Abstract
The main focus of this article is an examination of the marital relationships of the various states in the Han River (漢水) region and within the mid- and upper reaches of the Huai River (淮水) from Western Zhou period until the Spring and Autumn period. Using bronze vessel inscriptions, historical documents, and archaeological data, the author attempts to demonstrate that states in the Han and Huai River regions that were wedged between the large kingdoms in the Central Plains and the states of Chu in the south, strove to find room for survival through marriage.
After an effective analysis and statistical computation of her data, the author found that the marriages during the Western Zhou period between the Zhou royal court and states in the Han and Huai River regions were closely related to the royal court's management of the vast area south of the capital Luoyi (雒邑).
In the early and middle periods of the Spring and Autumn period, the various states of the Han and Huai River regions maintained marriage relationships mainly with the states in the Yellow River region. The number of brides that married out from the Han and Huai River regions to the states in the Yellow River region was six times greater than the number of brides that latter took from the Han/Huai regions. This difference in the number of brides given and received was so great that one can view this exchange as the one-way export of brides to the north. States in the two areas were not on equal terms. This evidence shows that the states of the Han and Huai River regions were increasingly pressed by the expansion of Chu power towards the Central Plains, and, therefore, these smaller states sought alliances in the north. Marriage relationships between the states in the Han and Huai River regions with Chu and Wu in the south are concentrated primarily in the middle and late periods of the Spring and Autumn period, and this can be explained by the increasing power of the states of Wu and Chu at this time.
As for marriages among the states within the Han and Huai River regions themselves, evidence suggests that states employed marriage as a means of strengthening or consolidating extant relationships. This was the survival tactic of the small states; it benefited them to be united by marital ties.
This article uses actual marriage cases to argue that the states during the Western and Eastern Zhou periods used marriage as a bargaining chip in political deals. During those years when the political situation was especially intricate, marriage became a chess piece ingeniously played by all kingdoms.
Keywords
bronze vessel inscriptions, marriage, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn period, Han and Huai River regions
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