Zhou Dynasty's system of tribute (Revised Edition)

Author: Lü Wenyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The fiefdom system is one of the most important political systems during the Zhou Dynasty. However, this significant system has not received the attention it deserves in previous historical research. This book comprehensively and systematically examines the historical process of the emergence, development, transformation, and decline of the Zhou Dynasty's fiefdom system. It analyzes the different forms and characteristics of the fiefdom system in various historical stages, reveals the social roots of its evolution, evaluates its important role in the social development of the Zhou Dynasty and its impact on the long-term historical development of China's feudal society, and criticizes the various erroneous views on the fiefdom issue by scholars since the Han Dynasty as well as some prevailing incorrect opinions in contemporary historical academia. The book also conducts in-depth research, analysis, and discussion on important issues such as the scope of the Western Zhou royal domain, the distribution and changes of fiefdoms within the royal domain, the internal structure and essence of the (aristocratic families) during the Spring and Autumn Period, the relationship between the competition for fiefdoms among states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the rise and fall of the royal court and the decline of the (aristocratic clans), as well as the historical inevitability of the replacement of the fiefdom system by the prefecture-county system.