Archaeological Observation On Social Development Of Wei State In The Warring States Period

The word turmoil can be properly used to describe the social situation of China’s Warring States Period in which the social unrest will inevitably lead to great social change. Essentially, the development of productive forces plays a leading role. Located in the hinterland of the Central China and inheriting the traditional civilization, the State Wei in the early Warring States Period, once emerged rapidly, but ultimately failed to develop into a powerful empire and achieve the unity of Chinese people. There are profound social causes related to its decay. Combing through the archaeological data, these reasons can be revealed, accordingly helping us a lot to recognize the prevailing social structure development objectively. In this paper, by analyzing the State Wei’s development in the Warring States Period as a case and from the archaeological perspective, the interaction between the internal and external factors of the social development and their influence will be objectively interpreted.In this paper, by selecting Wei Great Wall ruins and city sites and tombs of Nanyang region as a typical case, and with the methods of classification study, the static mode and dynamic trend of the development process implied by these archaeological evidence will be analyzed, and furthermore great contrasts and contradictions between Wei’s social structure and requirements of the times are revealed, too.According to the analysis of Wei social structure, the aristocracy of consanguinity of the political system is strong and powerful, directly restricting the structural transformation required by the development of social factors within and outside the Empire. Under the influence of this kinship political system, the radical situation of social change in Wei State eventually weakened, which also made the Wei Empire transformation fail and which resulted in the destruction of State.