Western Zhou Group Projects

Western Zhou Group Projects -- Topic Descriptions

For all these issues, think also about: 1) change over time; 2) comparison with the Shiji portrait; 3) unexpected material.

As you and the members of your group think about how to approach the topics designated for your group, consider the following points as a guide.
Do not feel you need to answer all questions -- these are just intended to help you identify materials that may be useful.

GROUP A on LAW: Evidence of Laws, Punishment, Contractual Forms, Dispute Adjudication:

Traditional accounts say there were no law codes until about the 7^th century BC. Some scholars picture their emergence as a transition from a social model based on "family-like" relations to one based on employer-employee structures. Your task is to test this in examining your corpus of inscriptions by all inscriptions that show instances of "rules" (which might be law-like), punishments, adjudication of disputes, and any relationships that seem to be based on patterns that we might call contractual.

Do we see evidence of formal law codes in the inscriptions?
Do we see law or "codes" informally applied in contexts involving "lawsuits," testimony, judges, punishments, etc.?
When we see disputes, what kind are they and how are they handled? Does this change over time?
What structures of authority make decisions and what principles seem to inform judgments -- what sorts of examples do we see?
Do we see evidence of actual contracts, either by recorded agreement or by documentary certification?
Can we discern different areas of law or formal conflict resolution: military law, administrative law, criminal law, clan law? If so, how can we picture the development of each?

Communicate within the group to determine whether there are identifiable changes or trends that occur over the course of the entire period.

GROUP B on LAND: Evidence of "Feudalism" and Land Owning Patterns:

The model of "Zhou feudalism" is based on the king ruling directly over only a small portion of land, but "possessing" all territory in the Zhou domains, and parceling off control and management to patrician relatives or allies on an hereditary basis. Personal "ownership" of land was a concept emerging only gradually in late Spring-Autumn China.

Is this consistent with what we see?
Identify all inscriptions for your period that make reference to grants of land, possession of territory, transfer of authority or ownership, etc.
Do we see the granting of hereditary estates?
Does there seem to be a well organized "feudal" hierarchy of lords with "fiefs."
How is land viewed -- do we see it "bestowed," "transferred," "owned" (which would imply the sale of land)?
Is the picture of land possession consistent with the idea that the King possesses all land, or that the feudal lords possess all land?
Is there evidence of defined social classes or specialized groups and group roles that can fill in the picture of Zhou society?

Communicate within the group to determine whether there are identifiable changes or trends that occur over the course of the entire period.

GROUP C on RELIGION: Court Ceremony; Religious Beliefs, Prayers, and Practices:

The "master narrative" constructed by Confucians claimed that the rites of the Zhou (li) were basically elaborated by the Zhou founders, and were a model held to throughout the Western Zhou. You should identify all inscriptions in your corpus that show instances of court-related li-like behavior and general religious practices and observe what such behavior and is like, and whether it changes over time when you compare it with the results of your fellow group members.

Can we see in the inscriptions formal behavior that we’d be inclined to call li, in Confucius’s sense at all?
To what degree can religious li and political li be described and distinguished?
Does Western Zhou li seem to have been designed by the dynastic founders, as later historical texts claim (how can we know)?
Can we determine time points at which certain types of li begin, flourish, or die out?
Does the Western Zhou indeed seem like a "patterned" civilization?
What is the attitude of the inscriptions towards the world of spirits – Heaven (Tian) and ancestors?
Communicate within the group to determine whether there are identifiable changes or trends that occur over the course of the entire period.

GROUP D on AUTHORITY: Patterns in Official Appointment, Political Tensions, Tribute and Taxation:

The traditional view of early Zhou politics was that government was highly personalistic, involving a dynamic centered on the authoritative de of the power holder and the responsive loyalty of the minister or subject. Just what de actually means is a matter for debate, but it is generally thought to involve perceived "virtue," based on exemplary conduct (including proper religious service), generous distribution of resources, or some form of personal charisma.

Does authority seem to depend on the spirits for the King or for others?
Do the inscriptions picture power holders in terms of de: their virtue, generosity, or charisma?
Is there any change or development in the interactions or relationships between individuals in a "ruler / minister" type of relation?
Is there any pattern in these relations that suggests personalistic vs. bureaucratic forms of hierarchy?
Do we find evidence concerning authority that may have been exercised by women in political or clan contexts?
How are material gifts, tribute, or taxation significant in Zhou political order?
To what degree do officers seem to rely on the King’s appointment or authority, and to what degree do they act on their own authority?

Communicate within the group to determine whether there are identifiable changes or trends that occur over the course of the entire period.

GROUP A on WAR: Records of Wars, Military Organization & Leadership, and interaction with non-Zhou peoples:

Your task is to discern which inscriptions refer to war or to warriors, and to characterize the degree of warfare reflected in the inscriptions for your period. Included in this is the question of the relations of the Zhou people to other peoples. These are the questions we will be trying to address:

Was the Western Zhou indeed an era of general peace?
When we detect activity of war, who is fighting whom, and which side is the aggressor (if we can tell)?
Where and how often do battles occur, and how does this change over time?
Are wars mainly "civil wars" or are Zhou armies fighting at the borders -- does this vary for different periods?
What are the objectives of wars?
Do we see evidence of how armies are structured, how they are led, how wars are conducted, and what warriors are like?
What do we learn about non-Zhou people and the way they are regarded or treated?
Do we see evidence of non-elite Zhou people and the way they are treated by the elite?

Communicate within the group to determine whether there are identifiable changes or trends that occur over the course of the entire period.