A Study Of The Ju Clan In Shang And Zhou Dynasties

As a strong and active clan in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties,the Ju clan often provides force supports for the royals’ external expansion with its independent armed force and powerful military force.The Ju clan had experienced two migrations During the period of Wuding,General Ju leading his clan had been active along the north of Wenshui basin and Pingyin area of Shandong Province.After a period of development,the growing scale and proliferating clan branches made the Ju clan mainly move to the lower reaches of Wenshui River Basin and Qufu area,where is the central Shandong area within the south of Mount Tai in the late Shang Dynasty.Ju people,became the survivors of the great upheaval,since the king of Zhou finally won the regime.Some of them served Feudal lord of Yan,and worked in the state,where now is in Liulihe town,Fangshan,Beijing,and others served as shi and quan official in the suburbs of the capital of Zhou empir,now in Shaanxi Province.Generally distributed around their mother clan,the branches of the Ju clan in the Shang Dynasty respectively is:the(?)clan in Changqing,the Shang clan along the lower reaches of Wenshu,the Qi and Ji clan in Zishui basin,the Ci clan in the southeast of Mount Tai,the Xiang clan in the east of Lu state and the west of Ju state,the隳clan in Feixian,Shandong Province,the Geng clan in the east of Sishui county and the(?)clan in Anyang,Henan Province.The branch of the Ju clan developed to the East with its mother as its core,which means that the limits of the Ju clan’s power expanded to the East with Wenshui basin asits center.As a critical clan in the expedition of Renfang,the Ju clan played an important role in suppressing and appeasing the states in eastern territoriesThe(?)clan,the Shi clan,the Zhou royal family and the(?)clan all had had formed a matrimonial alliance with the Ju clan.Especially,the(?)clan,the Shi clan and the(?)clan cooperated with the Ju clan in the Shang Dynasy.The relationship between the(?)clan and the Shang state is both hostile and friendly,and its family attributes and geographical location remains uncertain.The(?)clan is the noble with the surname of Zi,the Shi clan is the noble with the surname of Ren.The geographical locations of the two clan are around the Ju clan,and both of them belongs to eastern tribes.Connections through marriages among Ju,(?),Shi and(?)are conducive to the expeditions of the enemy countries nearby as well as consolidate the ruling of the Shang dynasty.In the Western Zhou dynasty,the marriages between the Ju clan and the Zhou royal family had a strong political overtone.