Western Han Feudal System Research

This thesis is divided into three sections, according to the clues of the varieties in the system of the enfeoffment and the rise-fall, alternation of the duke under an emperor in the Western Han Dynasty, to discuss the affection and influence on the political-ecnonmical pattern.The West Han Dynasty's system of enfeoffment included the the duke under an emperor and the marquis. It was so-called that the West Han Dynasty rose, the title divided the No. 2 quality, 'the big the king, the small the marquis'. A main line penetrated the development process of the West Han Dynasty obviously, namely the centralization regarding as an emperor and the local right of partition regarding as the the duke under an emperor as not only conflicted again each other but also combined mutually. In the Chu-Han's war Liu-bang successively enfeoffed different clan surname feudatories of Han-king-xin,Han-xin,Peng-yue,Ying-bu,in order to consider for the interests of the whole, enlist the services of able people, coming from the demand of the military1 struggle. Liu-bang vanquished Xiang-yu and established West Han Dynasty under their help. After the West Han Dynasty was established, Liu-bang exterminated the different clan surname kingdoms, enfeoffed the same surname kingdoms, changed the principle that won the champion because of the achievement into the relatives between the end of Qin and the beginning of Han to keep the rule of the liu's family. The principle of'not Liu's not king'was mostly establishmented by 'The White Horse's Alliance'. Wether enfeoffing the different clan surname kings or enfeoffing the same surname feduatories, all for the West Han Dynasty establishing and making stronger created consolidationedly favourable condition, we can't say 'fall-back' or 'lag-behind' in one word.The kingdom was the sphere of influence that the emperor divided for the duke. In the Kingdom, the king owned the the rights to rule people, 'appointed the government officials and got the taxes', followed the West Han dynasty to establish his palace and official system. The kingdom still had its troopses, owned political independence equally. Along with the inflation of the political influence, increasing of economic strenght of the kingdom, king also gradually stood up the West Han Dynasty as an equal, so 'weakening kingdom's stratage became the center mission for the West Han dyansty' government resolving the kingdom problem. 'Han-Wen adopted comments of Jia-yi to branching Qi and Huai-Han, Han-Jing cut up Wu and Chu by means of Chao-Cuo's stratagem, Han-Wu promulgated imperial favour's order by accepting Zhu-fu-yan's scheme', the policy that the West Han Dynasty government repressed the kingdom obviously enhancesed,. Henceforth the force of the kingdom came down quickly as if it was on the decline.This thesis thinks, attitude that the West Han treated the Kingdom was to make use, limit and attack. As the power of the emperor strengthened continuously, the Han-government also enlarged the policies to restrain the kings. The kingdom experienced the history process of powerfulness, decline and wane. So it is very beneficinai for us to grasp the development regulation of the West Han Dynasty by promulgating the history process of the West Han Dynasty's kingdoms.