Change, a word that is by no means uncommon in Chinese history. Since the birth of Chinese civilization, it seems that the revolution has been continuous, whether it is the scientific and technological progress in the level of social productive forces or the institutional progress in social organization, which is an important embodiment of the change.
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, not only did the more advanced production methods of iron plough and ox ploughing appear, which greatly promoted the improvement of productivityThe changes in social organization have reached the point of being all-round and multi-faceted, which had a non-negligible impact on Chinese society at that time and even now, is enough to show the magnitude of its transformation.
1. The patriarchal feudal system began to face disintegration
In order to maintain the stability of their own political power and to achieve the goal of external expansion, the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty chose to divide some of their clan children and some of the people who made great contributions in the process of establishing the Zhou Dynasty to all parts of the country.
Among them, there are not only large vassal states such as Qi and Jin, but also small states such as Sui and ChenJointly maintained the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, and the feudal system in Chinese history was formed.
At the ideological level, in order to further enhance the status of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Gongdan created the Zhou rites on the basis of the original ritual and sacrifice system of the Xia and Shang dynasties, thus establishing a society with a very clear and strict identity hierarchyDifferent etiquette systems also became guidelines that people had to follow.
Among them, the patriarchal system is one of the core contents, the large and small sects are divided into layers, and at the same time the patriarchal system is the surface of each other, and the Zhou Dynasty was able to establish its own long-term rule.
But,With the development of time, the patriarchal feudal system, which seemed to be unbreakable, gradually fell into a state of disintegration
In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, there were a large number of poems about attaching importance to blood and clan at that time, such as "The gentleman is the end, the blessing is the same, the gentleman is ten thousand years, protect his state", "My brother, friends of the state." Moken is confused, who has no parents? Especially among the aristocracy, this emphasis on brotherhood and family was even more evident, and even became something they were calling for.
You must know that this is completely unimaginable in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, where the patriarchal feudal system was extremely strict. From this point of view, it is precisely because the patriarchal feudal system is already moving towards disintegrationAs a result, the importance of people to brothers and family members at that time was greatly reduced, and the cohesion of the clan was far less than beforeThat's why people behave like this.
2. The demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty hastened the demise of the patriarchal feudal system
In the case of foreign invasion and defeat in the internal political struggle, the Western Zhou Dynasty finally ushered in its own demise after a long period of decline. It was also after the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty that the changes in Chinese society at that time accelerated sharply again in terms of intensity and speed.
On the one hand,Long before, with the decline of the Western Zhou royal family, it was no longer able to suppress the other princes。When the Western Zhou Dynasty was destroyed and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established, the entire Zhou royal family had been reduced to a mascot-like existence, and even could only have the role of "coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes".
When there was no restriction from the Zhou royal family, the ambitions of the princes to claim the throne and hegemony swelledEspecially for those big powers, this is simply a great opportunity for them to grab more benefits. Under such circumstances, the social order that had been established on the basis of patriarchal feudalism collapsed.
On the other hand, the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty also had a huge impact on people at the cultural and ideological level
In the past, the Zhou royal family was a symbol of etiquette and order, but now with its demise, the original ideas in people's hearts have naturally begun to undergo earth-shaking changes, and the era of etiquette collapse has officially arrived, and power has become the most enthusiastic thing for people.
Represented by the Jin State and the Qi State, the former disappeared from the historical stage under the division of the three offices of Han, Zhao and Wei, and the latter was defeated in the political struggle with the Tian family.
Until the Warring States period, with a sharp decrease in the number of countries,The brutality of the war for hegemony has gradually become more apparent, and people's thirst for power has also been greatly strengthened, which provides a powerful impetus for social change.
1. The political system has gradually transformed into a centralized system
As mentioned above, with the disintegration of the patriarchal feudal system, people's ideological concepts and behavior patterns have begun to undergo earth-shaking changes. Under the original patriarchal system, the large and small sects were divided into feudal ones, and the vassal states served the Zhou royal family, and the ministers within the vassal states served the princes, thus maintaining the stability of society as a whole. However, it was with the advent of the era of ritual collapse that people gradually fell into the vortex of power struggles.
Especially in the case of the demise of the Jin State Office and the Qi State Office, it provided bloody education for the other princes. Therefore, the return of power to the first and the strengthening of the power of the public office became one of the reform directions of the princes at that time.
Under such circumstances, the monarch introduced policies aimed at strengthening his control over the countryOne of the most important measures was the establishment of a system of counties under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. In other words, the administrative division system gradually changed from the original feudal system to the county system.
In addition, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the main mode of social organization at that time was the clan organizationBut again, with the dissolution of the feudal patriarchal system, this model of social organization could no longer be sustained. On the one hand, in the complex political struggle, many of the former clans were defeated, expelled or hunted down, and they had no choice but to flee to other places and become ordinary people in the local area.
On the other hand, with the fall of these clans, the people who were originally dependent on them lost their support, and a large number of freedmen appeared. In such a case,Not only did the monarch have an excellent opportunity to bring these freemen directly under his jurisdiction, but he also had to settle them properlyIn this way, the overall stability of society can be maintained, and the monarch's control over society will naturally be greatly increased.
2. The land system has ushered in fundamental changes
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, due to the relatively low level of social productivity, individuals did not have the ability to independently cultivate the fields and obtain sufficient harvests.
In order to ensure the orderly progress of production activities, the Ida system officially appeared on the historical stage. Under the Ida system,People came together in clans to produce together, and the vast majority of the resources obtained from production were handed over to slave owners
At the same time, most of the people who cultivated the land were only slaves or commoners, and they only had the right to use the land. In fact, even the Emperor does not strictly have ownership, after all, all the land should be owned only by the king himself.
However, with the advent of the iron plough and ox ploughing, the backward production mode of the well field system began to suffer a huge impact and eventually went to extinction.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people's productivity was greatly improved, and an ordinary family had begun to be able to undertake the cultivation of the land on its ownSmallholder peasants, as a separate social class, have also risen rapidly throughout Chinese society。They can not only provide the state with a large amount of taxes and enrich the finances, but also meet the needs of the state for military service and labor. Therefore, the development of smallholder farmers can already affect the strength of a country to a large extent.
In such a case,The rulers of the time had to implement the land grant system, which was a measure of land granting, so as to stimulate their enthusiasm for production。It is worth mentioning that the land grant system was actually implemented long before the implementation of the law reform movement in various countries, and then it was only established and guaranteed from the legal level.
3. The military system has also changed accordingly
As the war for supremacy became more brutal, the princes began to pursue more than ever to improve their military power. On the one hand, the soldiers of that time ** have undergone profound changes. In the past, due to the limitations of the model of social organizationThe state often administers the people who live in the towns and the wild people who live in the countryside, and military service is only carried out by the people
And even among the countrymen, military service is only completed in the form of a pawn, that is, one person from each household. Later, with the development of reform activities in various countries, the Chinese and savages gradually merged, and the universal conscription system was formed, and the country's reserve army was fully replenished. Therefore,Until the Warring States Period, the number and scale of wars between countries were greatly expanded compared to the Spring and Autumn Period.
On the other hand, the people who the original soldiers contacted and were responsible for were clans, not **, which certainly reduced the burden on the country when fighting, but it was by no means firm in its control over the army. However, during the Warring States period, the state directly levied military uniforms from soldiers and provided them with all kinds of equipment needed for warAs a result, the bond between the state and the soldiers was strengthened, and the power of the office was correspondingly strengthened.
In addition, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the nature of the war at that time was mainly to fight for hegemony, and there were still some Western Zhou relics. But in the Warring States Period, annexation has become the mainstream, and it is no longer rare to die and destroy the country, which is also an important reason why the princes at that time tried their best to expand their armies
In general, the reason why the society of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period at that time underwent such great changes was largely due to its special environment of the times. Whether it is the increase in the level of productive forces or the disintegration of the original patriarchal feudal system, the previous mode and form of social organization can no longer be adapted to the new era.
Coupled with the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the speed and intensity of social change increased sharply, from the princes and nobles to the common people, all of whom were deeply involved in the whirlpool of this change. However, it is precisely under this change that a new China has appeared on the stage of historyThe various creations of the people at that time also left a valuable legacy for future generations.