The gentry politics is a privileged stratum of the landlord class (a wealthy family that enjoys high political and economic privileges) formed in society based on family and family status. The aristocratic clan, also known as the clan Tu clan, is a privileged class among the landlord class.
The common clan - refers to the general small and medium-sized landowners other than the gentry, also known as the poor clan.
Characteristics (special status)
(1) Politically:
Sharing privileges according to family status, holding very important official positions for generations; (nine-grade Zhongzheng system It is the political guarantee of the gentry system;)
(2) Economically:
The gentry occupied a large amount of land and labor force, and established a self-sufficient and powerful manor economy; (Pinguan accounted for The Tianyin guest system provided economic security for the gentry system;)
(3) Social life:
Do not intermarry with the common people, or even sit on different seats;
(4) Culturally:
Advocate for conversation and occupy senior civil servant positions.
Evolution
(1) Germination (Eastern Han Dynasty)
Politics: Confucianism has been advocated since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and most bureaucrats started their careers in Confucianism. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, it gradually formed He learned about the situation of ministers for many generations. Cao Wei implemented the nine-rank Zhongzheng system, which allowed landowners from aristocratic families to participate in political power based on their family background.
Economy: In the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, land annexation was very serious, and a powerful landlord force consisting of bureaucrats, businessmen, and landlords was gradually formed. The regime of the Eastern Han Dynasty was established with the support of powerful landlords. Therefore, powerful landlords enjoyed political and economic privileges in the Eastern Han Dynasty. They controlled the central and local political power politically, annexed land economically, and ran manors. They gradually became separatists and became famous families. The gentry landlords (also known as aristocratic clans and clan landlords) began to form in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which provided a class and economic foundation for the establishment of the gentry system in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
(2) Formation (Cao Wei, Western Jin Dynasty)
The formation of the gentry system refers to the ruling class promulgating various laws and regulations to institutionally maintain the political, economic, and cultural status of the gentry landlords. , social life and other aspects of privileges. The nine-rank Zhongzheng system implemented by the Cao Wei regime was an important symbol of the formation of the gentry system.
(2) Consolidation (Western Jin Dynasty)
After the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Sima family continued to implement the policy of indulgence and win over them in order to gain the support of the earth students of the aristocratic family, thus forming a typical Clan politics.
(3) Peak (Eastern Jin Dynasty)
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the gentry system was fully developed and entered its heyday. The reason is that the Eastern Jin Dynasty relied on the support of the northern and southern gentry to exist. The Eastern Jin Dynasty was a joint dictatorship between the Sima imperial power and the northern gentry represented by the surnames Wang, Yu, Huan, and Xie, as well as the non-mainstream gentry with the Wu surname in the south of the Yangtze River. This political pattern lasted until the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which lasted for a century. for a long time. At that time, the power of the gentry clan was enough to be on par with the imperial power, or even surpass the imperial power. The emperor had to rely on the support of the gentry clan, and clan politics reached its peak. During this period, the gentry had high political positions and generous salaries, monopolized political power, economically restricted the mountains and rivers, occupied large tracts of land and labor force, and culturally advocated free conversation. In order to maintain this system, during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, the gentry attached great importance to the compilation of genealogies and paid attention to the origin of the gentry's lineage as evidence of their own privileges. Genealogy flourished, and genealogy monographs became a tool for the officials to select officials and maintain the privileged status of the gentry.
During this period, the Tu people had political privileges, and important official positions were monopolized by the gentry; economically, they owned farms, occupied a large amount of land and people, and often competed with the government for labor and population; culturally, they inherited family learning and occupied a monopoly position. He also vigorously developed the study of genealogy, advocated clear discussion of metaphysics, and was good at calligraphy, painting and other arts. In society, he did not intermarry with the common people. The gentry held great power but were unwilling to get involved in practical affairs, and they rotted away in elegance and luxury.
(4) Gradual decline (Southern Dynasties)
The gentry system gradually declined from the late Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern Dynasties. The fundamental reason lies in the decadence of the gentry themselves. Under the gentry system, noble gentry, especially high-ranking gentry, can become officials by virtue of their family status and control senior official positions for generations.
The special social environment made many nobles not want to make progress, indulge in a leisurely and dissolute life, and disdain government and military affairs. In addition, the gentry were closely related and had extremely poor physical fitness. Therefore, after the Feishui battle between the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the former Qin Dynasty, some generals from common people stood out and showed high political and military talents, and their reputation and power rose rapidly. In the Southern Song and Qi Dynasties, The emperors of Liang, Liang, and Chen Kaiguo were all generals of the common people. Although the emperors of the Southern Dynasties could not change the situation in which senior nobles monopolized high-ranking officials, they used common people officials to entrust them with positions of low taste but with real power, and shared the privileges of the nobles in actual governance. The second reason for the decline of the gentry system during this period was that it was hit by the peasant uprising; the third reason was that the gentry was hit and weakened by the internal conflicts of the ruling class. The interaction of the above three reasons greatly weakened the class and economic foundation of the gentry system.
In the Southern Dynasties, due to the decadence of the wealthy families themselves. Losing the ability to rule politically and militarily; conflicts and intensification of social class contradictions, peasant uprisings one after another, Han landlords took advantage of the opportunity to rise with military exploits, while suppressing peasant uprisings, and then took charge of secrets and controlled local areas , commanded the army and became emperor with martial arts, such as Liu Yu, Xiao Daocheng, etc., breaking the situation where the powerful landlords dominated the world. Although the aristocratic landowners held high positions at this time, they no longer had real power and were heading for inevitable destruction. After the Hou Jing Rebellion and the Sui Dynasty's annihilation of Chen and other changes, the clan hierarchy was on its last legs, and the common landowners jumped to the main position on the political stage. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the nine-rank Zhongzheng system was abolished and the imperial examination system was implemented. "Scholar selection does not ask about family background, and marriage does not ask about the status of the clan." Finally, the gentry system that originated in Wei and prevailed in Jin finally died out in the political and legal systems. .