A Study Of Dukes' Domains In Shandong Area During The Han Dynasty

In 202BC, Liu Bang set up Western Han Dynasty with great unification after defeating Xiang Yu. In face of two major trends of"abolishing feudality and setting up prefecture"and"setting up prefecture and bestowing vassal"at that time, Liu Bang founded the two-track system which makes kingdom and prefecture exist together. Therefore the situation in which kingdom and prefecture exist side by side came into being in the governance of Han Dynasty. In the history of more than 400 years of Han Dynasties, the prosperity period of the kingdom only lasted for several decades during the early years of Han Dynasty. Then its strength declined and its territory reduced constantly. However, the two-track system existed until the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty.The vassals under an emperor are"nobilities with land"whose statuses are secondary only to the emperor during the early years of Han Dynasty. After middle period of Western Han Dynasty, kingdom's strength declined. They can choose their own officials and impose their own taxes during the early years of Han Dynasty. However, they are politically restricted gradually and their only economic sources are rents from administrative divisions of ordinary prefecture. Though in more than 300 years after the middle period of Western Han Dynasty, the kingdom of duke was only the administrative division without political and economic privilege, they has incomparable status has with other strata.Shandong area was exactly the epitome of this situation in Han Dynasty. On this land with developed economy and prosperous culture, two Han Dynasties seals the largest Qi kingdom and East Hai kingdom are located here, which exerted an important influence on local politics, economy and development of culture.The introduction of this text traces to the source of Han Dynasty kingdom system. The system initially originated from Xia and Shang Dynasty and formed the most typical shape in Western Zhou Dynasty. In Chunqiu and Zhanguo Periods, with the disintegration of field system of the well, the emergence of the force of minister's stratum, the popularization of prefecture and the foundation of centralization of power, the enfeoffment system begin to collapse. In the end of the Qin Dynasty, the vassals fought against each other and finally, Liu Bang unified the world again relying on their strength.Sectionâ…¡: In the early years of Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang realized that the existence of the kingdom with different surname was the greatest hidden danger for unifying regime. So he cut them out one by one except the country of Changsha because of its special position. Wiping out the kingdoms, Liu Bang begins to develop enfeoffments with the same surname with him. Because the enfeoffment of the kingdom in Shandong adapted to and solved the problem of the contradiction of the development of productivity and regional cultural differences which promoted the regional economy of Shandong to resume and develop rapidly. As the local organization, the kingdoms offered strong support for the realizing of centralization.Sectionâ…¢: With the constant growth of kingdom's force, it is apparent on day that it is inclined to challenge centralization. The three generations of Wen, Jing, and Wu began to adopt some policies to isolate and weaken the kingdoms which came down finally which was the same situation in Shandong.Sectionâ…£: In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are also many enfeoffments in Shandong, such as the largest country of East Hai. But because the hierarchs continued to limit and persecute the enfeoffments, so they had no rights in politics while the government officials took control politically.Summarization: Summarizing the ancient shape of feudalism in China, it can only at peace if the vassals have no land but title only. Because they have no lands, so they cannot constitute a threat to central regime which accords with the inherent requirement for centralization. In short, the centralization represented by the monarch and the decentralization of the vassals have a contradictory yet interactional relation. It has a great impact on the politics and society of the two Han Dynasties. The research on the development of the enfeoffments in Shandong in Han Dynasty can provide certain historical experience for us that how to give play to local enthusiasm to the greatest extent on the premise of ensuring central interests.