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The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period

  • Author:

    Baichuan Wang

  • Page Number:

    95.1:1-34

  • Date:

    2024/03

  • Cite Download

Abstract

After King Wen of Chu (r. ca. 689–677 BCE) “annexed” the State of Shen, he deprived the ruling family of its power, established Shen County申縣, and appointed the Shen Gong 申公 (Duke of Shen) to administer it. During this process, the Chu retained some of the original aristocratic groups of the Shen, but at the same time transformed the latter’s power structure: local clans, not of the Ji姬or Jiang姜, led by the Peng彭family were promoted and members of the Mi羋clan were sent to establish a Chu presence, with the two parties ultimately uniting to replace the Ji and Jiang as the new core power group of the Shen. The aristocrats of Shen County, who enjoyed their own fiefdoms under the Shen Gong, resided in Shen Yi申邑, namely Shen City, and were buried in the outskirts of the city after their death. Falling under the direct control of the king of Chu, the Shen Gong’s authority was limited to only Shen City and its outlying areas, and the main duty of the Shen Gong was to lead the Shen army in battle, while the day-to-day administrative affairs of Shen County were carried out by the “lao of Shen” 申之老, namely local fief lords. Against the background that a bureaucratic administrative system was still waiting to be fully realized and that the “bianhu qimin” 編戶齊民household registration system had not yet become widespread, the combination of non-hereditary dukes of counties and hereditary fief lords ensured a stable rule for the State of Chu.

Keywords

Shen County; Shen Gong; fief structure; political control

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Citation Text

Footnote
Baichuan Wang, “The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period,” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 95.1 (2024): 1-34.

Bibliography
Wang, Baichuan
2024 “The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 95.1: 1-34.
Wang, Baichuan. (2024). The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, 95(1), 1-34.
Wang, Baichuan. “The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 95, no. 1 (2024): 1-34.
Wang, Baichuan. “The Form of Fiefs and Political Control in Shen County of the Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.” Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, vol. 95, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1-34.
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