MiddleLate Zhou Social Mobility

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility

• Issues
• How free was social mobility during the Middle
  and Late Zhou?
• Did social mobility occur within a static or
  changing social structure?
• If there were changes in social structure, how
  did they relate to changes in social mobility?
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• We know that to the Early (Western) Zhou the top
  stratum of the ruling class was occupied by
  rulers. Below them were ministers and great
  officers who were lords of their own benefices
  (fiefs) from the ruler. Still lower in that
  class were the si, the scholar officials and some
  of the military. Most in the upper class
  controlled some land and households and all were
  at least classificatory kin (if not blood
  relatives). Peasants who tilled the soil and
  supported the ruling class formed the great lower
  class. Merchants and artisans were in this lower
  class.
• In Middle Zhou, we shall see that although rulers
  always held nominal sovereignty, their
  descendants gradually played lesser roles in
  government as hereditary ministers who led great
  families were very powerful. They gradually lost
  power to the growing influence of the si group in
  Late Zhou.
• Soon, the Zhou system of benefices (fiefs)
  collapsed and power became the decisive factor in
  interstate relations in Middle Zhou conflict
  concentrated power in Late Zhou--bigger states
  extinguished smaller ones the old nobility was
  abased (down-graded) on a grand scale.
• Other factors involved in changed social mobility
  were economic, commercial and philosophical
  peasants went from protection as part of the
  lords town to having to pay taxes directly food
  production from the manorial system to a landed
  rich and landless tenant peasantry commercial
  activity created wealth among commoner and si
  alike the governing philosophy became merit
  above heredity.

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility

• Middle Zhou social structure was orderly with
  heads of state, their ministers, and si (the
  scholar-officials, warriors, stewards of noble
  households) recognized as the ruling class.
  Overview
• There were instances of ministers usurping power
  from the king (there were many kingdoms) and
  palace coups leading to the division of states
  among several ruling families.
• The si class began to take a greater role in
  influencing governance by late in the period (in
  the state of Lu an aristocratic official led a
  coup and was dictator for a number of years).
• Confucius is the best known historical figure of
  this class.
• Some aristocratic families were becoming
  impoverished.
• In the system, the eldest son did not
  automatically inherit. Therefore contending
  brothers and uncles might eliminate each other to
  achieve kingship. Through Zhou, these relatives
  were enfeoffed to small land grants and their
  power lessened.
• Ministers and state officials of the upper
  aristocracy rose in power. They held benefices by
  inheritance from a ministerial father or rulers
  son. Other brothers might be lesser officials.
  The ranks of these people grew but the proportion
  who had the top jobs declinedthru war, there
  were fewer (large) state and numerically more
  aristocrats.
• A long-serving minister might establish his
  family in several generations of service, only to
  see the line decline later similarly, a family
  could rise in status to prominence through able
  service.

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobilitythe Si

• The rise of the si (scholar officials) was a
  critical change in China
• Middle Zhou social structure was orderly with
  heads of state, their aristocratic ministers, and
  si (the scholar-officials, warriors, and stewards
  of noble households)-- the recognized ruling
  class.
• The si class roseinitially, they were the bottom
  of the aristocracy and for the most part ignored
  by contemporary historians. They began to be
  mentioned in chronicles by 2700-2600 y.a. and
  were often mentioned 2500 y.a., Confucius time.
• Confucius began as an accountant and field
  superintendent of livestock and was promoted
  because of his ability. He died respected and
  saw many disciples well placed and successful in
  Zhou kingdoms.
• Some disciples came from very modest means, real
  rage-to-riches storiesthus, able service was a
  pathway to upward social mobility for si.
• The trend shows a rise in si influence in
  important matters of state that continued until
  about 2400 y.a. when the old ministerial class
  was clearly in decline though individuals from
  the establishment might retain roles at court,
  their political power was diminished.
• A statistical analysis of political leaders shows
  an increase in leaders from obscure backgrounds
  from Middle Zhou (26) to Late Zhou (55)these
  were the self-made men who prospered during the
  unrest of the Zhou Dynasty

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Middle-Late Zhou Social MobilityWarfare 1A

• Both Middle and Late Zhou experienced frequent
  wars as China struggled from patrimonial states
  towards a unified empire. Essentially, in Middle
  Zhou the old order broke down and in Late Zhou
  the new order began to emerge. It took nearly
  500 years to make the transition! Lets begin
  with Middle Zhou
• Initially 71 states (benefices) were created by
  Royal Zhou, with 53 headed by the kings royal
  kinsmen and their spouses.
• Since heads of states treated each other as
  kinsmen, many familial behavior patterns were
  used in inter-state transactions the king
  addressed those with his benefices as material or
  paternal uncle, depending on the surname some
  lords of the ruling clan were addressed as
  brother.
• Thus, as an uncle might give shelter to a
  nephew, so a minister might accept a colleague
  from another state (with the proscribed demotion
  in rank) into his operation or, he might host
  his nephew and that mans army en route to
  battle against another petty state (and be
  rewarded later for his alliance/support).

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Middle-Late Zhou Social MobilityWarfare 1B

• Continuing with Middle Zhou
• During Middle Zhou, 110 petty states were
  defeated and annexed, leaving only 22 large
  states to fight it out during the Late Zhou.
• There were rules of engagement for these short
  warsoften one battle or a short siege were
  enough to defeat a small Middle Zhou state.
• Defeated rulers (of whom there were many) could
  be spared or sacrificed their states could be 1)
  left intact or 2) its people given to heroic
  generals as households/serfs or 3) the people
  could be resettled en masse in new lands.
• Late in the period there were official
  injunctions against family politics in interstate
  agreements
• slay the unfilial
• dont change the son who has been appointed heir
  
• dont raise a concubine to the status of wife
• respect the old and be kind to the young.
• These, along with Honor the worthy, dont let
  offices become hereditary, and deal honesty
  suggest the continuing importance of kinship in
  state operations in Middle Zhou times.
• To summarize Middle Zhou It was in this context
  that social mobility increased both upward (si)
  and downward (hereditary aristocrats) and persons
  of ability but low rank rose to prominence.
• The number of socially degraded people as a
  result of Middle Zhou wars was substantial.

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility--Warfare 2

• In Late Zhou there were many fewer, but much
  larger states
• On the one hand, the final 250 years of Zhou saw
  fewer wars than Middle Zhou (568 compared to
  1211) but on a grander scale, and 89 peaceful
  years compared to 38.
• It was a time when able commoners were promoted
  into the ruling group as generals and
  military/diplomatic experts for the first time.
• Wars with multiple battles now took many months
  to settle.
• The size of Late Zhou armies (or those engaged in
  battle) was huge with casualties recorded in the
  10s of 1000s, probably 10 times those of Middle
  Zhou.
• Costly chariots and infantry armies were replaced
  by a smaller cavalry and larger infantry
  (aristocratic charioteers were less needed).
• Conscription became the norm--rather than tribute
  in food and animals.
• (Seasonal) armies of 300,000-1,000,000 were
  possible, their ranks swollen with peasants
  (15-50 year old men were conscripted).
• Professional tacticians advised states.
• A class of professional warriors emerged and
  bravery in war was a source of title and perhaps
  a grant of several households for service.
• In this context, the Early-Middle Zhou familial
  solidarity of nobles broke downboth within a
  state and as a (noble) class that bridged the
  many states through kinship and marriage.
• Ministers grew stronger and kings weaker.
• Strong states become more bellicose.
• War was harder and longer.
• Status plummeted among nobles in defeated states.
  

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility-Economic Change
and the Land

• Recall that the Middle Zhou system of benefices
  meant that a noble had a small territory with
  peasants to till the land, repair houses, hunt or
  fish, etc. Farmer families had protection and
  received non-food goods from the noble. Peasant
  women raised silkworms, wove and dyed cloth for
  the noble, etc. There was little commercial
  activity. This changed significantly during Late
  Zhou when mobility increased because of changes
  in land tenancy, commerce and industry
• Ownership of land gradually shifted from
  lords/hereditary nobles to independent farmers
  and to landlords who largely commoners by birth.
  
• For the first time in Chinese history, land could
  be bought and sold.
• Taxation replaced labor service, lands and
  peasants of defeated noble families were
  redistributed among victorious families, and some
  able warriors received land grants.
• Individuals reclaimed waste land and possessed it
  outside the manorial system--control of land was
  more important legal ownership.
• Unfortunately, it was the wealthy who bought the
  land, widening the gap between rich and
  poor--peasants were disenfranchised and without
  the manorial safety net some joined bandit groups
  and threatened the social order others toiled for
  starvation wages.
• Commercial activities increased, industry became
  specialized and it grew to major size and
  capital was accumulated by those in commerce,
  landed and not, both upper class and commoner
  (si, warrior).
• Merchants, formerly at the bottom of the social
  ladder, became wealthy.
• Usury was widespread.
• True urbanization developed in China.

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility-Economic Change
and Commerce

• In Late Zhou there was progress in commercial
  activities because the fewer states each
  controlled more territory.
• Merchants could travel further in safety.
• Contacts among the states fostered better roads
  and waterways.
• Regions/states became more interdependent with
  specialization in local production.
• Coinage facilitated commercial transactions.
• Local trade and increased specialization were
  could be supported.
• Recall in Middle Zhou merchants were retained by
  nobles to obtain goods the manor couldnt get
  locally to sell the manors local products.
• States could collect tariffs at the border or
  tolls at city gates.
• States forges agreements to permit merchants to
  cross borders.
• Merchants were poor and lowest of commoners
  (Confucious says).
• In Late Zhou, state highways were improved as
  were the canals and waterways, both factors in
  commercial development.
• More wealth and regional interdependence for
  ivory, large timber, gold, ocean fish, copper,
  cinnabar, salt, chestnuts, horses, musical
  stones, feathers, bamboo, hide, seashells, citrus
  fruit, specialized metal weapons, etc., fostered
  the interest of the wealthy in assuring that
  products were moved and traded.
• In Late Zhou coinage (bronze money) became more
  widely used, replacing barter each of the
  several states issuing coinage, stamping their
  name of the metal and its value.
• The stage was set for the rich merchant status of
  Han times.

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Middle-Late Zhou Social Mobility-Economic Change,
Professional Specialization and Technology

• The self-sufficient manor had given way to
  interdependence among occupational specialties.
  There were farmers, tailors, blacksmiths,
  carpenters, weavers of reeds, bow makers,
  shoemakers, etc. Where once small scale, now
  large scale production emerged to meet growing
  demand for goods beyond basic self-sufficiency.
• People who carried the products among states
  formed a new category of merchants, some of whom
  had wealth but not elevated statusalthough, some
  must have managed to curry favor at court through
  distributing some of that wealth (bribery was a
  concern of some Late Zhou political
  philosophers).
• Agricultural production in Late Zhou was somewhat
  increased by using iron implements, fertilizer
  and irrigation--the impact cant be quantified at
  this point however, there evidently wasnt a
  revolution in terms of production.
• Food production did increase but in many areas
  successful harvests still depended on good
  weather.
• Notable irrigation technology (water lifting
  devices) and engineering (dams that reclaimed
  large tracks of land, especially in the Red Basin
  of Sichuan) speak to technological advances.
• Cities were largersome truly urban--and they
  drew some peasants and poor from the countryside
  who sought a better life and more security.
• Presumably, urban mobility was greater than that
  in rural areas life in the city was very
  different from manor life, to be sure.