The Spring And Autumn Retainer System

Retainers'system during the Spring and Autumn period is an important approach to formation of the bureaucracy system in the Warring States times,which is a main stage of bureaucratic's transformation from the family's officials to courtiers in ancient China. The research on the question is an essential part of studying the development of bureaucracy system and social refroms in ancient China.Although domestic scholars had abundant fruits on the question,they lacked the whole study of retainers'origin,development,and decline.And it cann't completely understand the connotation of the social history that retainers'system reflected.On the basis of previous studies,the essay tries to research the change of retainers and offical system during the Spring and Autumn period,in order to help people understand the whole trend to development of retainers'system during the Spring and Autumn period.The essay maily divides into four parts,as follows:In the first part,it simply studies the historical origins of retainers'system during the Spring and Autumn period. Secondly,according to Jinwen file,the part summarizes the patriarchal clan system's characteristic of retainers'system in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the characteristic of retainers and offical system by imitating Bureaucratic system of the Zhou ruling house.In the second part,it investigates the setting and responsibility of retainers during the Spring and Autumn period.Firstly,the part analyses the development's causes of retainers and offical system,including the enfeoffment's power moving down,'vassals assigning fiefs',the power development of Qingdafu,and the great development of retainers and offical system.Then,the part prods into the development of Qingdafu's 'court',the setting and responsibility of both family and fief's retainers.It reflects the new change from retainers and offical system to new Bureaucratic system.In the third part,it explorates the complicated state shown by retainers'patriarchal clan system——continuation and change during the Spring and Autumn period.At first/the part analyses the historical background——existence and decay of Qingdafu family's patriarchal clan system——of retainers'patriarchal clan system at that time.Then it investigates thoroughly all aspects of retainers'patriarchal clan system,as follow:first,retainers of patriarchal clan system were existing, at the same time retainers of non-patriarchal clan system have appeared abundantly so that choosing them turned into the standard of Qingdafu choosing the talen gradully;second,the part dissertates the existence and change of relations of dependence both familiy masters and retainers——;third, the part analyzes and compares the three ways of dominating liegemen by family masters.Through studying the above questions,we can see that the retainers'patriarchal clan system began to fall into a decline little by little,the traditional retainers'system was been collapsing,and the new bureaucracy system was forming because of appearing the new employment criteria and the new relation between family masters and retainers.In the four. part,it discusses the collapse of retainers'system and the relation between retainers'system and the bureaucracy system.I think:with the collapse of the system of enfeoffment and the decline of Qingdafu rank in the later stage of Spring and Autumn period and in early Waring States, retainers'system is doomed to perish finally.However, thequondam Qingdafu retainers must became bureaucrats in the new country because many Qingdafu turned into the new monarch by defeating the old royal family.Retainers and offical system during the Spring and Autumn period developed into the new bureaucracy system,and the new relation between monarch and official in feudal times replaced the relation of patriarchal clan system between family masters and retainers.Thus, retainers'system is an important way of forming bureaucracy system in the Warring States times.