|
Fengjian
''Fēngjiàn'' ( zh, c=封建, l=demarcation and establishment) was a governance system and political thought in Ancient China and Imperial China, whose social structure formed a decentralized system of confederation-like government. The ruling class consisted of the Son of Heaven (king or emperor) and aristocracy, and the lower class consisted of commoners categorized into four occupations (or "four categories of the people", namely scholar-officials, peasants, laborers and merchants). Elite bonds through affinal relations and submission to the overlordship of the king date back to the Shang dynasty, but it was the Western Zhou dynasty who enfeoffed their clan relatives and fellow warriors as vassals. Through the ''fengjian'' system, the king would allocate an area of land to a noble, establishing him as the ruler of that region and allowing his title and fief to be legitimately inherited by his descendants. This created large numbers of local autonomous dynastic domains. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military control over territories centered on the Wei River valley and North China Plain. Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for the Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. The latter Eastern Zhou period is itself roughly subdivided into two parts. During the Spring and Autumn period (), power became increasingly decentralized as the authority of the royal house diminished. The Warring States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng engaged in a Qin's wars of unification, series of wars conquering each of the rival states that had previously pledged fealty to the Zhou. This culminated in 221 BC with the successful unification of China under Qin, which then assumed an imperial prerogativewith Ying Zheng declaring himself to be Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, and bringing an end to the Warring States period (221 BC). This state of affairs lasted until 206 BC, when the dynasty collapsed in the years following Qin Shi Huang's death. The Qin dynasty's 14-year existence was the shortest of any major dynasty in Chinese history, with only two emperors. However, the succeeding Han dynasty (202 BC220 AD) largely continued the military and administ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Governance
Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, interactions, Power (social and political) , power dynamics and communication within an organized group of individuals. It sets the boundaries of acceptable conduct and practices of different actors of the group and controls their decision-making processes through the creation and enforcement of rules and guidelines. Furthermore, it also manages, allocates and mobilizes relevant resources and capacities of different members and sets the overall direction of the group in order to effectively address its specific collective needs, problems and challenges. The concept of governance can be applied to social, political or economic entities (groups of individuals engaged in some purposeful activity) such as a Country, state and its government (pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feoffment
In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another. The common law of estates in land grew from this concept. Etymology The word ''feoffment'' derives from the Old French or ; compare with the Late Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... or ; compare with the Late Latin . England In English law, feoffment was a transfer of land or property that gave the new holder the right to sell it as well as the right to pass it on to his heirs as an inheritance. It was total relinquishment and transfer of all rights of ownership of an estate in land from one individual to another. In feudal England a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Zhou
The Eastern Zhou (256 BCE) is a period in Chinese history comprising the latter two-thirds of the Zhou dynasty. The period follows the Western Zhou era and is named due to the Zhou royal court relocating the capital eastward from Fenghao (in present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province) to Chengzhou (near present-day Luoyang, Henan province) after the fall and sacking of the old capital in the hand of Quanrong barbarians. The Eastern Zhou era was characterised by the progressively weakened authority of the Zhou royal house, and correspondingly increasing autonomy and military ambitions of various feudal states. It is subdivided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn period (), during which the ancient aristocracy still held nominal influence in a large number of separate polities; and the Warring States period (221 BCE), which saw the complete decentralization, escalation of interstate warfare and regional administrative sophistication. History According to traditional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homage (feudal)
Homage (/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ or ) (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position ( investiture). It was a symbolic acknowledgement to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his man (''homme''). The oath known as "fealty" implied lesser obligations than did "homage". Further, one could swear "fealty" to many different overlords with respect to different land holdings, but "homage" could only be performed to a single liege, as one could not be "his man" (i.e., committed to military service) to more than one "liege lord". The ceremony of homage was used in many regions of Europe to symbolically bind two men together. The vassal to-be would go down on their knee and place their palms together as if praying. The lord to-be would place his hands over the hands of the vassal, while the vassal made a short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vassal State
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to the era of the Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitanni conflict, as well as in ancient China. The relationships between vassal rulers and empires were dependent on the policies and agreements of each empire. While the payment of tribute and military service was common amongst vassal states, the degree of independence and benefits given to vassal states varied. Today, more common terms are puppet state, protectorate, client state, associated state, or satellite state. Historical examples Ancient Egypt The reign of Thutmose III (1479 BC – 1425 BC) laid the foundations for the systems that functioned during the Amarna period of Egypt. Vassal states in the Levant became fully integrated in Egypt's economy with the construction of harbours � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. It is one of the " Five Classics" traditionally said to have been compiled by Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries over two millennia. It is also a rich source of '' chengyu'' (four-character classical idioms) that are still a part of learned discourse and even everyday language in modern Chinese. Since the Qing dynasty, its rhyme patterns have also been analysed in the study of Old Chinese phonology. Name Early references refer to the anthology as the ''300 Poems'' ('' shi''). ''The Odes'' first became known as a ''jīng'', or a "classic book", in the canonical sense, as part of the Han dynasty's official adoption of Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cai Shu Du
Cai Shu Du or Shu Du of Cai ( zh, c=, l=Du, [Royal] Uncle of Cai), given name Du (), was the first ruler of the State of Cai. Du was the fifth son of King King Wen of Zhou, Wen of Western Zhou, Zhou and his wife Taisi (). He had ten brothers and eight half-brothers. His elder brothers were Kao (Boyi Kao), Fa (King King Wu of Zhou, Wu of Zhou dynasty, Zhou), Xian (Guan Shu Xian, Guan Shu), and Dan (the Duke of Zhou). He was given the fief (China), fief of Cai by King Wu after the overthrow of the last Shang dynasty, Shang king, King Zhou of Shang, Zhou. Du's realm centered on present-day Shangcai County, Shangcai, Henan. He and his brothers Guan Shu Xian and Huo Shu Chu (霍叔處) were known as the Three Guards, but when King Wu died and the Duke of Zhou assumed the regency for the young King King Cheng of Zhou, Cheng, they rebelled along with Wu Geng. The Duke of Zhou was able to suppress the rebellion and Du was exiled, although Cheng eventually recreated the realm of Cai as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guan Shu Xian
Guan Shu Xian () was the first and only ruler of the Chinese state of Guan and was the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou. He was the third son of King Wen of Zhou, and one of the Three Guards responsible for overseeing the eastern lands of the newly-founded Zhou dynasty. Three years into the first reign, King Wu died of an illness and left his underage son, Song, as king. Thus Dan, the Duke of Zhou - who was the fourth son of King Wen - fearing that the kingdom might fall apart under an inexperienced king, took over government affairs as regent. This angered Guanshu Xian and the other two guards, who felt the Duke of Zhou had usurped the throne, and thus they joined Zi Wugeng, the son of the last king of Shang and nominal ruler of Yin, the old Shang capital, and began a rebellion against the regent. This was known as the Rebellion of the Three Guards. Following three years of war, the rebellion was crushed and Guanshu Xian, considered its main leader, was executed and the state ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Gong
Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou, commonly known as the Duke of Zhou, was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting as a capable and loyal regent for his young nephew King Cheng, and for successfully suppressing the Rebellion of the Three Guards and establishing firm rule of the Zhou dynasty over eastern China. He is also a Chinese culture hero, with the authorship of the ''I Ching'' and the ''Classic of Poetry'' having traditionally been attributed to him, as well as the establishment of the ''Rites of Zhou''. Life His personal name was Dan (). He was the fourth son of King Wen of Zhou and Queen Tai Si. His eldest brother Bo Yikao predeceased their father (supposedly a victim of cannibalism); the second-eldest defeated the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye around 1046 BC, ascending the throne as King Wu. King Wu distributed many fiefs to his rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
