Bureaucracy and the State in Early China: Governing the Western Zhou
Cambridge University Press, 12/11/2008
EAN 9780521884471, ISBN10: 0521884470
Hardcover, 400 pages, 24.4 x 17 x 2.2 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Ancient Chinese society developed a sophisticated and complex bureaucracy which is still in operation today and which had its pristine form in the government of the Western Zhou from 1045 to 771 BC. Li Feng, one of the leading scholars of the period, explores and interprets the origins and operational characteristics of that bureaucracy on the basis of the contemporaneous inscriptions of royal edicts cast onto bronze vessels, many of which have been discovered quite recently in archaeological explorations. The inscriptions clarify the political and social construction of the Western Zhou and the ways in which it exercised its authority. The discussion is accompanied by illustrations of the bronze vessels and their inscriptions, together with full references to their discovery and current ownership. The book also discusses the theory of bureaucracy and criticizes the various models of early-archaic states on the basis of close reading of the inscriptions.
Introduction
1. The historical context
2. Structural development of the Zhou central government
3. The administrative process of the Zhou central government
4. Managing the core
local society and local administration in the royal domain
5. Official service and career development during the Western Zhou
6. The regional states and their governments
7. Reconceptualizing the Western Zhou state
reflections on previous theories and models
Conclusion.
'A significant study of systematic government in pre-imperial China that adds greatly to our understanding not only of Western Zhou but also of the early imperial period. The book fills what has been a serious gap in our knowledge in an impressive way.' Michael Loewe