What is the difference between the feudal system in Western Europe and the feudal system in Western Zhou Dynasty?

First, as far as the starting point of the enfeoffment system is concerned, the two sides have different emphases. The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty focused on maintaining their rule politically, while the enfeoffment of Western Europe was more integrated into the military considerations of the rulers. Most historical data prove that the enfeoffment system of the Western Zhou Dynasty began in the period of King Wu, but there are also some data to prove that the enfeoffment system appeared in the period of Zhou Wenwang's rule. There is no doubt that whenever the enfeoffment system is started, its purpose is to expand the ruling base. In fact, the large-scale enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou Dynasty was carried out after the Duke of Zhou put down the rebellion in the three prisons and further expanded eastward. He enfeoffed the children of the Zhou royal family to all parts of the country, and later Kang Wang, too. For example, the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou and Lu were sealed, and there was another ancient land in the east, with the territory reaching Taishan in the north, Guiyuemeng in the east and Surabaya Valley in the south. Kang Shufeng and Wei were in charge of the hometown of Shang Dynasty, south of Beowulf and north of Putian. [1] The purpose of enfeoffment is either to appease heroes or to effectively manage Yin-Shang immigrants and better control the frontier. There are both military considerations and political plans. Obviously, the latter has more ingredients than the former. The enfeoffment system in western Europe appeared with the formation of feudal society. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, due to the Germanic attack and the demise of the Western Roman Empire, large and small kingdoms spread all over Europe, and the constant war between them aggravated the chaotic situation at that time. Kings and nobles often keep a group of armed servants to defend themselves and attack others in order to maintain their rule. In order to maintain stability, the rulers began to distribute land to those who gave them military service. This land for lifelong military service is called "fief". After mastering the power of the Frankish Kingdom, Charles Martel, the French court minister, carried out the fief system in China, which later evolved into the enfeoffment system. From the emergence of fiefs, it can be concluded that the consideration of military factors occupies a large proportion in the establishment of the enfeoffment system in western Europe. Second, the objects of the package are different. Compared with the Western Zhou Dynasty, religious aristocrats occupied a considerable proportion in the western European enfeoffment system. The objects of the Western Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment can be roughly divided into three types: the first type is aristocrats with the same surname, and Xunzi's Confucian filial piety records: "(Duke Zhou) ruled the world and established 7 1 country, and Ji's surname lived alone with 53 people." [2] Ji's surnames are Jin, Yan, Wei and Lu. The second category is aristocrats with different surnames. The situation of vassal states with different surnames is divided into many situations, including heroes, in-laws and former vassal states. Qi and Song belong to different surname Bao. "King Wu" was named as a hero counselor, and the teacher was still his father. The third category is the descendants of the late king. "Historical Records of Zhou Benji" said: "King Wu remembered the sages because he praised Shennong in Jiao, Huangdi in Zhu, Yaodi in Ji, Shun Di in Chen and Dayu in Qi." Although the feudal system in the Zhou Dynasty was dominated by nobles with Ji surname, due to the need of national rule, it still took into account the influence of nobles with different surnames. In Western Europe, Norman conquered a lot of land, and William I left part of the conquered land as his own territory, and the rest was given to the secular feudal lords who invaded Britain with him, and then some knights were enfeoffed from the feudal lords, thus establishing a direct relationship between the monarch and the subjects. During the formation of the Frankish Kingdom, the king once distributed the acquired land to his subordinates, bishops and churches in the form of a reward, but at this time the enfeoffment system was unconditional and the vassals did not have to serve the king. By the time of Charles Martel, the reform of the fief was conditional on military service, and a large amount of land was divided into nobles and landlords, and the sealed people had to serve the king faithfully. As can be seen from the objects of the Western Zhou Dynasty and Western Europe, the standard of Western Europe's enfeoffment is defined as military service, and anyone who has military service can be rewarded. At the same time, the influence of western European churches should not be underestimated. Christianity plays an important role in politics, economy, military, culture and society, and the Eastern Mediterranean Crusade is a good proof. The struggle between church power and imperial power happens from time to time, and the "prisoner of Avignon" in France is an event in which imperial power suppresses church power. Third, the obligations of lords and vassals are similar. Part of the land left by Zhou is Wang Ji, that is, Haojing, Luoyi and their nearby places; Areas other than Wang Ji were enfeoffed to vassal States as vassal States; In feudal countries, the vassal divided the land into Qing Dafu as a "food city", and the vassal could organize the government, establish a city and form an army in his own feudal country; Dr. Qing then allocated the acquired land to his taxi as a "grain field" [③]; Sergeant, there's no bag under here. In the second year of Zuo Zhuan, Huan Gong wrote: "Therefore, the emperor founded the country, the princes established the clan, and the Qing government set up a side room. There are two doctors and children of scholars. Shu Ren, industry and commerce have their own relatives and all have the same decline. " After layers of enfeoffment, they formed a subordinate relationship. Judging from the obligations of the ministers of both sides, the emperor protected the vassal state and handled disputes between vassals. The vassal has more obligations to the emperor: the vassal needs to pay tribute, is ordered to go out to defend the security of the royal family, and regularly reports to the emperor in person, which is called "pilgrimage", indicating the vassal relationship between the vassal and the Zhou emperor. In addition, the princes have to undertake some sacrifices, mourning and celebrations. If the vassal fails to fulfill his due obligations, the king can cut his title and take back the right of enfeoffment. Zhou is the ultimate owner of land in China, and all those who accept the enfeoffment system are responsible for Zhou, forming a strict hierarchy, specifically, "princes, officials, doctors, doctors, officials, soap officials, soap officials, officials, officials, officials, officials, officials, officials." [4] Western Europe was enfeoffed for military purposes. The king divided the land into secular nobles, who would provide the king with military services proportional to his land area. The enfeoffment system in western Europe is also to some extent. The king is the nominal owner of the national land, and he divided most of the land into feudal lords-dukes, earl, archbishops and abbots. The big feudal lords left part of the land, and the rest were enfeoffed to the middle feudal lords-barons and viscount; The feudal Lord in the middle also left a part of the land, and the rest was enfeoffed to the small feudal Lord-knight. In this hierarchical relationship, except for kings and knights, other governors are only responsible to their superiors. According to the contract, the two sides formed the relationship between the Lord and the vassal, and the vassal had to input many tasks for the monarch, one of which was "loyalty and filial piety". The bannerman can't do anything harmful to the monarch, including hurting his limbs, revealing his secrets, selling his castle and endangering his safety ... The bannerman must also realize that it is not enough for him to "just do evil and do good", that is, actively help him. Second, "help". This is the most important and important obligation of the vassal, including military service for the monarch and providing him with aid, money and materials. Third, "Suggestions." The bannermen have the obligation to attend the meeting called by the monarch and express their opinions to help him. In addition, when the eldest son is promoted to a knight and the eldest daughter is married, the bannermen must also be present to add color to the scene. Feng Jun also has obligations to the vassals, mainly to "protect" and "maintain" the vassals, and shall not harm the honor, property and life of the latter. ⑤ Whether in Western Europe or Western Zhou Dynasty, there are certain rights and obligations between the monarch and the minister. Different from the Western Zhou Dynasty, the princes in western Europe were only responsible to their superiors. The king was nominally the owner of the national land, but sometimes he did not occupy more land than the big feudal lords. The vassal is only responsible for his superiors, and has no relationship and obligation to his indirect superiors, thus forming the so-called "my vassal is not my vassal" prevailing in continental Europe, with the exception of "my vassal is also my vassal" in Britain. [6] The enfeoffment system in Western Europe is only a loose hierarchical order formed according to the contract, while the enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou Dynasty is a stable hierarchical order maintained by the patriarchal clan system. Fourth, the closing ceremony. Whether it is the packet of the Western Zhou Dynasty or the packet of Western Europe, a certain ceremony should be held to represent the stable relationship between them. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the princes held a grand conferring ceremony to show the legitimacy of the enfeoffment and the authority of the Emperor of Zhou. The ceremony of enfeoffment was held in the ancestral hall. "Book of Rites" said: "When the ancients knew that the monarch had made meritorious deeds, they would give it to the ancestral temple ... The monarch stood in the south of Ji Lang and in the south (north) of the township, and Shi Youjun made the right decision. The conferring ceremony of the enfeoffment king should include both the ceremony of "Shi Youjun has the right to implement policies" and the ceremony of "granting land" and "granting people". "Bird" and "Kang Patent" were documents registered at that time. [7] In the book History of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there is a special section on the "conferring ceremony". Although the relationship between lords and princes in western Europe was fixed in the form of contracts, certain ceremonies were still held when conferring titles. When the vassal accepts the land of the Lord, he must hold a grand ceremony, which is called "the ceremony of sealing the country" or "the ceremony of submission". The surrender ceremony is the most important part of the ceremony of sealing the country. At this time, the vassal took off his hat, knelt down, untied his weapon, put his hands in the closed palm of the monarch and said, "Sir, I am your man. "Then bannermen must stand up and put their hands on the Bible or other sacred objects to take an oath. The Lord gave the vassal a handful of soil and branches as a symbol of land closure. If the sealed person is a monk, he is also given a ring and a scepter as a symbol of religious power. This ceremony is also called "investiture ceremony". Fifth, the monarch's management of princes. The Western Zhou Dynasty could send officials to supervise the vassal states, but the kings of western Europe did not have this right. The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty formulated a complicated system of rites and music to match the hierarchical system and strictly control the vassals. At that time, the emperor was able to control and use vassals, besides the guarantee of force, there were the following factors: the vassal ministers were sent, selected and appointed by the king of Zhou, and the "Li Wang System" said: "All the ministers of great powers were under the command of the emperor". There were three ministers in the two countries, two under the command of the emperor and one under the command of the emperor. At the same time, the emperor controlled the military and justice by appointing military and judicial officials of the vassal States. When talking about Duke Zhou's enfeoffment of the State of Tang, he said: "Yi, Jin and Lao were also sealed by the Tang Book, giving him nine surnames and five senses, which became a big family in the Jin Dynasty." Five positive, that is, the length of the five senses, nine cases, one surname is Jiuzu. [8] When the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou enfeoffed Lu, he gave "Zhu, Zong, Bu, Shi, preparing things and litigating", among which Zhu, Zong, Bu and Shi were also nobles with hereditary official positions. In western Europe, on the contrary, the king is nominally the highest political authority and the source of land ownership. In fact, the power of the king is very small. The king can't interfere in the territory of the big feudal Lord. He can neither send officials to manage nor levy taxes on his territory. Therefore, the king's status under the enfeoffment system is very poor. To sum up, the enfeoffment system, as a political system implemented in the Western Zhou Dynasty and medieval Western Europe, has many similarities to some extent. The enfeoffment system is a fixed relationship between lords and vassals on the condition of corresponding obligations, with the aim of maintaining and consolidating their own rule. A solemn ceremony should be held to show the authority of the seal owner and the legitimacy of the seal. Through layer-by-layer sealing, a pyramid-like hierarchical relationship is formed. However, in structure, there are many differences between them: the enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou Dynasty focused more on political purposes, while in Western Europe it was more inclined to military purposes. There are some religious aristocrats in western European vassal states, which did not exist in the history of Western Zhou Dynasty and even China. Zhou Tianzi has the right to supervise and manage the vassals he enfeoffed, while the kings in western Europe have very little power and extremely low status. It is these differences that led to the different historical trends in the historical development of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China and the feudal society in Western Europe. The feudal lords in western Europe are becoming more and more powerful, and the princes in the Western Zhou Dynasty also called Zhou Tian Zi ~