In the modern discourse system, the most abused word is feudalism.

Generally speaking, there are so-called feudalism, feudal society and anti-feudalism. In my opinion, there are so-called "feudal superstitions", "feudal ideas" and "you are too feudal". No wonder American sinologist Fei Zheng.

John K.Fairbank lamented that "feudalism" is a curse word in China, but its meaning is very confusing.

1980s, there was a big discussion in academic circles-"Why did the feudal society in China last for a long time?" Now it seems very funny, as if Don Quixote is playing a windmill, and a large group of people get together to argue a "false proposition" enthusiastically.

I say this because I think people misunderstand feudalism.

The word "feudalism" originated from the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, in order to stabilize the newly conquered areas, a large-scale "feudalism" was implemented. The so-called "feudalism" means "sealing the country" and "feudal relatives". At that time, 7 1 vassal States were all "feudal", and most of them were princes with the same surname (Ji surname) of the Zhou royal family. Therefore, it is said that "feudal relatives, with princes, screen Zhou"-build a barrier with princes with the same surname to defend the central authority of Zhou Tianzi.

"Fencing the country" is not only a means to consolidate and expand the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, but also a way to redistribute power and property within the nobility. Since "feudalism" is the redistribution of power and property, it must conform to the norms of "ceremony" that shows the difference of grades. The feudal princes of the Zhou Dynasty had a grand "life planning ceremony" to show the connection between the emperor (Zhou Wang) and the princes. In the ancestral temple, the emperor (Zhou Wang) first awarded the vassal a title document, and then the minister in charge of land management awarded the land and people to the vassal, which means that one side of the land and people on the land were "sealed" to the vassal, and the Zhou Emperor indirectly ruled those areas through the vassal.

Within the vassal state, it is necessary to further "feudalize" the land and people to the vassal state, which is called "founding the country"; The vassals then "feudal" the land and people to Qing and the doctor, which is called "establishing a family". After layers of feudalism, a pyramid-shaped "feudal" system was formed: Shu Ren at the bottom, the lower aristocratic "scholar" above Shu Ren, the aristocratic doctor above Shu Ren, the vassal, and the Zhou Emperor at the top of the pyramid.

This is the original intention of feudalism.

There was a similar situation in medieval Europe, which was called Feudar system or feudalism in English. Modern Japanese scholars borrowed the word "feudalism" from the Zhou Dynasty and translated it into "feudal system" and "feudalism".

If carefully compared, it is similar to the feudal era in Europe, that is, four or five centuries after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty. After Qin Shihuang abolished the "feudal" system and established the "county" system, it is hard to say that it is still a "feudal" era. Because there is no vassal state, it is divided into counties directly under the central government. The county magistrate is a county magistrate (chief) and a lieutenant (deputy, in charge of military affairs) appointed by the central government, and there is also a county governor (supervising the county empire). Under the county-level administrative division, several counties are established, with the county head appointed by the central government or county magistrate, and several townships, pavilions and villages under the county. This is a centralized political system that did not exist in the pre-Qin era, which is completely different from the feudal era in Europe. But in the past, many scholars even called this centralized political system from Qin Dynasty to Qing Dynasty "feudal society", which led to the specious problem of "the long-term continuation of feudal society in China".

Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty wrote a famous article "On Feudalism". He believes that the feudal system in the pre-Qin period was not meant by saints, but was caused by the times. Qin Shihuang abolished the "feudal" system and established the "county" system, which was also caused by the current situation; The county system was superior to the feudal system, and later attempts to restore the feudal system went against the trend.

Lv Simian, a modern historian, divided the "state system" into three eras in his History of China System: (1) Tribal era, (2) Feudal era and (3) County system era. He believes that after the Qin Dynasty, it entered the county era from the feudal era. Since then, although there have been "four feudal reactionaries", they all ended in failure. For the first time, Xiang Yu restored the feudal system of the nobles of the six countries, which led to his own demise. The second time was Liu Bang's feudalism, and as a result, the princes with the same surname became independent kingdoms. Chao Cuo suggested that the emperor Han Jing "cut the vassal state", and Prince Liu Bi launched the Seven-State Rebellion with Wu Chu under the banner of "Please punish Chao Cuo, in order to clear the monarch's side". After the rebellion was put down, the feudal color of those kingdoms was greatly weakened. For the third time, the feudal Sima family in the Western Jin Dynasty became a vassal, which led to the rebellion of the Eight Kings, and then the Western Jin Dynasty disintegrated. The fourth time was Zhu Yuanzhang: "enfeoffment". More than 20 of his sons were vassals, not only with fiefs, but also with military power. In order to strengthen centralization, Wen Jian prepared to "cut the vassal", but it attracted an armed rebellion from Judy, Rebecca. After Judy came to power, she could not tolerate feudalism and continued to "divide the country" so that the vassal king was no longer a separatist force. Therefore, Lv Simian said, "The fourth feudal reaction is over". This statement is obviously based on the original intention of "feudalism".

Modern historians generally refer to the year 2000 from Qin Dynasty to Qing Dynasty as "feudal society", which alienated the original meaning of "feudalism". The strangest thing is that the feudal theory of the Warring States established by imperial edicts in the 1960s and 1970s described the Zhou Dynasty as a slave society, and the feudal system was abolished and counties were established for a long time after the Qin Dynasty. This statement seems to follow the European concept of feudalism, but it abandons the connotation of this concept and seems to emphasize that it is feudalism with China characteristics. Fortunately, now historians have raised objections to this.

Then the question is, if it is not called the "feudal" era after the Qin Dynasty, what is it called? Historians are discussing it, which can be said that there are different opinions and no one can agree. Bai Shouyi's multi-volume General History of China calls this period "the Middle Ages". Huang Renyu called this period the imperial period, Qin and Han Dynasties the first imperial period, Tang and Song Dynasties the second imperial period, and Ming and Qing Dynasties the third imperial period. Some people call this period a "traditional society". Although these terms may not be ideal enough to be accepted by everyone, they are much better than confusing the "feudalism" before Qin with the so-called "feudalism" after Qin. Recently, China Social Sciences magazine published a long article discriminating feudalism, confirming historical facts at all times and in all countries, and clarifying people's long-standing misunderstanding of feudalism, which really deserves serious reflection in academic circles.

Knowing this, people's daily expressions such as "feudal superstition" and "you are too feudal" seem ridiculous. Is it true that everyone is superstitious about "sealing the country"? Does everyone like "feudal relatives"? I really hope that the word "feudalism" will not be abused in future articles and speeches. I wonder what you think of officials?

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