Analysis on the Gentlemen of the Six Dynasties

The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period when the gentry was dominant. The gentry had a great influence on the politics, economy, culture, thought, social customs and other aspects of this period. Therefore, in order to systematically study the social and historical conditions of this period, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the causes and processes of the rise and fall of the gentry. However, a comprehensive study of the gentry during this period is obviously beyond the ability of one person. Many comprehensive treatises often lack all aspects after careful reading. Therefore, this book only focuses on the study of issues ignored by predecessors. , and for some issues that have been fully researched or have established opinions, we will not repeat the ineffective work

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I have been researching the issue of gentry since I was a graduate student. The title of my graduation thesis is "Typical Gentlemen of the Northern Dynasties - A Study of Cui Lu", from which part of the content in this book is derived. However, at that time, we mainly focused on exploring some characteristics of the Tu people in the north from the rise and fall of those two families. However, this book's vision is more expanded, and it also extends the time span of the research.

When studying the gentry, one of the first problems encountered is the cause and process of the formation of the gentry. On this issue, predecessors have conducted a lot of research and published quite a lot of results. It seems that the title has been exhausted. situation. However, upon closer analysis, I always feel that there are some shortcomings. The key point is that previous research has mostly discussed the political and cultural aspects of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Research on the economic aspect is limited to pointing out that large land ownership is the economic foundation of the gentry. Issues such as the origin of the development of land ownership and its relationship with the development of production technology are almost untouched. Seeing a problem that has been ignored by previous researchers is extremely attractive to any researcher, and of course I am no exception.

In a society dominated by an agricultural economy, the impact of progress in farming technology is extremely far-reaching. It will not only bring about changes in production relations, but also affect the socio-economic structure and superstructure. Therefore, I try to explain the formation of the gentry from the perspective of the interaction between the development of productive forces and production relations and its impact on the socio-economic structure and superstructure. "Re-Exploration of the Causes" is an attempt to do this. The first draft was written in the early 1980s. However, after writing it, I was not very satisfied. I felt that the topic could be done better, so I followed Mr. Xiong Deji's "Don't do anything after the article is written." If you are in a hurry to take it out, put it aside first.” But I didn't expect that I was busy with other affairs and stayed away for nearly twenty years. During this period, I expanded and published the theory and practice of the field method and its comparison with related agricultural farming techniques. The rest was buried deep in the bottom of the box, and even I couldn't find it for a while. I felt quite unfamiliar after finding it some time ago. This time I did not change the structure and only made slight changes to some words. Although I am still not very satisfied, I feel that this issue has not received the attention it deserves so far. As a guide to introduce jade. Bricks might also be useful, so they were included as the first part.

The Eight Kings Rebellion was a major event that led to the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty and eventually formed a split and separatist regime that lasted for more than 200 years. It also had a profound impact on the development and evolution of the gentry. When I was studying the role and impact of the noble clans in the Eight Kings Rebellion, I noticed some small figures hiding in the shadow of the protagonists of the incident. Without their fueling, the development process and outcome of the incident might have been different. "People from Poor Family in the Rebellion of the Eight Kings" analyzes these small and active people for a while, and points out that because the gentry monopolized important official positions in the Qing Dynasty by virtue of their political privileges, the career paths for people from poor families have become increasingly narrow, and their room for advancement has also been significantly reduced. The officials and subordinates of the kings, whose conditions were relatively loose, became the helpless choice of people from poor families. These poor people who had gained a certain amount of power but felt repressed were extremely dissatisfied and resentful towards the high-ranking noble families who oppressed them, and gradually focused their resentment on the Western Jin Dynasty regime, which represented the interests of the high-ranking noble families. Out of consideration for their own interests, people from poor families consciously or unconsciously adopted practices inconsistent with the interests of the Western Jin regime, which significantly contributed to the outbreak of unrest and the continued political instability. Therefore, although the external manifestation of this turmoil was the struggle between clan kings for the supreme power of rule, underneath the surface was a contest between poor people who longed for advancement and high-ranking gentry who monopolized political privileges.

I once wanted to conduct a more systematic study on the reasons for the outbreak of the Eight Kings Rebellion. In the process of collecting relevant information, I saw Mr. Zhu Zongbin’s article[1] and felt that many issues had been discussed by Mr. Zhu. It was clear and there was no need to repeat it, so I stopped working on this aspect. But after reading some questions, I became even more puzzled. For example, why Emperor Hui of Jin, who was called an idiot, was made the prince by Emperor Wu of Jin, who was not stupid. It is difficult to explain simply from the perspective of blood relationship or inheritance system. This is related to the rise and fall of the country. This issue should definitely attract sufficient attention from researchers. "The Idiot Debate of Emperor Hui of Jin and the Reasons for His Succession" attempts to analyze the intelligence level of Emperor Hui of Jin from a psychiatric perspective, so as to provide a reasonable explanation for Emperor Wu's behavior of appointing him as prince. Although this does not directly discuss the gentry, it is placed at the back of the book as an appendix because it is closely related to the development of the gentry.

After the collapse of the Western Jin Dynasty, with the formation of the north-south separatism, the gentry was divided into two major systems, the north and the south, each of which experienced different development processes. Since there have been relatively sufficient studies on the southern gentry in the past, this book mainly focuses on the development and evolution of the northern gentry.

In my research on the northern gentry, I drew on the research results of Loonard Hayflik, a professor of medicine at Stanford University in the United States, on human cell biology [2]. The Hu regime that emerged during the Eight Kings Rebellion dealt a heavy blow to the gentry. During the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period, the northern gentry had a harsh environment that was almost refrigerated, forcing them to slow down their pace of development. Applying Hayflick's research results will help us gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon that while the southern gentry has entered a period of decline, the northern gentry can still maintain considerable vitality, and provide a reasonable explanation. Although I used this result to clarify my own research ideas, it was not mentioned in the specific article discussion, so I specifically mention it here [3] to clarify the ins and outs. In fact, this result is also very beneficial to the study of various ethnic groups.

During the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period, the gentry living in the north and the Hu government went through a transformation process from confrontation to cooperation. "Relationships between Persons" analyzes this transformation process and its internal reasons, while also paying attention to the relationship between people from poor families and the gentry. The interests of the poor people and the Hu government are much more consistent than that of the gentry, so their status and power in the Hu government are often more prominent than that of the gentry. In many cases, the gentry has to rely on the support of the poor people, and even When assessing the rank of nobles, it was an anomaly that the presiding officer came from a poor family. However, due to the lack of clan support and economic foundation, the status of nobles obtained by people from poor families due to political power was mostly temporary. It was lost with the change of Hu nationality regime, and only a handful of them could maintain it. The Tu ethnic group, which has a solid foundation, can maintain relative independence while cooperating with the Hu ethnic regime. Although they failed to hold power in the Hu ethnic regime, they have been spared from excessive suffering during the regime change. The impact laid the foundation for future development.

The Northern Wei Dynasty was the development stage of the northern gentry. In the middle and later stages, the joint rule of the Hu and Han gentry formed a model. However, previous studies have mostly focused on the Han people and paid little attention to the Hu people. "The Causes and Influence of the Formation of the Hu People in the Northern Dynasties" is an attempt to make up for this shortcoming. Studying the process of formation, development and evolution, it is pointed out that the formation of the Hu people was an important part of the feudalization of Tuoba Xianbei, and in turn severed the final connection between clan blood lines. This role should be correctly understood. At the same time, the internal and external factors required for the formation of the Hu people and their relationship with the Han people are analyzed one by one.

The key to maintaining the status of a noble family is officialdom and marriage. There are numerous works on these two aspects, but the results of quantitative research based on large amounts of statistical data are rare. In terms of officialdom, Mr. Mao Hanguang, Wang Zhenglu and others We have done quite effective work [4], but the marriage aspect is obviously weaker, especially the lack of dynamic comparative research. "Looking at the Changes in the Ethnic Status of the Han People in the Northern Dynasties from the Conclusion of the Marriage of the Cui and Lu Clan" takes the three noble families of Qinghe Cui, Boling Cui and Fanyang Lu as typical examples. Through statistical analysis of their marriages, especially It is the change of in-laws during the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei and Northern Qi periods, reflecting the rise and fall of the political, economic and social status of the Han clan in the Northern Dynasties, as well as the changes in the relationship with the rulers of the Hu regime.

The privileges of the gentry are mainly reflected in the political and economic aspects. For the southern gentry, these privileges have always been unobjectionable, but is the same true for the northern gentry? Except for a few scholars who have demonstrated this issue, most researchers have taken it for granted and ignored it. However, there is still doubt in the arguments that have been carried out. Except for the vacuum period when the Wuhu regime changed, during the Northern Wei Dynasty when the northern gentry was in an obvious stage of rise, whether they enjoyed the privilege of protecting clans and tribes. If not, what were their economic privileges? In what way it behaves and why it achieves unprecedented economic development, these questions seem to require further research. "The Expression of the Economic Privileges of the Gentiles in the Northern Wei Dynasty" is a discussion of the above issues. Based on the analysis of existing historical records, the gentry did not enjoy the privilege of protecting clans and tribes during the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the early Northern Wei Dynasty, the gentry used the suzerain supervisory system to transfer the burden of taxes and servitude to the dependent populations under their control; in the middle period of Taihe, economic measures such as the land equalization system, the establishment of three chiefs, and the change of rent and transfer quotas were implemented to a certain extent. This can be regarded as the result of the compromise between the Northern Wei regime and the clan leaders headed by the gentry on the issue of labor force. The rural gentry who served as the third chief legally obtained the right to be exempted from servitude. The low rent of the slaves ensured that their masters could continue to occupy their land. Part of the surplus labor, and the illegal shelter dependent population constituted another part of the economic income of the gentry. At the same time, the nobles who served as officials shared the country's fiscal revenue in various ways. Under the premise that the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty was stable and the economy was on the rise, the northern gentry achieved unprecedented development in all aspects, including economy.

The wars at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty broke the joint governance of the Hu and Han gentry[5] and was another major blow to the northern gentry. What impact did the war have on the northern gentry, and what changes occurred within the gentry as a result? This is exactly the issue studied in the article "The War in the Late Northern Wei Dynasty and the Rise of Branches of the Gentry". After selecting typical representatives of high-ranking gentry families for statistical analysis, it was pointed out that the war's impact on high-ranking gentry families was widespread and concentrated, that is, it not only covered all major branches of the family, but also concentrated on the main members who became officials, and was basically positively correlated with their political status. .

At the same time, some side branches of the high-level clans relied on their clan power or personal talents to cooperate with the new rulers, and their political status rose rapidly, filling the vacancy left by the attack on the main branch of the upper-level clan. The rise of the gentry's branches, on the one hand, delayed the decline of the northern gentry, but on the other hand, it accelerated the weakening of its connection with the clan's rural foundation, thus making it follow the same path as the southern gentry, leading to its final decline.

The wars in the late Northern Wei Dynasty led to the demise of the Northern Wei regime, and the north was once again divided into the east. The Western Wei Dynasty was later replaced by the Northern Qi Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty respectively. Most of the Shandong gentry (that is, the northern gentry except the gentry in the Guanlong area) remained within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, but a small number followed Emperor Xiaowu of the Northern Wei to enter the Pass, or entered the Western Wei and Northern Zhou regimes through other channels. Although these Shandong gentry who participated in the Western Wei and Northern Zhou regimes were not large in number, they played a very important role in the political situation of the Western Wei, Northern Zhou and even the Sui and early Tang Dynasties. They had a significant impact on the status of the Shandong gentry in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and directly It is related to the rise and fall of the status of each branch within the gentry. However, the Guanfang branch among the Shandong gentry has been obviously ignored in previous studies, and they have never been considered as a group. "The Convergence and Return of Shandong Gentlemen Guanfangzhi and Guanlong Group" examines the evolution of the relationship between this group and the Guanlong Group, pointing out that this group became a member of the Guanlong Group during the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties, but in the north After unification, it once had the dual identity of Shandong gentry and Guanlong Group, and began the process of separating from the Guanlong Group and returning to the Shandong gentry. Due to the conflict of interests between the two parties, he was gradually regarded as the political representative of the Shandong gentry and was attacked and suppressed by the Guanlong Group.

During this period, county titles and family branches were important symbols of the social status of the gentry, and internal and external in-laws were more related to the status of the family. They received unusual attention at that time. Therefore, Understanding the lineage of the gentry and its internal and external in-law relationships is the basis of gentry research. However, due to various reasons, even the lineage of many famous families is not very clear. Some descendants who are not very far apart even describe their ancestors. He would actually show off his reputation[6]. Senior scholars such as Luo Zhenyu, Wang Yitong, and Chen Zhi have done a lot of work to sort out the lineages of several families [7]. In recent years, the case studies of the gentry that have become popular have also mostly examined this issue. The three genealogy tables in this book are also basic work for further research. In addition to historical records handed down from ancient times, relevant records from epitaphic biographies and the latest archaeological excavation reports are included as much as possible, and strive to be as complete as possible. The research is based on this basis.

The district farming method of the Han Dynasty is regarded as a great progress in the development of agricultural technology in most agricultural history or economic history works. However, the actual situation is exactly the opposite. There is such a gap between the appearance and the reality. To make this conclusion, we have to look for answers in the political background and agricultural production guidelines of the 1950s and 1960s. I am considering this issue precisely because I have farmed under those guidelines. Until the early 1980s, when I conceived this issue, that approach still occupied a dominant position. It should be said that the original motivation for writing contained a considerable degree of political passion for changing that approach. While I was revising the first draft, the reform trend was developing rapidly, and many policies and guidelines that did not conform to objective laws were gradually corrected, including agricultural production policies. Therefore, when finalizing the paper, I decided to write it as a scientific and objective academic paper rather than a subjective contemporary article. Although "Application of District Field Law in Agricultural Practice—Also Discussion on Its Due Position in Chinese Agricultural History" can be written as a separate article, it is a supplementary explanation to the first part of this book, so it is included as an appendix. Except for a few typos, the content has not been modified at all this time. However, the original title of the article was "Application of District Field Law in Agricultural Practice: Its Position in Agricultural History". When it was published, perhaps because the title was too long, the editor deleted it to "Application of District Field Law in Agricultural Practice." There is a certain gap between the content and the content. This time, a subtitle is added to match the name and reality.

The goal of this book is to describe the rise and fall of the gentry, especially the northern gentry, from different aspects, and to explore its internal causes from a deeper level. However, due to my limited knowledge and skills, there will definitely be many fallacies in the book, and there is still a considerable gap between it and the goal. I hope that scholars from all walks of life will not hesitate to give me advice.