The enfeoffment system was the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty. Although the son of heaven owns the people of the world, the so-called "territory is the land of kings?" All over the world, it is Wang Chen, but he doesn't take it all in one hand, but gives it to nobles with the same surname. After Qin unified the six countries, Reese took the lead in resolutely opposing the continuation of the "enfeoffment system" since the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is suggested to adopt the "county system" to rule and consolidate the new regime. Qin Shihuang adopted Lisi's opinion, stopped the vassals all over the country, and established a single county system in which the emperor directly appointed and dismissed the chief and county orders, and the chief and county orders could not be inherited, which effectively strengthened the centralization of the monarch and was conducive to political stability and economic development.
Feudal system and county system, as political systems of two eras, have their own advantages and disadvantages, which form a strong contrast and leave a lot of thoughts for future generations. Let's compare and analyze the differences, advantages and disadvantages between enfeoffment system and county system from the following aspects.
Compare the similarities and differences between enfeoffment system and county system
discrepancy
Similarities: they are all aimed at consolidating the rule of the ruling class; Both are local administrative systems; It has played a positive role in safeguarding national unity.
One. ? The basis of the two systems.
The enfeoffment system is a strategic measure to consolidate the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Zhou Wang divided the land into vassals together with local residents, and the sealed vassals must obey Zhou Wang's orders and fulfill their obligations as Wang Shouyu, paying tribute, helping the king with disaster relief, and making pilgrimage on schedule. The feudal system was closely combined with the patriarchal clan system, forming a hierarchical and subordinate relationship headed by Zhou Wang. However, after Qin unified the six countries, in order to consolidate the new political power, Qin Shihuang adopted Lisi's opinion, dismissed the governors from all over the country, and established a single county system in which the emperor directly appointed and dismissed the county chiefs and county orders. The county chiefs and county orders could not be inherited, which effectively strengthened the centralization of the monarch and was conducive to political stability and economic development.
Two. The election method of officials and the size of their rights
Under the enfeoffment system, the object of enfeoffment is the royal family, heroes and descendants of the previous generation of nobles. ? In fiefs, vassals not only enjoy administrative power, but also have the right to manage land and population. No matter who sealed it, once it is sealed, it will be passed down from generation to generation, that is, the hereditary system will be implemented. However, the blocked vassals must fulfill their obligations to Zhou Wang. For example, we should hire Zhou Wang regularly, contribute various products to him, and accept his orders to send troops to defend the royal family or conquer the rebels.
Under the county system, county orders and county orders are directly appointed and removed by the emperor and are not hereditary. They only exercise administrative power and gradually lose their sovereignty over land and population. The county magistrate and county magistrate are only responsible for managing the people, collecting taxes, recruiting soldiers and corvees. In this way, the monarch effectively strengthened centralization, which was conducive to political stability and economic development; The county system fundamentally denied the enfeoffment system, broke the enfeoffment system and separatist regime since the Western Zhou Dynasty, strengthened the management of local governments by the central government, helped prevent separatist regimes from splitting, and effectively safeguarded national unity.
Three. ? Different functions and impacts on society
The enfeoffment system is conducive to social development and progress, and to giving full play to people's subjective initiative and creativity. The existence of feudal lords in various fiefs was conducive to strengthening centralization, stabilizing the political order at that time and accelerating the national economic development. While administering the fiefs, the vassal States sent troops to guard them. Other vassal States were too scared to openly rebel. The reduction of the war has made agricultural production develop rapidly, thus increasing the national tax revenue and enriching Qiang Bing. However, in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, with the growing strength of the vassal States, the monarchy weakened and the enfeoffment system was destroyed, which aggravated the disloyalty of the vassal States to the Zhou royal family and formed a powerful local armed separatist regime.
The implementation of the county system has broken the situation of enfeoffment and separatist regime since the Western Zhou Dynasty, formed a centralized and unified political system, and effectively safeguarded the unity of the country. However, due to the high concentration of power, a huge bureaucratic system has been established, and the laws are detailed, making it easy for people to break the law. There are millions of prisoners with a population of less than 20 million in the world, and cultural control and speech control have reached the goal of Tao. Saying the wrong thing is the disaster of genocide. The upper-class dignitaries wantonly squeezed the people's fat and cream, extravagance and corruption, moral decay, leading to frequent peasant uprisings.
The advantages and disadvantages of enfeoffment system and county system have long been debated by legalists and Confucianists since Qin and Han Dynasties. The enfeoffment system played a role in limiting the emperor's power, but it led to the division and separation of the regime and eventually fell into the tyranny of the princes. The county system established in the Qin Dynasty established a unified centralized country, which played a great role in history, eliminated the harm caused by the separatist regime under the feudal system, brought certain benefits to the broad masses of people, but also caused the arbitrary power of the rulers.