The Study Of Xie Shang And The Rising Of Dongjin Xie Family

The Xie family was originated in Yangxia,Chenliu county.It has over 1000 years history from their ancestor Mr.Shen was appointed to be the earl in Xie City in the Western Zhou Dynasty.Before people in Eastern Jin Dynasty moved to the south in Yongjia,there had just been three generations of Xie Zuan,Xie Heng and Xie Kun that could be found according to the files.Compared with other noble families,it did not have strong background until Yuankang when it became famous for its master of deep thoughts of Confucianism.During those years between Western Jin and Eastern Jin Dynasty,politics oriented by powerful families began to establish its position.According to the requirements of the government,the one who intended to develop their careers especially in the government must give up Confucianism and learn from metaphysics in order to catch the attention of the authorities thus getting promoted.On one hand,Xie Kun had learned metaphysics even before Yongjia,which completely met the need and won the opportunity for his family to be promoted.On the other hand,his son Xie Shang was actually a master of metaphysics.In the process of the whole family's development,he became the second leader after Yongjia and one of some very important persons that had made an indispensable contribution.This essay is divided in four chapters,choosing Xie family,the noble family in Eastern Jin,and making further analysis of the situation before its rising.It highlights the position of Xie Shang in the process of family promotion according to the research of the knowledge transmitted from his ancestors,the contribution of his family and his own capabilities.Chapter OneIt describes the situation of Xie family in Western Jin and Eastern Jin from all perspectives,its rapid development in Eastern Jin,its changes from a normal Confucianism noble family before Yongjia to a normal immigrant family,Xie Kun's choice from Confucianism to metaphysics and its climax in the period of Xie An and Xie Xuan after the Battle of Fei River.As a resule,it is easy to recognize Xie Shang's key role in his family's prosperity and contribution to the its later development.Chapter TwoIt illustrates the great contribution Xie Shang has made to his family.As an official and a general leading his army in northern expedition in feudal times,he raised the political and military position of his family by his feat and success in wars and defended his nation as well.When he was in charge of the town in Yuzhou,he behaved honest and upright and made a lot of achievements.Besides,he established good relationships and connections through marriages with many noble families,raising the fame of Xie Family.Chapter ThreeIt analyzes Xie Shang's success as an official in feudal times.From the aspect of individual capability,Xie Shang had charming personalities.He was slender and gentle,gained a good knowledge of different schools and talented both in literature and in martial arts.Compared with Xie Yi and Xie Wan who lived in the same times,he exhibited many advantages.While compared with other noble families,Xie family had strong foundation of knowledge,culture and religious belief,which influenced Xie Shang deeply to combine the ambition of being a successful official with his pursuit of aestheticism,making temperament also become one of his shining points.From the aspect of external environment,as Huan Wen,another powerful official who wanted to be the emperor,was defeated in the northern expedition war and controlled the force of cities in the middle and lower reaches of Yangze River,resulting in the decrease of other noble families' power,the central government decided to support Xie Shang,who didn't have strong background nor relationship with Huan Wen,to become its own force that can be against Huan Wen.In addition,there were four objective points that Xie Shang could make use of: his youth and family level that brought him access to the central government,his own excellent capabilities,his great feat and first position in Xie family,his family that had nearly no relationship with the first-class families,which meet the definition of “a new noble family”.Finally,this essay believes that Xie Shang played an important role in the rising of his family after moving to the south.Under the condition of the politics oriented by powerful families,he grasped the opportunities through his amazing capabilities and laid a solid foundation for his family to climb to the climax.He was absolutely one of the most significant celebrities in the preliminary developing time of Xie Family.It elaborates the obvious promotion of Xie Family in southern government in Eastern Jin.Xie Family began to accumulate sources in Yuzhou and gradually became equal with Wang Family in Langya.They formed a union,helping government to be against Huan Wen and stable the political situation of the whole nation.