During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, China practiced a feudal system.
After the Western Zhou Dynasty replaced the Shang Dynasty, in order to consolidate its rule, it divided many princes. There are both princes with the surname Ji and princes with other surnames.
At first, I thought that the Western Zhou Dynasty's feudal system was that the Western Zhou Dynasty divided its own territory to the princes. I later learned that it wasn't like that at all. The Western Zhou Dynasty basically divided the places that were not occupied by it to other princes and let other princes develop them. To put it bluntly, it is to let other princes start their own businesses.
At the beginning, the territory of the Western Zhou Dynasty was the largest, and the strength was the strongest. Other princes were not as powerful as the Western Zhou and basically nominally obeyed the rule of the Western Zhou. But there are also those who are not convinced, such as the Chu State at that time.
After the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The strength of the Zhou Dynasty declined greatly, and correspondingly, the strength of other princes grew stronger and stronger. Under these circumstances, the Western Zhou soon lost its de facto dominance. After the Zhou Dynasty lost its authority, the princes of the world began to fight endlessly. The powerful vassal states continued to annex small states through wars and expand their territory.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, even if the vassal states were relatively powerful, it was impossible to unify the world. Therefore, the relatively powerful vassal states at that time, on the one hand, had to find a way to expand their territory, and on the other hand, because of their lack of strength, they did not dare to replace Zhou Tianzi, and everyone was only fighting for the position of overlord.
By the time of the Warring States Period, the vassal states became stronger and stronger as their territory expanded. The wars between the various vassal states are getting bigger and bigger. The Battle of Changping during the Warring States Period, with a large number of participants, was very rare in the pre-Qin period.
After centuries-long wars during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Qin State finally unified China. After Qin Shi Huang unified China, a great controversy broke out in the Qin Dynasty about the feudal system and the county system.
Prime Minister Wang Juan and others suggested to Qin Shi Huang that the princes had just been defeated, and the Yan State, Qi State, and Chu State were remote, and there were no princes and kings, and no one went to subdue them, and suggested that Qin Shi Huang make the prince the king and guard these places. Qin Shi Huang summoned his ministers to discuss, and everyone thought that this suggestion was correct.
Tingwei Li Si suggested: "King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou divided their sons and princes with the same surname, however, in the future, they distanced themselves from each other and attacked each other, like enemies, and the princes attacked each other, and Zhou Tianzi could not prohibit them. Now, relying on His Majesty's gods, the whole country is unified, and counties are set up, princes, and meritorious heroes, and they are heavily rewarded with state taxes, which are easy to control. There are no two hearts in the world, and this is the strategy of national stability. It is inappropriate to set up princes. ”
Qin Shi Huang said: "The world is in hardship, fighting with each other, and there is no end, because there are princes and kings." Relying on the ancestral gods, the country has just been pacified, and the princes are divided again, is it not very difficult to create war, and to seek peace and tranquility? Lieutenant Ting's advice was correct. So Qin Shi Huang divided the world into 36 counties and fully implemented the county system.
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, although the county system was fully implemented and the princes were no longer divided, many people still supported the feudal system in their hearts at that time. The Qin Dynasty then fell rapidly, which also had something to do with the fact that the Qin Dynasty no longer divided the vassals.
After Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, became the emperor, in order to consolidate his rule, he divided many princes and kings surnamed Liu. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, these princes surnamed Liu played an important role in consolidating the rule of the Western Han Dynasty.
But after a long time, the disadvantages of the sub-sealing system were exposed. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms broke out. At that time, the strength of the princes was even stronger than that of the imperial court. It took only three months for the Western Han Dynasty to quell the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, and we have to say that the luck of the Western Han Dynasty at that time was too good.
The pacification of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms marked that the threat of the power of the princes and kings of the Western Han Dynasty was basically cleared, and the centralization of power was consolidated and strengthened. The Western Han Dynasty implemented the excessive feudal system, but later abandoned the feudal system and fully implemented the county system. Since then, although some dynasties have practiced the feudal system, China has basically always implemented the county system.
Why was the feudal system replaced by the county system in ancient China?
This is because the threat of the sub-feudal system to the imperial court is too great, and as long as the sub-feudal system is implemented, there will inevitably be big problems. Every time the feudal system was implemented in Chinese history, it would inevitably lead to wars, civil wars, and even the overthrow of the imperial court. After a long time, a consensus had been formed in ancient China that the feudal system could not be implemented, but only the county system. The county system can prevent local separatism, avoid civil wars, effectively safeguard the unity of the country, and is conducive to the survival and continuation of the country and the nation, as well as to the country's political stability and economic development.
At the same time, we must also realize that the county system is also flawed. The concentration of power is not conducive to freedom of thought, and this problem was especially acute in ancient China. Since the introduction of the county system, none of China's dynasties has been able to rule for more than 300 years. In ancient China, there was chaos every 300 years. How to break the historical cycle rate and achieve long-term peace and stability of the country? It is an important issue that China has to face.