On The System Of Supervision In The Western Zhou Dynasty

The feudatory supervisory system is an important measure of controlling local principality in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It consists of the military guard system（军监制度）and the censorship（监官制度）. The military guard system originated in the Shang Dynasty. It was used to control states and resist the foreign attack. Many “Hou（侯）””Bo （伯）” in the Shang Dynasty are military guards. The military guard system is still implemented in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Three Guards（三监），Ying Guard （应监），and other guards（监）are all military guards. They defend territory of the Western Zhou and help to develop their borders. Some of them become vassal states after canonized by Western Zhou kings. The censorship is the Mingqing system（命卿制度） recorded in the Ritual records System of King（《礼记·王制》）. After the Rebellion of the Three Guards, the Western Zhou realized the flaw of military guard system. Then they carried out the Mingqing system, that is, Western Zhou kings send Censors to vassal states to help and watch vassal king and military guards in case of the rebellion of them. The feudatory supervisory system plays an important role in consolidating the domination of the Western Zhou. However, with the weakening of its power, the effects of military guard and censors are also weakened. With their special status, parts of censors gradually dominate the politics of vassal states, even replace the throne.The breakthrough of the study on the feudatory supervisory system of the Western Zhou are the new development of the study on the problem of the Three Guards and the discovery of great amount unearthed archaeological data. So we firstly conclude the studies about the problem of the Three Guards, and according with the record about the Three Guards in Xi’nian（《系年》）of Tsinghua Bamboos and the Ritual records System of King, then we raises doubts about the traditional view. Finally, we conclude that the feudatory supervisory system of the Western Zhou is consists of the military guard system and the censorship.In order to explore the original of military guard system, we briefly analyzed the political pattern of Xia Dynasty and Shang Dynast. Then we studied parts of military guards on the basis of oracle bone inscriptions and concluded that the military guard system originated in the Shang Dynasty.The research on the feudatory supervisory system of the Western Zhou focuses on two aspects, one is the military guard system, the other is the censorship. Firstly, we did research on Ying guard, Guan guard（管监）, E division（鄂师）and other military guards according with handed-down documents and Bronze Inscriptions date. In addition, we also make a preliminary research on the Weatern Zhou Site of Gaoqing Chenzhuang in Shandong that may be a site of military guard. Then with the same method “double evidence for the existence”, a study on the censorship has been done.