| By using historical records and inscription sources, my dissertation attempts to study the family history of Sheshi during the period from the late Tang Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty.Sheshi, a local phratry on Fuzhou area, started out in the late Tang Dynasty and the early Five Dynasties, and, under the menace of the Qidan and the Western Xia, used to subject to the Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty, the Latter Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty to maintain its local interests.The excellent geographical environment, the abundance of horse sources and the advancement of agricultural and pastoral economy of Fuzhou area provided Sheshi family with an advantageous foundation for its development. Based on those advantages, Sheshi family stretched its influence west to the downstream of Kuye River, east and southeast to the Yellow river. Regions under its control included Fuzhou, Linzhou and Fengzhou. By those strengths, the influence of Sheshi family in Fuzhou lasted about two hundred sixty years; thus, Sheshi family can be viewed as a special local force of Fuzhou area.In the Five Dynasties, partly due to its familiarity of local aborigines and the unique geographical location of Fuzhou, Sheshi family was gained special attention from the emperors of the Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty and the Latter Zhou Dynasty, and gradually became one of the most principal strongholds of protecting the frontier of northern China.Sheshi family was subordinate to the Northern Song Dynasty at the Dynasty’s very foundation. Its hereditary power of controlling Fuzhou was guaranteed by the Northern Song Dynasty. Until then, Sheshi still played a prominent role in protecting Hewai and in pinning down the power of Qidan and Lishi. However, as Nvzhen arose in the Northeast at the end of Northern Song Dynasty and frequently attacked Liao and Northern Song Dynasty, Fuzhou suffered fierce invasion and gradually lost its strategic defense position in Southern Song Dynasty. |
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