Fangbo(??) Fangbo-system(???) In Shang And Zhou Dynasties

Fangbo(??),a well-attested term in Shang and Zhou Dynasties,denotes local powers in the early China;meanwhile,the Fangbo-System(???)means an institution of local governing in that period.Specifically speaking,Fangbo was the head of local tribes or states,while the Fangbo-System was an political system by which the central monarch could exert control over Fangbo.In terms of interactions between central and local governments,Fangbo gradually was involved in the development of state systems.The earliest known Fangbo arose from various local tribe-states,which obtained power by means of conquering,arranging of political marriage,as well as managing public affairs.Since the establishment of the system of enfeoffment(???)in Western Zhou Dynasty,Zhou people started to foster the“Feudal Fangbo”(????),who were mainly relatives and experienced minsters of the royal family.Thus,Fangbo were integrated into early state bureaucratic system and appeared to become a form of local government.With the advent of the Spring and Autumn Period,Fangbo graduated into local“hegemony”(??).Therefore,in Qin and Han Dynasties,the traditional,hierarchical and aristocratic ruling form of“separation of power”faded away,being replaced by the imperial and power-centralizing institutions.The present thesis is based on extant literary and archaeological evidences,while focusing on the possible inter-testifying of various categories of ancient sources.Paying attention to the interactions between early Chinese institutions and society,this monographical study will try to offer a chronological and systematic analyze on the developments and changes of Fangbo and the Fangbo-System in Shang and Zhou Dynasties,from the perspective of longue durée.In this study,the present author will mainly address the following questions: 1.)the diachronic development of the FangboSystem in Shang and Zhou Dynasties,and the evolving of the early Fangbo to the Feudal Fangbo;2.)the interactions between the Fangbo-System and the state governing system,which was shaped by the system of enfeoffment;3.)how the Fangbo and the Fangbo-System influenced concepts of Eastern Zhou Dynasty.The introduction part states the basis of the research topic,the state of art and methodology.The concluding part not only sums up the result of the present thesis,but also points out potential approaches for further studies.Following the chronological order of the development and changes of the Fangbo-System,the main text of this study is divided into four chapters.The first chapter discusses Fangbo and the Fangbo-System in Shang Dynasty.As the starting point,it provides a scrutiny on the meaning of the Fang(?),as well as a comparison of that term with Bang(?)and Guo(?).The present author suggests that Fang implicates exclusive social groups which were bonded by shared blood and culture.This suggested definition of Fang will provide a basis for the discussion of Fangbo.With a specific discussion on the appellation Mou Fangmou(???),this chapter will enumerate relevant appellations,in order to point out the existence of diverse groups within Fangguo(??),who were in different social ranks and took different political standings.Thus,the formation of Fangbo could be seen as a result of social integration-process within a certain Fangguo-this is a promising theory for interpreting the development from Fang to Fangbo.In the last years of Shang Dynasty,the Shang people built the rudiment of the Fangbo-System.This system,based on military forces,took shape of title-conferring and political marriages.It aimed to defend the rule of the royal power.However,the Fangbo-System was still immature at that time,and was quite often utilized by Fangbo to expand their own power.With different points of focus,the second and third chapter respectively investigate Fangbo and the Fangbo-System in Zhou Dynasty.By close readings of literary texts and inscriptions,the second chapter analyzes different identities of Fang and Bo(?).It illustrates that Fang in Zhou Dynasty was not addressed as Fangbo;the same was also true for Bo at that time-with Nanshen Bo(???)as the only exception.Then,through an examination of the conferring of feudal states in Western Zhou Dynasty,it can be said that there were specific purposes in the conferring of lands,people and administrative appointments.These purposes brought out three standard for us to identify Fangbo:1.)they had to perform the duty of safeguarding and supervising local tribes and states;2.)the conferring of Fangbo-title was accompanied by extra gifts of people and lands;3.)their social status were high and important.These three standards corresponded to three categories of Fangbo:a).the Wangguan Bo(???);b).dukes and princes outside the royal territory,who served to supervise and safeguard the locals;c).the foreign Fangbo.Since the Spring and Autumn Period,these three categories of Fangbo experienced diverge development and were gradually transformed into the“hegemonies”.The third chapter is a detailed study on the Fangbo-System in Zhou Dynasty.It offers an analysis of the development of the Huimeng-System(???),the MingqingSystem(???)and the military system(which were all related to the Fangbo-System)in Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period,in order to show different profiles of the Fangbo-System during these times.The Huimeng-System was an important venue for Fangbo to participate political decisions.When Huimeng happened,Fangbo were responsible for supervising bordering nations to offer materials for sacrifices,and were obliged to pay homage to the Tianzi(??)on behalf of their own states.By the time of Spring and Autumn Period,Huimeng were controlled by the“hegemonies”who inclined to reassert lost moral virtues of Zhou Dynasty-on the other hand,however,Huimeng also strengthened their power.The Mingqing-System was a way for the royal power to control Fangbo.In Western Zhou Dynasty,it served the king's aims both to give military helps and to exert military control over Fangbo.The Mingqing had double identities:they are officials of the king,as well as those of Fangbo.As delegations of the Tianzi,they served as managers of Fangbo's army.However,due to the immaturity of the Mingqing-System,Mingqing ceased to be the king's officials since the middle period of Western Zhou.In the Spring and Autumn Period,although the Mingqing-System kept certain original characters,it was no longer able to keep Fangbo under control.Along with that development,Fangbo's armies finally fall into the hands of Fangbo(and afterwards,Gongqing)from those of Tianzi.What remained unchanged was the hierarchy of armies:they were consisted of Dafu(??),Shi(?)and Shuren(??),which reflect the relative stability of social structures in Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Period.The fourth chapter analyzes Fangbo and Fangbo-System from the angle of thinking history.Ancient monographs regarding rituals,e.g.,the Li Ji(????)and the Zhou Li(????),preserved substantial hints of the Fangbo-System in ancient times.Yet,these books recorded institutions which were too excessively idealized to be taken seriously.They normally have the tendency to express“delicate implications”with the help of literary devices.Actually,these books were blueprints created by Confucian scholars of the Warring States,with the aim to offer remedies for contemporary social problems.Meanwhile,historians also engaged in the Debate of Wang and Ba(????)with their historical works.For instance,the Xi Nian(????)used the term Zhouwang(??)to summarize the transformation between Eastern and Western Zhou.It valued the Fangbo more than royal family,and judged military force to be more crucial than moral rituals.Therefore,it reflects the historian's precise understanding of the political tendency of the Warring States.It could also be read as their answers for the future.To sum up,the present thesis provides a scrutiny of various kinds of sources(literature,oracles,inscriptions and the bamboo-texts)and a critical approach towards former studies.It not only offers a deeper view on research problems related to Chinese feudalism,but also teases out the hints of developments of the Fangbo-System in Shang and Zhou Dynasties.Furthermore,it presents a suitable way of approaching the implications of Fangbo in the oracles,inscriptions and literary texts.