Wuyi during the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Author: Ju Shengji
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The wubi (fortified compounds) of the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties periods have not received sufficient attention from scholars in the past, and later research has largely relied on traditional historical records for explanations, resulting in similar arguments with no comprehensive interpretation of the characteristics of wubi organizations during these periods. Therefore, this book attempts to explore the historical origins, structural forms, and functions of wubi during the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties periods. In addition to utilizing traditional historical records such as Records of the Grand Historian, History of the Later Han, History of the Jin, and Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes of People, this book extensively employs archaeological materials such as the Juyan Han bamboo slips and newly unearthed murals, relief sculptures, and funerary objects from the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties periods in mainland China. The aim is to reconstruct the wubi organizations and the lives of their members during this era through the mutual corroboration of textual and archaeological findings. The main findings of this study include: due to the different formation causes and processes of frontier wubi and inland wubi, their nature and characteristics show significant differences. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Sixteen Kingdoms period, wubi took various forms, such as fortress-style, courtyard-style, watchtower-style, and mountainous fortress-style. They can also be categorized into two types: wubi and refugee wubi. Beyond their military and political functions, wubi also played an economic role and held significant status and influence during the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties periods.