The Changes Of The Theory Of The State Of Jin Internal Political System And Features

In Western Zhou Dynasty, local vassal kingdom constituted an important component of the Zhou Dynasty patriarchal and subinfeudated system. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, and even the early years of the Warring States Period, the internal political system of local vassals had experienced a very large transformation. This essay selects Jin State as subject investigated, which was the most influential state in the Spring and Autumn Period, make use of traditional literatures and archeological materials and analyze its internal political system. Through this study, I wish to seek and interpret the development way of the local vassal kingdom internal political system changes. That will be an important reference on pre-Qin political and individual states historical research.The internal political system of Jin was not same performance at different stages. In Western Zhou Dynasty, the internal political system of Jin was affected by reciprocity between geopolitics and patriarchal clan system, shown the similarity, but also shown some differences with the political structure of central government. As one local regime, Jin State always existed with an administrative region of central government of Western Zhou. It was influenced by the structure of the central government official, but there was no sound and complete as central government. In such a political system, the vassal occupied more and more important political resources in politics, and thus affected his political power in local vassal kingdom that became the most important foundation that the vassals were in power and continue the ancestor worship of Zhou when Propriety-Music disintegration and royalty declined.When the Spring and Autumn Period, with the phyle of Yi was substituted by phyle of Quwo and the others posterity of Huan-shu and Zhuang-bo were killed by Jin Xian Duke, the classic patriarchal clan system factors in the politics had vanished into the air. The substitute was the Politics of the Minister that issued from the Jin Wen Duke period. He carried out a series reforms in view of political situation of that time. The reforms finally enlarged the foundation of ruling group, improve and enriched the native official system of Jin. At the same time, Jin Wen Duke provided a channel of promotion in the politic for a large number of efficiency men, and brought up a minister group because of the establishment of reward and punishment principle to "morality"(德),"sageness"(贤)and "capacity"(能)as the core. These minister groups ulteriorly possessed political, martial and economic materials and annex monarch power by taking advantage of they achieved political resources during the reign of Ling, Cheng, Jing and Li four Dukes. Thence the monarch power was immensely weaken, and the dominion was grasped by the minister groups.With the establishment and development of minister power, minister family power was from strength to strength. Whether it was political or economic, there was an irreconcilable contradiction with monarch and other minister families. Therefore the combat between monarch and ministers or among ministers frequently occurred. Each minister family actively adjusted internal structure and expanded their power so as not to be dead out in that process. Under some minister families eliminated, the existent families made a further development by imbibitions and integration. The monarchial power’s declination made the minister families gradually become a political entity. There was a transform on the retainers’system in the families’interior that was fundamental structure of unitarianism. In this process, the internal retainers’ system had gradually brought about some bureaucratic features that similar as Max Weber had defined. Although it was hard to say that bureaucracy had been established in Jin State completely, it was proper to consider that the political system of Jin had contained a bureaucratic tendency.As one of the most important States in Zhou Dynasty, Jin State had existed more than600years from its birth to break-up and had given great influence on politics, economy and culture to contemporary society and the latter, especially on political field. The politics of Jin State had affected the formation of centralism of Warrior States, Qin and Han Dynasty greatly. This transform of political system could be seen as the rudiment of bureaucrat centralization state of power.