Chapter 4 Section III Official System of the Western Zhou Dynasty

The Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 770 BC) was another slavery dynasty after the Shang Dynasty.In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were 12 kings from King Wu to King You.King, also known as Zhou Tianzi, is not only the head of the internal officials, but also the co-lord of the foreign princes.The official system of the Western Zhou Dynasty was more complete than that of the Shang Dynasty. The internal service officials in the Western Zhou Dynasty were divided into Qingshiliao and Taishiliao, which were the two major official offices in charge of internal service officials.In ancient times, the same official was called Liao.Qingshiliao is a summary of Qingshi and his subordinate officials, the most important of which are Shi, Bao, Fu and Yin.King Wu of Zhou once took Jiang Shang as his teacher, nicknamed "Shi Shangfu".King Cheng of Zhou also used Zhao Gongshi (shi style) as the Taibao, and Zhou Gongdan as the Taifu. "Da Dai Ji Bao Fu Pian" said: "Bao, protect his (referring to the king) body; Responsibilities of guidance, assistance and guardianship.Yin and Sangong have the same status.According to "Ling Yi" records: Zhou Gong's son Boqin was once the third Duke of Zhou King, and was also appointed as "Yin San Shi Si Fang, Shou Qing Shi Liao", that is, he was responsible for managing the San Shi Dafu, the Si Fang princes, and governing the court. official.

Under the Sangong, the main administrative officials are the "Three Affairs Doctors" and the "Three You Divisions".Sanshi Dafu refers to Renren, also known as permanent, responsible for the implementation of government affairs; Zhunfu, also known as Zhunren, responsible for judiciary; Mu, also known as Chang Bo, in charge of civil affairs.The Sanyousi and the Sanshidafu share power.There are Situ, one is called Situ, who manages land and taxes; Sikong, one is called Sigong, who manages projects such as city building, ditch digging, and road construction;In addition, there is Si Kou, who is in charge of the prison.Da Xingren is responsible for the pilgrimage (jin near) and engagement between the emperor and the princes.

Taishi Liao includes officials such as Shi, Bu, and Zhu.In addition to Taishi, Neishi, etc., historians also have censors.Taishi is the head of Taishi Liao. He is in charge of the calendar and records, and at the same time participates in confidential affairs, and can make suggestions to the government.Internal History, also known as Great History, Zuocen Internal History, Great Internal History, etc., is responsible for drafting brief policies for the appointment of princes and officials on behalf of the emperor.The censor, also known as the history under the pillar, is equivalent to the post of the Shang Dynasty.The number of divination is less than that of the Shang Dynasty.Zhu, in addition to being in charge of religious affairs, is more responsible for offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple, so he is also called Zongzhu and Zongbo.Lezheng, in charge of music and education of noble children of Chinese studies.Most of these positions are hereditary, just like the officials.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the number of palace officials serving the royal family increased day by day.Dazai is the head of Zhou royal affairs.Zhou Gongdan once held this post concurrently.Huben [ben Ben], responsible for the palace guards, led by the Shi family.Dress up and manage royal clothing.Fun horses, manage royal horses.Food husband, manage the royal family's diet.Shufu, managing the royal treasury.Take servants on the left and right to manage the royal utensils and chariots.Xiao Chen and Xiao Yin are the attendants of the royal family.Jiuyu, the female official in the palace, is in charge of the maids.

The establishment of foreign service officials in the Western Zhou Dynasty was closely related to feudalism and patriarchal clan system.Feudalism in ancient history is different from what we call feudalism today. It refers to enfeoffment, which means "feuding a state and establishing a country".The king of Zhou enfeoffed the land other than Wangji to the princes, and the fiefdoms of the princes were called "countries".The princes set aside part of the land in their own feudal country and granted it to the Qing doctor. The territory of the Qing doctor is called "the fief".Doctor Qing also has his own retainers, who are called scholars.The patriarchal clan system is a system evolved from respecting ancestors in primitive society.In the Zhou family, the eldest son of the king is called Dazong, who has the right to inherit the throne; the rest of the sons are called Xiaozong, who can only be granted the title of princes.In the vassal state, the eldest son of the vassals is called Dazong, and the rest of the princes are called Xiaozong, and they are named Qing Dafu.In the beneficiary of Doctor Qing, the eldest son of Doctor Qing is called Dazong, and the rest of the sons are called Xiaozong, and they are enfeoffed as scholars.Zhou Tianzi used these two systems to maintain system governance.Therefore, the country and the city became the local administrative regions of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the princes and doctors were the highest officials of these two levels of organization.The titles of princes are Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Nan.The official system of the vassal states is somewhat the same as that of the central government.Qing or Zhengqing is in charge of military affairs, and there are also officials such as Situ, Sima, Sikong, Sikou, Xingren, Taishi, and Dazai.In the fiefdom of the doctor, "zai" is the general manager.

The princes have to undertake the duties of guarding the place, sending troops to conscript, paying tribute, and paying tribute to the king of Zhou.If the princes fail to fulfill their obligations, the king of Zhou can ask the teacher to punish him. "Historical Records·Zhou Benji" records a story about the feudal lords playing with beacon fires: in the Western Zhou Dynasty, King You of Zhou was so fatuous that he lit the beacon fire many times in order to win the smile of his concubine Baosi (sisi).At that time, the beacon was lit only when the enemy attacked Wang Ji.When the princes saw the blaze of fire, they all led their troops to help.Later, when the princes learned the truth, they acted in vain.In 771 B.C., Quanrong really attacked Wang Ji, King You raised a beacon to recruit troops, but the princes did not arrive, and King You was killed.Although this incident refers to the corruption of King Zhou You, it also reflects that until the Western Zhou Dynasty, the princes still assumed various obligations to the royal family.