rites in ancestral shrines in order to honor the successor's parents.The mouring system to brothers and cousins as well as the mourning system to the decendent were summarized.In Chapter Two,the historical records of successions from brother to brother in the dynasties from Han to Qing were summarized and analyzed.According to the analization,brother and cousin succeeded the kingship at a rate of 23.98%,only second to the son succeeded rate 55.56%.To strengthen the regime,naming a brother as the crown prince started in West Jin(??)dynasty and lasted to Yuan dynasty.This decreased the social turbulence caused by the successions from brother to brother.Most of the emperors who succeeded as a brother or a cousin acted accordingly to the demands of the mourning system.But most of the emperors who succeeded as a cousin hoped to honor their parents as emperors and empresses even though they hadn't been them.This led to discussions and debates.In these debates,the classical ritual texts were repeatedly reinterpreted or even misinterpreted,and they were used to contribute to the political conflicts.For the Zhao and Mu issues,the emperor brothers' tablets or shrines were mostly put or built in the same Zhao place or the same Mu place.A common way was to put the emperor brothers' tablets in different rooms in the same shrine.In Chapter Three,several other famous views and debates on the issue of succession from brother to brother were discussed.The first one was the practical conflict between the principle regarding someone's brother's son as someone's own son and the principle regarding someone's successor as someone's son.If someone brought up his brother's son as his own son,this son was different from a successor chosen from his brother's family.In East Jin(??)dynasty,a woman named Yu(??)firstly put this opinion forward.She pointed out that being someone's adopted son didn't mean that being someone's successor.She was the first to divide being the son and being the successor.Later,in Ming dynasty,in the Great Ritual Controversy(???),Zhang Cong(??)pointed out that being the successor didn't mean being the son.This was actually based on Yu's opinion.Zhang Cong was not the only person who held this opinion.Famous neo-Confucianists as Wang Tingxiang(???)and Wang Yangming(???)both pointed this out.It showed the new development of the neo-Confucianism in Ming dynasty.The second one was also about the issues of being a heir and being a future patriarch.Being a successor might mean being an heir to the kingship,lordship or other titles of nobility,yet it might also mean being the next patriarch of the clan in charge of the family's ancestral shrines.Lots of debates tried to tell these two apart.The different usage of the ritual principles served to makesure the successor being legal to nobility and in charge of the ancestral shrines.The third one was the definition of the Mi Shrine(??).Scholars in different dynasties contributed different views on this issue.Other views on Zhao and Mu issues were also discussed in this chapter.Chapter Four focused on the ethical issues of brothers by comparing the classical documents and the unearthed documents.With the help of the classical documents,the ethical thoughts from the Confucianism texts were listed as well as some famous persons who abided the fraternal morality.Five unearthed documents were discussed in this chapter as supplements to the classical documentes.These documents revealed that not only the younger brother needed to abided the fraternal morality as written in the classic texts,the elder brother also need to take it as his obligation to treat his younger brother with morality.This could correct some misinterpretations of the classic texts.The way of succession from brother to brother had deeply contributed to the imperial power politics,patriarchal social system,legal system,moral concepts and social customs.On this issue,there were heated discussions among the emperors,ministers,politicians,Confucian scholars and ritualists.The historical process of these discussions showed not only the development of the interpretation of the Confucius classics,but also the inner tension between the traditional academic field and the political realities throughout the history. |
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