The ''fubing'' system () was a local militia system in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

from the 6th to 8th centuries AD, originating in the

Western Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

and subsequently adopted by the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

, Sui, and

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

dynasties.

Characteristics

The basis of the Sui and early Tang militaries was the ''fubing'' militia system, first employed by the Western Wei, under regent

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This corre ...

's administration. These

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

units also served as reserves, and could be mobilized quickly in times of war or political instability. The system involved a network of militia who were assigned tracts of land. Men between 21 and 60 years of age were eligible. Officers received permanent commissions, but regular troops reported for duty at the province capital on a rotation system that varied upon living distance. Those who lived 500 '' li'' from the capital served one month every five months, and those over 2000 ''li'' away served for two months every 18 months. When off-duty, they would farm their land, but when a war occurred, they would be re-mobilized. This supplemented the

equal-field system The equal-field system () or land-equalization system was a system of land ownership and distribution in China used from the Northern Wei to the mid-Tang dynasty. By the Han dynasty, the well-field system of land distribution had fallen out of ...

, which assigned all households a share of land to farm. These units subsequently became hereditary military families, and ushered forth vast militarized settlements and communities. The Sui placed these units under local civil administration, and later the Tang incorporated them under metropolitan control, more specifically the Ministry of the Army. The Tang fielded 634 militia units, later called Zhechongfu. Under Tang administration every 6 families were expected to provide one man to serve under a garrison unit. Each unit consisted of 800 to 1200 men, and in turn were subdivided into ''tuan'' of 300, ''dui'' of 50, and ''huo'' of 10.Peers, p.110-112 Many were concentrated in the northern region, especially in

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

, which alone fielded 261 militia units, the rest included 164 in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, and 74 in

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

and

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, all constituting about 80 percent of ''fubing'' conscripts. ''Fubing'' required little government expenditure, since militiamen could support themselves by farming. The ''fubing'' system only had provisions for brief military campaigns and peacetime. Prolonged warfare would prevent the cultivation of agriculture for the economy. ''Fubing'' was gradually abandoned in favor of full-time army units, known as '' jian'er'' (健儿).Jian Er
/ref>

Notes

References

Fubing system in Encyclopædia Britannica
*Liu, Zhaoxiang et al. (2000). ''History of Military Legal System''. Beijing: Encyclopedia of China Publishing House. . *Tang, Gengou
"Jian Er"
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...

'' (Chinese History Edition), 1st ed. *Yang, Zhijiu et al
"Fubingzhi"
''

'' (Chinese History Edition), 1st ed. *Yang, Debing
"Zhechongfu"
''

'' (Chinese History Edition), 1st ed. *Peers, C.J. (2006). ''Soldiers of the Dragon''. New York: Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN, 1-84603-098-6 Conscription in China Military history of Imperial China Western Wei Northern Zhou Sui dynasty Military history of the Tang dynasty

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References