History Subject Lecture

Author: / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-03-01
Features: The term "fengzheng" () is often used in ancient China, referring to the system of "feng fan jian wei" (). To distinguish it from the concept of the "feudal society" as a social formation, scholars in Mainland China have adopted this habitual term. When did the system of fengzheng first appear? Ancient Chinese historical records trace it back to the era of the Yellow Emperor, possibly a legendary account formed by comparing and speculating on ancient history. Since the emergence of modern historiography, there have been differing views on this issue. Wang Guowei, in his work "On the Institutions of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties," interpreted the system of fengzheng and the patriarchal system as creations of the Zhou people, marking a significant cultural transformation between the Shang and Zhou dynasties. However, since the 1980s, the view that the system of fengzheng already existed during the Shang Dynasty has gradually become dominant. The paleographer Hu Houyi wrote "A Study on the Feudal System of the Yin Dynasty" (see his "Collected Essays on Oracle Bone Studies and Shang History"), proposing a view fundamentally different from Wang Guowei's: "Everything related to the early Zhou Dynasty, unless intentionally attached by later generations, can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty." Additionally, renowned scholars such as Xu Xichen and Qiu Xigui have also argued for similar perspectives. Of course, the common understanding among scholars is that the system of fengzheng was more mature and typical during the Zhou Dynasty, with its significance and role more evident. The system of fengzheng and the patriarchal system were both pillars supporting the Zhou Dynasty's governance. The Book of Songs, Great Elegies, Ban, clearly states: "The great states are the screen, the great clans are the beams." It regards the large states established through the system of fengzheng as the shield of the Zhou royal family, which is how the Zhou people perceived the system of fengzheng. The system of fengzheng indeed played a crucial role in consolidating and maintaining the rule of the Zhou royal family. The implementation of the system of fengzheng during the Western Zhou Dynasty was roughly as follows: A certain area around the capital was designated as the "royal domain," known as "a thousand li of the realm" by the Zhou people, directly ruled by the (Son of Heaven); outside the royal domain, the (Son of Heaven) enfeoffed vassals to establish states, allowing them to exercise jurisdiction within their fiefdoms. Vassals further enfeoffed officials and ministers as lower nobles, which was also an important aspect of the system of fengzheng. The Zuo Zhuan, Duke Huan, Year 2, outlines the hierarchical system under the fengzheng: "Therefore, the Son of Heaven establishes states, vassals establish families, ministers establish side branches, and officials have secondary clans, all with hierarchical decline." The Zuo Zhuan, Duke Zhao, Year 7, even states: "Heaven has ten suns, and people have ten ranks." The Book of Rites, Liji, summarizes it as: "The Son of Heaven has fields to settle his descendants, vassals have states to settle their descendants, and ministers have fiefdoms to settle their descendants—this is called the system." This shows that the system of fengzheng led to a hierarchical division of land and political power. The lower-level enfeoffed lords owed obligations and responsibilities to their superiors, such as: vassals had duties in politics, economy, and military, such as reporting to the Son of Heaven, paying tribute, assisting in royal affairs, aiding in punitive expeditions, and presenting captives. Moreover, violating the hierarchical order in fulfilling these duties and responsibilities was not in line with the rites. A clear example from the late Spring and Autumn period is the case of Yang Hu, a retainer of the Ji family in Lu, who seized power and claimed to discipline the arrogant ministers of Lu. This act not only failed to gain the approval of those who knew the rites but also drew criticism (Zuo Zhuan, Duke Ding, Years 8-10). This example reflects the strict regulations of the hierarchical subordination system. The saying "The Son of Heaven governs, vassals rectify the borders, this is the ancient custom. Within the borders, what is not the lord's land? What grows from the land is not the lord's subjects?" (Zuo Zhuan, Duke Zhao, Year 7) establishes a parallel with the famous line from the Book of Songs: "All under heaven is not the lord's land; none by the riverside is not the lord's subject," further illustrating the issue. The hierarchical order created by the system of fengzheng was not only reflected in the political sphere but also permeated social life and ideological concepts. The Guoyu, Chu Yu, Lower, records a discussion by the virtuous minister Guan Shefu on the hierarchical system of sacrifices, involving a food hierarchy: officials above ate meat, scholars ate fish and roasted meat, and commoners ate vegetables. Numerous materials scattered in pre-Qin texts align with this. The Book of Songs, Bin Feng, Year 7, has the line: "Gathering tea and cutting firewood, feeding our farmers," and Mencius considered "allowing the seventy-year-olds to eat meat" as a benevolent policy (Mencius, Liang Hui Wang, Upper), suggesting that apart from the elderly, commoners could only eat vegetables and rarely meat. The strategist Feng Xuan, who lived under the noble Mengchangjun, sang a song about his grievances, "Long knife, return, eat no fish" (Zhan Guo Ce, Qi Ce, 4), though it was a grumbling song, it was not unreasonable, as he demanded the treatment due to scholars—"scholars eat fish and roasted meat." The famous story of Cao Jie in the Spring and Autumn period, where Cao Jie, a scholar, advised against intervening in military affairs, saying, "Those who eat meat plan it; why should I interfere?" Cao Jie replied, "Those who eat meat are narrow-minded; they cannot think far ahead" (Zuo Zhuan, Duke Zhuang, Year 10), clearly shows that "those who eat meat" referred to officials and ministers above, and precisely because of their incompetence, Cao Jie, as a scholar, had to advise the ruler. We can infer that even after the intense impact of the social upheavals during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the aristocratic hierarchical order and consciousness reinforced by the system of fengzheng still stubbornly showed their presence in all aspects of social life.
The Xinhai Revolution broke out, and the Qing Dynasty collapsed. On February 12, 1912, the Qing court declared its abdication. However, the feudal monarchy had lasted in China for over two thousand years, and the Qing Dynasty's rule had lasted for over 260 years, making its political influence impossible to disappear overnight. The remnants of the Qing court still possessed considerable power in the early years of the Republic of China. Some Manchu and Mongol nobles fled to places like Qingdao and Dalian and continued their restoration activities, forming the "Zongshugang" (Imperial Society). The Zongshugang had influence in Inner Mongolia and the Northwest. Additionally, some Qing court officials (such as Kang Youwei and Lao Naiyi) and feudal warlords like Zhang Xun remained loyal to the Qing court. In July 1917, these Qing court remnants, centered around Zhang Xun, took advantage of the political turmoil caused by the conflict between the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to stage a farce of Qing court restoration. After Zhang Xun's restoration failed, the remnants of the Qing court largely withdrew from the political stage until the founding of the puppet Manchukuo in 1932.
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, 14 southern provinces and the largest city, Shanghai, declared independence and established their own government—the Nanjing Provisional Government, forming a situation of north-south confrontation. In April 1912, the Nanjing Provisional Government moved north, and China appeared to restore political unity, but in reality, it fell into deeper division. The Beiyang warlord group, led by Yuan Shikai, seized central power on the basis of the six Beiyang garrisons established during the late Qing Dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution. At the time, warlords like Zhang Zuolin, Yan Xishan, and Chen Shufan, who rose in the north after the Xinhai Revolution and during the political turmoil of the early Republic, also depended on Yuan's regime. Yuan Shikai, relying on the strength of the Beiyang warlords, suppressed the Second Revolution and declared himself emperor in 1916, reaching the peak of his power. However, the Beiyang warlord group had internal factions from the beginning. After seizing central power, especially after gaining control of southern provinces after suppressing the Second Revolution, internal conflicts and power struggles intensified, ultimately leading to the Beiyang warlord group splitting into the Zhili faction, led by Feng Guozhang, and the Anhui faction, led by Duan Qirui after Yuan Shikai's death. Additionally, Zhang Zuolin expanded his power from Fengtian (Liaoning) to Jilin and Heilongjiang, forming the Fengtian warlord group. The Zhili and Anhui warlord factions began open conflicts in the War to Protect the Constitution, which began in 1917, and later the Fengtian warlords also entered the capital to compete for power. These three warlord factions controlled the Beijing government for 12 years and engaged in the Zhili-Anhui War in 1920, as well as two Zhili-Fengtian Wars in 1922 and 1924. The Anhui faction was defeated in the Zhili-Anhui War, the Zhili faction was destroyed during the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, and the Fengtian warlords retreated to the northeast under pressure from the Northern Expedition army. In 1928, Zhang Xueliang changed the flag in the northeast and allied with the Nationalist government. By then, the Beiyang warlord group, which had ruled China for 17 years after the Xinhai Revolution, had been defeated.
During the Xinhai Revolution, military and political leaders and local forces in some southern provinces seized the opportunity to rise, forming local warlords who relied on the southern revolutionary camp. Although these warlords outwardly submitted to the Beiyang warlord government led by Yuan Shikai as president, they retained their own armies and territories, effectively operating in a state of secession. In 1913, Yuan Shikai suppressed the Second Revolution, and the Beiyang army entered southern provinces, eliminating most warlords except those in Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest. In 1915, Yunnan and Guizhou, relying on their military strength, launched the War to Protect the Constitution,ing Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the monarchy, and warlords like Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting thus grew powerful. After Zhang Xun's restoration failed, Duan Qirui took control of the Beijing government and implemented a "military unification" policy toward the southwest warlords, forcing them to cooperate with Sun Yat-sen and launch the War to Protect the Constitution. During the War to Protect the Constitution, the southwest warlords excluded Sun Yat-sen and fought among themselves, some were destroyed, some later allied with the Guangdong Nationalist government, and others continued to secede and fight.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the Democratic Revolutionary Party, represented by the Tongmenghui, and the Constitutional Party, which established various organizations, were the two main factions on the Chinese political stage. After the Xinhai Revolution, various political forces continuously differentiated and reorganized. The Tongmenghui evolved into the Kuomintang. At this time, although the Kuomintang still retained the colors of the Tongmenghui in politics, it had largely degenerated into a large bureaucratic group of politicians. After the failure of the Second Revolution, the Kuomintang was labeled "a party of chaos," and its members in the National Assembly were expelled. In 1914, Sun Yat-sen founded the Chinese Revolutionary Party in Japan and continued his struggle against Yuan Shikai. In 1916, Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the monarchy failed, the old National Assembly was restored, and Kuomintang members formed what was called the "Censorship Faction," standing on the side of President Li Yuanhong against Premier Duan Qirui in the conflict between the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. After Zhang Xun's restoration failed in 1917, Duan Qirui refused to restore the old National Assembly, and some Kuomintang members followed Sun Yat-sen south to Guangzhou to protect the constitution.
Today's world is an open world, and opening up has become a basic strategy for economic development in all countries. China's development depends on the world, and the world also needs China. Peace and development have become the theme of the world today, and the new changes in the international economic and political landscape have provided favorable opportunities and conditions for China's opening up. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, our country has taken opening up as a basic policy. The state has adopted active measures to utilize foreign capital, introduce advanced foreign technology and equipment, learn scientific management experience from abroad, and pilot reforms in the foreign trade and economic system, making significant strides in opening up. The national economy has developed rapidly, and China's economy has begun to integrate into the world.
1. Establishing Special Economic Zones
After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, China's opening up began with the establishment of special economic zones. Guangdong and Fujian provinces, being close to Hong Kong and Macao and having a large number of overseas Chinese and relatively abundant resources, were convenient for attracting foreign capital and overseas Chinese capital, developing foreign trade and economy, and accelerating economic construction. During the April 1979 Central Work Conference, the heads of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, Xi Zhongxun and Yang Shangkun, proposed that Guangdong could fully utilize its proximity to Hong Kong and Macao and hoped the central government would grant it more power to implement opening up. The central committee of the Communist Party of China attached great importance to the proposal of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and Deng Xiaoping first expressed his support and approval. Deng Xiaoping said, "We can set aside a piece of land and call it a special zone. The central government does not have money, so you have to do it yourself and break a path for us." In the same year, the Guangdong Provincial Committee and the Fujian Provincial Committee separately submitted to the central committee reports titled "On Making Full Use of Guangdong's Superior Conditions to Expand Foreign Trade and Accelerate Economic Development" and "On Utilizing Overseas Chinese and Foreign Capital to Develop Foreign Trade and Accelerate the Construction of Socialism in Fujian." In July, the central committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council approved the reports of the two provinces and decided to implement special policies and flexible measures for their foreign economic activities, granting them more autonomy to make use of their superior conditions, seize the current favorable international situation, take the lead, and quickly boost the economy. The central government stipulated that the management system of the two provinces would be implemented under the unified leadership of the central government with a "big" (full responsibility) system, giving them greater management authority to pilot export special zones with preferential policies. In March 1980, the central government officially named the "export special zones" as "special economic zones." In May, the central committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council approved the minutes of the Guangdong and Fujian provincial conferences and agreed to set aside certain areas in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen to pilot special economic zones. In August, the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress officially approved the proposal of the State Council to set up special economic zones in the four cities and approved the "Regulations on the Guangdong Special Economic Zone." In February of the same year, the establishment of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone was officially approved, marking the formal birth of China's special economic zones. Later, due to the needs of opening up, the areas of the four special zones were expanded to varying degrees. Special economic zones, while adhering to the four basic principles, implemented special economic policies and management systems, focused on developing export-oriented economies, and achieved great success. In April 1983, the central committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council approved the "Discussion Memo on Accelerating the Development and Construction of Hainan Island," deciding to relax policies and grant more autonomy to promote development within the island through opening up. Based on the experience of the four special economic zones, in April 1988, the first session of the seventh National People's Congress approved the "Decision on Establishing Hainan Province" and the "Decision on Establishing the Hainan Special Economic Zone," deciding to establish Hainan Province and the largest special economic zone in China—the Hainan Special Economic Zone.