A Study On "Zhongren" In Shang Dynasty

Zhongren ??is a group that is common in oracle inscription.By comparing relevant examples,it can be ascertained that the identity of Zhong?and Zhongren are the same,and some of the Ren? in the inscription are also referred to as Zhongren.There is a group difference in the distribution of the words Zhong and Zhongren.The word Zhongren is found in the group of Typical Bin?? Bin ?and Li ???.However,Zhong is more widely seen in the inscriptions of each group.When the word in front of Zhong is the name of a family or a place name,the racle inscription only uses the word Zhong and never uses the word Zhongren?which may reflect a language habit of Shang Dynasty.Those family who have Zhongren in the inscriptions seems to be the same surname with the King,which may reflect the clan form and blood concept of the Shang Dynasty.Zhongren plays an important role in the social life of the Shang Dynasty.Zhongren often carry out some specific farming activities under the leadership of King,patriarchs,and Xiaozhongrenchen???? The checking the granary with the participation of Zhongren may be an activity to ensure food security in the state of war.Zhongren is also involved in hunting activities,but there are fewer related examples.In the military,Zhongren participated in various stages before,during,and after the war.Before the war,The King often mobilized and drilled Zhongren,and Zhongren also participated in the construction of city defense and other activities.In wartime,Zhongren often led a series of actions such as offensive,defensive,abide by,and rescue under the leadership of the patriarch.The King is also very concerned about the loss of the Zhongren in the war.The Sangzhong?? in the inscriptions refer to the loss of Zhongren rather than slave escape.The Sangzhong are generally related to war,and Zhongzuojibusang?????may also be related to military activities.The Zhizhong??in the inscriptions is not the meaning of hurting Zhongren,nor the meaning of displaying Zhongren.Shen Pei thinks that it is close to the meaning of Sangzhong and can agree,(?)Zhong is not Mizhong??and cannot be interpreted as appeasing the Zhongren,and its meaning maybe is similar to Zhizhong.The word(?)of the(?)Zuongren should not be interpreted as Tu ?,and should be interpreted as Ya? that belongs the meaning of meeting as Shen Peizhi said.(?)Zhongren is the meaning of greeting the soldiers who return of the battle.It is not the meaning of slaughtering Zhongren.Ganzhong?? is not to kill Zhongren,perhaps the reverse of Zhonggan??,or the Gan? can be understood as a family name or place name.The meaning of the word Zhong has undergone a process of change during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.In the literature of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,the word Zhong was often used as an adjective to expressing the meaning of much.On this basis,it has been extended to become a group title that refers to a wide range of different identity groups.These meanings are different from the inscriptions.Therefore,we should be cautious when using the classic literature and unearthed documents to demonstrate the identity of the Zhongren in oracle inscription.However,the words Zhong in the early and middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty,such as Shiqiding??? and Huding??,still retain the similar usage to oracle inscriptions,which may be related to Shiqi?? and Kuangji?? are the Yin Survivals ???.In the late Western Zhou Dynasty,the word Zhong in the Shihuangui?(?)? and Yinghoushigonggui????? has already appeared in the meaning of the transition to adjectives.For the identity of Zhongren,the focus of previous debates is on whether it is a slave.According to the relevant discussion in this article,the author does not tend to think that Zhongren are slaves.